Chapter 25: Boardwalk

I breathe in deeply, taking in not just the stereotypical scent of the ocean breeze, but more importantly the sweet smell of popcorn, pound cake, fried anything, and barbeque smoke that fills the air on the boardwalk. It's incredibly nostalgic, reminding me of one of two trips my parents would bring me on for the year as a child. The other was the snow-capped mountains of Lowee, where we'd go skiing, but I never quite liked it so much as the carnival-like nature of the boardwalks on the beach.

"My, I almost feel a little jealous." Lady Vert says as she steps beside me. "In the future, you'll hurt the pride of your girlfriend if you don't pay more attention to her than the boardwalk."

"A-ah, sorry, it's just… it's been so long since I've been to one. After I started working, I never quite had the time." I say, turning my head towards her.

Lady Vert lifts a hand to her mouth and chuckles before adjusting her sunhat. Today she's dressed in a loose, pale-green sundress, carrying a light brown handbag for her belongings. As for me, I'm wearing some dark blue shorts and a graphic t-shirt emblazoned with the logo for Four Goddesses Online, along with a grey baseball cap.

"Hmm, I suppose that's true." Lady Vert says as we start walking down the dark wooden boards that creak with every step. "Even a day off is a lot for you, right?"

"I mean, I'm not teetering so close to the edge that closing down for a day would put me at jeopardy of being in the red. But several days off, along with a vacation on top of that, would definitely make me feel slightly uncomfortable. Even now, I'm a bit on edge, even with all of your help and all of my savings."

"You haven't tried hiring anyone to watch over while you're gone?"

"I had a part timer, but I hadn't gotten around to teaching him all of the recipes and he left for greener pastures. It'd be nice to bring someone in full-time, but it's tough finding someone who'd like to work full time in a bakery."

"That's true. But, I have a feeling that one will show up sooner or later."

"Maybe." I say, thinking about what a move to Lastation would entail. I'd definitely need to hire some more people with all of the space there, I couldn't handle it on my own.

"Still, I was surprised when you said you wanted to go to the beach. I was expecting being down by the ocean itself, not up on the piers."

"Ah, I… have a lot of nice memories from boardwalks, is all. Plus, it has a bunch of carnival games."

"Hmhm, so that's what you enjoy?" Lady Vert asks with a bit of a teasing smile as we look over the various stalls. "Are you good at them?"

"I was okay at them, but I think it was more the novelty and atmosphere. Plus, when you got lucky as a kid and managed to take home a big action figure or a large stuffed animal, it's the absolute best." I say, pumping my right fist up.

"A large stuffed animal? That seems like a big of a disconnect from the action figure."

"Oh, well, sometimes I'd come here with friends instead of my family as well. Back when I was still dating in high school, I'd try to win something for my girlfriend. Became a bit of a habit as well, trying to score something to take home every visit." I say, scratching my cheeks as I feel a bit embarrassed to admit it.

"Hehehe, well, why don't you try winning something for me?"

"I'm a bit out of practice, but I'll try my best…"

"Out of practice?"

"Well, on some of them. Sometimes you have to just get lucky. One of my smarter friends broke it down for me once, but it's been a long time." I say, scratching my head. "Plus some of them are nearly impossible due to physics."

"Hmm, I see. What happened to that friend of yours?"

"Last I heard during one of our weekend calls, he had taken up a research position in Lowee. He wouldn't tell me what exactly he was researching, but I guess that means it's really special."

"You know, thinking about all of the time you've been around us, I don't think you've brought up your friends very often."

I tilt my head as we walk past yet another churro stand, thinking on it. "I suppose I don't. It's not that I don't like them, it's just… it never comes up, is all. They're just not a huge part of my life anymore as sad as that sounds. They're still there, but it can't be denied that it's just not the same as it was back in high school."

"I'd like to say that I'm able to relate, but I can't honestly say that." Lady Vert says, offering a comforting smile. "After we all started to get along, Neptune and the others have always been there. Speaking of which, I notice you've been avoiding using my name."

"Ahaha, is it that obvious…?" I ask, scratching the back of my head with my left arm. "Awagahaha—!"

"My, my, I wonder which of us is really the maiden here when you have that reaction, Elliot~" Lady Vert says, having wrapped herself around my right arm. "I'm sure you'll put your experience to good use, won't you?"

"Awawa, my arm—"

"I'll only let you go if you promise to use my name."

It was one thing when we were just out on a morning bike ride, that could be seen as exercise partners. But the thing is definitely… this is definitely a different kind of situation! Being here, on a weekend, just us two, that will definitely, absolutely be taken the wrong way! Plus, I don't even have my phone to explain it to…!

...goodness, I'm already that worried about it to that extent, huh…?

"I'm waiting~"

"C… can you let go of my arm please… V-vert?"

Almost the very instant I say Lady Vert's name, all the attention that formerly was just on what could be seen as a very flirtatious couple is immediately spikes, garnering quite a bit of attention despite me trying to say it as softly as possible. Immediately the phones are out and already spreading the word on social media, with Lady Vert only giggling as we start walking away.

"Is it… really necessary to do that?" I ask, Lady Vert no longer clinging to me.

"Well, it's good to have some fun every now and then. It helps in getting you into the spotlight more, too, so you get used to it."

"That's true."

"But, if you really are uncomfortable with it, I'll stop."

I shake my head. "No, it's… it's just something I gotta do, right? Just like the gala, I can't back down."

"Hmhm, you are quite brave when the time calls for it." Lady Vert says, an enigmatic smile on her face. "But you know, there are times you should do what you want."

"I know, it's just…"

The words "there's no harm to it" almost come out of my mouth, and in a way, it's kind of true. I can probably explain everything to the inevitable interrogation from IF at my shop later. But… I feel as if that isn't the path I want to take. It's not so much guilt, as it is… feeling as if I could have done better.

"When you want to ask something of someone, Elliot, be sure to look them in the eyes."

"It's just… I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea, Vert." I say, forcing myself to look into her beautiful, shining eyes that rest wonderfully in her pale skin that glows in the summer sunlight. "So… please understand."

She gives me a proud smile, as if she was an older sister of mine. She raises a hand and ruffles my hair before patting me on the head. "See? Was that so hard?"

"Surprisingly so."

"Well, as your reward, I'll cut back on the teasing. But it is in my nature to poke and prod, so I'll try not to go overboard~"

I give an exhausted sigh, but can't help but chuckle. "Okay, I guess it's the best I can ask for."

Geez… a few months ago, this would've been unimaginable. Both the situation and what I just did. They've really trained me well, haven't they?

"But, you did say 'out of practice'. Which ones were your usual games?"

"Ah, that would be…" I say, looking around to see if I can find one, but no dice. "Usually the throwing ball games. Mostly because if I remember right, they tend to be the actually winnable ones. Plus, I used to help out back in high school."

"Help out?" She asks as we navigate the crowd. "My, it seems your high school life was more interesting than now."

"I guess missing out on college had something to do with it. I probably could've taken a year off the shop, but I really loved everything it gave me back then."

"So, what did you do in high school, if you went straight to working?"

"Ahaha, it was actually the shop. But I helped out on the baseball team every now and then. I wasn't a great pitcher, but it was somewhere around above average. I definitely can't bat, though. Haven't thrown a serious pitch in a long time, either."

"You know," Lady Vert says, bumping into me ever so slightly before bouncing away. "It really sounds like you haven't lived a lot, Elliot. It's admirable that you really focused on your store, but you really should've gotten out more!"

"You sound like all of my friends back then, too."

It's not that I ever disliked working for the shop, during my time. So much had been entrusted to me that I never really thought about leaving it. Even now I haven't thought about leaving it. But, it was just what I was good at, there was no reason to leave it if I didn't need to. And so, without fail, I'd wake up early to begin baking bread, cookies, and all sorts of pastries all the way until the evening. There was a time, too, that I had considered maybe asking Melanie if she wanted to work there as well, but once she was off to college that was off the table.

It's… strange, really. I never noticed how… alone I must have been. I don't think I would've ever realized it had everything… not happened. Or maybe I would've just realized it a bit too late.

"Well, that means you haven't changed much since then, hehe. Maybe we should fix that. We'll add it into your usual routine."

"I don't think there's much use in trying to relive my old high school days, Vert."

"Hmm, maybe that's true. But it isn't so much about reliving one's older glories, it's more about rediscovering yourself." She says, giving a very sagely nod. "I noticed it when you were distracted during training before. That letter has been on your mind, but you feel mentally unbalanced. Like you can't quite get a feel for where to even begin thinking about it."

"...yeah, that's true."

"While you can never become who you once were, the 'you' right now isn't separated from that person." She then smiles before giggling. "Or, maybe I'm just spouting a lot of philosophical speeches because I'd like for you to win this one. That's the 'manly' thing to do, isn't it?"

It's then I realize that I was so entranced by her words that I didn't even notice she had paid for one of the games we stopped at. It's pretty simple, just a 'toss three balls at five milk bottles' game.

"Well then?" Lady Vert asks, holding out the first ball.

I take it from her and give it a light squeeze. Despite the metallic shine on it, it's actually more like dense rubber. You'd have to throw this pretty hard to actually knock the bottle over.

"Do your best~ I'd like to see your best pitch."

I take a calm breath, trying to remember what it was like. I stand roughly center to the stack of five bottles, inhaling the air that's full of perfume, sweat, deodorant, and sweets, trying to tune out the sounds of people asking in way-too-loud whispers about if that's really Lady Vert and who the guy with her is.

Lifting my hands above my head, then over and behind, I then transfer my weight slightly to my left foot, as the glove should be on my left hand if I was wearing one. Afterwards, I put my right foot roughly parallel to where the rubber should be.

Taking another breath, I shift my weight back as I bring my left knee up to about sixty percent of my height, letting my foot hang straight from my knee and keeping my posture firm while my knee is angled enough to close off the hips.

"Hor—"

I stride forward, my right leg bending down to help build momentum as my right arm comes up and my left leg stretches out, ready to throw the pitch as my center of mass shifts.

"—YAH!"

A cool sea breeze kicks through the air as my arm slings forward, launching the rubber ball straight down the path, my right leg coming up off the ground as my stride length moves my balance. The sound of a loud impact, shortly followed by metal crashing down on the ground, echoes out after the explosive toss.

The momentum keeps moving my arm even after releasing the ball, arcing towards my left side, with my right leg still coming up to help counterbalance it. Though, I definitely can't lift it as high as I used to, but fortunately Lady Vert manages to help catch me so I don't fall.

Three bottles down, as I struck the center one. Not that it wasn't too hard, considering that it's not like the distance between us and the bottles is that huge and if you aim for the center, it's not too bad.

"Agh…" I mumble as I swing my right arm in circles a few times before rubbing my shoulder. "Not sure if I can take out the last two with two shots, Vert."

"Hehe. Well, do your best. If you can knock them both down, then you can ignore everything I said about reliving old times."

"Alright."

I take the second ball into my right hand, glancing at Lady Vert who has her phone out.

"Vert…?"

"Oh, don't mind me. The last one was very captivating to watch, I couldn't help but want to get a video."

"O-oh."

"Don't get cold feet, now~"

Of course I'm going to…

I take a deep breath as I use my left hand to adjust my baseball cap. The clerk at the stand, an older woman, likely in her fifties, gives me an encouraging grin.

I wind up my pitch again and launch it, knocking out one of two remaining bottles. Pressure is really mounting up, huh…?

"Last one~" Lady Vert says, putting away her phone. Last time was definitely easier, despite it being another one ball to one bottle throw. If I missed the last one, then there was no way for me to win. But in this case, everything's amplified. It's like… if you got an eight three percent on a final exam, so you ended up with an overall average grade. It feels a little better than having gotten a ninety-one percent, and if you had only scored one or two points more, you'd have had an excellent grade. Being in the latter position is objectively better with the higher score, but it certainly feels crummier and it'll be on your mind more often.

I take the final ball into my hands, feeling all eyes on me. Taking a deep breath, I go through the motions again, keeping my eyes on the prize. Leg up and toss—

"Do your best~"

—a sudden whisper of warm breath on my ears distracts me, causing my pitch to veer off-course.

"H-hey, that's cheating…!" I grumble, but Lady Vert only laughs as we're told to pick a prize from the middle tier. With that, Lady Vert asks me to pick the white, fluffy, rather small doll of a dog, which she gladly takes.

"I don't remember that being against the rules." She says with a knowing smile, patting the doll on the head.

I sigh, knowing this isn't a fight I'm going to be able to win. "Alright, you win."

"Hehehe. But, I must say, that was quite the elegant pitch. You say you're out of practice, but I believe that was good form, yes?"

"It might look like good form, but I'm pretty sure I messed up a lot of things."

"Well, the fact you can still even mimic it despite all this time says a lot." She says, ruffling my hair as we start to walk along. "I'd definitely like to see you at your best form, so be sure to practice diligently."

"I'll do my best."

"Hmhmm, okay~ But, I'm rather hungry. You seem to be very educated on boardwalks, so I'll have to defer to your expertise."

I can't help but smile, then stifle a laugh at how she said that. For all of her elegance, she certainly doesn't seem to be able to turn it off. In the past, if my friends and I had heard anyone talking like that on the boardwalk, we'd have assumed they were some sheltered kid who hadn't been allowed to run around like the rest of us.

"Alright. Though, we might have to do some extra exercise tomorrow."

With that, I take Lady Vert into the wonderful, yet guilty world of boardwalk foods, occasionally offset by her roping me into another carnival game. There's always the classics like hot dogs, corn dogs, french fries, and deep fried cookies. Then there's the stuff not everyone always manages to find, like the tornado potato, which is definitely strange the first time you run into it. It's a potato that's been spiral cut on a skewer, so it's like a strange combination of french fries and potato chips.

But I think my favorites definitely have to be the sweets. A freshly fried funnel cake, with its light, fluffy texture and doused with powdered sugar. Ahhh, I can't believe I don't offer this at the cafe. I definitely should think about it. Though, the best thing to beat this summer heat has to be frozen custard.

It's not like it was anything particularly special, but it's the sights and sounds, when paired with the food, that make for an unforgettable experience.

And I guess it does remind me of why I really loved working at the shop in the first place. The light hustle and bustle of downtown Planeptune, roast cafe, the bar-like cafe interior and casual feel. When I first started, it was just a job, but there was a reason I so gladly leapt into it after graduating high school.

"Muuu… Elliot, you finish it." Lady Vert says, pushing the paper plate that still has about a fourth of the funnel cake we bought towards me. "It is quite the temptation, but I have to resist. I may have to skip out on dinner as well."

"Well, I can carry it with us on the way back. It shouldn't be too much trouble to ask for another paper plate we can use as a cover." I say, getting up and looking around.

"Hmmm, but it will lose the appeal if it's not fresh." Lady Vert says, smiling knowingly.

"I have been a bit curious about making it recently, so I can try." I say as she stands up, looking rather satisfied.

"Then, today has been quite the successful trip~"

With that, we start making our way back, taking the rather older looking black and green sedan that Lady Vert rented for taking us here. Something about "not wanting to stand out too much", but the paint job definitely attracts attention. The only prize that Lady Vert kept today was the one was from the first pitching game. As for all the others, she gave those away to kids who tried their best and didn't quite make it, especially to those with younger siblings.

I can kind of understand why, considering how that fact sticks out quite handily, that Lady Vert doesn't have a younger sibling like the other goddesses.

"Lady Vert." I say as we come to a stop at another red light. "I would like to make a request."

"Hmmm, I see you're using 'Lady' again, so it must be quite the request. Very well, let's hear it."

"Ha!"

The baseball pings right off pitch catcher. It wasn't anything expensive, it was one you could even order online. Just a simple tense net that also had the strike zone highlighted in red.

The request I had made was for a bit of equipment just to get a feel for pitching again, along with some mimics of the carnival games. Not that I was intending to show off when I went to the beach like I promised to with IF, but… it couldn't hurt to have practiced.

My arm had been pretty sore after the first day from the beach, so I gave it a rest before starting again. My daily routine had somewhat shifted during the second week I was here, with it now consisting of morning exercise with Lady Vert, followed by combat training, and now I mixed in practicing pitches. When I wasn't exercising, I was trying out some new recipes and running them by Lady Vert, along with learning advanced tea preparation from her.

Assuming she woke up on time, anyways. Sometimes she didn't wake up until well into the afternoon, but her staff told me not to worry, this was a usual occurrence for her as she would frequently spend the nights playing video games until the dawn. It made me appreciate when she would accompany me, as I knew she was probably signing off early so she could wake up in time. I also think it probably was at Lady Blanc's request, so I'll have to send a thank you gift later.

But, I do wonder how I'm going to squeeze all of this into my schedule from here on out. At this rate I'm going to have to go on either very early morning or late night jogs to keep up. I guess back in high school some kids woke up to have swim practice at five o'clock in the morning and then would come back for another round at eight at night. Or the marching band kids that would stay from four to midnight after school.

"Oh, that one looked good."

I adjust my baseball cap as I turn to find Lady Vert waving as she walks onto the outdoor training field. Based on how she's dressed in her pajamas despite it being midday, I estimate she just woke up.

"Good… afternoon, Lady Vert. Is there anything you'd like for breakfast? Or would that be lunch, now?"

"Hehehe, well, I'll just have an extra large dinner later. I came to see how you were doing."

"Wonderfully, actually. Thank you again, for everything."

"But of course~ Though, I'm fairly certain you didn't expect me to buy all of it, did you."

"Ahaha… I was just hoping to ask for some time to go to the store, was all." I say, stretching my arm. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"

"All I'm asking for is that you try your best, Elliot. Besides, it's nice to have a training partner."

"Even if I can't keep up?"

"Mhm. After all, by pointing out what you miss when fighting me, it helps me understand how I'm using my own spear a little better."

"Somehow, I don't feel encouraged." I say as Lady Vert giggles. She then crouches down and picks up my water bottle, holding it out to me. "Thank you."

"But we should get you something more than just normal exercise clothes. I think you'd look quite spiffing in a baseball uniform. Hmm…"

"O-oh, well, you don't have to. Besides, it's been ages since I've actually played."

"Pleeeease? For me…?" Lady Vert asks, leaning in and turning her natural charm up to eleven. The way she holds her hands close to her chest, having leaned far enough down where she can glance up at me with sparkling eyes. It's enough to make your heart flutter, but more importantly, how could a man ever say no to that kind of attack?!

"Mghm… a… alright."

"Hehehe, you're quite vulnerable to an attack on the charming front, aren't you?" Lady Vert asks, leaning back. "My, I'm surprised no woman has ever tried to eat you alive."

"I like to think that I have kept my circle of contacts very clean, as to avoid being strung along."

"Ufufu, but we should probably work on that, too. It will help both of us, after all."

"Both of us?" I ask as Lady Vert gives a very enthusiastic smile, a finger on the corner of her mouth.

"Well, you will learn how to defend against the charms of others, as there'll be quite a lot of people looking to get closer to you."

I can't help but agree with that logic, since I am a public figure now, and a shop owner. I will have to be careful, going forward, and I can't rely on IF to always bail me out.

"I'm not quite sure what you get out of it, though."

"Ohoho, you see, Elliot, I consider myself an appreciator of the male form. You did just agree to dress in a baseball uniform, didn't you? There's plenty of others I'd like for you to try out as well."

"Erm… I have to ask why me?"

"Hmmhmm… well, I don't really have anyone else I can ask. Technically I could ask a favor from my staff, but I feel that's inappropriate. Even if I'd like to have fun, I do need to have some professionalism. However, you and I are friends, so there's no problem with it~"

"I… I see."

I suppose it's… harmless enough.

"Though, you don't… have any other friends?" I ask very tepidly, hoping not to step on a landmine.

Lady Vert crosses her arms, closing her eyes as a slight shrug escapes from her. "Well, let's just say that it's very hard to really be friends with anyone. I'm sure you understand."

Ah, I guess it is the reason I'm hiding away and laying low. As… low as one can be, anyways.

"That, and while you may be used to it in other nations, where the people are a little more connected with their relevant CPU, it is a bit different here. I think you'll find that people tend to treat me as you once did, before everything happened."

"Oh." I say, nodding. "Well… you do have a very high class aura about you, Vert."

Lady Vert puts her right hand to her cheek as she tilts her head. "My, do you have any other compliments you'd like to give?"

"A-ah, not at the moment. But I can see where you're coming from."

"Even with it being made public about my late night gaming habits, it seems it's not enough to really shake the image. But there's no need to change it, I suppose."

"Live honestly, right?"

"Mmmhm~ Anyways, it is quite late in the afternoon, so I should get changed. Unless you happen to like seeing in my sleepwear…?"

I quickly turn my head, using my baseball glove to cover my face. "P-please go get changed."

"Hehehe, as you wish."

I think about it, as she leaves and I return to practice my pitching, if there's anything I can do. I only have less than two weeks, but surely there's got to be something I can do. She's taken the time to shelter me here and even if it's mostly for her own amusement, she's done quite a lot for me and also tried to help me clear my head.

Lady Vert doesn't want to step away from her very princess-like aura and charms since it's just who she is. But it's slightly because of this they treat her very much like I did, someone who couldn't be an equal and friend, someone to elevate above ourselves. I wonder if there's something we could do that wouldn't compromise on the first of those, but also help her open herself up more.

I laugh to myself, shaking my head. I was just barely able to finally start on the mindset that the goddesses could be my friends. What am I doing, thinking of ways to try to do something like this? This is something that Lady Blanc would probably have a better idea of.

...huh.

I don't have my phone, but I'm sure Lady Vert wouldn't mind if I made a phone call.

"Hiiiiiiiiii!"

"O-oh, Ram, Rom, I didn't expect to see you here." I say, waving to them on the video call.

"We overheard that sis was going to talk to you, so we wanted to as well!"

"Well, I'm happy that you're excited to talk with me. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Can we work at the store when you open again? Can we, can we, can w—"

"Oi." Lady Blanc's voice says from the side. "Elliot has enough on his mind."

"Awwww!"

"I don't mind talking to them after we finish our discussion, Blanc."

"Yaaaay!"

"Haa… you need to stop spoiling them. I'll call you two back when we're finished." Lady Blanc says, shooing out her sisters. Once her sisters leave, Lady Blanc looks back to the camera, the video feed looking right at me. "Well, it must be quite something for you to ask Vert to let you call me."

"Wait, let?"

"Ah, I thought you would have figured it out by now, but this was my idea. I thought in order to give you some space to think, I'd deprive you of your outlets to the outside world so you can think for yourself, while also keeping you out of contact with a certain two individuals, thus Vert taking away those things."

"Oh… I guess… thanks. It is working." I say, smiling. "Um… this isn't anything actually incredibly major, but… I'd like to do something for Lady Vert, but I'm coming up empty."

"...I see." She says, furrowing her eyebrows. "Well… I guess it's fine."

"It's just… Lady Vert doesn't want to compromise on who she is, right, but I think because of her almost princess-like aura, it's hard for her to connect like everyone else has been with the people living here."

"Ah. So you want to do something, utilizing your rather unique position right now to help her. How very admirable. To think that just a little bit ago, you were terrified of coming out."

"It's due to your suggestion to take away my phone to Lady Vert, that I've had experiences that opened my eyes." I say, smiling. "I just wanted to ask if she's ever mentioned anything to you that could give me a hint."

"Hm. Well, I think you'll be disappointed when I say no, she has not. Vert and I don't often talk about this sort of thing."

"Oh, I see."

"I'm sorry to leave you on your own this time around."

"No, it's fine, it's fine. I'll just have to figure something out."

"I trust you're more than capable of that. But I suppose there's one hint I can give."

"Hm?"

"I'd try to spend a little more time around Vert. You won't get anywhere merely speculating with what you know. If you get to know her a little better, then maybe you'll find something out."

"I see… I can give it a try, yeah."

"I'm sure she'd like to have you around more, anyways, so it shouldn't be hard to get time with her. Is there anything else?"

"No, not really. I'm sure you're really busy, so thanks for taking the time to talk with me."

"You're welcome, Elliot. While I am rather busy, I don't mind taking a fifteen minute break to talk with you. It beats much of the tedium and tension of normal days, after all."

"I'm honored to be in such a position."

Lady Blanc chuckles. "If you have nothing else, I'll go get Rom and Ram, then. They do seem very eager to talk with you again."

"Mhm, go ahead."

My talk with Rom and Ram is mostly just catching up, with them being very excited for me to come back as they want to spend a day working again. I tried to convince them not to do so, since they really should spend their days off doing something other than working while they have the time.

But, they're really insistent on it, so I ended up caving in. That, and it seems I didn't take a picture last time and they want to have a picture up in the shop, like how Lady Blanc does as I took a commemorative photo when they all visited. Apparently, they thought the uniform was very, very cute, and they were endeavoring to drag their sister into it as well.

Ha… guess it's going to be hectic once I get back, huh? Well, at least it's going to be fun to have them around. Those two really can bring a smile to anyone's face.

But, just what to do for Lady Vert…

"It's not like you to be up this late."

"Huh? Oh, hello Vert." I say, with Lady Vert stepping into the garden on one of the higher floors of the Basilicom. "I couldn't sleep."

It's maybe... thirty minutes to midnight? It's hard to tell, with the overcast night sky that blocks the moon out, but I know it's late enough that I really should be asleep, and the clock did say it was past eleven by the time I decided to walk out and simply think on things in the garden.

"Something on your mind?" She asks, a light breeze kicking around a pale green sleeping gown that doesn't exactly leave too much to the imagination, with the fabric thin enough to...

I turn my head away, trying not to look back at her... very beautiful figure. "Um… you could say that."

"Hmm? Do you want to talk about it?"

"N-no, I'm fine, really." I say, turning my head around and keeping my eyes closed, using her voice to guide me as I put on a smile. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine, Elliot. Come on, tell me what's bothering you so much. You've been so relaxed lately and it's part of my job to help you relax here."

"Um…" I turn my head away from her, looking down at the ground. "...shirt."

"Shirt?"

"...please… put on a shirt."

"Hm?" I hear a pause, likely her looking down. There's a fit of giggles as she puts the pieces together. "Okay, give me a moment."

It's about thirty seconds before I hear her voice again. "Okay Elliot, I've gotten dressed. You can open your eyes, okay?"

I can't help but wonder if thirty seconds was too short to grab a shirt, but I maybe hope against hope that she had one handy and this was one of her usual ploys to tease me.

"Why does it sound like you're beh—" I ask, being immediately cut off as I feel something incredibly soft squish against my back, with what is undeniably Lady Vert giggling even harder from behind me. "V-vert!"

"Well, it gets the job done, right? You don't have to look at me like this~" She says, having caught me in an embrace from behind. "Just let it happen, Elliot~"

"B-bu—"

"Ufufu, I'll have to tighten up if you try to escape~" She says, immediately making good on her threat.

"Okay, okay, okay, I got it!" I say, stopping my struggling immediately.

"So, what's bothering you so much~?"

"Erm, um… it's not something I can exactly say."

"Hmmm, it seems I might have to try a bit har-der then."

"Wait, wait! Okay, okay, but it's going to be really disappointing!"

"It does seem to be bothering you a lot, so I would like for you to share. I promise I won't be disappointed."

"Okay, well… I was just thinking about… what I could do for you."

"Hm?"

"It's just that, I'm in a pretty unique position, right? You mentioned not being able to connect with people or anything like that, so I wanted to think about if I could do anything about that. Wha-wha—"

"Awww, that's very touching, Elliot." Lady Vert says, squeezing me tighter. "But you don't have to do anything, really."

"I want to, though. Especially after you've given me some direction and helped me out so much."

"Ufufufu, my, my, you really do know what to say to a woman, don't you? But it's okay, Elliot." She says, rocking me around a bit. "But, if you really want to do something… well, how about we go somewhere as a surprise?"

"Hm?"

"Truthfully, it's very rare that I get to do anything like this. Even when Chika's here, she looks up to me in a way that's not… well, let's say I'm aware of how she feels. And before you say anything—" Lady Vert then puts a finger over my mouth. "—that's my battlefield, okay? Don't say you'll help with that, because you have something to sort out, don't you?"

"...yes."

"Mhm. But, there's somewhere I'd like to go, just before you have to go back, on the Friday night before IF is coming here to pick you up."

"Where are we going?"

"It'll be a surprise, but let's just say that I'd like to make memories that I'm not able to make right now."

"I see…"

"You trust me, don't you?"

"I don't feel like I'm in a position where I can say 'no'." At that, I hear Lady Vert giggling. "But I trust you, Lady Vert. I've trusted all of you from the beginning, I think."

"Hehehe, what a wishy-washy answer."

"I'm sorry I'm not overflowing with confidence."

"But you are confident enough to trust me when going along with my every whim, aren't you?"

"Aehgh…" I say, trailing off.

Lady Vert then releases me, but I don't dare turn around. "Then, let's call it a date, then. Ah, but don't worry, it won't be anything too high profile. You have enough on your plate as it is, don't you?"

"Thank you for considering that, Lady Vert." I say, slipping up for a second. "Er, sorry."

"It's fine, it's fine. It's a sincere thanks, of course you're going to be more formal. But, I'm afraid I must be returning to bed."

"T… then, good night, Vert."

"Good night, Elliot. And, I must say, you really are starting to develop a nice set of ab—"

Lady Vert's comment is cut off by an embarrassed yelp, followed by a triumphant laugh as Lady Vert leaves the garden area. Well, in a way, I accomplished what I set out to do, but I'm not quite sure if it was worth it in the end.

As I look up at the night summer sky, sparkling above without a cloud to block my view, I can't help but wonder not only what's about to come, but for everything after I return back to my normal life that's just around the bend. But for now, I can just take it one day at a time...

Sorry for not posting last weekend, but hey, holiday, and even I need a vacation, haha. I was planning to respond to reviews via private messages as well but I got sidetracked due to my laziness and some game development stuff I started working on. But goddamn man, we're past 100 reviews. It's crazy, yo. I'm humbled and really surprised so many of you would leave comments here. They're a great motivator, but they're also fantastic in finding what I need to do to improve. Maybe one of these days I'll write a full story that's planned start to finish instead of writing it by the seat of my pants, which seems to definitely be something that comes up a lot, or at least the symptoms of my lack of a rigid plan show up a lot, haha.

Either way, moving along quite nicely in this chapter, this was one chapter I've had kind of planned for a bit. Kind of like a fakeout beach episode, haha.

We got a bit of minor expansion on Elliot's past, nothing too major, though, just that he kind of helped out with baseball every now and then. I didn't think this conflicted too badly with Chapter 10's throwaway line that Elliot also used to casually play basketball. Overall his character struck me as someone who was remarkably average, so playing casual sports but not really joining a team full time seemed like something that could fit for him.

Vert's teasing as usual, with a slight mix of Blanc thrown in just to kind of keep things fresh rather than 24/7 Vert.

Next chapter is fairly short, I was debating not writing it at all but like, in terms of chapter and events I definitely need a breather between this one and the wrapping up of Vert's (very) short arc, even if Vert's arc chronologically only takes place across three weeks. It's kind of mellow, but also helps serve for what happens in the chapter after it and is a little heavier on Elliot's past and wrapping up some of the loose ends regarding that. I'd be more likely to call it "Chapter 25.5" than a full Chapter 26, to be honest, so it might come out after a week assuming I don't get sidetracked by Halo 3 coming to MCC on PC.

I also finished up writing the bridge between Vert's arc and Nep's arc, which was definitely a fun chapter to write. It's still hard to believe we're almost there, and I'm definitely going to have fun with the finale which has been on my mind for a long time now.

Anyways, as usual, while we go along in this crazy, mixed up world of ours, I hope each and all of you are remaining safe and sound, despite that coming from a random guy who writes on the internet about this series. See you all next chapter!