The World The Girls Also Knows: The Girls God Can Only Save
AU after Goddesses Arc. Keima has to keep the affection of the seven Goddess hosts and Chihiro at the same time. And he still has to exorcise loose souls from girls by making them fall in love with him. Miyako has a loose soul that needs to be exorcised, and the God of Conquests gets himself a new disciple in the game world named Aoba Fuse.
And I do not own The World God Only Knows.
And thank you to xellos540 for the beta!
Summary of the Previous Flag
The Sleepover continues! The Girls and Mari celebrate. They watch movies and play truth and dare. An intruder enters the house. Keima and Aoba play more games, eat and drink. Aoba prepares to go to sleep.
ARC III – THE DISCIPLE
Flag XXXII
The Vote
Part 346 – Keima's "Mine"
Ayumi Takahara looked at the door leading to the main house and pouted. "Gee, what's taking them so long?"
"Don't tell me that Mrs. Katsuragi decided to interview Haqua too?" Chihiro blurted out before she laughed, and all the other girls laughed too.
"I would pay to see how the Missus makes Miss Valedictorian squirm!" Tsukiyo snickered.
"Now, be nice!" Yui chided.
"Are you still playing the proper nice lady? Or does the fact that you're wearing male pajamas mean that you're back to normal?" Tsukiyo asked.
"Normal! I'm just practicing for when I need to talk to my future mother-in-law!" Yui declared.
"Do you think it's a good idea for you to act this way?" asked Ayumi. "I mean, wouldn't acting like your usual self be better?"
"Yeah. Why bother?" Chihiro asked.
"Because courting your beloved and courting the family of the beloved are two different things! Listen! The aim of what I do with Keima is to get him to love me. But what I do with Mrs. Katsuragi is to make me an acceptable daughter-in-law, and to also make union with the Goido Family a desirable aim for the Katsuragi family too."
"But why bother?" asked Ayumi. "If you get Keima to like you, surely, the mother would follow."
"That's only for dating! Marriage is a totally different thing! Because love is not the only thing that is needed! The two families needed to be compatible, and they must also mutually benefit from the marriage, or else your married life would be much more difficult. Remember that marriage involves money, property, family names, inheritance, business, honor, class, and other things too! Love is only the first part!" Yui argued. "Once I get Keima to love me, I still need to convince my family that his family is worthy of investing their daughter with!"
"Shouldn't love be enough?" asked Tenri.
"Well, in the ideal world, maybe. But in the real world, no. Love is but an element. The most important one, true, but not the only one. After all, you can't be together if you're starving, have no home, no job, no money, just because you are in love! Well, you can, but let's be honest with ourselves. Would we really like to live like that?" the heiress continued. "Keima sure wouldn't. He'd die before he would get into a situation where he can't game all day."
"Sheesh! And I thought you'd defy your family for Keima!" Chihiro muttered.
"Only if I have to. If I don't need to, why bother?" Yui answered. "And I won't need to. Just wait and see."
"I'm surprised Aunt Mari was convinced by that," Kanon laughed. "But you're right. Love isn't the answer to everything. If Keima chooses me, and he will, I still need to get through a lot of hoops to marry him, with my career and all. That's why I sometimes envy you girls. You're so normal. You don't have to think about the other consequences as long as you love him."
"Well, I'm sure that my future mother-in-law appreciates practical thinking and—wait! Did you just call her Aunt Mari?" Yui nearly shouted as Kanon's words registered in her brain.
"Yes. Aunt Mari allowed me to call her that," Kanon said with pride.
"How did that happen?" asked Ayumi.
"Well technically, we are supposed to be siblings, at least to the outside world," the idol informed. "So if Keima's my brother, then his mother is my mother too."
"Shouldn't you call her mother then?" Ayumi pointed out.
"I tried to, but she said she prefers being called aunt. She was being too modest, I guess," Kanon said.
"More like making you Keima's cousin instead," Yui teased.
"If he's my cousin, that means I could marry Keima, unlike if he's my brother!" Kanon asserted.
The other girls laughed.
"Well, I'm going to call Mrs. Katsuragi Mom soon enough," Yui asserted. "And it's because I'm going to be her daughter-in-law, not Keima's brother."
"In your dreams!" Kanon pushed back. "Aunt Mari is going to be Mom for me!"
"I already married Keima!" Ayumi claimed. "It's just a matter of telling her! So she's already my mother-in-law."
"That doesn't count!" Yui, Kanon, Chihiro and Tsukiyo all shouted at her at the same time.
"It does! Just ask the Goddess Mercury!" the athlete defended.
"Vulcan, the eldest sister and the one who rules the roost, says otherwise," Tsukiyo argued, trying to pull rank.
"We'll see about that. None of you were in a wedding dress, with Keima in a white tuxedo, riding a horse," Ayumi murmured.
"Oh, we all know that's baloney," Chihiro mocked. "I was there, and it wasn't real!"
"Eu tu, Chihiro?" Ayumi reacted with mock hurt.
Part 347 – Monopoly
Tenri and Shiori just watched the other girls.
"They all sound so selfish, but I'm sure it's just banter," Tenri whispered to the shy girl.
"Katsuragi's mine," the librarian squeaked to the neighbor.
Tenri was surprised by the librarian's possessiveness. She shook her head. "Until the end of the five years, nobody can truly say that Keima belongs to them," she counseled. She looked at the other six girls and noted with satisfaction that nobody had an overwhelming chance at the moment. Even if she knew that Keima only loves Chihiro at present, her odds were as good as anyone else, and that gave Tenri hope. At least, unlike the others, she was not deluded enough to declare victory before the game had even started. It would be challenging, but she figured out that even if she lost, it would be worth it.
Still full of energy, the girls decided to play cards. First, they played Go Fish, and it was won by Yui, Shiori, and Chihiro successively. Then they played poker. Yui and Kanon between them won all the games, and Shiori, who could not sport a poker face to save her life, fared the poorest.
Then they played Monopoly.
Even though it was theoretically a luck-based game, Yui was winning it easily, showing surprising negotiating and bargaining skills in trading for properties and managing her cash. But it was a long slog—it was nearly the end of the game when the door opened, and Haqua and Elsie joined.
"Sorry for taking so long," Elsie apologized.
"Hell business," Haqua muttered.
"Wow! Who's winning?" asked Elsie, looking at the board.
Tenri, Shiori, and Ayumi were bankrupt. Ayumi was serving as the banker. Chihiro and Tsukiyo were nearly out of cash and had most of their properties mortgaged; Kanon was holding her own and had several hotels, while Yui owned more than half of the board with red hotels and had a pile of cash.
"Oh, so it's Goido? Why am I not surprised?" Haqua quipped.
"I haven't lost yet," Kanon declared, proudly showing off the deeds of her properties and her pile of cash.
"Hey, Chihiro, Tsukiyo, you have no chance. Why not sell all your properties to Goido Inc.," Yui said to the two other girls.
"Don't! You don't want her to gain a monopoly on the purple and orange groups!" Kanon exclaimed. "Sell it to Kanon Idol Enterprises, and I can have a monopoly on the pink and purple ones."
"Let me be the banker," Haqua offered, and Ayumi gladly gave way.
The game took another half hour, and as expected, Yui won after Kanon successively landed on Yui's hotels on the light blue, red, green, and blue properties.
"Aw! Damn!" Kanon cursed. "Wait! Wait! I can still pay for it!"
The idol frantically counted her cash, sold all her hotels and mortgaged all her properties. It was still not enough.
"Fine! I am bankrupt!" the idol conceded as the heiress gave a big grin.
Part 348 – Pressure on the Idol
…
"So when will the vote start?" Chihiro wondered, yawning, as they packed the monopoly game.
"When Mrs. Katsuragi's in bed," Haqua said.
"We'll cast a spell so she won't wake up," Elsie informed.
Ayumi nodded. "I wish they'd hurry. I want to go to bed."
"Yeah. Keima knows this is a foregone conclusion. Why prolong it?" Tsukiyo whined.
"Perhaps he's not so sure?" Kanon wondered.
"Impossible. This is Keima we're talking about," the moon lover answered back. "He already knows how we'd vote before he even proposed it in the first place, before we even knew ourselves! Otherwise, he wouldn't risk his precious disciple's memories."
"How does he know that?" asked Kanon. "Can he read our minds?"
"No, but it's obvious. He does not want to lose the memories of Fuse. And the only way is for her to join," the blonde girl began. "What do you think will happen to the poor girl that votes against Fuse?"
"But Keima said we're free to vote however we want!" the idol exclaimed.
"Do you really believe that?" Tsukiyo mocked condescendingly, detecting doubt on the idol's tone. The moon lover had suspected that Kanon might not vote for Fuse ever since she did not answer Chihiro's earlier query. Time to put the squeeze on the idol.
Kanon looked worried. "What do you mean?"
The Astronomy Club President answered, "I mean, do you believe that he really wants us to vote freely? No, he expects us to vote for Fuse. He's depending on us to save her!"
"Save her?" asked the idol.
"Yes," Yui seconded as she caught on to what Tsukiyo was doing. She too worried about Kanon's nonreply earlier in the night. "What do you think Keima will do when one of us could save Fuse, and we did not do so? He'll hate that girl forever! He'll cast that girl out of the schedule, or if not, she won't ever have a chance at being chosen at the end of five years. So if you want to vote against Fuse, go ahead. It will make it easier for me to win. Yes, please, please vote against Fuse."
"Keima won't do that! He's not that kind of boy!" Kanon denied.
"You don't know Keima as I do," Ayumi interjected, also detecting doubt in the idol's voice. "He may be the most wonderful boy in the world, but he's also smart, devious, and cunning. And utterly ruthless. If it is his interest to drop you, he'll do so in a heartbeat, no matter how much it will hurt you."
"Yes. If the choice is between saving someone or not hurting someone's feelings, then the choice is easy," Chihiro conceded. "And I would support Katsuragi all the way."
"Besides, Kanon, you really want him to be Student Council President, right?" Tsukiyo asked.
"Yes. I want him to be at the top of all. He deserves the best in life," Kanon admitted. "My brother will be adored, or he will be feared!"
"Then you know what you ought to do," Ayumi concluded. "Our feelings should take a back seat to what's important in the long run."
"Besides, are you confident that Keima will choose you?" Chihiro asked.
"Yes. There's no doubt in my mind," Kanon answered, even as she knew she had trapped herself.
"Then why are you so afraid of Fuse?" Yui asked.
"I'm not afraid of her," the idol defended.
"None of us are," Tenri added.
"That's why we're willing to welcome her with open arms," Yui finished.
…
Part 349 – Meeting Opened
The door opened, and all eyes looked at the boy with bed hair entering the cafe, holding a gavel.
He went behind the counter and looked at Haqua.
Haqua took up a position on the side of the counter. "The official meeting of our club begins. Keima Katsuragi will preside, and I will take the minutes."
"Meeting opened. Take the attendance," Keima ordered as he banged his gavel on the counter.
The valedictorian nodded. "Okay. Say present when called. Ayumi Takahara."
"Present."
"Chihiro Kosaka."
"Present."
And she went through all the names.
"All present and accounted for. No one's absent."
"Good. Proceed."
"The primary business of this meeting is the admittance of Aoba Fuse into the Schedule. For that, I move for the amendment of the Rules," the purple-haired devil began.
"What part of the rules?" he asked.
"Rule One and Rule Thirteen, sir."
"Continue."
Haqua proceeded without missing a beat. "I propose that the Rule One, which currently reads, This schedule is the tentative schedule by which Keima Katsuragi will spend his time with Tenri Ayukawa, Chihiro Kosaka, Ayumi Takahara, Shiori Shiomiya, Tsukiyo Kujo, Yui Goido, and Kanon Nakagawa to read This schedule is the tentative schedule by which Keima Katsuragi will spend his time with Tenri Ayukawa, Chihiro Kosaka, Ayumi Takahara, Shiori Shiomiya, Tsukiyo Kujo, Yui Goido, Kanon Nakagawa and Aoba Fuse."
"How about Rule Thirteen?"
"I propose that Rule Thirteen, which currently reads, New rules or amendments of existing rules could be made with the unanimous consent of all parties, which consist of the seven girls named above, Keima Katsuragi, Elsie Katsuragi, and Haqua du Lot Herminium should read, New rules or amendments of existing rules could be made with the unanimous consent of all parties, which consist of the eight girls named above, Keima Katsuragi, Elsie Katsuragi, and Haqua du Lot Herminium."
"Proceed."
"Amendment of the Rules will proceed via Rule 13. To change Rule 1 and 13, the unanimous vote of all is required. Since it covers the same topic, I propose to hold the two votes simultaneously."
"Approved. Voting will now commence. You will vote yea or nay. Yea to amend the rules as suggested, and nay to retain the current rules. Ayumi Takahara?"
Ayumi stood. "I welcome Fuse to the schedule—yea," before she sat down.
"Chihiro Kosaka?"
The normal girl stood up. "I don't want any girl to lose her memories for whatever reasons. Yea."
"Tenri Ayukawa?"
"I want you to be happy, Keima, and I know this vote will make you smile. Yea."
"Tsukiyo Kujo?"
"It's a beautiful thing that we could welcome a new member without fearing for our chances. I can't think of a more fitting new member than Aoba Fuse. Yea."
"Shiori Shiomiya?"
Shiori stood up, and, with her face red, said in a very faint voice, "yea."
Keima Katsuragi nodded as he noted their votes. None were surprising. If the vote had happened before the duet with Miyako, he would have been shocked by how they acted. But after the past few days, it was not surprising anymore.
Now his salvation was on the last two girls.
"Yui Goido?"
He fought the urge to smile. This was the easiest vote to call.
"I couldn't wait to tell you this! But yea! Yea! Yea! Welcome, Fuse! It would be so much fun with her around. Hey, I said 'yea' three times! That should count as three votes, right?"
"No, Goido, only one," Haqua sighed.
And for the first time, Keima was genuinely shocked.
What? What just happened? Did Yui vote for Aoba? But why? She was afraid of him bringing the genius girl to the schedule. That's why she asked, 'what if she remembered'? Wait! Yui did not actually tell him that she did not want Aoba in the schedule. He just assumed based on what he knows of her personality. Maybe he was right then, but after the duet, things changed so much that maybe Yui also changed her mind.
Anyway, there was still Kanon.
Part 350 – The Voting Results
"Kanon Nakagawa?"
Kanon stood up and looked at the others. The other girls just stared at her with expectant looks.
"Keima, I consider Fuse my friend, but I got hurt when I learned the truth. But then, I realized that she was not lying when she told me she's not after you, so it wasn't her fault. This is for you, Keima. I know you'd like her to be in the schedule, and I know you don't want her to lose her memories. Yea. Please remember this vote when you consider who you will choose at the end of five years."
And Keima wanted to drop his jaw. Kanon! Was this the same yandere Kanon who tried to drop all the other girls from the schedule? The same Kanon who he had to scold so she would be part of the schedule? How? Why? Why? It doesn't make any sense!
He was wrong about his assumptions.
He outwardly remained composed, and he retained his poker face.
"Elsie Katsuragi?"
"Yea! I like Miss Aoba very much! She's like a big sister, because she's so much like you, Divine Brother!"
"Haqua du Lot Herminium?"
"Yea."
"And I, Keima Katsuragi, vote yea." Keima could have voted against it, but it would defeat the purpose of the entire exercise since it would be him who would cause her to fail, and by the rules of New Hell, Aoba would lose her memories.
He looked at the purple-haired devil. "What's the tally?"
"The votes are, yeas are ten, nays are zero," the valedictorian reported.
"The Amendments to the rules are unanimously voted for, and are, therefore, adopted," Keima announced, and banged his gavel against the counter. "Haqua, I direct you to make the necessary changes."
"Of course, sir," she said, bowing with a smirk on her face.
Then Yui applauded. She was so happy. Everything that she had planned for about Aoba was coming true! She won! Won!
Tsukiyo joined, and then the rest of the girls did too.
Yui stood up.
Keima looked at her. "Yes, Yui?"
"Keima darling, congratulations! I know you wanted this from the start, but you couldn't say it because you thought that we're against it! Well, we're not! I was for it from the very beginning!" she exclaimed. "Please remember that."
And Keima could only nod, even as inside, he was shocked. Are you telling the truth? Because if you are, then holy cow! Did you want Aoba in since the start?
"Well, I was for it too since the start," Tsukiyo asserted. However, she refrained from mentioning that it was with the qualification that Aoba was actually in love with Keima and only agreed to it because she thought the genius was telling the truth before.
And Keima wanted to shout and scream at the information he just received. If he knew, he would have made different plans, but he was stuck.
"Thank you, you two. I'm sure you're eager to welcome a new colleague, but it's not that simple. First, I have to ask Aoba if she wanted to join the schedule, and that's not a sure thing."
The girls laughed. "Yeah, right!" Ayumi shouted.
Keima wanted to shake his head. If you only knew! Things would be so simple if she does want to be part of it, but she made it clear what she thought of it. She's not as willing to share as you Ayumi.
Part 351- Chihiro's Proposal
"Get on with it, Dweeb!" Chihiro shouted. "Call her and ask her!"
"Geesh Chihiro! Look at the time! It's way past midnight! I'm sure she can wait a few more hours," Ayumi answered, yawning.
"Well, since this matter is settled, I want to go on with another proposal," the normal girl instead suggested.
"You mean about that?" asked Keima, referring to the disciple vote.
"Yes."
"I'll hold it after Aoba's formally a member," he said.
"But that is just a formality! This entire thing is a formality because you already knew how this will turn out from the very beginning," the normal girl retorted. "Let's get this charade over with, please!"
"I want to, but I can't," he answered. "I will hold it after she's in."
"Fine. But this should be a majority vote, not a unanimous vote," Chihiro insisted.
"Fine," said Keima, who didn't see the point since it will all become moot anyway.
"I propose changing the rules so that amending it will not need a unanimous vote, but only a majority vote." Chihiro was not sure all the girls would vote with her, but she was sure most would. She suspected that the dweeb had coerced Elsie to vote against her.
"Fine. But we'll change it back to unanimous after that vote. Haqua?"
"Chihiro Kosaka proposes to amend Rule 13, from New rules or amendments of existing rules could be made with the unanimous consent of all parties, which consist of the eight girls named above, Keima Katsuragi, Elsie Katsuragi, and Haqua du Lot Herminium to New rules or amendments of existing rules could be made with the consent of the majority of all parties, which consist of the eight girls named above, Keima Katsuragi, Elsie Katsuragi, and Haqua du Lot Herminium."
Haqua then called all the girls, and all voted yea. So it was adopted.
…
"I know you all want to go to bed now," Keima stated.
"You got that right," Ayumi muttered, before giving a big yawn. "Just adjourn, and you can do what you need to do in the morning."
"Before that, I have one more thing to do. Haqua?"
The purple-haired devil glared at Keima, before sighing.
"Before I could use this to save Fuse's memories, there's one more thing that New Hell requires," Haqua said. She was lying, but since she planned this with Keima, she was only lying to the girls. And the valedictorian has no qualms at all about lying to her competition.
"What?" Chihiro exclaimed.
"Unfortunately, my superiors required the consent of someone else for this. Because without them, this would be very unstable, and you know how these things work."
"Yes. I begged her if there was any other way, but Haqua was adamant," Keima explained.
"Rules are rules!" the devil snapped. "And I begged them, but they refused. I'd be in big trouble if I ignored it."
"So who else needed to consent?" asked Kanon.
"The Goddesses," he said with a solemn voice.
"Oh, them?" Yui said with a nonchalant voice, a huge sigh being noticed. "Oh, no! Not them! Don't tell me—"
"The Goddesses will never consent to it!" Chihiro asserted forcefully, a bit bewildered. "Katsuragi, you need to put your foot down."
"Um, uh, sure," the heiress said. "Oh, no! Whatever shall we do?"
Part 352 – Ask the Goddesses
The other five girls just looked at Chihiro and Yui with a mixture of confused and bemused expressions before they caught on.
"That is terrible! I hope Vulcan can see the light!" Tsukiyo said melodramatically.
"Mercury would never approve of it!" Ayumi muttered.
And Keima was confused about their reactions. Were they sincere or acting? Based on what he knows, the Goddesses would be sure to scuttle their plan. Maybe they're confused. The girls publicly agreed to let Aoba in, so they must act dismayed. But perhaps they secretly want to exclude Aoba without the opprobrium of being at fault for Aoba losing her memories? So maybe they secretly welcomed this development. So that explains the conflict in their emotions.
"But if they approve, then there's nothing to stop Aoba, right? She's totally in. There can be no objection," Yui clarified.
"Yes. If the Goddesses approve," he said.
He scanned the crowd, and he was puzzled when the eyes of several of the girls suddenly brightened.
"Yes, you know best, darling," the crossdresser replied, and she winked.
And Keima got confused. What was going on? What was she trying to tell him? Of course! She was supporting him so Aoba would get excluded, without her fault.
"No! Don't! I'm sure they won't agree!" Tsukiyo shouted, yet as Tsukiyo was a poor actress, it sounded like a dramatic piece of theater. Several girls rolled their eyes. "Don't do it! What if our Goddesses refuse?"
"Then we must accept it," the crossdresser said with an obviously acted sad tone.
"Mercury would never agree to it! But if you insist, then we must abide by their decision," Ayumi said in another piece of poor acting.
"Are you all crazy?" Chihiro shouted, with conviction. Keima noted that the normal girl was not acting. She believed what she was saying. "You're gonna gamble Fuse's memories on those selfish pieces of work? I'm sorry for saying that, but it's a terrible idea."
"You're my best friend, so just trust me on this," Ayumi said, looking her friend in the eye.
Keima got even more curious. Did Ayumi know about his deal with Haqua? But how?
"Fine! But don't blame me for this! Katsuragi, Haqua, this is a horrible idea!" the normal girl warned.
"Don't worry, Chihiro," Kanon said, her face uncertain. "Let's just trust Keima on this, okay?"
Chihiro said nothing more.
"Thank you. Now, can you please tell your Goddesses to emerge?"
Seconds later, Keima was looking at the six Goddesses. Two Devils. And Chihiro. And Shiori, since Minerva could appear outside of Shiori's body.
"Goddesses, let's dispense with the formalities. I called you for one reason only," he began.
"Yes. We heard you," Vulcan said. "Let's get this over with. Just ask us."
"Fine. I'm going to ask you to vote on Aoba Fuse's inclusion. It's the same—yea for yes, and nay for no. Haqua will record the vote. A unanimous vote is needed for her inclusion."
"We know how this will go. You planned it all from the start, right?" Mars insinuated. "This is a foregone conclusion."
"Yes, it is," he said, confused about how Mars got wind of the plan. Did Haqua tell her?
Part 353 – The Goddesses Vote
"Fine. Let's start. Diana?"
And he was very sure of Diana. Not only was the goddess in love with him, but she was also very protective of Tenri's love for him. She was also very selfish and unreasonable, especially when her emotions get the better of her.
He was glad he included the Goddesses. They were his back-up plan in case the girls voted for Aoba.
"Yea."
"Thank you, Diana, now—wait. Did you just say, nay?"
"I said yea, you deaf idiot! Yea! Yea!" she shouted.
"What? You voted for Aoba?" he openly expressed his shock.
"Yes. Stop pretending you didn't know how I will vote. Aoba Fuse is a rival of Tenri and me, but she's a tiny bug. Fuse's nothing, and Tenri has nothing to fear. If I voted against her, I am saying that I am afraid of that insignificant creature!" Diana explained. "Yea."
And Keima began to panic. What was going on here? Maybe—of course! She's in love with me. Perhaps she does not want to be faulted for denying Fuse her memories. So she voted for her. Of course, from her perspective, it won't matter because her sisters would vote against her, and she would be blameless.
Don't panic, Keima. The other Goddesses are not in love with me. They despise me. So they won't have a reason to curry favor from me. They can vote as they please. In fact, they would be happy to teach me a lesson.
"Thank you, Diana," he said. "Apollo?"
"Kanon is going to win. I don't care if Fuse is in or not, because you're going to belong to Kanon either way. You're already her boyfriend. So yea. Because it won't matter in the end, Kanon's boyfriend!"
"Yea?" Keima asked, dumbfounded.
"Yes. Yea!"
And his world began to crumble. No, it can't be!
"Mercury?"
"Ayumi's husband, my vote is yea. Fuse doesn't matter, does she? You're already married to Ayumi. That's all that's important, no matter how many other girls you have. In the end, they're just mistresses."
Of course, they wouldn't care enough for Fuse to refuse her. They don't see her as a credible threat!
He gritted his teeth. What a miscalculation! Fuse's going to lose everything, and it's all his fault!
"Minerva?"
"Shiori voted Yea. So I'm yea too," the timid Goddess squeaked as Shiori put an arm on her shoulder. The librarian gave a small smile as Haqua recorded Minerva's vote.
"Mars?"
"You already know this, Katsuragi, but for the benefit of my sisters, I'll explain. Aoba Fuse is Yui's close friend. Yui knows what's at stake. She wants her future husband to be happy. So I vote as both you and her want. Yea."
"But what about your own opinion?" he asked, trying to salvage what he could. "Vote from your heart."
"Yea. I like Fuse. And Fuse's a great help to Yui in winning you over."
He sat down on a stool chair as his face became white as ash and sweat began to pour. He had one last chance. And he knew that Fuse's fate belonged in her hand.
Vulcan was a violent and malevolent Goddess, at least to him. So she would be delighted to make him suffer, and since she does not know about his deal with Haqua, then she would think that preventing Aoba from being part of the Schedule would thwart his plans.
Please Vulcan! Do the right thing! Vote nay! Aoba's depending on you.
Part 354 – Vulcan and Keima
"Vulcan?"
"You're a dirty little man. You do not deserve Tsukiyo. Because here you are, with the most beautiful and innocent girl—Tsukiyo—offering herself to you, and all you had to do was to say yes. I disapproved of her choice, as I cannot see what she saw in you, and my judgment had been proven right. You are a no-good mortal boy who is not fit to kiss the feet of a common wench in old hell, let alone the perfect image of a girl such as Tsukiyo. The least you could have done to bask in her presence was to accept her, to make her happy. But could you do that? No! You are a disgusting piece of excrement that does not deserve to be smeared on the bottom of my boots! You are a piece of filth that isn't fit to be put in the trash of the lowliest portion of hell!"
Keima was not surprised by her torrent of words. Vulcan was not the calmest and most sedate of the Goddesses. And she was the one who wore her displeasure of Keima most openly. She will be the one to scupper his plans. At least, she would think she did so. Still, he was getting impatient.
Get on with it! Vote against Aoba! he nearly shouted, but bit his tongue. Now was not the time for insulting the head Goddess, although he was very tempted to.
"Hey, no need to say those mean things to the dweeb!" Chihiro snapped, unable to take it anymore. Nobody says mean things to Katsuragi except her!
Shiori nearly fainted at the vehemence of Vulcan's speech, and Minerva ended up putting her hands on Shiori's ears.
"Shut up, you Godless girl! Why are you even here? You're not even a host!" Vulcan shouted at the normal girl and turned back to Keima.
"Don't shout at her," Keima warned. He could shrug off shouting directed at him, but to the girls? That would make his blood boil. Unless that shouting was part of his plan. Which this one wasn't. Still, it looked like Vulcan would come through!
I can't believe it, but Vulcan is going to save her. Yes, say all the bad things you want and vote for your feelings. The God of Conquests once again wins!
Vulcan continued her tirade. "What do you do instead of treasuring her and making Tsukiyo your one and true love? Instead of marrying her, you looked at other women. What is worse is that instead of rejecting her and freeing her to look at other deserving men, you made her yours even more, and made her consent to your sickening arrangement. To think that you actually made her want to be a paramour! You go and act like a dog in heat, seeking as many girls where you can… And you have the nerve to make all the hosts of my sisters fall in love with you! And not only are you not content with the Goddess hosts—at least I'd understand if you just wanted quality girls. But no! You have to include girls who are not worthy of the boy whom Tsukiyo loves. You have to go and look outside Goddess hosts! Like Kosaka and Fuse! I am appalled! How can you betray Tsukiyo for riff-raff like them?"
"Hey, I am here, you know!" Chihiro growled.
"Yes, leave her out of this," Keima hissed, "Chihiro did nothing to deserve your wrath."
Vulcan continued as if the two teenagers didn't speak. "You don't deserve Tsukiyo! A pure and innocent girl like her should have a better lover and husband than a cretin from the depths of Hades like you. Yet I cannot dictate her choice, no matter how much it makes me want to puke. So I will make my choice. Remember this vote when you make your choice in five years. I am doing this for Tsukiyo and Tsukiyo alone. I vote yea."
In an instant, his jaw almost dropped to the floor, and he could only remember the last word. "Come again?"
Vulcan growled. "You deaf cretin! Yea! Haqua, tally the votes."
"Um, yes. The votes are six goddesses for yea and zero for nay. The Goddesses unanimously approve the inclusion of Fuse to the schedule."
Part 355 – Ask Her Already
Before Keima could process the information, the Goddesses reverted control to their hostesses, or in Minerva's case, disappeared.
"So, how did it go?" Yui asked.
"Well, they could have been nicer about it, but I guess, clenched teeth and all, they all voted yea!" Chihiro said.
"So, there are no more problems?" Yui asked.
"None," said Haqua.
Keima was still silent, his face unreadable. He still couldn't believe it. All his plans! Crashed! How could it happen? Why was he so wrong about his reading of the Goddesses? He was sure that they would blanch at the very idea of adding another competitor to their precious hosts!
But then it hit him.
I'm going to lose Aoba.
Of course, he still has to ask his disciple to join the schedule, but that was a foregone conclusion. Unlike the Goddesses, he actually asked and received an answer beforehand—his disciple would refuse!
Refuse!
And with it, she would lose her memories. And he would lose his disciple. His dreams of making her an exemplar of the ideal, of being his equal in the world of dating sims, of using her as an example to those who would mock his life choices, were now gone.
What could he say to her? How can he face her after he failed her so spectacularly?
"Hello! Earth to Keima!"
He was snapped out of his thoughts by Yui.
"Maybe he was dazed from happiness!" Kanon remarked.
"Oh yeah. Sorry, I was spaced out. I was thinking about how to tell her," he excused. "I need to do this right."
"What's there to get right about?" Chihiro asked. "Otamegane, you've got a way with words. This is a piece of cake for you!"
"Aw, maybe he's acting right now! Pretending to be neutral when he's so happy!" Ayumi teased.
"Yeah, with Keima darling, you can never tell if he's acting or not," said Yui. "After all, you did a superb job of making it look like you didn't know how the Goddesses would vote!"
"Yes, you're right," Keima admitted. "Anyway, meeting adjourned. Good night. I'm going to ask Aoba as soon as possible."
He gave a dramatic bow, still sporting a poker face, and rapidly exited the room.
His heart was pounding, and he doubted that he could have kept on his mask if he stayed longer. Still, he kept his composure as he slowly walked to his room.
He needed to think. He had been in worse fixes before. There must be something that he could do to salvage the situation.
If Aoba accepted being part of the schedule, that would solve his problem. True, he was not enthused with another girl added to his formal harem, but it was better than losing her as a disciple. Of course, Chihiro's vote would restrict their disciple time to her actual schedule.
His mood furthered darkened when he was reminded of it. He wanted to curse the girl he loved for that! Did Chihiro know that the vote would end up this way? Who was he kidding? It was his damn fault for agreeing to it in the first place, even if the only reason he agreed was he was so sure that Aoba would not be in the schedule.
Not that it mattered in the slightest—as things stood, the girl genius would refuse. And he can't even tell her the consequences of refusing.
He needed time to plan and think. Fortunately, he did not have to do anything, as the girls did not know who was sleeping in his game library.
He did not know how, but he was going to save her and keep her as a disciple.
"Katsuragi! Ask her! Ask her now!" a voice was heard, and when he turned around, it was Haqua.
"Haqua!"
"Yes, stop dilly-dallying. Go and ask her."
"That could wait until the morning. Wasn't that agreed to earlier?"
"They only agreed to that because they thought that Fuse is not here! But we know that's not the case. She's in this house."
"She's asleep."
"Then wake her up."
"I don't want to. I'll do it in the morning."
"Katsuragi, you have one hour."
"Huh?"
"If she hasn't accepted after one hour, then she failed to join the schedule within three days since the duet."
"What?"
"Look, the only thing left to do is to ask her. If you don't do it, that will count as a refusal from your part to ask her. You have everything you need."
"But only one hour?"
"Fine. I'll give you two."
"Don't be unreasonable—"
"I'm not. I've been playing this game with you for the past three days, and my patience is wearing thin. I want results. Either you do it now, or you don't do it at all. In two hours, if she hasn't joined, that's it! Goodbye!"
Before Keima could say anything else, Haqua disappeared, presumably to New Hell.
Part 356 – Gamer Realization
And he was just about to run out of time. Two hours were not enough! He needed to rush.
He ran to the door of the gaming library and was about to open the door, but stopped. He couldn't bear to be in the same room as his disciple until he could be sure he could save her. Instead, he went to his room and scanned his list of game titles stored on his computer.
There must be a game somewhere that his brain skipped over, that has this exact same scenario. There were some, but those were games Aoba had played, and he knew she would not be fooled by his words.
And after an hour of searching, he came up with…
Nothing.
And that was it.
If his games could not provide the solution, then most likely, it was because it could not be solved. Because the ideal has all the answers, if it was not there, then it's not supposed to be answerable.
It was only at that point that he gave up all hope. He stood up, but suddenly, his knees shook, he fell, and he crawled on all fours to his bed. He had not the energy to even change into his pajamas.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," he began to say in a soft voice as a tear fell from his eye.
How could he even ask Aoba to become part of it? The moment she says no, Haqua will come bursting in and steal her memories.
Should he even ask? It would be just cruel of him to ask her such an insensitive question. Granted, she'll forget everything anyway, but still…
Maybe he should not ask her? Either do nothing or tell Haqua he wouldn't even bother trying? Because either way, the result was the same, he would spare his disciple the humiliation of being asked to be part of a harem, and he would not have to make her angry in rejecting it.
Maybe that's the best solution, after all?
"I am so sorry, Aoba. I messed up, didn't I?" he said in a whisper to himself as he buried his face in his arms. "I messed up so bad! Why did I assume that the Goddesses would vote that way? Why? It's obvious they knew my real plan—Haqua probably slipped up and told them our deal—and they wanted to screw with me as much as possible! Or maybe they didn't, yet the vote of their hosts swayed them! Does it matter? I messed up! I made plans that relied on unfounded assumptions! And now you will lose everything that made you the greatest disciple I could ever hope to have. What could have been? I want to guide you, to teach you, to stay by your side as you ascended the ladder to greatness in the ideal, to make you proud of me as a teacher and as a gamer, but now, that won't happen, will it? If you ever regain your memories someday, I hope you can forgive me for this."
He wiped his face dry as he stared at a bunch of games at his table. "You haven't played those, have you? It's new. I want to know how you would rate them. I want to read your comments about the heroines' routes, how they stacked up against the past heroines. And yes, I even bought some Otome games. Maybe that's the influence of Yui's conquest. But I know you will love it because you love otome games more than gal games. But that is natural.
"Would you still come to our club, my secretary, after this night? How could I manage that club alone? Especially since without you, there wouldn't be a club? I love that clubroom so much! Thank you for that! And thank you for solving my bully problem! Without you, I would probably have ignored that problem and lived under their shadow till the end of my high school days! You put the fear of me on the bullies' pathetic hearts! Thank you for that. And for all the time we spent playing together, all those games, all those heroines and heroes! Would you remember all those things? I'm so sorry."
"You made me even prouder to be a gamer, to be a denizen of the ideal. You're living proof that the path I chose was not a mistake, that I made the right decision all those years ago to dwell in the ideal instead of wallowing in the real. You're my boast when they all criticize me for doing nothing but play games. Of course, even without you, I would still do those things, but I can have something to throw in their face when they dare criticize me for my choices in life. Because when I look at you, I feel pride, and I can be proud of myself because of that. And you're proud of me for things that I take pride in. You're proud of me because I play games and I'm good at it. And I like that very much. Where the other girls would push me to the real, you pull me back to the ideal. Thank you."
It was at that point that he realized something. It was so blindingly obvious that he laughed about only connecting the dots at that point in time.
"I am your friend. And I hope you consider me that too. I don't love you, Aoba, not like how you would like me to, but maybe I will in five years. Right now, I only love Chihiro Kosaka. Perhaps that will change. Who knows? I have seven other girls. And yes, you're one of them. I wish you were part of the schedule. Not just to save your memories. Even without that threat, I wish you can be one of my choices at the end of five years. But that would never happen, will it? Because you would never join. I wish I had realized this sooner, so I could have worked for your inclusion earlier and, maybe, maybe, not make the mistakes I did. I could've made a better plan to convince you of joining. Then, because I am the God of Conquest, you would not have a choice in the matter, because I can make you part of it whether you like it or not. But I don't have time to do it. Because I messed up and thought I didn't want you to be part of the schedule. And now, you will lose your memories because of it."
He made his decision. It would hurt too much to ask Aoba, have her reject it, and watch Haqua take away everything. Better get it over with and tell Haqua just to take it all away while Aoba sleeps.
…
Part 357 – After Action Report
"I don't get it," Shiori whispered as the girls watched Keima leave. "What's going on?"
"It's part of Keima's plan," Yui confidently stated.
"Yeah, I get it that he's up to something," Ayumi agreed. "That's why I acted. But what?"
"Katsuragi obviously knew that the Goddesses would vote his way," Chihiro said, still angry at Vulcan's tirade. "For some reason, he wanted to make it seem like he doesn't know that."
"He did?" asked Shiori.
"Yes. Otherwise, he would never have allowed himself to seek their approval," the normal girl asserted, calming down.
"He did not want the Goddesses to know that he knew," Yui agreed. "Because they might change their mind if that was the case. Remember, if we know, the Goddesses know. I'm glad we didn't have this discussion before they voted."
"That makes sense. I'm glad I acted too. Mercury didn't catch on fast enough and thought I was serious, or she was asleep before she came out," the athlete said.
"Vulcan was—I'm not sure," Tsukiyo said. "I think she didn't know he knew."
Ayumi then asked the obvious question. "But why ask the Goddesses? It's so—unnecessary!"
"Maybe it's to seal the deal," Chihiro proposed. "If the Goddesses agree, with their selfishness and jealousy, then Fuse deserves to be in the schedule, and we can't object. Nobody can complain about Fuse after tonight, can we?"
"Or there's some other reason we don't know about," Yui said. "The point is, we have to trust Keima about it."
"Really? But Keima didn't seem like he wanted them to vote for her, or us for that matter," Tenri said.
"Oh, he's just acting," Yui assured. "You know Keima, always scheming and plotting something. He wanted Fuse in from the very beginning. So you can be assured that every word and action of his was towards that goal. He didn't look too thrilled, but that's because he doesn't want us to be jealous or mad because he seemed too eager."
"True. If he jumped around with joy, I would've gotten mad," Kanon admitted. "And I guess that goes for all of you too. Knowing that it was necessary did not make it any easier."
"Yeah. He looked neutral, as if the result did not matter to him," Ayumi added. "If I didn't know he was that great an actor, I would have suspected something."
"Keima just can't be honest with what he wants," Tsukiyo said. "And with the entire New Hell business, I don't blame him for keeping it close to his heart. But I do wish he'd open up to us more."
…
Later…
They were asleep. Well, most were. Yui was still awake, her head hidden under her blanket, staring at the reflection of her phone.
"So, Mars, who leaked it?" asked the crossdresser. "Who leaked the bet?" [1]
"I don't know. Nobody would own to it," the Goddess of War admitted. "If I would have to guess, maybe Diana? Because Diana guaranteed Haqua's vote, if you remember. But I'm not sure."
"Are you sure you didn't leak it to Keima?" Yui teased.
"I didn't do it. It's cheating, you know. If Fuse failed to be part of the schedule, the others would have to give you one hour of their time with Katsuragi," Mars reminded.
"You're so mean, Mars, betting my time with Keima on the off chance that Fuse is in love with Darling, and betting the time of the others if Fuse failed to be part of the schedule," Yui pouted.
"Hey, it worked, didn't it? Because I know you're right about Fuse being in love with him."
"But I didn't know that the girls would vote for Fuse too! You know, I didn't know if I should be happy or sad if someone voted against Fuse! Because if that happens, I will gain six hours, one from each girl, and another hour from the girl who voted against, not that the other girls know about it."
"I'm glad the vote succeeded. Otherwise, the girls would kill me and my sisters for betting their time!" Mars admitted.
"But what if even one Goddess voted against Fuse?" asked Yui. "What will happen?"
"It's the same as a failed vote. Six hours to you from the other girls, and one hour from the girl whose Goddess voted against it. So basically, we were all committed to voting for Fuse since last Saturday. That's why Katsuragi was so sure in calling us to vote. He knew we had to vote for Fuse!" Mars pondered. "We were surprised that he asked us Goddesses, yet looking back at it, we shouldn't be. Your future husband knew everything from the start and secured Fuse's place in the schedule. You're lucky that not only is your beloved handsome, but also very smart."
"And he'll become very rich too," Yui yawned. "So what was that about dressing as butlers and maids in Lady Kujo's ball?"
"Well, the other Goddesses weren't too thrilled to support Fuse after we proved that she was in love with Katsuragi. After all, they only agreed because they were so convinced that Fuse was not in love with him. They were all angry with Fuse and Katsuragi for making fools of them. So they tried to back out. Vulcan was having none of it," Mars recalled. "I pretended to be against it too so we won't be found out. We tried to weasel out of it through a bet, but we lost, and paid for it by acting like maids and butlers."
"What was the bet?"
"We won't support Fuse if it turned out that the majority of the hosts also did not support Fuse. The other Goddesses were sure that their hosts would never do so, but well, you know what happened. Do you remember that meeting at the Astronomy Club right after the duet?"
"The one where Tsukiyo told us that Keima needs to be President, and that we should consult our Goddess? That last part wasn't my idea. Tsukiyo kinda did that on her own."
"Yes. By the start of that meeting, Vulcan had already won. Ayukawa, you, Kujo, and Shiomiya quickly declared your vote by early morning, even before you even had a chance to talk to your future husband. That's four out of six. And believe me, the Goddesses tried to talk them out of it, but you four girls were adamant. And so, we lost, and we had to not only support Fuse's membership but also play maids and butlers to Kujo's ball."
"All of the Goddesses?"
"Diana didn't try very hard to convince Tenri. She was more embarrassed, I think, to act as a maid than to vote for Fuse. Well, I only pretended to save face, but you saw right through me, and Minerva just asked once, but Shiomiya nearly cried when she heard it. We pretty much surrendered without a fight!"
"So Lady Kujo's speech was only relevant for Kanon, Ayumi, and Chihiro?"
"Yes. By that time, only those three were in doubt. Takahara and Kosaka took a lot longer to decide, but they did the right thing in the end. Both of them want Katsuragi to be President so much that nothing else mattered. Only Nakagawa held out. Apollo failed to convince Nakagawa. She blundered and made her host even more confused. If you didn't intervene, Nakagawa might have scuttled Keima's plan. Good job, Yui. You saved Fuse."
"We did well, didn't we? I mean, what we did is the right thing," Yui asked as she yawned.
"Yes, we did the right thing. And congratulations! Everything that you wished for came true," Mars said.
"Thank you," Yui admitted. She knew she was, in large part, responsible for what happened. If it weren't for her, Keima would never have moved to have Fuse in.
She smiled as sleep claimed her.
End of Flag XXXII
Appendix
[1] The bet was shown in Flag XIII, Part 132:
"If I'm right, and Yui and I can prove that she is after him, our sisters should persuade their hosts to vote in favor of her joining the schedule," Mars asked.
"That's reasonable. But I'm not sure I can just order it. I am the eldest sister, but I do not command them like a boss commands her employees," said Vulcan.
And Flag XIII, Part 134
"Yes. As the rules state, a unanimous vote of the girls, Elsie, Haqua, and Katsuragi, is needed," Diana said. "Let's see. If Mars is wrong, we each get three hours. If she's right, then we need to persuade our hosts to vote for it when it's brought up."
"That's not enough," Mars insisted. "What if you failed? Apollo here failed to make Kanon back off trying to dump the schedule. I want one hour of each of your hosts for Yui if the vote failed, and another hour for the host who voted against it."
"So basically, two hours off for the girls who voted against it, and one hour off if they voted for it, but it still failed because of the others?" inquired Diana.
"Yes," confirmed Mars. "Unless you're scared of losing."
"Fine then," Diana agreed. "But to make it fair, Mercury here must not only persuade Ayumi but also make Ayumi tell Kosaka to vote for Fuse. What do you think, Mercury?"
"Why not?" Mercury said as she yawned. "As long as the others take care of Katsuragi, Elsie, and Haqua's votes."
"Yui should have another of Takahara's hour if Kosaka vote against it," the War Goddess demanded.
"If you insist," the Messenger Goddess conceded. "But the others must also sacrifice another hour of their host too. So, who shall guarantee Haqua, Katsuragi, and Elsie's votes?"
Review Replies,
To xellos540,
I made this reply via PM. I'm posting it here for the enlightenment of the other readers.
Sorry for not including the details of Mari's lecture. I did it in part to maintain flexibility on what the girls can and cannot do with Keima. And also so they won't go too far.
Well, they have better ways to make Keima pay, like when Keima has to follow what the girl wants xD
Yep! Mari already had a very high opinion of Tenri, and it got even higher because of Tenri's helpfulness.
Well, Kanon is Kanon. It's just her to help by singing while the others cook. Not that she couldn't cook.
I got the inspiration for the cooking scene from the start of the Heart of Jupiter arc. In that arc, Keima got into a world where all the Goddess hosts were madly in love with him, and all of them gave him bento lunches (It seems that in that world, Keima did the Goddess Arc without any mistakes). So if in that alternate world, they can all cook for bentos, then they can also cook in the real world.
Yes, Keima was doing "something" with Aoba upstairs! xD
Yes, it's inevitable that they would start fighting with each other. In a way, the Schedule seeks to regulate the relations of the girls with each other and Keima to minimize fights. By guaranteeing time to all the girls, it was supposed to ensure harmony between all. The presence of Aoba Fuse threw a wrench on that, of course.
Yup! The innocents are those two, but as we both know, Shiori isn't really "innocent". Who knows what Shiori had read in that big library in school?
Keima is too busy with games to try to sneak a peek while they are changing. Not that he would even try if he weren't busy. He's just not that kind of guy. Except if 2D girls are changing—then maybe he would be tempted to peek xD.
Yep! Elsie's a scaredy-cat! Which is funny because her job is to hunt ghosts (Well, Weiss, but in the story, Weiss might as well be ghosts with how they look and act).
Haqua being roped into things was Elsie's doing, and only because she wanted her best friend to be part of the fun, not to act matchmaker! XD If she does act as a matchmaker, it's unintentional.
I was toying with them actually kissing each other, but then I realized none of them would actually do it with each other, as it would be out of character.
Kanon's music was ubiquitous, so Tsukiyo can't help but pick up the lyrics to Kanon's latest hit.
Fiddlesticks is a curse and a bad word, yet it's a very mild one that very often, many people don't recognize it as a bad word. Since it's Tenri, I'd figure that fiddlesticks would be the worse curse that she could utter. If she's speaking in English, that is.
Yui is kinda interested in how rich other people are. She already knows most of the girls are middle class, but she unsure of Tsukiyo for obvious reasons. And yes, it's an excuse to mention Urara and Mio XD.
Who knows how many actual adventures? I think, one?
"are they married already or what?" I'm sure Aoba would be thrilled if that's the case XD.
Well, Aoba is described as a female version of Keima. So yeah, even if unconsciously, she's aping his behavior.
Aoba is both flirty and arrogant in her demand to be fed. As for why she offered to feed him too, to her, it is a quid pro quo. You feed me, so in exchange, I feed you too. At least that's Aoba's logic.
"If other girls saw this... we would have 8 yanderes..." Then it's a good thing that they don't know that Aoba's there and they were too busy having fun downstairs. xD
In my opinion, Aoba's actually closer to the truth than we realize. Despite Mari's opinion of Keima's gaming habits, despite wishing that he become more 'normal', if Mari really disapproves of it, she would have refused to give money to buy all those games or spent her or Keiichi's money on all those things. In a way, Mari really supported Keima's passion. Because I don't think any parent who disagrees with their sons' habit would willingly fork out that much cash to buy all those expensive things.
Remember that Keima's hobby is expensive.
But Mari only did so because she loves Keima and does not want him to be unhappy, not because she really thinks playing games is what her son should be doing.
Aoba had already seen the God of Conquest mode before, so she was not shocked. And she's still awed, but she had seen it before, so she could actually do things, like feed Keima.
Yep. On the one hand, Aoba loves being a disciple of Keima, but that, by definition, meant that she will always be under his shadow. Yet if they were to marry, they should be equals, as Mari said. She's conflicted.
And you're right! Keima finally perfected the God of Conquest mode!
Did Keima ask Elsie to sort it in the game library? In his room? Or somewhere else? Because if it's in his room, maybe it would make sense, but not in the library. I really can't imagine him trying to rearrange his entire collection every time he buys a new game.
"will they sit half-in-half?" Or maybe someone will sit on another's lap while both are playing games? :D
Yes, I second Haqua too. The problem is that Keima doesn't get too flustered by Haqua easily. Remember when he walked in on Haqua while Haqua's changing in the bathroom? He didn't so much as react. It would be out of character for Keima to stammer and be nervous to explain anything to Haqua. And Haqua does get back at Keima all the time. Only instead of using words, she uses physical violence on Keima all the time.
Keima and Aoba are both leading Haqua around by the nose with all that 'explanations' on how leaning sideways are good for playing games. The way they told it, Haqua is confused if they believed what they were saying or were bullshitting her.
I don't think Haqua buys that they were not doing anything impure. It's just that she couldn't say anything against them because of their arguments, and they keep supporting each other before Haqua could say anything.
The events between Aoba and Keima, and what the girls are doing are running parallel to each other. So yeah, Haqua first appeared to Keima and Aoba, then went downstairs to join the girls, then get caught by Mari.
Yes, Haqua and Elsie played Neo-Hellian Almagemachina xD
Thank you. I know it's a bit slow, but I want to show what happened during the sleepover, so the sleepover would not all be serious or life or death situations. Even though the purpose of the sleepover is practical, it doesn't mean that the girls couldn't have fun at the same time.
To Red888, I'm glad that scene (Hungry Gamers) was so unexpected!Thank you. I hope the pay-off was worth all the build-up! But the pay-off's not yet over.