A few days had passed since Clarice became a Princess Precure. Leon and Olivia were introduced to Clarice's followers. Most of them gave Leon the side-eyes, probably wondering how a suspicious-looking man like him somehow garnered the complete trust of a lady of distinguished pedigree like Clarice. Well, not that Leon would've answered the question anyway. But Clarice's followers were dutiful and helpful once Clarice declared both of them as her friend.
Olivia was surrounded by those who were interested when Olivia mentioned she could do healing magic. Most of them were girls, though Leon spotted some boys too. He hoped none of them used the chance to hit on her.
One of the more intimidating guys (who questioned Leon when he asked around about Clarice) never let his eyes off him. That was understandable, given Leon's previous action of asking around about his lady. Maybe he thought Leon was preying on Clarice's heart? Unfortunately, despite Clarice's beauty, Leon knew his place as the mob character in this world.
Instead of getting chummy with Clarice's followers, Leon exited the room to breathe fresh air. Something like that wasn't his style. Still, he was glad that Cure Mermaid was now here.
"Leon?"
He was startled when an unfamiliar voice called his name in uncertainty. Looking back, he saw Clarice greeting him with a curtsy. "What are you doing here?"
Clarice then motioned her follower, who came with her, to go back inside. The man did so with great reluctance. Yeah, if Leon were him, he wouldn't want to leave a beautiful young woman like Clarice alone with him either. Understanding his feeling, Leon sent a respectful salute to him, with a promise to not let anything hurt his lady.
The man gave him a look before he nodded and went inside.
"What was that?" Clarice asked when they were finally left alone.
"Communication between men. Not something women can understand," Leon scoffed, to which Clarice replied with a giggle.
"Really?" she asked between her giggle.
"Yes."
"Anyway, Leon," Clarice stopped beside him, leaning on the wall. "I want to talk. Just between us."
As he guessed. He didn't know the reason, but he suspected something along that lines when Clarice asked that guy to leave them. Still, what was Clarice wanted to talk about? Considering that the four of them (including Fragrance) had explained to her about Princess Precures and his life in Japan, Clarice shouldn't have anything to talk about with him. Olivia frankly needed his help, but Clarice was older and had a noble upbringing. She was closer to a Princess than Olivia, so she didn't need help.
"Sure," was his reply.
Prompted by that, Clarice let out a sigh.
"Thank you for the explanation from before. It is quite a burden, huh?" She brought out her Princess Perfume and looked at it.
Leon nodded. "If you look at it as a burden, it is definitely heavy. But rather than that, try seeing it as an opportunity to grow."
"An opportunity to grow..." Clarice parroted.
"At least, that's what I believe Livia is doing. Otherwise, I don't know how she coped with it," Leon continued. "Still, thank you, Clarice, for deciding to take on the mantle of Cure Mermaid."
"You don't need to thank me."
Leon shook his head, "I have to."
He sighed.
"To be honest, I was at my wit's end trying to guide Olivia. Not because she can't be guided. But because she was too overcommitted. I said something, and she diligently applied herself to fulfill it, all in the name of being a Princess Precure," Leon confessed to Clarice. Leon said that she had to take lessons on decorum, and she did it. Leon said something about tea brewing with Master, she suddenly wanted to do it too. The worst thing was that she did it all with a smile on her face.
It was scary having that much power over someone. Leon couldn't imagine being like other nobles who had servants and slaves all their lives.
"That's why I insisted on bringing Olivia here. Aside from letting them know that Olivia is your friend and will probably take more time with you from them, I want Olivia to relax."
Clarice was silent, listening to Leon's rant. When Leon made it clear that he was finished, she let out a smile aimed at him.
"You really do care about Olivia, don't you?" Clarice softly asked Leon.
Urk! That struck right into his heart. This woman was as dangerous as Olivia. "Don't tell her about it."
Her smile turned into a frown. "Why?"
Leon averted his eyes from her and looked ahead. He had resigned himself to the fact that this world was different from the one in the game he played. In the game, Olivia was destined to be the Saintess that saved Holfort from war with Fanoss. In this world, the role of the love interest of the five main capture targets seemed to be Marie fou Lafan.
He could leave things to Lafan if not for a specific detail Olivia told him about her first day in the Academy.
Lafan shoved Olivia from the path where she would have met Prince Julius. That one fact convinced him that Lafan was, if nothing else, a reincarnated person like him. And she aimed for a harem ending right off the bat if what he observed so far was correct. While he could leave things to her, he was in doubt that Marie could fulfill the role of the Saintess. In the end, it had to be Olivia. Whether the world was different or the same as the one in the otome game was irrelevant.
"Please just don't tell her?"
Clarice sighed. "Men are all the same. Why would you subject Olivia to the same thing that Jilk did to me?"
Leon cringed. ...It might look that way from the outside, but the truth was more complicated. He was originally just a mob character. He wasn't even named in the game. The fact that he was a reincarnated person with the knowledge to help Olivia fight against the Dysdark forces was another matter altogether. If somehow, for the past weeks, Olivia grew feelings for him, Leon did not know what to do.
"Aren't you an adult?"
It's a critical hit!
Leon fell to the ground in agony. "Please stop. I've had enough..."
Clarice let out an unladylike snort. "So you do know about Olivia's feelings. Scum."
Three times, Leon thought to himself. Clarice had hit the matter straight into his heart three times. Each of them didn't have any rebuttals because it was the truth.
It seemed like Clarice had had enough and took pity on him because she sat down on the ground beside him and grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey... can't you trust me?"
Leon didn't have an answer to that question. It wasn't a matter of trust. He trusted Olivia but knew that telling her about the otome game wouldn't do anything good for her. The same could be said for Clarice. Trust was a strong word, but Leon trusted the previous Princess Precures, who chose them as their successor. In time, Leon was sure he would learn to trust Clarice.
Even then, he knew telling them the truth would be problematic.
Leon sighed. He stood up and offered his arms to Clarice. "Maybe someday."
"I hear no sincerity from your words," Clarice retorted, taking Leon's arms and using them to help her stand up.
"That's my specialty," he smirked, getting a laugh from Clarice.
"Don't be like Jilk, you hear me?"
"In return, please be a good friend to Olivia," Leon fired back.
"Deal!"
With that, Clarice entered the room again, leaving Leon alone, stewing over his thoughts.
Master, Luxion suddenly greeted him. I've come back from deep diving into my database. It seems that, contrary to your belief, there was a book pertaining to the adventure of the Princess Precures before the New Human wiped out the Old Human.
Huh?
That statement caught Leon off guard. How?
I have not recovered the data, but my database indexed it as a children's picture book written by a Nanase Yui. The title is 'Princess and the Key of Dreams.'
Ah, Nanase. I see.
Leon nodded to himself. She was one of Haruno's best friends back in Noble Academy. If it is written by her, then it's legit. Can you recover the content of the book?
I will try to.
Thanks, Luxion.
Inside the room, Olivia was overwhelmed by the warm reception she got from Clarice's followers. She thought they would be like other nobles that bullied her or looked down on her, but they were surprisingly not malicious. They even were surprised at her healing magic! When she mentioned her first meeting with Clarice was stumbling upon her and then healing her scraps, most of them thanked her!
"Olivia," Clarice suddenly approached from behind and caught her shoulders. The little cute 'kya' she let out when she was surprised did not go unheard.
"Senpai!" Olivia pouted. "You startled me!"
"Sorry, Olivia. I can't resist. Anyway, I see that you're getting along with my followers."
Olivia nodded. "Yes. At first, I was a little nervous, thinking they would be like the girls who bullied me, but I'm thankful they are not."
Clarice just smiled at her. "There's no way I will keep them as my followers if they're like that." It then turned into a frown. "But tell me, Olivia. Are they still bothering you?"
The bullies? Olivia answered with a shake of her head. "With Leon's help, I sent a gift to Lady Redgrave. After that, the bullies stopped. I believe Leon's presence also helped with that."
Clarice had a look of relief on her face. "I see. No wonder you have feelings for Leon," she teased with a grin.
"Senpai!" Her cheeks reddened from embarrassment.
One of Clarice's followers called to her and asked, "I've heard you use that word. What does it mean?"
"'Senpai?' It means respectable senior. Leon taught me that word," Olivia tilted her head.
"Hnnggh! So cute!"
"Arrrgh!"
That day, Clarice's followers all had the same thought.
This girl is too precious!
And thus, Olivia protection squad was formed within Clarice's followers' rank. It wouldn't be long until Clarice herself joined.
"Leon is that guy who just left, right?"
"Tell us about him!"
Olivia was hounded by the girls. Seeing from the side, Clarice let out a small smile. Being with Olivia felt like having a little sister. However, she approached them after a minute.
"Girls, I think she's had enough of your antics," Clarice dragged Olivia away from the crowds. "Come on, Olivia. I believe Leon is waiting for you outside."
Once Olivia was outside, Clarice sighed. "Come on, everyone. Excessively hounding her looks no different from bullying, you know?"
"Sorry!"
"I know you're excited since I rarely bring someone, but please hold yourself back."
"That's not just it, Lady Clarice," one of the guys interjected. "We're happy because you've been smiling since this morning."
"Eh?"
Startled, Clarice looked around to see that everyone was nodding in agreement.
"We know you have something you don't want us to know. It's why you've been dismissing us and asking for time alone, are we correct?" One of the girls smiled at her. "We wanted to help, but we knew you didn't want our help. Otherwise, you would have asked us. So we just let you be in the hope that you'll be better."
"That's..." Clarice was left speechless. She wanted to be left alone in part to not spread any rumors outside of her circle, but in another part, because she did not want to worry them. But they did know something happened and was worried anyway.
Slowly, tears fell down her face when she realized one fact. They would never leave her. Her followers cared for her. She felt really ashamed when she thought she would be alone in her misery back before her first transformation. She underestimated her followers too much. She hadn't been alone because she had them. And now, she would never be alone with the addition of Leon and Olivia in her life.
"Everyone... thank you!"
Her followers looked at each other before they smiled.
"You're welcome, Lady Clarice!"
"Dance, O Flowers! Precure, Floral Tourbillon!"
With a torrent of flowers, Cure Flora finished the Zetsuborg she and Cure Mermaid were fighting.
"Dreaming..."
"Tch, foiled again. I'll remember this!" Steal opened a portal and entered it, leaving the scene.
After opening the cage containing the student, which neither Flora nor Mermaid knew, they left the scene along with Leon and Fragrance. With a flash of light, they were back in their school getup as Olivia and Clarice, respectively.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Clarice hugged Olivia's arms and leaned on Olivia's shoulder. "It really is tiring... Hey, Livia, aren't you tired too?"
Being suddenly put on the spot like that, Olivia couldn't help but answer nervously. "N-Not really..."
Clarice saw that Olivia glanced at Leon for a second before answering. This girl was really stubborn. No wonder Leon asked for her help reigning her in. She sent a look to Leon to intervene.
Leon scratched his head before he sighed. "Livia. If you're tired, we can skip today's lesson with Master."
"No, Leon. I can handle it!"
Leon just stared at her with deadpan eyes.
"Your eyebags say otherwise." He then scanned his surroundings before pointing to a bench. "Let's take a stop there."
"I'm fine-"
"Let's go," Clarice dragged Olivia onto the bench.
"S-Senpai!"
But Olivia's effort to resist was futile. The combination of Clarice and Leon's looks made her relent and sit down on the bench between them.
Fragrance, who was in Leon's arms, jumped towards Clarice. "Hey, Fragrance," she petted the cat. Climbing her shoulder, Fragrance whispered something to Clarice, who sported a big grin once she heard it.
"Aaah! I'm really tired!" she exaggeratedly complained, catching the other two's attention. Out of nowhere, she suddenly leaned toward Olivia, who sat beside her.
"E-Eh? Senpai?" Olivia asked in confusion. Clarice didn't stop there. She kept pushing onto Olivia until Olivia herself leaned toward Leon. "Senpai!"
Leon just sighed, looking at the cat's antics. Unsurprisingly, Fragrance and Clarice get along like a house on fire. No doubt Fragrance wanted to push Olivia to him and recruited Clarice's help. Still, he didn't comment.
Once sufficient time had passed, Clarice rose up and winked at Fragrance, who raised her paw, asking for a high-five. She complied. Somehow it felt weird to high-five a cat.
Beside her, Olivia thoroughly enjoyed Leon's shoulder, not realizing that nothing held her back anymore from rising up. With her closed, relaxed eyes and serene smile, Olivia was the picture-perfect example of a woman in love. It was not long before her breathing slowed down, and she lost herself in the land of dreams.
The three still-awake people let out varied expressions. Clarice laughed softly to avoid disturbing the sleeping girl while Fragrance cooed at the cute expression on Olivia's face. Leon? He grimaced because he couldn't move lest he woke Olivia up.
"Thank you," Leon said to Clarice after a few more minutes of comfortable silence.
"Don't mention it. I'm just holding my part of the deal."
"Still, tomorrow, we have an excursion to a dungeon for our class. If Livia didn't have enough rest, I'm afraid she would collapse."
"Haah~" Clarice sighed, "You always care about the littlest of things, don't you? It's so sweet. Seeing you like this makes it clear to me that Jilk never cared for me. At least, not like how you care for Livia."
Leon was silent.
"Which begs the question. Why are you so reluctant to reciprocate Livia's feelings?" Clarice asked. After staring at Leon, who averted her gaze, for fifteen seconds, she shrugged and continued. "Still not telling, huh? Hey, Fragrance, do you know anything about it?"
"I don't know, but it's better if you don't reciprocate-fura. Olivia can do better."
Clarice only hummed at the cat's explanation. Olivia certainly could do better in the look and prestige department. Leon might be an up-and-coming knight, but there were many better nobles in the Academy. However, they didn't come with the guarantee that Olivia would be cared for to this extent. If it was just looks and ranks, then Jilk was definitely better than Leon. But Jilk might not care for Olivia the same way Leon did.
She suspected Leon had a sort of inferiority complex from her observation for the past week interacting with the two firsties. But the reason for that still eluded her. Clarice was even more convinced of her suspicion when she saw Leon's body relax after Fragrance made that statement as if he agreed with the cat.
There had to be something she could do as his senior to help him overcome the complex. Otherwise, she did not deserve the title 'Senpai!'
"You too, Clarice."
"Hm?" Leon's sudden question broke her out of her musings. "What is it?"
"If you're exhausted, you can just sleep. I'll keep watch."
"W-What!?" She exclaimed in surprise. That offer came entirely out of the blue. Thankfully Leon did not look at her. Otherwise, he would've seen her face go completely red.
"You did say you're tired just before," Leon pointed out. "Not the one you used to put Livia beside me. I mean the one before that when you leaned on Livia while walking."
Clarice did not reply.
"Fura?" Fragrance looked up and saw Clarice's blush before she grinned. "I see-fura."
"You see nothing!" Clarice used her hand to cover Fragrance's eyes as she squeaked.
"Fura!"
"Hm?" Hearing the commotion from his side, Leon finally looked at them. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Clarice replied, not looking at him. It wouldn't do for him to look at her blushing face! Here she was saying that Leon cared for Olivia, but then he unexpectedly showed that he cared for her too! And the worst thing was Leon definitely had no further intention with his words, considering his inferiority complex. It really startled her to hear the offer from Leon.
On her lap, Fragrance was waving its forelegs, her mouth still muffled by Clarice's hand.
"Fragrance seemed to be struggling; maybe you can release her."
Clarice suddenly stood up.
"I-I have to go! My followers are waiting for me!"
"Furaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Leon only looked on in confusion as Clarice ran away in a hurry, bringing Fragrance with her.
"What was that about?"
Master, I've recovered the content for 'Princess and the Key of Dreams.' What should I do next? Luxion suddenly said to Leon when he was doing his homework. I think there is some information that you need to know from the book.
Leon stopped writing and looked at the floating metal ball. Can you make a copy of the book and send it here?
In the New Humans language? No.
Tch,
Leon clicked his tongue. Fine. You can send the original Japanese book, and I'll translate it for Livia and Clarice.
Why is it that my master does not even worry about spending his efforts on them but doesn't want to do anything else?
Watch your sass, Luxion. I see that letting you observe Fragrance is a mistake.
On the contrary, it has been a pleasure.
Leon decided to ignore his familiar and continued working.
I'll finish printing it by tomorrow morning, Master. But going from your island to the Academy is out of my hand. You need to wait for the delivery.
Fine by me.
Not long after, Leon closed his book and went to bed for sleep.
It was a week later when the book arrived. Leon wasted no time reading the picture book containing Haruno's journey from Nanase's eyes. He took notes of the information that Haruno hadn't told him, widening his eyes at some of the feats Haruno skipped when telling him her stories, and by the end of the book, Leon let out a massive sigh.
"There were lots of things Haruno skipped when she regaled her tale... I'm really just a mob character to her," Leon let out a small laugh. "Haruno, Kaidou, Amanogawa, and Akagi were really amazing when I think about it again. All of them can balance schoolwork with fighting. Heck, even Amanogawa did them alongside modeling too. And they still had the determination to chase their dreams."
Dreams, huh? Dreams didn't help the Old Humans win the war. Luxion suddenly shared his opinion with him.
Luxion?
I'm sorry, master. I was there at the fall of the Old Humans. All around us were despair. To see a struggle between hope and despair that is won by hope... I wish they were around back then.
Closing the book, Leon looked at the floating ball. In a sense, aren't you the old humans' hope? Look, I can't claim to know what's on your creator's mind. But creating you and then letting you sleep when the situation was a clear defeat, I think they put all their dreams and hope with you, Luxion.
...
Luxion did not reply.
Luxion?
His familiar then responded after a while. No. Nothing, Master.
If you say so.
After that, Leon sought Olivia, who was conveniently with Clarice and her followers. They were talking about something that he couldn't hear, but from the look of it, they really were being friendly with her. Clarice introduced Olivia to a group of people who cared for her, and to Leon, that was really amazing.
Leon was about to go back and came to Olivia another time when he heard Olivia calling him. "Oh, Leon!"
"Hi, Livia. Afternoon, Clarice, everyone," he greeted them appropriately.
"Afternoon, Leon," Clarice responded. "Is there something you need of us?"
"Actually, I want to talk about something with you and Livia. But since you're having a good time, I think it can wait. See you later."
"Wait, Leon!" Olivia reached out to him. When he stopped, she turned towards the new friends she had made and stood up. "Thank you for today. I hope we can hang around together tomorrow."
Seeing that, Leon had to interject. "Livia, I don't want to repeat things, so if it's just you, I think it's better if we do it some other time."
After all, Olivia was clearly enjoying her time and decided to leave them only after Leon entered the scene.
"What are you saying, Leon?" Clarice replied immediately. "I'm about to leave too. Isn't that right, girls?"
"...Yeah..."
He sensed some hesitation, alright. Clarice was probably exerting her power as the group leader to force everyone to disperse. Was it bad for him? Not really, and he was sure Clarice had enough sense to measure if what she was doing was worth it or not.
But it sure did leave some bad taste in his mouth.
"No, really. I'm serious. You're all clearly enjoying yourself, and I don't really want to intrude. I was about to leave before Livia called out to me, remember? This isn't that important or anything..."
Clarice looked at him, a sad smile on her face. She looked at her followers as if saying, 'see what I have to deal with?' before she sighed, shaking her head.
"No, Leon. It really is okay. We're having fun, true. But that doesn't mean your business is not more important than our fun. Our in this means Livia and I, okay?"
Leon blinked. "Uh... sure."
Clarice sighed again.
"Just... please, don't dismiss yourself like that. Let's go somewhere else where you can talk to us, okay?" Clarice then turned towards her followers and bid them goodbye. "See you tomorrow, girls. Fragrance, come on."
After Fragrance jumped onto her shoulder, Clarice forced Olivia and him to walk somewhere.
"So, where are we going?"
"Might as well borrow a classroom from Master. We're having a tea party."
"You're gonna tell us more stories?!" Olivia asked, excited at the prospect of hearing more of her predecessor. Indeed, for the past few times Leon told the Princess Precures about their predecessor, it was always when Leon held a tea party.
"Essentially, yes. But there are more."
Olivia had stars in her eyes at Leon's answer. "Senpai! We're going to learn more about the previous Princess Precures!" she turned towards Clarice.
"That's great, Livia. But I'm more concerned about the 'more' that Leon mentioned."
Leon saw her looking at him.
"Nothing dangerous, I assure you. It's just... it's hard to describe without giving anything. Please just wait."
Once they asked Master for a room, Leon wasted no time brewing teas and baking sweets for the girls. It took him around two hours for them all, but he finally served them the tea and sweets.
"Enjoy."
"Thank you, Leon!"
"Much appreciated."
"I'm gonna test you-fura."
Both Clarice and Olivia took a few sips from their cup of tea. Leon waited for their reaction as usual.
"Splendid," Clarice praised him.
"Ugh, I hate to say it, but it's still better than mine-fura..." Fragrance grimaced when the tea was as good as Leon usually brewed.
"Yes! It's as good as usual," Olivia followed, placing the cup back on the plate. "Thank you for the tea, Leon."
"You're welcome. Now to get to the heart of the matter..." Leon placed a book on the table. "This is 'Princess and the Key of Dreams.' A picture book drawn and written by Nanase Yui, my junior back in the past life, depicting the journey of your predecessors."
Olivia gasped in excitement before she was all over the book.
"I can't read these weird writings, but the picture is really nice! Look, Senpai, Fragrance! It's Flora and Mermaid! And who are the other two?"
"Slow down, Livia. Let me see. Hmm..."
"Those 'weird writings' are actually Japanese language. The nation I was from. Since you don't understand the language, let me tell you the story." Leon opened his hand, waiting for them to give the book back to him. "If you would."
"Right!"
"Well, where did you get it, Leon?" Clarice asked him.
"That... requires a more complex explanation. The short version of it is my familiar got it for me," Leon nodded to himself.
"...Alright, if you say it's a long story, I'll trust you," Clarice conceded before she sat down.
And so Leon read the book to the girls like a mother reading to her daughter. When he was finished, Leon closed the book with a noisy 'clap' and put it on the table.
"..."
They were silent. While Leon had provided stories about their predecessor to Olivia and Clarice, this was the first time they got told the whole tale of the previous Princess Precures. Understandably, it took time to digest what they heard and process the information.
"...Where do I start?" Leon broke the silence. "Right. Disclaimer: I only know some of what the book tells. Haruno, it seemed, only told me enough to get me satisfied. Their daily struggles and personal feelings, all of it were omitted from Haruno's explanation. I'm sorry if the information I had wasn't enough."
"Leon..."
"Don't apologize," Clarice stated firmly. "The fault does not lie on your shoulder. Don't apologize."
"Your knowledge at the time was better than mine-fura. It's not your fault, Leon-fura." Even Fragrance was weirdly supportive.
"Everyone..."
Oliva suddenly put her hand on Leon's shoulder. "You don't need to be afraid, Leon. I have no regrets about being a Princess Precure. I'm sure Clarice feels the same, isn't that right?"
Clarice nodded and continued, "It was our decision to become a Princess Precure. The fact that it is a huge responsibility to bear is not your fault."
"Don't underestimate Clarice and Livia-fura!"
Leon let out a sigh before he nodded. "Right. Thanks for the encouragement. Now for the next part, Livia. Please continue your training. It seems that what I thought was a way for you to not offend the nobilities is actually a way to attain the title Grand Princess."
Olivia nodded. "Right! I'll continue!"
"Clarice," Leon turned towards the older girl. "Since you're an actual nobility, you're the closest we have to a Grand Princess. Please continue to help us."
"Of course," Clarice smiled. "Still, what an amazing woman, that previous Cure Flora."
"...Being a princess is not the matter of lineage, but the matter of the heart..." Olivia continued. "Even I can become a princess, huh?"
"Strength, kindness, beauty..." Clarice also thought about the three main characteristics of a princess as thought by Cure Flora. "Moving on to another matter, Dyspear really can't be defeated, then? Seeing how the story ended up."
Leon nodded, clearly uncomfortable with the truth. "Seems so. Then our task is simple: show him that humanity is still fighting to achieve their dreams."
"I don't think it would be a simple matter, despite how easy it sounds," Clarice sighed. "So far, we've done a good job combating Steal and his Zetsuborg in the vicinity of the Academy. But what about other areas? Is there any guarantee that they did not attack simultaneously?"
Now that also stumped Leon. Admittedly, he did not think that far, and Haruno never mentioned it either. But it could happen, as the book said.
"...I don't know," he honestly admitted.
"Well, everyone. Let's just take it one at a time!" Olivia tried to cheer up the gloomy atmosphere. "Miss Haruka told me, even if we are lost, if we hold on to hopes, we'll find a way."
Leon couldn't help but smile at Olivia's attempt. "True... No use in losing hope this early. We'll do our best. Thanks, Livia."
"Yeah... I guess I was too caught up in the revelations," Clarice sighed. "Thank you, Livia."
"Nnn," Olivia shook her head. "I wouldn't be this confident if it weren't for everyone being here. So, thank you."
"Liviaa!" Fragrance jumped onto Olivia's arms.
"My, my, that smile is dangerous," Clarice remarked after averting her eyes; a little blush on her cheeks was visible.
Leon? He closed his eyes.
That's a cowardly move, Master.
Shut up!
Wanted to show some fluff with the trio before the next Precure shows up. It ended up becoming a little longer than I thought. I'm a little lost on how to make Leon and Clarice's interaction fun but I think I struck a nice balance at how Clarice wanted to help Leon overcome his mob complex to pair him with Olivia but was overwhelmed by Leon's mentor-mode. And Clarice and Olivia's interaction? Easy. Just copy a senpai-kouhai relationship in any precure and you're fine. The last part is basically born because I made Luxion not know anything about the Precure but then I realize Yui made them into a picture book in GoPri's epilogue so I sort of made an explanation about it, which is why it's structured very weird. Disclaimer: If you want to know the full story, go watch Go! Princess Precure. I assure you it will be worth the time. Yes, this thread is a stealth GoPri promotion.
On another note I've just finished Heartcatch and I can see why people put it on pedestal. For me, however, it's the second best under GoPri because I watched GoPri first lol. I'm sure if I watch Heartcatch first it's gonna be my favorite and GoPri second.