Part 1

"Hi everyone!~"

Aya-chan says going inside the room and finding a place to sit with all the others

"So, Tatseyo, Mayumi said you had something to tell us?"

"Y-yes, I do"

I sit myself across from Liliana, there are chairs for each of us in her office room and no table between us. It only makes me realize even more how big this place is, for everyone to be able to sit across from each other like this and still have plenty of room left.

"What is it, Tatseyo? You look a little nervous, actually..."

Liliana then glances over at Mayumi, whose usual kind smile had given place to an uneasy look of concern

"You too Mayumi, what happened?"

"Yeah, it looks like your breakfast is about to come out of the other way"

Diz says looking concerned at her friend

Mayumi simply closes her eyes and answers politely

"I believe Tatseyo is the one who should explain this..."

All the eyes in the room turn to me at her remark

"Is something wrong, Tatseyo-san?"

Aya-chan asks and although her voice makes me want to assure that everything is fine, I hold back and shake my head

"Actually, no... it's about Ayumu's coming"

A look of concern emerges on Liliana's face when Ayumu's name comes up

"Did something happened to her?"

I shake my head fiercely

"No, no, nothing like that, but... I do have something to say that I was..."

"You were?"

Liliana inquires me to go on

"Well, I was hiding from all of you..."

A moment of silence takes over the room when I say this

"Tatseyo-san?" - Aya asks

"..." - Manaki keeps looking at me with her face like an iron mask

"W-what the fuck?" - Diz expression however, changes completely taken over by surprise and Galard stroke his beard with an intrigued expression

"Well boy, you managed to build quite the suspense, tell us already then"

Liliana nods at Galards words and instead of giving me a curious look, she stares at me seriously

"Tatseyo... what happened?"

"Well..."

I take a deep breath and tell them, the truth I've been hiding from them ever since I decided to have Ayumu with us

At the end of the explanation, several pairs of bewildered eyes and nervous expressions are staring at me

"Tatseyo-san!"

Aya-chan says with tears starting to form in her eyes

"You did what?!"

Diz stands from her chair angrily glaring at me

"Calm down everyone!"

All the others in the room turn from me to Liliana as she calls for order

"Tatseyo, is that the truth?"

She says after a brief sigh and my initial answer is a mere nod

"I'm sorry, but if I had told you I thought you would object and I wanted to get it done as soon as I could"

Mayumi rests a hand on her chin and answers in a somewhat amused and nervous tone

"Well, we also have some fault on that, we should have seem that it couldn't be so simple as to just invite her over"

"Young people sure are reckless, kakakaka..."

Galard says trying to keep his mood up but clearly failing as his laugh comes out as more nervous than anything else

"..."

The only one who doens't say a word is Manaki, who silently watches our reactions

"Does your friend knows the shit you got yourself into!?"

Diz asks crossing her arms

"She obviously knows the strings I had to pull, but she doesn't know the reason, once she finds out though..."

An angry smirk crosses her face and she answers ironically

"So the part she doesn't know about is the part we know, and the part she knows is the part you're telling us now?! You are unbeliavable! Goddamnit! What if she snitches on us?"

I slam my hand on the chairs armrest and glare at Diz

"Ayumu would never do that! She might be mad or even hate it, but she would never do me any harm!"

Her eyes go wide seeing my reaction and she stays without reaction, realizing how much I lost my composure I apologize

"S-sorry... but I know Ayumu, also, none of this can be tracked down to any of you, after all... I care about you"

I ask confused as to why Diz seems to be most pissed off out of all of them

"W-well this still affects us in a way too, right, Liliana-sama?"

The white haired amazon turns to her leader for backup, however, she receives no immediate answer

Liliana looks at me for a moment with her big golden eyes and I uncounsciously avert my gaze out of shame.

I know what I did was wrong, but it's what I had to do

I don't regret it. I can't regret it.

"Mayumi, did you knew about it?" - The leader of the group sitting across from me asks her Queen, who nods in response

"Tatseyo asked me to give him some time before he could explain things to you, sorry Liliana-sama..."

Mayumi was the only person I told about it right after I was done, there was no point trying to hide something from someone who can read my mind. Words cannot express how grateful I was that she let me prepare before bringing it up to everyone

To her answer, Liliana nods

"So you trust that he took the right decision by hiding this from us?"

Although Liliana asks in a crude tone, Mayumi remains firm on her response

"Yes, I do believe him"

She replies without hesitation

A little smile forms at my face even though I'm trying to keep myself serious. Thank you Mayumi, can you hear my thoughts now?

Liliana looks pensative for a while, Diz however, does not hold back

"How can you buy that?! He's basically commiting suicide at this rate!"

The tall girl tries to plead with Mayumi, but the loud sound of a staff hitting the ground echoes through the room

"Enough! Let Liliana-sama deal with it"

Galard gazes seriously at Diz who backs away for a moment and looks at Liliana intensily staring at me

"S-sorry..."

She does not sit down again, instead crossing her arms and laying on a nearby wall

Liliana closes her eyes and lays forward, looking at me dead serious

"You understand what this can cause, right? If even a word of this gets out, it won't be just a matter of you being friends with a bunch of devils..."

It's the first time I've felt this much pressure from her being directed at me . But how do I say? There's no malice, she is not mad or thinking of hurting me, it seems like she is... worried.

Yes, of course she's worried, I did a selfish thing and now I got her worried about me.

"I'm sorry, but it was necessary, without it I wouldn't have been able to-"

While I'm speaking, the serious look on Liliana's face turns to anger and she blurts out at me

"Do you realize how dangerous it was?!"

Taken back by Liliana's answer, I reply

"You are doing the same for me..."

"W-what?"

I put my hand on my forehead and say

"After living with you all, talking with you, I want to give back all the trust you have given me"

After wondering for a moment, Liliana asks somewhat confused

"Tatseyo... do you think you own something to us?"

I promptly deny

"No, it's because I want to follow the example you gave me, Liliana, the example you all gave me"

Liliana seems taken back by what I said

"E-example?"

She seems legitimately confused, which bugs me

"Liliana-sama, I believe Tatseyo has been feeling..."

I lift a hand up

"Please Mayumi, let me say it"

Seemingly surprised, Mayumi stops talking and I awkwardly explain

"W-when we first met, I didn't trust you from the start, I only followed your lead because there were other espers around yourself and that was what got me curious, but just by spending a little time with you I realized how good your intentions are. So good that you even placed your trust on someone you didn't even knew..."

Liliana shakes her head

"But I knew you Tatseyo, I knew I could trust you"

I smirk

"See? That's what I'm talking about, you trusted me knowing only the basic about me, you took me to your base, told me details about yourself, shared your dream with me, that's why I couldn't help it. The trust you placed in me, Liliana, is the trust I have in Ayumu and the one I want to place on you too"

At my words, the looks on the faces of Liliana's servants change

"Kekeke, it really becomes hard to get mad when someone is so earnest, isn't that right, Diz-chan?"

Galard teases Diz, who angrily clicks her tongue and twists her head

"Tsk, whatever, it doesn't change that he hid the truth from us, nor that he's in danger"

Mayumi has a much calmer expression and addresses Liliana

"What do you think, Liliana-sama?"

Her expression changes to one of surprise, however, Liliana still answers in a worried tone

"M-my trust never threatned my life in the way yours would, what you did was... it was..."

Liliana stops, seemingly at a loss of words

"You trusted me with your secrets and the dreams you have, right? That's almost the same thing, at least to me. After seeing how much you are fighting to make it come true, I can't do any less, I wanted to do this because I would feel bad if I couldn't trust you as much as you trust me"

Another person, or should I say youkai, backs me up and places a hand on Liliana's shoulder

"Liliana-san, I don't really understand the situation, but if Tatseyo-san believes that this was for the best... I trust him"

Liliana looks at Aya-chan and holds her hand for a while

"So that was it..."

The silver haired girl shifts her golden eyes from Aya to me and says nothing, the silence starts to bother me

"I am sorry for hiding the truth from you and Ayumu, but this was the best course, I'll properly apologize to her as well, that's why..."

I grip my hands tightly and bow

"Please allow me to place a bet on this!"

I hold my head down and hear not a word for a few seconds untill...

"Fufufufufu..."

"Uh?"

When I look up, I see a giggling Liliana with a hand in front of her mouth

"L-Liliana?"

I ask and all the others in the room except Mayumi and Manaki look at her with the same surprised expression

"Saying that you will 'bet on me' while you are in my own casino, how cheesy can you get? Hahahaha!"

Her face brightens up and I can't help but laugh a little too

Yes, it sounded cheesy, didn't it?

"But..."

Liliana lifts herself up and walks towards me

"Eh?"

I stay put, looking at her approaching me and finally entangling me into her arms

"W-what?!"

I flinch for a moment as my head is buried on her chest and her hands caress my hair

"I'm not mad that you hid the truth, but I don't want something happening to you!"

Kindness, no matter how I look Liliana is a really kind woman and although I know I'm the reason for her to be worried, I can't help but enjoy her embrace everytime I receive it

It's like I'm getting used to it...

"That's why..."

After a brief while she lets go off me and looks into my eyes

"Promise me that everything will be fine, if you can do that, then I'll believe everything you say"

I smile at Liliana and nod

"Of course! I promise you!"

With this, a smile forms on Liliana's face

Galard, Mayumi and Aya also make happy expressions

"If Tatseyo-san says so..."

"Fufufufufu, who would've thought your convincing would be so good"

"It seems we underestimated you, kakakakakakaka!"

However, there are two people who don't show the same enthusiasm

"As long as everyone's in agreement..."

Manaki says and Diz groams right after

"Hmph... whatever, I still think it was more trouble than it's worth"

Well, I wasn't expecting them to be jumpy after all... but at least they don't seem mad

Not that I would be able to tell if Manaki was anyway...

"Now, I believe that everything has been cleared out, correct? Does anyone have anything else to say?"

No one objects anymore, it's hard to say how they will deal with it once Ayumu arrives, or how Ayumu will, but for now they all seemed to have at least accepted

Liliana looks around for a while and lifts a finger upwards as if reminded of something

"Ah, I believe it's time for Tatseyo and Aya's training, correct? Diz, Manaki, could you please go ahead and accompany the two? I'll have Mayumi joining you soon"

The four of us look surprised at her at the sudden reminder

Aya-chan promptly agrees and Manaki nods saying 'okay'

Diz however, has a big menacing grim on her face

"Tsk, breaking this stupid news to us and then training with me right after, I'm gonna show you!"

She angrily states while dragging me out, what the hell is going to happen at training?!

"Fufufufufu, have fun~"

Mayumi waves with a smile, this doesn't sound like fun at all!

Part 2

After Tatseyo, Manaki, Diz and Aya left, only Galard, Mayumi and Liliana were left in the room

"Kekekekeke, to think that boy would do such a risky thing in order to help us, truly remarkable isn't it? I don't know whether to be angry, impressed or both"

Liliana toys with her hair while looking at the door from which Tatseyo had just used

"I know... to think he would place so much trust on me and do something so foolish, yet so sweet, fufufufufu"

The silver haired girl couldn't help but smile to herself even though her feelings were on conflict regarding Tatseyo's safety and the Esper Community

"I cannot read minds like Mayumi nor share the same level of passion that Liliana-sama has, so it is indeed true that I first believed that you had placed an awful ammount of trust on him the moment we met, but now I'm trully having high expectations. Not only from Tatseyo-dono, but from his friend we are about to meet as well, kekekeke"

Galard said stroking his beard

"Fufufufu, don't worry, if it's a friend of Tatseyo, I'm sure we can expect her to be a good person."

Liliana said whilst turning to Mayumi

"Don't you think so, Mayumi?"

The girl closed her purple eyes and acknowledged

"Indeed..."

A brief silence followed her answer as she checked both of their expressions before asking

"Excuse me, Liliana-sama..."

Her master looked back and Mayumi bowed deeply, causing both of her friends to look at her in confusion

"I am sorry! Will I be punished for hiding the truth?"

She said in a guilty tone, making Liliana's eyes wide

"S-sorry?"

"Yes, I am not going back on what I said before, I still believe that my decision was correct. But I still acted behind your back and I am ready to face punishment for it"

Liliana looked bewildered for a moment, it was rare for Mayumi to act like this, she was really getting to see some interesting things with Tatseyo around

After brief consideration, an idea popped into her head and a sly smile appeared on her face

"Hmm, your punishment, huh?"

She wondered with a hand on her chin

"First of all, lift yourself up"

She stood right back up at this command with a determined face

"Your~ punishment~ will~ be~"

Liliana came hoping towards Mayumi like a child playing tile hop, which brought an amused expression to the [Queen's] face

'There are worse things, fufufu' - She thought to herself already bracing for what was about to happen

Just when they were a step away from each other, Liliana opened her arms and pulled Mayumi close

"This!"

Liliana got Mayumi into a warm embrace and patted her head

"You are my most treasured [Queen] and best friend, if you believe that this course of action was wise, then I believe you did what you thought was best for me"

"Liliana-sama..."

Mayumi replied with a kind smile and returned the hug of her friend and leader

*Sniff, sniff*

When they let go, the old man watching both had started to tear up

"Ah, that's not fair, Liliana-sama! Such an emotional scene reminds me of the time you two were little and played around all the time while calling me 'jii-san'. Are you trying to give this poor old man a stroke?"

Liliana's face went beet red at Galard's words and she blurted out

"Cut it! Stop! I don't wanna hear about that!"

She shook her head as if trying to send away the embarassing memories from when she was younger

"Also..."

After recovering from the shock, Liliana placed a hand on the necklace she was wearing, her expression gradually turning gloomy

"Wouldn't I be a hipocrite to punish you or Tatseyo? Considering I'm hiding a truth from him as well?"

At this remark, Mayumi and Galard's eyes went wide, their mood completely changing from what it was before

They knew what Liliana was talking, but promptly denied their master's accusation towards herself

"Of course not, Liliana-sama! This is a different matter, it cannot possibly be dealt in the same manner!"

Galard agreed

"If this was a know fact, you could become an immense target for all kinds of threats, just speaking about it with Tatseyo-dono would require more than mere trust and comprehesion!"

Even though both of her servants had tried to comfort her, Liliana still looked depressed

"I know, that's why I somehow feel relieved that Tatseyo knows some truths need time to be revealed, I wonder how he'll react when he finds out, I wonder how others will..."

Liliana's eyes had lost their sparkle and became dull, almost threatning, Galard and Mayumi knew that this was not an easy subject to tackle.

"The truth that my parents... no, that my father did his darnest to hide, I wonder what'll happen if I just decided to come clean with it" - Aura started to sip from Liliana's body as she toyed with one of her bracelets

Watching this scene, Mayumi reached her and touched Liliana's shoulder, almost as if compeled by an unknown force within herself

"When that day comes, we'll be here for you"

"Uh?"

The touch of her friend brought Liliana back from her ranting, still seeming in a daze

"A young maiden shouldn't bear such a weight alone, so we'll support you no matter what, Liliana-sama"

Mayumi and Galard exchanged glances and nodded

"Not only me and Galard, but Manaki, Diz, Aya, Tatseyo, we're here for you"

Looking at both of her servants, Liliana smiled and grabbed their hands

"Thanks everyone, thank you very much"

A side that couldn't be show in public, a side that very few people knew of the "Dark Devil" and a truth hidden behind several layers of secrecy

After Mayumi and Galard had left, Liliana stood alone sitting behind her desk

"One day, when espers and devils can coexist. One day, when prejudice among demons shall cease..."

She suddenly interrupted her monologue, closed her hand and continued

"No, maybe even before that... I'll show you. That's why, Tatseyo, Aya-chan, trust in me for a little longer."