Goodness, what a disaster. No one could have possibly seen this coming!
Except, maybe Histoire…Noire…Vert…Blanc…
Hmm, maybe I messed up a teensy bit.
Everyone in the crowd was cheering, jeering, or something in between.
After that, they proceeded to bombard me with questions. I couldn't even answer any because they were all yelling over each other!
I was just standing at the podium with an occasional 'oh…', 'um…', 'wha…'.
I remember looking back at the others, only to see a small demon and a bunch of heads in hands.
I might be in some serious trouble later.
After this there's supposed to be a little party thing. Was it a banquet or something? I don't remember.
Either way, I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy it.
Lan and I are sitting behind the stage while Neptune tries to salvage the conference.
Oh boy, here comes Histoire.
"Do you realize now why I was against this? Professionally, of course." Her voice was gentle, but her aura was radiating a powerful pressure I never expected someone so small could produce.
I could feel a lump in my throat as I answered. "Um, I could see a reason or two."
"The prosperity of a nation relies mostly on the shares it receives from its people. Doing anything BRASH or EXTREME could cause a sudden shift in shares, regardless of intention."
"Ughhh, I could imagine…" This is pretty bad.
"Say if, this is just an example mind you, a CPU Candidate were to disappear for 5 years only to suddenly reappear with and declare in an excited state that she had a husband. Something like that could have a SEVERE effect on shares on not only her nation, but other nations as well! Just a fun fact!"
None of that was said in a very fun way, nor did it feel fun to learn…
"I-I'm sorry Histoire. I was not in a clear state of mind…" It's no excuse, but I really couldn't control myself.
"I must apologize as well. I was only trying to encourage Lily, I didn't think it would activate her mania." Lan chimed in as well.
"No! It isn't your fault Lan! You were just being supportive. I just got a little too excited thinking about it."
"Yes, but I should have thought about the time and place…"
"But!"
"Enough, you two." Histoire had put her hand out and sighed.
"Sorry." We both said in unison, which only caused her to sigh again.
"It is…going to be fine. Probably. We have come back from much worse."
This time she pinches the bridge of her nose with her tiny fingers.
"Urrrghhh, This is going be a lot of trouble…"
"...Umm, I know we're the ones that caused the problem to begin with but…" I really didn't want to leave like this.
I have a pretty good feeling about what she would ask us to do though. Haah, sorry Lan.
"...We aren't sure if there is a problem yet. But, if there is one, are you sure you want that?"
I put my fingers together and look over at Lan to see his reaction.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again. Whatever you want to do, I support you."
"Sorry, Lan. We might have to stay here after all." I groan.
I know that Lan isn't too fond of the city life as well as everything that has been going on lately.
"It's fine. However, if this does end up happening, I have conditions." Conditions?
"Histoire, no matter what, we have to go back home and deal with everything we left there." True, we are only on a vacation from work. Not to mention, an entire house and garden.
"Secondly, I don't care how it's done but I am not moving without the house." Huuuuh?
"Lan! I know you love the house, but isn't that kind of unreasonable? How are they going to move an entire house!?"
"Simple really. Just take the house, and push it somewhere else." ?
Histoire nodded her head in understanding. "Sounds simple enough." It does?
"Great. Lastly, if Lily gets drafted, I want to work with her. For a fair wage of course." We get to work together!?
"Hnnngg…" Seems she has a hard time accepting that last one.
"...I will have to discuss it with Neptune. For now, I will agree." Yesssssssssssss!
"We get to work together! Ahem, pleasure to make your acquaintance sir." I extend my hand out to Lan.
"Likewise ma'am." He completes the handshake.
"Business, Business, Business."
"Business, Business, Business!"
We both turn to Histoire.
"Ummm…oh…Business?" We applaud her while throwing in more Business.
"Riiiiight, now go get ready for the banquet. I have no doubt you two are going to be swarmed."
Ugh, I forgot about that. I'm a little scared to be honest.
"Hm?" Lan stood up, bowed, and offered me his hand.
"Shall we, my goddess?"
What a goofball. "Hmm, I suppose I will have you escort me this evening."
I gracefully accept his hand and we move elegantly down the hall together.
"Make sure you two come back to Neptune's room after the banquet! There is a lot to discuss." That's going to be quite the show.
We raised our hands and waved like royalty.
"Of course, Lady Histoire. We shall see you at the banquet hall later. Ohohoho!" What an elegant laugh, Lan!
We walk together to the waiting room before the banquet starts.
The conference has barely ended after all. I am not very excited for the CPU's to come in here.
Inevitably, they arrive in the same room.
Neptune, Noire, Uni, Vert, Blanc, and the twins I still haven't been able to meet.
I wave to them and they kind of look like they don't know what to do.
Hahaha, maybe we weren't that close before?
A quick flash of light, and Neptune is back in her 'human' form.
"Ughhhh, you sure are a handful girly. I'm already exhausted." She slumped down onto the sofa in the room and groaned.
"I'm sorry, Sis. I couldn't control myself…" It really was disastrous.
"...Well, I planned on getting Lan to say it anyway. Same result, different method." Wait, really?
I guess Noire, for some reason, expected something else from Neptune.
"Seriously!? This could damage the entirety of Gamindustri and you just say you were gonna do it anyway!?"
"Gahh, my poor delicate little ears! Of course I was! My little sister's happiness was at stake!" Neptune!
I run over to the sofa and give her a big hug. *glomp* "Thank you, Neptune!"
"Waitwaitwaitwait! You're gonna crush me!" Oops, maybe I put too much power in it?
"Owieee, when did you get so strong, Jr.!?"
"Sorry, Sorry! I didn't realize how much strength I put in it!"
Vert brings back the topic at hand. "This is serious. We have no idea how this is going to affect Planeptune's shares. I am a warrior of love, but…" Everyone including Lan raised an eyebrow at her. "This really isn't acceptable. We need to somehow retract the statement."
Blanc sneered at Vert's suggestion. "That's a horrible idea. Did you see how excited Nepgear was? There is no way anyone will believe anything other than that. She was so obviously love-stricken. It was…quite a sight." L-l-love-stricken!?
I mean, sure, maybe, aughhh. It's so embarrassing to hear it like that.
"Don't worry about it guys!" Neptune jumped up.
"I already have the perfect plan!" She puffed out her chest and raised her finger to the sky.
"I can tell that I'm gonna regret hearing this but, go ahead." Noire sighed and put her hand on her forehead as she looked defeated.
"It's super simple really. All we have to do is show everybody how good of a guy Lan is! Make him popular!"
Make Lan popular? That's a great idea! He's super cool, handsome, has a great personality, and is fun to be around!
"You're a genius, Sis!" Neptune brushed her nose with her finger.
"Aww geez, I'm not all that." Haha, she got embarrassed.
""Absolutely not."" Everyone, except the twins who seemed to be playing with something, said in unison.
"Wha!? Why not!?" I think it'll be easy!
"Nepgear…Umm, I don't really know if that's a great idea." Uni was the first to interject.
"It's even worse than Vert's plan, to be honest." Noire was next, looking even less pleased.
"How do we put this delicately, dear?"
"Put what delicately, Vert?" I'm confused.
"Lan is not the type to be a public figure." Blanc said it straight out.
"Exactly. He's anti-social, standoffish, awkward, and a little mean sometimes." Of course Uni would think so.
They all nodded.
"Whaaaat!? Lan isn't mean! He's just a little misunderstood!" I go over to Lan and hug him.
"See!? He is just a cuddly guy who is a little awkward." I rub my face into his chest. Hmm, he smells good. He pats me on the head.
"That right there!" Neptune suddenly points and shouts, making me jump.
"Wh-what!?" Why is she suddenly yelling at us?
"We just show them interacting with each other like this!" Huh!?
"Neptune, that could end horrifically bad." Yes! Tell her Noire!
"It worked when people were thinking that Uni and Nepgear were together! They 'kyah kyah' at everything the two did together!" We were that obvious!?
"Yeah, but that was all speculation. They were never public with their relationship. They were just close friends as far as anybody knew. Not to mention, they know Uni a whole lot better than some random guy." Noire has a good point.
I don't want to put Lan in the middle of some weird celebrity drama. Also, if there are more people like the ones at the restaurant, it will likely get dangerous. Even if he is super sturdy, I still don't like to see him get hurt.
At that moment, a young man comes into the room and informs us that it's almost time for us to make our entrance in the banquet hall.
Great, now we have to deal with the public and we still don't have a plan.
Lan slaps his knees as he gets up. "Here's the plan, friends."
Everyone turned to face him, some of them not so eager to hear what he had to say.
I can kind of guess though.
"I'm just gonna ignore all that annoying stuff and just enjoy my time with my wife. If anything gets in the way, then I throw it out the window." Figured as much.
"Unless Lily tells me to step back, I'll just do what I always do. I'm not really concerned about your 'shares' or whatever. As long as I show how I care for Lily, the good people will follow."
"That really isn't how it-" Before Blanc even attempted to explain it, Lan stopped her with a hand. Came over to me and-
"Huh!?" Lifted me up bridal style and kicked open the door to the banquet hall.
"Lan!? Uhh, everyone is watching us!" I was trying not to be too loud, but it didn't matter anyway.
Everyone stopped and got real quiet as they watched Lan take me to the front near the live band.
Goodness, today is probably the most I've been embarrassed in my life.
Lan sets me down on what looks to be a dance floor. No way… He isn't thinking of…
"Hey." He is. He's talking to the band. I'm frozen, and I can't hear what they're talking about.
Oh, he's coming back.
"Are you ready?" He puts out his hand and gives me a giddy smile. …Hmph, how unfair. He knows I can't refuse him when he looks that excited.
"...Fine." As I take his hand, I can feel my face flush bright red. I think I might even start sweating soon from all this.
The band starts playing a slow and soft tune that reminds me of a serenade. Hm? Don't I know this song?
"Wait… Isn't this…"
He had a sly smile on his face as he pulled me in, one hand in mine while the other was around my back.
"Yep, It's the first song we danced to after we got married. 'Serenade to the Forest'.
His footsteps lead us as we slowly dance to the gentle sounds of the strings.
"Hmm, I'm surprised they know it." I'm still trying to hide my embarrassment from the crowd as Lan gently twirls me as the bass crescendos.
"Yeah, we're pretty lucky. It really reminds me of our wedding night." He is looking deep into my eyes with a soft expression.
Geez, he's starting to make me forget about everyone else here.
"The only thing that's missing is the smile you had that night." This guy…
"Hehe, your flattery isn't going to get you anything tonight, mister!" It might though.
As the band plays the last measures of the piece, Lan brings me in with a spin so close our faces are almost touching.
As if I would let him take all the good parts tonight! I quickly plant a kiss on his cute lips.
"Hm hm, an acceptable exchange me thinks." What a dork.
The attendees watching all applaud us as I am once again forced back into reality.
"I forgot we were in the middle of a crowd…" Ugh, there's too much attention.
Lan grabs my hand and we head back to the girls as they stand there once again speechless.
Except for Neptune, who seems to have recorded the whole thing, and Blanc, who is furiously writing in a notebook?
"Maaaan, Lanny! That was pretty sweet! I got the whole thing recorded too in case you want it." Neptune comes up to us and slaps Lan on the back.
"Thanks, Neptunyan. I'd love a copy." Nepwha?
"Lanny, like I said before-" Before she finished her obvious concerns about her nickname, Blanc grabbed his shoulders.
"That was grade A material. I might even just follow you around at this rate." Material? For what exactly?
"Pff. Whatever, I'm going to do my job now. Try not to cause any more trouble, Lan." Uni is uhh…a little upset it seems.
"Uni! Ugh…I'll go after her. We'll catch up with you guys later." With that, Noire and Uni head out into the crowd to talk to the guests.
"You know, Neptune…" Vert had come up to us after the Laststation sisters left.
"What's up?"
"In the beginning, you were really against this. What caused the sudden change of heart?" That's true… She used to kind of hate us together. Her initial reaction to our relationship was anything but accepting.
"Hmm. Excellent question, my friend! It's kind of simple really." She waved her finger as if pointing out our naivete.
"I just decided I don't want to miss anything else." Oh, Neptune.
"Nepgear has had an entire character arc without me. She got married, got stronger, and has grown immensely as a person. Heck, I didn't even get to see her in her wedding dress!" 'I'll send it later.' Lan quickly added.
"Point is, I have to be there for anything in the future!" I can feel the tears welling up…
"Wait! D-don't cry!" It's too late!
"Neptune! Waaah!" I jump on her and hug her as Lan and Vert laugh at us.
"Okay! I get it, I get it! Geez, sometimes you still act the same." She sighs and hugs me back.
"What a beautiful sisterly bond. I truly wish me and Nepgear could share that closeness ourselves one day."
"Not in a million years, Vert." Ahh, I missed this casual banter. They were always…hm? Always what? Hmm, I wonder.
"Alright, Jr. Time to break it up. We have a job to do, and Histy will kill us even more than she already will if we don't get going." I try to control my sniffles as I get up from the hug.
*sniff* R-right, of course. Lan and I will make a few rounds too." I don't want to…But, we said we would help.
Neptune, Vert, and Blanc all head out to talk to some of the more important guests while Lan waits for me to get myself together.
Lan grabs my hand "You have a pretty great sister, Lily."
"Yeah! She's pretty great." I take a deep breath to compose myself.
…Okay! "Alright, Lan!" I swing our hands forward as we go to greet the guests.
"I not only have a great sister, but a great husband as well!"
He chuckles and joins me in swinging our hands. "I'm glad you think so."
"Mhm, mhm!" I nod vigorously.
"Question, my love."
"What is it, my lovely husband?"
"How are we supposed to greet these people?"
Oh. Hmm. Well…What an excellent question.
By the goddess Martel! This is the longest one yet. I just kept going man, hahaha. Looks like our lovebirds are coming back after a short trip home. Seems like they might stay for good too. I slightly worry how the citizens are going to take all this PDA though. They are gonna have a rough time, but I'm sure they'll be fine. Gamers be gaming and all that. Do you guys prefer longer chapters, or shorter ones? I kind of just keep going until I feel like there is a good stopping point. Maybe I can split some chapters into two though? Idk. Anyway, see you whenever I find the next chapter. The ruins grow more dangerous with each floor I progress.