Title: Ano-anoseka Part 3

Summary: Follows the epilogue of Marie-Route (Web Novel Version).

Olivia

I hung back with Angelica as I watched Leon play cards. He had cleaned out Chris's wallet quite some time ago. Leon had found the girls screeches about how cool Chris was at the game to be grating.

He would have stopped long ago had it not been for the fact that other boys decided to challenge him. From the mutterings I heard, it seemed the others were hoping to appear cool by defeating Leon.

"How is he doing that? No one can be that lucky," Angelica whispered as Leon's streak continued.

I snorted.

"Leon's very good at gambling."

"You can't be good at luck. You can be lucky. You can be strategic to minimize losses. You can be good at bluffing in case you have a bad hand. You can even be good at cheating, which can be the only explanation for all the hands he's gotten. What hands he has lost seems intentional due to how small the pile was and how it goaded the other boys to join. He has to be cheating, but I can't tell how."

I gave Angelica a look.

"Leon also gambled during the school festival and won every single bet. He couldn't have cheated then, and he still called everything accurately. Chances are that he's really good at reading people."

"... Are you saying that out of your fondness for him or do you legitimately believe he has something akin to clairvoyance?"

"Can't it be both?"

"Speaking of fondness, have you managed to make any headway on that front?"

It was testament to Angelica's training that I did not express my disappointment through body language.

"Unfortunately, Leon appears to be too chivalrous."

"Too chivalrous? So he at least recognize your attempts?"

"Yes."

"... Aren't you frustrated with him?"

"To an extent but more flattered he thinks so highly of me. Hopefully that'll change during this trip," I said as I went over the plan in my head.

Get to the charms merchant, pray at the altar, and propose to Leon during the fireworks. I knew it would work out in the end. It had for Marie during the first timeline. If we had switched roles, then it must mean that our love would come to fruition on that night.

"... Olivia... I don't wish to dash your hopes, but what makes you think Leon will ever look your way? While he cares deeply for you, he has been pretty clear he does not wish to pursue you. I know you made overtures during the festival, and he did not seem... moved," Angelica said with a rather exasperated look.

"But he took me on an outing," I chirped.

"An outing. Not a date. The difference in wording was pretty explicitly delineated."

"But he took me out despite knowing my feelings. If he had no interest, he would have closed himself off from me completely. It would be exceedingly cruel of him to lead on a girl. He cares too much to do such a thing to me."

"... Or, he simply is unable to say no to a girl?"

"Well, there is that, but he did blush quite a bit when I scooped up some of his crepe from his cheek."

"You are incorrigible," Angelica said before turning her attention back towards Leon.

Funny. Leon had said the same thing.

I stared at the charms. We had pulled a set of cog charms. What were the odds thay I would pull the same charm as before? What were the odds that we pulled a pair of cogs?

If there was any doubt that we were fated to be together, it was gone now.

"Oh my! This must be a mandate from the heavens! To think a couple would pull these charms together!" the merchant said enthusiastically.

I looked at Leon with a Cheshire grin. Taking his charm, I connected my cog to his. With a playful tug, they spun and glided effortlessly.

"Looks like a perfect fit," I said happily.

Leon's face was incredibly red.

"It may be bold of me, but why don't you two go to the shrine and make a donation? It is famous for its marriage blessings," the merchant said with an expectant posture.

"Yes. That sounds lovely," I said as I dragged Leon by the arm.

"Livia... why me?" Leon asked as we sat by the donation box. We had just made our offerings and wishes.

"Hmm?"

"Why do you love me?"

"Hmm, because this just feels right," I said as I rested my head on his arm. He didn't shoo me away.

"I meant more along the lines of why you decided on me the moment we met?"

"Are you worried that I'm some gold digger?"

Leon scoffed.

"You're nothing like the harpies at school, and you know I think highly of you."

"Thinking I settled?"

"... I am just a rural baron and hardly even that."

"Still implying I'm a gold digger."

"... Okay, I could see how you could interpret it that way. I guess... I just want to know what it is about me that draws you. I just don't get it."

"... You should give yourself more credit."

"But..."

"Don't take the words of your family so seriously. Your sisters had Zola to look up as a role model, and your father and brother are less successful than you. Their words hold very little weight in comparison to reality."

"I feel like I'm obligated to defend my family from such criticisms," Leon said with a a wry chuckle.

"No you don't."

We sat at the shrine for quite some time. The question Leon asked me was left unanswered as it always had been. I could not truthfully tell him why I loved him. How could I tell him that the truth? It was far too outrageous.

Though Leon desired the truth, he never truly pushed the issue. I believed it was because he was happy to have my affection, even if he weakly tried to push me away. I think he partially wanted it to be something like love at first sight or destiny.

He was a romantic at heart.

As curfew approached, I asked, "For today's fireworks display, could we watch it from the top of the hill? I heard it's a rather lovely view there."

"Of course, Livia."

I stared at Leon kneeling before me. He was presenting me a box with a ring inside. Fireworks went off in the background. The flares illuminated the area in a rainbow of colors and allowed the jewel to shine brightly as the light was reflected off of it.

He proposed to me. The ring box in my pocket was left forgotten as I said, "Yes."

Angelica

I had followed the two throughout the night. None of the festivities had interested me in particular. Without Julius by my side, these events felt... empty. It was catered to couples after all.

Rather than waste my time on booths meant to be enjoyed by lovers, I decided to watch over Olivia. She had a grand plan to win over Leon, but I had had my doubts. The scene at the shrine, while sweet in a melancholic way, had been a moment of concern for me. It sounded as though Leon was ready to completely cut ties with Olivia.

I had been ready to receive her when she would be rejected and console her.

But against all odds, she successfully wooed Leon. He had even proposed to her with the fireworks as the backdrop of his proposal. It was a beautiful scene to even see as a third party. More so since I knew Olivia had been planning on proposed.

To know that she didn't need to force the issue with Leon, Olivia must be elated. Their love was true.

I was happy for her, yet I couldn't help but feel bitter. I was a horrid women for feeling jealous that my friend's feelings were reciprocated.

No.

She earned her happily ever after. I had to earn mine.

I looked at the charm I had pulled from the masked merchant. Like the other two, it was also a cog charm with a red string.

While the more rational part of my mind believed the masked merchant had rigged the charms to make people believe it had a magical property of binding lovers, part of me felt there was something to it—that it wasn't some clever fabrication. Destiny had bequeathed me this charm. It must have been a sign that all would be well with my engagement.

After all, Olivia and Leon had meshed together perfectly. If Olivia could win her love in less than a year, then nothing was stopping me. Surely my love would be rewarded.

Right?

I clutched my cog tightly.

Leon

It was okay for me to accept Livia's love, right? After all, I was descendant of the founding party.

According to the spirit in the bracelet, my ancestor had been the leader of the party. Surely my lineage would be sufficient to activate Holfort's secret weapon.

Surely I wasn't dooming the world by marrying Livia.

But a certain someone could doom it by taking Livia's spot. I needed to prevent that. Fortunately, I had already acquired one of the key items. I merely needed to collect the necklace from the sky pirates.

I aslo needed to purge it and the staff of the grudges within them.

The question was if the relics would be enough afterwards. Ripping the grudge out from the bracelet had weakened the artifact greatly.

I needed to do more.

AN

1) Short part, but I feel like this particular idea was at the end of the line for me. I felt it appropriate to have it end on the Angelica part, but it ultimately felt just a tad too short so I added Leon's part to maybe illuminate a little more on Leon's mentality.

2) Leon still clearly has his hangups as he doesn't feel worthy of Olivia and wants to know what's so good about himself.

3) This honestly felt bittersweet despite the fluff in the beginning largely due to the Angelica section. If this had no real basis on Mobuseka, the scene would be more cliffhanger/hopeful/suspenseful. But because we know canon, this is really sad.

4) Angelica, that cog was meant to be a set of three.

Review Response

reality deviant: Angelica is not being drawn into yuri here. Not every relationship has to be romantic. As for can Saintess candidates being able to marry, yes.

Sarcasm Sage 626: Honestly, being Angelica is basically suffering.

lupus23: One of the first random ideas I had. It sucked. Leon basically had no reason to do anything and just assumed everything was fine for three years. It was a terrible draft. Might try something again later.

Golden Nova: No to the Artificial Incompetence. It was literally me making jokes about actual machine learning algorithms and common errors. As in every scene was an actual error one would encounter when programming an machine learning algorithm.

A.Deeno: I pretty much read every fic on for Mobuseka.

MrNeedsToRemoveAllFavs: Pretty much. Fanoss or Alzer looking like mighty fine relocation spots.