Geofu.
A day later.
With my feet up on the table and sprawled out in my chair, I hummed to myself and sipped aromatic coffee until the others present were as relaxed as I was. And yes, my humming was the only sound that broke the silence that hung in the air.
It was the same round hall and table, where, besides me, Celestine, Serafina, King Eldonia, and Olga were already seated. Behind them stood Claudia, a woman in a dubious archbishop's robe, a random male extra with an intelligent look and dark skin, and Chloe and Mistiora, respectively.
Perhaps the calmest were Olga and Serafina. The former wore her usual indifferent expression and stood straight and tall, while the latter smiled softly, clearly feeling a slight anticipation.
Celestine focused most of her attention on Serafina, casting cautious and uncomprehending glances at her. The nervous King of Eldonia and the extra, who from time to time quietly reminded his ruler to maintain the country's image in front of the others, glanced at me, as if hinting that they would do as I wished.
Claudia and Chloe were doing quite well with their work, although their tension was still palpable. The female archbishop with dark blue eyes and chestnut hair studied me as soon as she saw me, while Mistiora stared straight at me, as if afraid of losing sight of me. Well, I suppose that wasn't a surprise, but that wasn't important right now.
Ah, yes. Last night, word came that the last strongholds had fallen, and now only Geofu remained. Consequently, very soon, the corpse and his Black Dogs would attack the city. However, that wasn't important right now either.
I stopped humming, and because of the sudden absence of sound in the room, all attention was focused on me.
- "How slow and boring you are," I said, grimacing and rolling my eyes. "Just start already, will you? The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish."
- "Oh? I thought we were here just for your entertainment. Maybe you're the boring one, Romani?" Olga immediately changed her expression and smiled. "And since you're the one who gathered us here, you should start the meeting."
- "Ooh, how cheeky we are," I giggled. "The same old Olga I know."
- "Say that again..." She began after a second, raising her eyebrow, as such a comment would offend almost any woman, even a long-lived elf like Olga. However, she caught my subtle hint. Hehe.
- "You're taking too many liberties, Queen of Nidavellir," King of Eldonia interrupted her. "Lord Romani is our god, and such an attitude toward him is unacceptable."
- "Wh-what?!" Claudia couldn't believe it.
- "Eldonia has accepted a new deity?!" added the archbishop.
- "I'm happy for you, Your Majesty," Serafina smiled. "A bright future awaits Eldonia."
- "Thank you for your kind words, Lady Serafina," the king of Eldonia replied indifferently. "But that's questionable, since we're here to unite our countries, aren't we, Lord Romani?"
- "Well, you're right," I nodded and looked at each ruler, then snapped my fingers, and sheets of paper appeared in front of them along with pens. "So, now I want you to sign each sheet of paper, thereby concluding the agreement."
- "But..." Celestine started to say, but I stopped her.
- "Yes, yes, each of you has your own conditions and requirements for concluding the agreement. Since you knew what was going to happen here, it would be logical to assume that you came prepared, right? Just write down your conditions, pass them around, discuss them, blah, blah, blah," I shrugged. "But! The agreement WILL be concluded, and I don't give a damn what anyone thinks about it."
- "All right," Serafina nodded with a smile on her face.
- "As our god wishes," said the king of Eldonia, even striking his chest.
- "That's... acceptable..." added Celestine.
- "So you're a tyrannical god, Romani," Olga remarked.
- "And? Again, I don't care what you think about it. Although, I suppose you only said that because you want revenge, huh? I'll never believe you're so stupid as to not understand such obvious advantages, OLD Olga," I dismissed her, and she clicked her tongue in annoyance but said nothing. "Well, you may begin."
- "What about you, Lord Romani?" asked the king of Eldonia. "Won't you be participating?"
- "Nah," I grinned.
- "Why not?" asked Serafina.
- "Well, I already told you that I'm from another world, right?" I replied, causing those who didn't know this to look shocked. "And that's why, as soon as my business here is done, I'll leave you to your own devices. So, get started already. Heh."
-0-
In the end, the negotiations dragged on until late in the evening, and the rulers of the countries decided to stay at Celestine's castle for the night, even considering her warnings about the impending attack.
And now, having slept through almost the entire meeting because I simply got bored, I was in the chambers assigned to me, looking at the full moon in the clear night sky and filling my stomach with another liter of coffee.
Well, the corpse, along with its army, and a pretty decent one at that, was slowly approaching Geofu, which I could clearly sense from here. It should arrive tomorrow, and I suppose it will be a perfect moment to test which of my theories was correct. To kill the corpse and, at the same time, greatly interfere with the order of the world.
I smiled and was about to close my eyes to go back to sleep when there was a soft knock on my door.
- "Come in," I said, and my guest appeared in the doorway. "What an unexpected visit. And so late. You will forgive me if I have some less than proper thoughts about this, m, Serafina?"
- "Alas, seduction does not suit you, Lord Romani. You simply do not have the temperament or manner of speech for it," she giggled and, stepping inside, sat down next to me.
- "Now that was hurtful," I said, putting on an offended expression, then quickly returning to a calm look. "But never mind. Why are you here, Serafina? I'd kill to have a clue."
She just looked at me with a polite smile on her face for a while, then took a long breath.
- "Are you really going to leave when this is all over?"
- "Hm?" I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I am. No offense, but your world is extremely dull and unreasonable. And even if I wanted to stay here, I simply wouldn't have the nerves, patience, or sanity to do so."
- "So that's how we look from the outside, huh?" Serafina sighed and paused. "In your world... someone is waiting for you, right? Someone you want to go back to."
- "Yes, that's right," I replied calmly. "They became my family, although nothing like that was planned at first — it was just entertainment and a way to fight boredom. But one thing led to another, and that's how it happened. Anyway, I'm happy with everything, or even more than that. Tia and Morgana are worth it. Heh."
- "I see..." was all she said, and then she fell silent, as if thinking about something.
I wasn't stupid, and now I more or less understood why Serafina had come here. The change had happened in just one day, and she already had feelings for me, although I was convinced they were misplaced.
- "Don't tell me you planned for me to be fully involved in all this?" I grinned.
- "To be honest, yes, that was my plan. After the countries were united, we could have created a better world that would never know poverty," she replied sincerely and let out an embarrassed laugh. "I guess it was just a naive dream that came to me recently. I hope you'll forgive me for that."
- "Actually, your dream isn't bad. The only question is whether you're ready to fight for it. To really fight and make sacrifices, although it's not my place to say that," I shrugged.
- "What are you talking about?"
- "Well, what you want to do is the path of a hero, I would say, even if the concept of a hero is too far from me. The highest goal, so to speak. I'm more of a villain or just a selfish person, because I won't even think about the difference between my interests and those of others. Even if the world burns in hellfire, I won't care. The main thing is my desire, which includes the very few people I care about," I smiled. "I sound like a clichéd villain, don't I?"
- "No, you're not a villain, you're a human... A real human who, I must admit, I want to follow," Serafina shook her head. "But, alas, I still have duties that must be fulfilled. And no one but me can do that."
- "Understandable and respectable," I nodded. "I suppose that's why I like you. You have a goal, a path to it, and a willingness to follow it. A rare but powerful quality that I value above all else."
- "That's nice to hear," she giggled, and then a silence fell between us, which Serafina herself broke. She slowly stood up and, coming closer to me, kissed me, this time on the lips. It was gentle and detached, because both she and I knew that it was a goodbye kiss. When we broke apart, Serafina smiled and headed for the exit. "It's time for me to go, Lord Romani. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wanted to say a few words to you, am I?"
I smiled, and when Serafina disappeared through the doorway, Mistiora appeared, cautiously entering the room without taking her eyes off the floor.
- "Come in, sit down," I said, watching her still standing motionless, and after a slight delay, Mistiora obediently did as she was asked. "You heard our conversation, there's no doubt about that, but you still decided to stay and come in. I understand how you feel about me, but the only thing I can give you is goodbye and, I suppose, a broken heart."
- "Yes..." She curled up against the back of the sofa and nodded.
- "I won't ask for forgiveness, but I do have one question," I continued. "Do you regret what I did to you? After all, if I hadn't intervened..."
- "No, I don't regret it, sir," Mistiora interrupted me categorically. "I'm sure that..."
- "Now, now, it's not nice to lie, Mistiora," I said, shaking my finger at her, whereupon she fell silent and lowered her head even lower, after which I took a deep breath. "Again, I won't apologize, but I am willing to compensate you for your suffering. A little magic, and you will forget everything about me. Or, if you prefer, I can replace myself with someone else whose memories will also be altered. You will live happily and carefree, perhaps have children and..."
- "No! I don't want to forget you!" she cried out naturally and raised her head, revealing her tear-stained eyes.
- "Thanks to you, I was able to experience things I could never have dreamed of, and I have no intention of giving up those memories!"
In response, I remained silent, letting her speak.
- "Yes, I hate you for what you did. For making me fall in love with you and then just abandoning me, but... But it's my fault, not yours," Mistiora began. "It's my fault for letting all this happen, for allowing myself to dissolve in this beautiful feeling, and that's why..."
She stood up resolutely from the sofa and came close to me, never breaking eye contact. Then Mistiora suddenly grabbed my face with all the strength her body could muster and kissed me. It was not a gentle, detached kiss like Serafina's, but a firm, determined kiss, as if it were a promise.
- "And so I give you my word that I will come to you myself. I will live and endure as long as it takes to see you again in your own world. And after that, I will make you accept me and my love for you, sir," she declared with steely determination in her eyes, breaking the kiss and looking at me with her eyes red from tears. "That is my promise to you. Remember that."
With that, she turned and left the room, leaving me alone. Well, still surprised by what had happened, I smiled and looked up at the sky.
Oh, how unexpected. It's been a long time since I've seen such determination in someone's eyes. After all, the last one was Issei. Heh.
However, if she really does cross the boundaries between worlds and arrives in DxD, then I suppose I'll have to accept her, won't I?
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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