351. PRUNE’S CONFUSION

Prune was out walking on the streets with a skewer in one hand.

Life in the palace was luxurious, lavish. Things just came to her. There wasn’t anything you needed to do. Food was prepared by the chefs, rooms were cleaned by the pixies. No work, just a massive amount of free time to– do whatever.

Which was boring.

They weren’t even using [Home Sweet Home] as often anymore. It has now become more of a transportation service. Many of the items in the apartment were just left there.

She had everything, but felt empty.

Prune didn’t know how to explain the current emotions she was feeling.. 

She tore into the skewers again.

“Maybe I should’ve told Liliath about this last night.”

Liliath had Noel to confide in, but who did Prune have?

“I could tell anyone if I wanted..”

It wasn’t like no one wasn’t willing to listen to her.

Prune walked past a small food bazaar when she noticed something like glutinous rice balls being sold at one of the shops. It had been a while since she last ate one, so she went to try.

“One set of six please.”

“That would be 4 silver young lady.”

“Thank you.”

Prune paid for it, grabbed the food and sat down. She took a taste– slightly saltier than to her liking, glutinous rice should be sweet shouldn’t it?

“How does it taste?”

Prune blinked a few times and looked up.

A guy in a hood, his crimson eyes gleamed from beneath the shadow upon his face.
Prune was confused, this person was Javiel, yet alarm bells weren’t going off. Sure, she did feel uncomfortable and wanted to leave but the sensation of danger was entirely different from when she met Shea.

A skill of his, perhaps?

“Do you want to talk to me about something?” Prune didn’t know why she was so calm either. “You don’t mind having a conversation?”

“I don’t mind, we’re going to meet eventually.”

“Then I’ll go get something light, is there anything else you want to try?”

“Not really,” Prune could take out the snacks from her inventory if she wanted.

“Suit yourself,” Javiel, went to order mashed Ramuim. It’s something like a pumpkin pie dessert, served chilled.

He returned after a while.

“I take it that you’re Prune-san?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I heard a lot about you from Shea-san.”

“I was just about to meet her later in the evening.”

“Oh, is that so,” Javiel stuck the spoon with mash Ramuim into his mouth. A nice cold dessert, if only there was milk.

“Do you mind if I ask a question? It might be a little sensitive.”

“Ask away, Prune-san.”

“Why did you torture Liliath?”

“That huh? What’s your relationship with her? Friends?”

Prune nodded. Underneath the table, she had the emergency contact widget ready. A signal will be sent out the moment she initiates it.

“Let me ask you this first, what makes you happy? What fulfills you in life?” Javiel asked.

“I don’t know.. food?”

“Just as you have your answer, I too have my own.”
To see people suffer? Was that what it is? Prune was starting to wonder if this person is of a sane mind. On the surface, he’s pretty normal, he may be like those ridiculous villains deep down. Something you’d find in stories.

“Some people find joy in cooking, some find joy in teasing others, there are those that find joy in making potions, there are even those that like to be abused. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? I’m not proud of what it is I enjoy, but it is what makes me who I am,” Javiel dug around the cup. “It’s part of living.”

Having put it in that way, it sounded rational. But rational doesn’t mean it’s right.

Prune too had some odd habits, or fetishes so she could relate but..

In his case, it was extreme.

“She’s doing well with that person isn’t she?”
Prune only nodded. It was getting quite uncomfortable.

“I’m glad.”
Prune was doubted her ears.

“Why?” 

“Why wouldn’t I? She was able to find love.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m not as simple of a man as you think I am. Sometimes I don’t understand myself. Think what you want, call me a narcissist, psychopath. I’m just trying to live my life.”
“Liliath wants to forgive you.”
“Was there anything to forgive in the first place?”

“There is.”
“Forgive me? A toy returning to her master is how I see it,” Javiel frowned. Prune glared at him.

“At least accept her apology when the time comes.”
“I’ll see then,” Javiel finished his mash Ramuim and crushed the paper cup.

He opened his palms, and it turned into black ash.

“Thank you for the talk, I’ll be leaving now. My sister must be waiting for me.”

“See you..”

Javiel sauntered away, like he was in a good mood.

On the other hand, Prune felt unease in her heart. Was it really alright for Liliath to meet this person? 

More so, it only made Prune question who exactly is the enemy? Javiel himself had said, he was simply following what he wanted to do, just as everyone else.

It was an odd twist in psychological thinking. This story Noel’s TALENT created was beyond her..

===

“So that’s what Javiel-kun said~”

“Yes.”
Prune cupped her hands together and scooped some water to rinse her face. She also rubbed her hair using her fingers. She had just washed her hair a day ago, so she wasn’t particularly concerned about it being oily.

“Everyone is weird in their own way, like me, I like to tease people,” Shea, the Nine Tail was blowing bubbles in the water.

“Still.. isn’t it wrong? To find joy in hurting others?”

“People kill monsters, wage war and initiate conflict, isn’t it all the same?” Shea rose from the water, her perfect figure body lustred with drops of water. Even Prune couldn’t help but be at awe at the sight. “Brothels exist for a reason you know?”

“Right..” 

This was a fantasy world, of course modern logic shouldn’t be brought into the argument.

Prune returned to washing herself, continuing to ponder when she felt something soft pressed against her back. Golden-silver hair fell in front of Prune’s view.
“What are you doing?”

“Do you want a massage? A naked body massage, not even Javiel-kun had experienced it yet, how about it,” Shea said with a grin.

“No thank you, ugh?!”

“It’s so soft, better than Iona-chan’s.”
Prune should’ve expected this. She was being groped.

“Stop it, it hurts?!”

“There are others around you know,” Shea whispered into her ear. Prune’s face became flushed, she was right, the other people in the hot spring were looking in their direction.

“Then stop it,” Prune hissed, trying her best to stay still. Shea was being excessively rough.

“Okay, okay. You win,” Shea spun Prune around and pressed their foreheads together.

They stared at each other at such a distance.

Prune was mesmerized by the colour of her eyes, a vibrant gold with sparkles of mint.

“You don’t have anyone, do you Prune?”

“What do you.. mean?” Prune stuttered.

“Someone to depend on, a shoulder you can cry on.”

“I.. I don’t.”

Prune wasn’t ever the kind to depend on others. 

“I’m here for you, it’s alright to tell me what’s troubling you alright?”

Prune expression softened. Charmed, she was about to say something when Shea bumped heads, sobering up Prune who groaned at the pain.

“For now I’m fine,” Prune said, rubbing her forehead. 

“I know, I know. Then how about we play this game, we share one super dark secret to each other? What do you think?” Shea folded her fingers into a gun and pointed at Prune.

Prune nodded.

“Who will begin first?”

“I’ll start of course. Don’t tell anyone, you mustn’t okay~”

Prune nodded resolutely. 

Shea narrowed her eyes at Prune, a mysterious smile crept up her face.

She approached her with bold strides, confused, Prune tilted her head.

Shea closed the distance and extended her hands out to the rock behind Prune, she bent her legs and placed it between Prune’s two legs. Prune’s entire body stiffened at the soft sensation.

Shea’s lips drew closer, she could feel her hot breath, almost melting.

Prune squirted her eyes.

Then she heard a whisper.

“I want to make you mine.”
Prune’s heart skipped a beat.

“There, that's my super duper dark secret, how about yours?”

Shea resumed as if everything before was a joke, Prune’s heart was beating wildly.

What.. the.. hell.. was that?

Prune did a quick assessment of her status window, nothing out of the ordinary– if not for how Shea had just told Prune such a ridiculous secret.

Make her, her’s?

Prune’s brow furrowed at the thought. She felt apprehensive about it.

“Hello~ Are you alright? Prune-san,” Shea called out to her, almost like she was wailing.

“I’m fine..” Prune’s mind was busy with two things at the moment. One was preparing an escape measure in case of an emergency. The second was.. figuring out what super dark secret did she have?

Prune thought long and hard on the latter, an embarrassing confession surfaced to light.

She hadn’t told anyone about this, at least, from what she remembers.

“My dark is secret is that I..” Prune hesitated to say it. Though it couldn’t be said as a secret that could cause big trouble like the one Shea had espoused, it was embarrassing nonetheless, “I like big announcement, and speeches.. and the likes.”
In the modern world, if not social media, Prune would scour the internet for speeches or talks. The topics were usually random.

“Really?” Shea looked elated.

Prune nodded. She was surprised Shea managed to catch her words so quickly. If it were anyone else, they would’ve gone: huh? 

Of course, Prune wasn’t aware that Noel already knew this about her..

“If that’s the case then won’t you enjoy Javiel-kun’s speeches too?”
“That will depend..” if possible, Prune wanted to stay away from that guy. The fact that he didn’t give Prune any bad vibes was uncomfortable in itself.
“Okay, I’ll get you the front row seat the next time Javiel-kun does a speech. It shouldn’t be too long now.”
Prune nodded, looking casual on the surface, but slightly pertuberted in her heart. 

“What else..” their conversation about dark secrets ended there, Shea squatted down in the water again and began blowing bubbles.

Prune who had no topic ideas either began to sink herself into the water, following Shea.
It was lukewarm, not scalding hot. Different from the impression she had of hot springs. She heard that for people who had never gone to a hot spring, the local’s standard of ‘hot’ would be very different from a foreign person. This was especially true for Japan.

Not that Prune was all that interested in things in Japan. Just that, this world Noel’s TALENT created is heavily influenced by the culture there.

“Prune-san,” Shea sounded lonely.

“Yes?”

“Will we get to meet again?” Shea was really lonely.

“I don’t understand, don’t you already have Javiel-sama? Why do you want me?” Prune wasn’t dumb, she understood what Shea was trying to say. Which begs the question, were Nine Tails even supposed to ensnare women? That goes against folklore doesn’t it?

“That’s because you’re just like me.”
Prune had heard this numerous times before. Cliché, should she call it? There’s no such thing as ‘just like me’. Everyone is different.

“As in?”

“Your hair, and probably your body.”
Body?

Prune looked at herself, was her body comparable to Shea’s bombshell? Prune doubted it.
“I want you to become my successor!”
Successor? What exactly did that mean? Prune, becoming a Nine Tail? Aren’t Nine Tails immortal?

“It’s lonely, being the only one.”

Those words tugged at Prune.

Lonely.

That was how Prune felt when she arrived to this world.

Unlike Nine or Noel, Prune wasn’t someone who really enjoyed this ‘isekai’ experience. In fact, she struggled to accustom herself.

Did Prune feel lonely?

She had Liliath and Rin to talk to if she ever had any women problems, or Nine if she ever flet down. Then again.. they were usually by Noel’s side.

Jennifer had Nine, Takata had Aoki, Rin and Liliath had Noel.

What about Prune? 

“See, you’re just like me.”
“As I said before, you already have Javiel-sama, don't you?” Prune didn’t understand why, but her tone gave off an irk.

“But he’s alway busy with work, work, work. And when he’s not work, work, work, he plays with his little sister Iona-chan or has fun with Locket-san. I feel like the third-wheel here,” Shea said, shedding fake tears.

“So?”
“So? Let’s join forces! We’ll confide in each other and become each other’s closest friends!” Shea splashed water into the air. The water sparkled wonderfully.

“Friends.. fine.”
“Yay~” Shea bounced over..

“Shea-san stop..”
.. and embraced Prune.

Their soft bodies collided, Prune felt slightly nauseous. Unlike this Nine Tail, Prune wasn’t lesbian. 

“It’s so soft..”

“Don’t touch that.” 

Now Shea was stroking Prune’s drenched tail– 

“You can touch mine if you want–”

“Can you get off me, I said friends.”

“Uwu.. you’re so strict.. not that I really hate it.. hehe..”

What’s uncomfortable here was again, those stares from the other women in the bath. There were even those who found the sight disturbing and left.

“Stop it–”

“Not until I smother you. I still need to turn you into my kin– do you know how it works?” Shea whispered the latter part.
“No.”
Shea, sticking close to Prune smiled. She pulled the wet white hair over Prune’s ears and said, “We’ll need to eat each other, if you get what I mean.”

Prune pushed her away, the water jolted. She got out of the spring.

“No way!”

Shea, who regained her balance, looked at Prune stunned.

“I’m not Nine, I’m straight!”

“B-B-But..”
Prune strode away, leaving the heartbroken Shea along in the pool.

“She’s no easy prey.. just you wait. I’ll definitely make you mine,” yet somehow, Prune’s rejection renewed the fire of passion within the Nine Tail’s heart.