[31] RECONCILIATION

Drop.

“...” I saw Liliath staring at the table, her hands wobbling as she was gripping onto a pair of chopsticks. At the end of the chopstick was a sauce of sorts, and the thing she was staring at was the piece of meat she dropped.

“I think it’s alright if you use the fork and spoons..” I glanced at the specially prepared plastic fork and spoon— the washable kind with cute emoji templates to the shaft.

In short, it was the kind meant for kid use.

“I believe it isn’t good to use the wrong etiquette to relish a meal,” Liliath quivered as she spoke.

But I knew.. she was hesitant not because of etiquette.. no, no. It was because of the cutesy utensils.

Prune’s family restaurant did not have normal forks and spoons in store, they only prepared things like these for kids. 

I’m sorry Liliath, but at this rate, you’re going to mess up the whole table.. I can see almost a dozen pieces of wasted vegetables and meat scattered across the ‘dead zone’ outside your ‘safe zone’ that is your plate... talk about etiquette.

Prune’s family restaurant served Chinese food, the kind where a family would come together and share various dishes with rice.

The restaurant was packed full of people, waiters going around pulling carts and taking orders. Well... the restaurant itself isn’t all that big but it was certainly popular amongst the locals.

Liliath grinded her teeth, staring at the meat that seemed to ascend to heaven— or fall to hell, never to be eaten again— whichever metaphor fits.

“Big sister Liliath, just use the fork and spoon already,” Novelle spoke after chewing her food.

“One.. more attempt.. just one more attempt..”

I’m sorry this restaurant doesn’t have proper utensils for a Princess.. but I think using kid utensils would only make the Princess look all the more cute.

“Big sister Liliath, let’s make a bet, if you manage to get the next piece of food on your plate and not mess up the table I will show you the rest of ‘that’ book!” Then the little devil skillfully moved her chopsticks and chuck a ball of rice into her mouth.

Liliath shuddered, and contemplated.

Well... if anything I wonder if it’s alright for mom to be allowing this? Under normal circumstances, there would be no problems sharing the dishes in the centre using our own chopsticks. But with Liliath around— who had no clue what in the hell is going on— it’s like we’re all indirectly kissing her or something..

Thinking that, I tried my best to avoid places where Liliath had touched her chopsticks with. 

Careful now..

Liliath’s expression brightened all of a sudden. As if she had found a solution, she reached over to the spinach with her chopsticks, amateurishly gripping the leaf, she lifted it up into the air.

Wobbling, she brought it closer to herself— I had no doubts it would drop...

And it did..

But it stopped mid-way, did a somersault in the air and flew right into her mouth.

My jaws fell open.

The little devil stared at her with hollow eyes, mouth agape.

Liliath showed a look of triumph.

“No playing around with food,” my mom’s voice brought us back to reality.

“My apologies,” Liliath said after swallowing the spinach.

“That’s cheating!”

“That was a legal move. Novelle,” Liliath spoke in a reproachful tone.

Oh wow, since when did their relationship become shit? I mean shit in a good way since they’ve definitely become closer to each other now and— Liliath’s true colours were showing.

Oh right... since Novelle plotted with my mom to take a bunch of photos of me together with Liliath. Welp, at least Liliath and I have common enemies.. 

In the end, Liliath managed to eat without the aid of the kid-friendly utensils. If I were to guess what was happening, it is that Liliath was maneuvering the food on the top of her chopstick using magic, making it seem as if it was being properly held onto without dropping..nice trick there..

I wonder how proficient Liliath actually is in magic? What else can she do with magic I wonder? She talked about ice runes or something in the past.. I wonder if she’s able to recreate that here in this world?

Placing the chopsticks down, Liliath removed her outer coat. Sweat trickled down from her cheeks to her now exposed collarbone.

“Where should I put this?”

“It is quite warm here.. Hm, you can hang it on your chair,” my mom replied.

“How should I hang it?”

“Let me do it, don’t lean against the chair for a moment,” I took the coat from Liliath, and then spread it out on top of the splat.

“Wouldn’t it dirty the clothing in this way?” Liliath asked, turning her body around to take a look. Her cleavage— 

Darn it.

“I don’t think you’re going to wear it anymore after this, besides, you’ll have to put it to wash later.”

“I suppose then,” Liliath returned to cheat-eating with magic.

Again. Liliath’s velvet hair was garnering a lot of attention since she was the only velvet in the sea of black.. now with her coat off, she was exuding a bewitching allure that seemed to suck in the eyes of everyone in the restaurant..

It was.. I don’t know how to put it.. I feel like I’ve gotten back to all those normies all these years..

And I’m surprised I’m even paying attention to this...

The more that I think about it, the more convinced I am that Liliath is a succubus— but I didn’t want to believe that.. she sensed my distrust last time— and I hurt her because of that.

Right.. I have yet to gain her trust.

Finishing the dishes, Liliath dabbed her mouth with a tissue.

“She’s here,” she said.

“She?”

“That beastkin.”

Ah.. she meant Prune. Seriously though? Beastkin? I should have Liliath correct that way of addressing her. 

The restaurant’s rush hour was over, but there were still a number of customers present. Taking this opportunity, Prune’s father and mother came out to greet us... of course, it was my mom who guided the flow of the conversation.

“Your son is going to transfer to that school too?”

“Apparently so.”

Conversation in regards to.. blah, blah.. me transferring to the school meant for individuals with troublesome TALENTS... blah, blah.. about Liliath being my summon.. blah, blah.. about Prune also going to that same school..

Oh right. That makes sense. But why?

“Prune, did you hear that? Noel is going to transfer there too,” Prune’s mother called out, her voice directed to the kitchen— but it was met with silence. Not really silence since there was still the sound of clanking plates and food being tossed around in a wok.

“Did something happen to her?” my mom asked.

“I suppose it’s part of why her TALENT is troublesome to begin with,” Prune’s mother said with a troubled smile.

Liliath sucked at iced tea she ordered— tea was the only beverage she knew. Every now and then she would poke the ice cube with the straw, seeing it bob up and down in the water, a gentle expression would spread across her face. Is this her form of ASMR or something? She looked like a kid who's never seen ice cubes before despite being able to create ice out of literally thin air.

“Liliath, have you not tried adding ice to your drinks in the past?”

“This is the first for me. Now that I think about it, there are many things we could have done with the resources we had but never thought of. Never would I have imagined ice would turn normal tea into an entirely different experience.”

“I guess..”

Ok.. that just sounds funky... she’s definitely a tea connoisseur. Next time she should try tea with milk— do Princesses normally drink tea as is without additives? I thought they’d be like milk or sugar cubes and stuff they could add? I mean.. I’ve seen these sorts of things in otome manga before. 

“Big brother, so what happened in the afternoon at the summoners department?” the little devil asked.

“Alright. Answer this: What do you call an airplane?”

“Huh? What do you mean? An airplane? I don’t get it.”

“What’s an airplane?” Liliath’s aloof expression is so cute..

“A divine mechanical dragon,” I answered my own question.

“That— I see,” Liliath muttered as if understanding.

The little devil gave me a weird look.

“Here’s another, what do you call a ghost. The female kind with long hair.”

“Hm...” the devil thought long and hard, and finally an answer surfaced, “A wig?”

“What’s a ghost?”

“A slave with long hair.”

“That.. Noel... could you be..”

“Big sister, answered that?” Novelle giggled.

I nodded with a smug.

The little devil turned to face Liliath and with an astounded expression said one word—

“Wow.”

“D-did I do something wrong? We’re my answers incorrect? No wonder I felt something was off when I returned.. Noel.. what did I do?”

“Make every laugh. That’s what you did.” I smiled.

I mean like seriously though.. the secretary lost her head because of her ‘perfect’ answers.

She narrowed her round velvet eyes on me.

I sighed. “It’s no big deal. If anything, that’s a good thing. Your lack of common sense about our world is funny to look at.”

“How exactly is that good?” 

“You made people laugh.”

“Yeah, yeah. Big sister Liliath is funny— sometimes..” Novelle’s line of sight directed at the kid’s utensil.

Liliath pouted, then directed her gaze towards the kitchen, “I wonder how long that woman is going to hide.” 

[32]

I too turned to the direction of the kitchen. Did Liliath really scare Prune? I honestly have no idea. Every once in a blue moon when I’d come here to have a meal, wherever Prune was present, we would have a short chat. 

I saw a bushy tail. A hand..

The struggle between a father and daughter.

Oh what. Prune’s father went and took the initiative to kick her out of the kitchen?

Oh well.. that solves something at least.

The moment she stepped out into the customers dining area— all sights were locked onto her.

Ah— could that be why she’s considered to possess a troublesome TALENT? Like Liliath, she stands out a lot? Maybe there’s more than what meets the eye.

Prune stiffened the moment her eyes met Liliath. Her father was literally pushing her from the shoulder as if she were a wheelbarrow. It looked rather comical.

Her father left for the kitchen, leaving Prune, frozen as a statue standing in front of us.

“What’s wrong, Prune?” Her mother asked.

She shook her head, showed a stiff smile.

I pulled over an unoccupied chair and beckoned her to sit. 

“Glad to see you're doing well— Prune,” Liliath stretched her hand out— a handshake? Do Princesses even shake hands?

Shivering, Prune who had no option to object accepted her greeting.

“Ever since she’s gotten her TALENT, Prune has become more sensitive to people’s intent, and it has become somewhat problematic.” Her mom confessed. 

Prune didn’t say a word.

“Is that so?” My mom replied back and their conversation continued forward.

“What next,” my sister yawned.

“I suppose I should explain myself. Prune, your fear towards me is justifiable, for I am a dangerous existence to your kind.”

Prune seemed to not understand. I also didn’t. What kind of bomb did Liliath just drop? Your kind, She just showed another 180 degree shift? What?

“Noel, help?” Liliath looked at me.

“You mean.. you need me to help explain the situation?” I curled my finger on my head, I was referring to her horns.

“You two are... keeping secrets..” 

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied to the little devil, “Bottom line is this Prune, Lilith  naturally has this aura that scares creatures— or animals in general.. yeah.”

“Creatures and animals..” Prune covered down her fluffy ears with her hands.

Fluffy..

“Eh.. I’m not saying you’re not human.. um..”

Wait.. if Liliath can scare animals with her aura alone then... could she get rid of all the cockroaches in the house by releasing bloodlust to the surroundings?

That would be convenient wouldn’t it now? The sight of cockroaches and rodents running for their lives— seeking a new shelter that is our neighbour’s home— I should ask her to try that. Should be fun.. dancing cockroaches.. like a reversed Peter Piper or something.

“Prune, you need not to be scared,” Liliath gave her a sympathetic look.

“I-is that so... but you’re dangerous?”

Ah... that makes sense. From her mother’s explanation, Prune who has like this ability to sense dangerous people— that including Liliath, who is a demon lord. Makes sense.

“I don’t mean any harm.. I understand that my constitution may be different from normal humans in this world.”

“Because you came from another world..”

“Yes. Because of that.”

I suppose because Liliath came from a foreign world, Prune’s danger sense was going nuts?

“Liliath— came from another world. Noel, you have an amazing TALENT..”

“Uh.. yeah..”

Hearing that from Prune with the kind of tone she said it was a little uncomfortable.

“I was just hoping I could try to clear up the misunderstanding between the two of you..”

I didn’t know how exactly I planned to go about it but I suppose having them meet like this could be a step to mend their relationship? I was surprised that Liliath tried to reconcile— I still remember her bad-mouthing Prune a few days ago. Seriously, what’s up with this?

“Then with this, I hope you can accept my apology. I didn’t intend to scare you,” Liliath spoke in a flat tone.

“Y-yes!” Prune’s wolf-like ears stood up straight.

The two mothers laughed in response. Ah yes.. the typical parent-child interaction.

“Hope you can get along well with my daughter, Liliath, you too Prune, get along with Liliath alright.”

“I will do my utmost,” Liliath gave Prune’s mom a Princess-like smile.

“I’ll try..” Prune was still shivering.

“Also, I want to apologize about the other day. It was a misunderstanding on my part,” Liliath spoke.

“Misunderstanding?”

“The video call that day— was it?”

Um..

“Noel wanted to stop me, but due to unforeseen circumstances— it resulted in the scene you saw happening.”

Just as I was about to step in to stop the conversation from driving into a red-light district—

“Ah! You mean the time Noel forced you onto the bed!” The little devil who had been ignored all this time landed a critical hit.

Prune stared at me, unblinking, while the entire restaurant fell silent.

Fuck— why did you have to bring it up you devil?! I KNOW YOU’RE CUTE, SCHEMING AND WHAT-NOT BUT WHY?! WHY?!

“You..” Liliath looked at the grinning devil in disbelief, “I-I trusted you!”

The devil stuck out her tongue.

“Those two seem intimate,” Prune’s mom commented.

“Yes they do,” my mom chuckled.

===

Knock. Knock.

I turned to face the door. There wasn’t a need to guess, I already know who it is.

Liliath who always came to say ‘good night’ was in a purple pyjama this time— not the erotic nightgown— totally not disappointed.

“Can we talk?” 

“Alright.”

The fact that she wanted to talk to me for the second time with the first one ending in chaos— was a little suspicious and scary.

The aura she gave off was very different from last time. In the first place, it was odd to even say that I could feel an aura emanating from her. 

“I’m seriously sorry about the other day,” I spoke first. “I didn’t plan to push you away. To tell you the truth, the main reason why I was suspicious was because your actions didn’t match.. well.. the environment you said you grew up in.”

“No. Noel, you aren’t wrong,” Liliath sat down, smoothing out the edges of my bed with her finger, just like the last time. 

“You mean?”

“You were right to not trust me.”

Liliath looked me straight in the eye. 

“Noel. You can’t trust me.”

“W-why?”

What? Is this some kind of plot twist? A weird story development or something? What the hell is with this act?

“My emotions are volatile. That’s the main reason. You said that my actions did not match the past I’ve gone through— I would say that you are wrong on that point.”

Liliath tone implied that she was dead serious. How did it come to this? Her emotions are volatile? Could she be scared? I understand that she puts up an act sometimes— could that be the reason why? 

Liliath told me not to trust her— thus saying that she doesn’t trust herself? 

Is it because she’s not comfortable enough to show her true self— the many sides of her? 

Darn. That makes no sense. I’m fucking blind to think that everything became A-O-K for Liliath after I summoned her.

She still holds her past traumas.

She needs time to recover.

But to not trust her?

Maybe that’s just a way to say be careful?

But her next explanation shattered my wistful thinking.

“Noel, I ask of you to keep your guard against me— protect me in that I don’t disrupt the peace of this world.”

Liliath said with a smile...

She smiled...

I hesitated.

Liliath was someone I summoned— she was my responsibility.

Her request.. I don’t know what I can really do to fulfil it.

What she said.. I understood it completely. It was a hint to something much, much larger—

A demon queen.

An existence that could destroy entire kingdoms.

And me? I, a meagre human being incapable of even taking care of myself.

The weight of her words dawned upon me.

“Thank you,” Liliath got up and headed to the door, “Take care of me alright? I don’t know when the next opportunity would arise where I can speak with you in my current state of mind.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Good night Noel,” she smiled again.

I smiled in response, “Good night Lilith.”

She left my room.

...

I bent forward and placed both my hands to my forehead.

I was naive..

Who would’ve thought I summoned something like that?

===

Current Points: 185

Quests: Gaining affection:

Play around with her hair. 10P

...

Quests: Introductions:

Learn about her favorite food. 20P

...

Quests: Gaining trust:

===Regain Liliath’s trust. 20P

...

Quests: Utilization:

===Allow Liliath to speak on your behalf. 5P

...

Quests will be refreshed daily. Quests that have been completed will be prioritized, else the user can select up to 1 quest per category to remove. (removed quests will be refreshed the next day)

Max quest for each category: 1 (Upgradable) (13/20)