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The Simulacrum - Chapter 127 - Part 3
🕑 Added 2023-10-30 15:21:18 +0000 UTCThe ground floor turned rather lively by the time I walked down the stairs.
"Brother!" a lively voice greeted me the moment I arrived, and Penny beamed at me from the entrance-way, only for her expression to cloud over a second later. "Aw shucks! I thought we got home before you… There goes the surprise."
"Hi, kiddo. Is that the cake you mentioned?"
I pointed at the large, decorative cardboard box in her hands, and she nodded with a sheepish smile.
"Y-Yeah. It's store-bought though. For some reason, none of the usual confectionaries were open."
"Well, it is Sunday," I pointed out, and my sister let out a displeased huff.
"It's still annoying. The service industry in this town is in a disappointing state, I tell you…"
Still grumbling, she kicked off her shoes and walked past me, heading to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Snowy also showed herself. Her face was a little flushed, probably because of the cold, and she pattered over to my side.
"Hi, Leo. Are you back for good this time?" When I nodded, she let out a relieved breath and, in an unusual display of affection, she caught me in a hug. "Thank goodness! I missed you!"
Truth be told, we had seen each other quite often at the dock district hideout, though not as regularly as I'd visited Judy and Elly, so her actions were a little startling. Was she putting up a show for Tajana, I wondered? Or was it for the other guest? Whatever the case was, I felt that I could certainly get used to this, so I hugged her back.
"Rest assured, I'm not planning to go anywhere in the near future."
"That's good," she whispered and buried her face into my chest. I had to say, she was either a great actress, or she was genuinely relieved by my presence. I hoped it was the latter, but either way, I was getting all kinds of fuzzy, big-brotherly feelings from the encounter, so I wasn't going to complain.
"Hey, you two!" Penny exclaimed the moment she returned from the kitchen, empty-handed. "No fair!"
"Stop complaining and come here, Kiddo," I told her, and I didn't have to say it twice, and a blink of an eye later she was already by our side and trying her best to give both of us a bear hug right out of Dad-in-law's playbook. She was on the petite side though, so her attempt came off as a bit comical, but I appreciated the hustle all the same. Fulfilling my brotherly obligations, I helped her out by putting one of my arms around her in return, completing the group hug.
"Hehe!" my knightly sister let out a silly laugh, and even Snowy seemed to find the situation pretty amusing, as she soon followed suit. Unfortunately, we had someone else in the house who couldn't read the atmosphere if his life depended on it, so our family reunion lasted for only a few seconds.
"L-Lord P-Polemos! I-I-I greet… No, crap, it's the other way around…!" the guy in the entryway sputtered in abject skittishness, wringing his hands and looking like he was staring down the throat of a scary apex predator. "W-What I meant to say was that I greet the Polemos of— No, the Archon of— I mean…"
Subtly rolling my eyes, I let go of my sisters and turned to the nervous Celestial.
"Stop spouting nonsense and come in already."
Mike's eyes opened wide, and he tried his best to imitate a Celestial salute, just with the wrong hand, and putting it too high, appearing as if he was trying to pat himself on the shoulder.
"I-It is my great and unending honor to be in the presence of—!"
"What did I just say about spouting nonsense?" I grumbled with undisguised annoyance, and Penny let out an awkward chuckle at the guy's expense.
"We met him on the way back, and he's been very… polite, like that," Snowy told me in a low, somewhat stumped voice. "He said he wanted to pay his respects to you. I tried to tell him you don't like formalities like that, but he was very… um… adamant."
Rolling my eyes, I walked over and dragged the hapless guy into the living room. "Just come here and sit down already. We don't bite."
Still a nervous wreck, the guy nevertheless did what I said as if it was an order, and stiffly sat down next to the rather nonplussed Abyssal spymaster on the couch.
"I'll bring something warm to drink!" Snowy proposed apropos of nothing, and my other sister followed suit.
"Then I'll prepare the cake! We need…" she silently counted the people in the room, and declared, "Five plates, right?"
"Six," I corrected her, and while her eyes said she didn't get it, she obediently repeated the word after me and followed after Snowy.
"Erm… Are you the… guest, I've heard about?"
Michael, stiff as a board, was trying to make small talk while my attention was on my sisters, but Tajana remained silent and only eyed him suspiciously.
"Who's this?" she asked when our eyes met, equal parts timid and alarmed, so I figured I might as well start with the introductions. First things first though, I walked over to my favourite comfy chair and took a seat.
"He's Michael Khurshid. Celestial agent. We are…" I momentary considered what the best word would be to use to describe our relationship, and ultimately went with, "… friends. In a sense."
"R-Really?" the guy cried out in delight, completely ignoring the qualified I tacked on after the word.
"I'm also a close associate with his father," I added, and his eyes opened even wider.
"Really?!"
For some reason, the second time he was louder than the first, but I overlooked his shouting and pointed at the woman sitting at the other end of the couch.
"She's Tajana Sukkal, and Abyssal of House Inanna currently in the custody of my sisters."
"R-Really…?" the third time was much, much quieter than the ones that came before it, and the hapless Celestial shrank back as if suddenly frightened of her. "Nice to… meet you?"
Tajana silently nodded and eyed the guy with equal parts suspicion and apprehension. As usual, Mike was terrible at reading the atmosphere, and when the silence continued to drag on, he uttered, "Your hair is rather… unique."
The Abyssal woman's eyes narrowed at once, and she responded with, "So is your face."
"Oh? Thank y—"
"For Pete's sake, Mike!" I cut in with one hand already on my forehead. "Don't thank her. That wasn't meant as a compliment."
"It wasn't?" the guy uttered in audible shock, and when he looked at her questioningly, Tajana meaningfully tucked her bangs behind her air with a smirk. So, by the looks of it, she was one of those people who were weak before the strong and strong before the weak. That also meant these two had horrible compatibility, so keeping them in the same room would be just asking for annoying and counter-productive antics. Combined with the fact that I promised Ammy that I would be nice to the guy, it meant there was only one thing to do.
"Tajana. I need to have a few words with Michael in private. Please go back to your room."
"What?" The previously smug spymaster's eyes opened wide, and she immediately shrunk back like a puppy who was just hit by a rolled-up newspaper. "B-But my show starts in ten minutes!"
"I don't see how that is my problem," I told her flatly, and while she was outwardly submissive, she apparently wasn't keen on sacrificing her soap opera without a fight.
"But My Lady said I could watch it so long as I behaved well and didn't try to run away anymore! I've been good, I swear!"
"And you're currently not cooperating with my request," I pointed out, and for added emphasis, I amended, "Should I tell Sir Griffon Knight about your misbehaviour?"
"Um… No…" she answered, audibly dejected, and got off the couch. "I'll take my leave then."
With a huff, she walked headed to the guest room, and once inside, closed the door behind herself with more force than strictly necessary, making the guy in front of me flinch from the sudden noise. As for me, I couldn't help but wonder why, despite her ostensibly being older than me, I felt like I just gained a troubled teenage daughter. Chasing the silly thought out of my mind, I shook my head and turned to Mike, who was sitting ramrod straight, as if is he was at an important job interview.
"Would you please relax a bit? You're making me nervous."
"Yes, O Venerable Glorious Lord Archon Polemos of—"
"And knock that off already! Just call me Leonard like usual," I cut in, and the guy audibly gulped.
"I wouldn't dare!"
Levelling my flattest, deadpannest, most straight-faced-est stare at him, I let out a long breath and told him, "Mike. I promised to Ammy to be nice to you, but if you don't cut that out, I swear I'll smack you upside your head for your own good."
Following another nervous gulp, the guy stopped fidgeting and mumbled, "A-All right, erm… Lord Leonard?"
I internally debated whether I should make good on my threat, but I was too tired, and my chair was too comfortable, so I let it slide.
"Close enough. So, how are things going for you nowadays?"
The sudden personal question made him twitch and, after an uncomfortably long beat, he answered with a barely audible mutter.
"I'm… fine. Things are fine. Really."
"That wasn't very convincing."
"But… But everything really is fine! I mean, I'm a little troubled about what to do about Valentine's Day, but it's not something someone of your standing could relate to, so…"
"Mike, are you serious?" I blurted out and once again held my head in my hand. "What do you mean 'I can't relate'? I have two girlfriends, you know? Or fiancées, technically, but it's practically the same thing. Of course, I'm troubled about Valentine's Day!" I crossed my arms and let out a protracted groan. "Because of this whole hubbub in the Elysium, I now have to deal with all the Ordo Draconis paperwork that piled up over the weeks, a bunch of official and semi-official meetings I'll have to attend, keep a constant eye on my honour guards to make sure they won't cause any diplomatic incidents, catch up with my schoolwork, and then, after all that, I'll have to buy gifts and prepare three separate dates in less than a week!"
"T-Three?" Mike echoed me with a slack-jawed expression, and I responded with a wave of my hand.
"Two separate solo dates with Judy and Elly, and then one big date with all three of us."
"That sounds… complicated."
"Just one of the many logistical ordeals of trying to make a polifidelous relationship work," I told him with a shrug, and the guy fell silent for a good while before suddenly bowing his head.
"I'm sorry! I completely failed to take any of that into account!"
"Stop that," I told him what felt like the hundredth time already, and gestured for him to look me in the eye. "I don't need your apologies, but your cooperation."
"I'm at your command Lord— I mean, Leonard!" the guy perked up at once, as if waiting for me to say that.
"First off, let's make sure we're on the same page. Are you aware of the current situation?"
"My father gave me a briefing, yes," he nodded with a solemn expression, trying to act professional, but the way his fingers were still fidgeting betrayed his true emotions. "I have heard about your return… I mean, the return of Polemos. Also, your return to Timaeus. As… Leonard?" When I nodded, he let out a relieved breath, as if he just answered a tricky question at an oral exam. "I've also been told that Mister Jaakobah is now no longer an Optio of CIEL anymore, but the Prefect of your Praetorian Guard, and that they are on the island to guard you and…"
Suddenly, his voice trailed off, and he started fidgeting even harder.
"Is there a problem?"
"N-No, it's just that…" he stammered, and then tentatively asked, "Is… Is it true that Little Annie is… erm… His Grace Deus, the First True Archon, The Illuminated One, Leader of All Celestials, the Father of Elysium and the—"
"Yes, yes," I cut in, getting impatient. "She's…" I wanted to say 'housing the soul of Deus, but based on what Fred and Mr. Plague Doctor told me, it was more like the Angie we knew was an extension of Deus, or something. I imagined I would have to sit Galatea down one of these days and ask her to explain everything again in layman's terms, just to make sure I've understood everythign. The fact that she was by far the most likely to be able to give me a reasonable answer to my questions spoke less about her than it did about the rest of the Research Division… but I digress. All of that was for later. For now, I settled on the answer, "She is technically Deus, yes."
"I can't believe it…" the guy muttered, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. "He… I mean, she was so close to us all this time, and none of us would've realized it if not for a miracle."
"I wouldn't call a kidnapping a 'miracle', but it's beside the point." After saying so, I reflexively put my fingers in a tent position, even though I wasn't actively masterminding anything at the moment. Let's call it a bad habit. "So, you're familiar with the outlines, and you came here on your own volition, making things less tiresome for me. That should make things much less of a hassle than expected. Thanks for that."
"It is my honor to serve!" Mike exclaimed with a delighted grin on his face. If he was that eager, I figured I might as well stop beating around the bush and be honest with him.
"First, since you already know Jaakobah, and you are more familiar with Timaeus than they are, I would like you to help the Praetorian Guard settle in."
"U-Understood!"
He was still trying to sound enthusiastic, but I could hear his voice buckle a bit. I decided to ignore it for now and pressed on.
"I'll also have to ask you to free up your schedule for tomorrow. We'll be getting a guest, and I need you to pick him up at the Timaeus Central Airport."
"As you command!"
I expected him to ask about who it was, but since he was still roleplaying as a dependable agent, I didn't go out of my way to reveal Moose's identity and let it be a surprise. On my way down, I picked up my wallet, and it was time to open it up.
"I'll need you to arrange a place for him to stay, as well as food, transportation, and other daily necessities." I leafed through the bills in my wallet, and in the end, handed about eight thousand Jens to him, in hundred Jen bills. Judy always told me it was silly to have so much cash on hand when I had a card, but it was handy for times like this. After handing over the wad of hundred Jen notes to the startled Celestial, I told him, "Consider this your starting operation funds. If you need more, you know where to find me."
Mike nodded repeatedly, with his eyes glued to the bills like this was the most money he had ever seen in his life. Though again, considering that, until very recently, he was an Asset who didn't get paid by the Celestial Intelligence Network, and who lived the life of a not particularly diligent university student, I might not have been far from the mark.
"This will probably keep you busy for the next couple of days, so in exchange, I'll arrange a Valentine's Day date for you and the class rep. How does that sound?"
"I… I wouldn't dare to impose on you like that…"
"I told you to cut the deferential treatment. It's giving me goosebumps." I waited until he nodded and relaxed his posture a little, and only then did I add, "It's not imposing on me at all; in fact, it falls in line with my other plans perfectly. But speaking of plans, you haven't changed your phone number, right?"
"No."
He sounded a tad apprehensive, so I told him, "I'm only asking so that I can contact you about tomorrow's task. Once I know exactly when the plane will land and at which gate, I'll send you a text message."
"Okay." Mike waited for a beat, and then he nervously glanced to his right. Whatever he was looking at was out of my immediate line of sight, so when I turned around to take a look…
"Muuuu…!"
… I was met with the intense stare of Tajana, her head poking out from the gap of the partially opened guest room door. We locked eyes for a while, and when she didn't relent, I let out a sigh and called out to her.
"We're mostly finished. You can come out and watch your bloody soap opera or whatever."
I didn't have to say it twice, and in less than five seconds, she was back on the couch again with remote control in hand. As if waiting until this exact moment (for all I knew, it might have been literally the case), Snowy and Penny also returned. My knightly sister was carrying a large, multi-layered chocolate cake on a wide plate, grinning from ear-to-ear, while my Abyssal sis rolled in with a fancy kitchen trolley. It was one of those bizarre items my kitchen just inexplicablyhad, and there were a pile of smaller plates, forks, and napkins on it, right next to a familiar tea set.
"Let's start the welcome-back party!" Penny exclaimed with a childish glee that matched her appearance much better than acting like a brave and honourable knight, and placed the cake onto the coffee table. I thought that was the end of it, but then, without warning, she snatched the remote out of Tajana's grasp and turned down the volume on the television.
"But… But my series!" the young spymaster whined, but my redhead sister didn't give her any attention and instead grabbed a wide kitchen knife from the cart.
"We are celebrating Brother's return, so you're getting the first slice! The second slice is Snowy's, the third is mine, so the fourth one goes to…"
"Fine with last," a deep voice called out from the corner, and both Tajana and Mike jumped in their seat.
"Pip is last," Snowy stated, and after a content hum, they started cutting, ignoring the dejected Abyssal staring at the mute TV screen and the freaked-out Celestial glancing all over the room, trying to find the source of the voice.
In other words, it was sweet, delicious chaos. The kind that made me feel I was truly home. And I couldn't be happier to be here.
Comments
Terry Stevens
just to make sure I've understood everythign just to make sure I've understood everything
Terry Stevens
"N-No, it's just that…" he stammered, and then tentatively asked, "Is… Is it true that Little Annie is… erm… His Grace Deus, the First True Archon, The Illuminated One, Leader of All Celestials, the Father of Elysium and the—" "N-No, it's just that…" he stammered, and then tentatively asked, "Is… Is it true that Little Angie is… erm… His Grace Deus, the First True Archon, The Illuminated One, Leader of All Celestials, the Father of Elysium and the—"
