The Contract (Part 3)
Andvaranaut was fundamentally different from the terrorist syndicates that had appeared so far.
Or rather, to be strictly accurate, I wasn't even sure if calling them a terrorist organization was entirely appropriate. Attempting to seize financial hegemony meant they were trying to reshape the Empire through non-violent means. Besides, an antitrust or anti-monopoly law didn't even exist in this empire to begin with. In imperial history, no merchant company had ever expanded as aggressively and successfully as Andvaranaut.
In that sense, Andvaranaut was arguably the most monolithic power of them all. Their direct combat capability, however, was pathetic compared to any faction we had crossed paths with previously. They weren't even candidates for the final boss in the original game—at best, a mid-boss. Even so, the reason this guild was branded an enemy remained crystal clear: they were bankrolling all the other terrorist organizations. Truly, utter scumbags through and through.
"Now that Andvaranaut has set up shop, going out might not be such a bad idea."
I could say this even with a terrorist organization wandering the streets openly for two very good reasons. First, since they bankrolled virtually everyone else, almost no troublemakers would dare lay a finger on an Andvaranaut-affiliated establishment. Second, the very engine behind their commercial dominance was top-tier quality matched with reasonable prices. New, cutting-edge products were always spearheaded by them, too. Even in the original game, the inventory available in municipal shops shifted dramatically once they showed up. Whatever their dark motives, their ruthless commercialism definitely had its perks for regular consumers.
"Great! Then it's a date, Yohan."
"Sure, sure."
Watching Yuna beam from ear to ear, I finished getting ready. Wondering what kind of exotic wares they had on offer, I felt the giddy excitement of a person discovering a massive hypermarket had just opened in their neighborhood. With high hopes, I stepped out of the Cradle.
And then...
"Ah, Sir Yohan. It has been a while. Are you here for a meal?"
"Hello, Teacher!"
"..."
I regretted stepping outside immediately.
Sigh, of course. Why did I ever expect anything else?
Upon stepping inside the restaurant, we bumped right into Cult and Helena—the Hereticus siblings—who were already in the middle of dining. In hindsight, the odds of crossing paths had been high. The only eateries currently open were those bearing Andvaranaut's brand on their storefronts. To make matters worse, I was the one who had handed Cult the Holy Relic's location, gifting him this newfound leisure in the first place.
When all was said and done, I had set this stage myself. The sheer scale of my own butterfly effect sent a shiver down my spine.
"Teacher, thanks to you, my brother seems to have so much free time lately! He plays with me all the time now."
"...That's wonderful. But why are you calling me 'Teacher'?"
"Because you helped my brother! You're like a doctor!"
"Is that so...?"
"Yes!"
Helena leaned close to whisper into my ear, and I managed to plaster on a strained smile. As much as I despised Cult, I couldn't exactly badmouth the bastard right in front of his innocent little sister. Cult seemed quite pleased with my restraint, offering a radiant, smug grin.
"And the lady beside you is...?"
"A friend."
"You have friends?"
"Excuse me?"
"Ah, my apologies. Stranger things have happened."
What on earth did everyone take me for?
"What do you say, Sir Yohan? There are plenty of seats at our table. Care to join us?"
"I'm not so sure. I don't know if my friend would appreciate that. Right, Yuna?"
"Um... I-I'm sorry. I'm really shy around strangers..."
"You heard her."
Yuna grasped my unspoken intent flawlessly and supplied a bashful rejection. It was my first time seeing her play the timid wallflower, yet she pulled it off with surprising naturalness.
"A pity, but understandable. Enjoy your meal, then."
"Yes, enjoy your lunch as well, Sir Cult, Lady Helena."
"Goodbye, Teacher!"
Leaving behind Helena, who was waving enthusiastically at us, Yuna and I decided to look for another diner farther down the street. We walked in silence for a short while before Yuna spoke up.
"Sorry, Yohan."
"For what?"
Yuna suddenly offered an embarrassed apology.
"For overlooking the fact that you have rotten luck?"
"I'd appreciate it if you felt more sorry about saying that out loud."
"Hehehe! Sorry, sorry."
"Forget it. It's not like I didn't see it coming, and nothing bad actually happened anyway. We just bumped into them."
While it wasn't the most pleasant encounter, it wasn't as though we'd gotten swept up in a terrorist attack.
"It's a rare outing, so just enjoy it. Don't sweat the small stuff."
"...Okay."
Yuna gave a soft, bashful smile, looking as though my words had genuinely touched her heart. How should I put it...?
"Saying that makes this feel like a real date."
"Hehehe! Did your heart skip a beat?"
"Not even close."
"Mine did."
"..."
"Hehehe! How about that one? Pretty convincing, wasn't it?"
She really knew how to toy with a guy's nerves. What a menace.
Time passed, and the day finally arrived for the Damus family to travel up to the capital. During the interim, I had wracked my brains trying to figure out how to call off this arranged marriage... and ultimately concluded that persuading my own family was the top priority.
"Yuna, I'm counting on you."
"Yup, leave it to me! I'll act so well everyone will think we're really head over heels for each other."
Plan A was simple: claim that I already had someone I loved and therefore couldn't possibly go through with the marriage. That was how I intended to sway them. When I had first pitched the idea, I'd worried about how Yuna might react, but she had enthusiastically volunteered to play the part. Truly, a friend in need was a friend indeed. With Yuna's proven theatrical flair, there was no need to question her acting chops. The only lingering concern was what sort of outrageous favor she might demand as payment later... but that was a problem for future Yohan.
Sitting beside Yuna in the café we'd agreed upon, I checked the time.
"They're late. I wonder if something happened... Well, knowing this empire, something definitely did."
In this brutal land, the weak didn't survive. My working guess was that they'd run into at least five bands of highwaymen along the road. Then again, even if our territory was out in the boonies, nobles were still nobles. With armed escorts and their own martial training, barring a cataclysm, they should be fine.
"Besides, not many people would dare pick a fight with our family right now."
After all, through various bizarre twists of fate, I held ties with Eden, Under Chain, and—however ambiguous—Lemegeton.
"If you're worried, should I go check on them? Honey?"
"..."
"Why aren't you reacting? You're making me look bad here! I'm the one helping you out, remember?"
"S-Sorry. It's just so unnatural it threw me off."
Goosebumps erupted across my skin as Yuna slid her arm through mine with terrifying ease. Honestly, seeing her put me in a submission hold would have felt far more natural. Even though Yuna was notoriously liberal with physical contact, this was excessive by any standard.
"Besides, do we really need to start this already? They haven't even arrived."
"Are the café staff blind? Yohan, with that half-hearted attitude, you won't convince your friends, let alone your parents!"
"S-Sorry..."
Why was she the one getting worked up? Just how seriously was she taking this role?
"Right, let's practice so it looks natural! Ready? Go! Honey, should I go check on them?"
"No, there's no need. We got word this morning that they already entered the capital. If anything real had happened, rumors would have spread across the city by now."
"I see! ...Wait, are you even acting? You sound completely normal!"
"Yuna, don't you think you have a few too many romantic delusions about dating?"
"Watch your mouth, honey."
"Right, sorry..."
"If you're going to apologize, show some sincerity."
"And how do I do that?"
"Hmm..."
To be fair, neither of us had ever been in a relationship. As a result, our romantic rehearsal felt more like experimenting with random tropes we'd overheard or read somewhere.
"How about feeding each other food?" she suggested.
"Cliché."
"Clichés exist because real couples actually do them!"
"Except we don't have food. We only ordered drinks."
"Then feed me your drink?"
"How?"
Yuna tapped her chin in thought, then pointed a slender finger at her own lips.
"Mouth to mouth? Ah—no, wait. That might be a little too embarrassing for me."
She shook her head vigorously the moment the words left her mouth, looking as though her tongue had operated entirely without the consent of her brain.
"I mean, maybe someday, but it feels a bit premature for right now."
"What do you mean, 'someday'?"
"Someday is someday! Anyway, should you just hold the cup to my mouth?"
"Let's try that."
I picked up my coffee cup and tilted it toward her parted lips. The whole display felt less like lovers sharing an intimate moment and more like a volunteer feeding a patient in a nursing home.
"Cough! Hack!"
"Ah, sorry!"
To make matters worse, she choked on the coffee, instantly shattering whatever romantic ambiance had existed. Was this really the right way?
"Why are we making our lives so difficult?"
I sighed, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. After a round of hacking coughs, Yuna pouted and began glaring daggers at me. Even if she stared at me like that, she was the one who had insisted on it.
"Ugh, forget it! I don't even know anymore. I'm just going with what's easiest for me."
With that, Yuna promptly lay down and rested her head in my lap, using my thighs as a pillow. Apparently, raw skinship was her path of least resistance. Resigned, I stroked her hair as she sprawled out, waiting for my parents to arrive.
Roughly thirty minutes later.
"Yohan."
"You've arrived?"
"Haaah..."
My father appeared before us, looking utterly exhausted. Thankfully, he seemed to have arrived without serious injury.
"I never imagined finding a vacant inn in a capital this vast would be such an ordeal."
"Ah, I didn't think of that. With the recent string of terrorist attacks, quite a few people fled the city."
"If people fled, why in the world are there no rooms available?"
"Because the innkeepers fled too."
"Good grief..."
Father let out another weary groan while casting a sidelong glance at Yuna, who was now sitting upright beside me.
"Hello, Father. It's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. My name is Yuna."
"Ah, yes... Are you a friend of Yohan's?"
"I'm his girlfriend."
"Yohan, you really never run out of cheap tricks, do you? Your schemes are utterly transparent."
"You have remarkably little faith in me, Father."
"Young lady, how much did he pay you?"
As expected of my old man. He read right through my intentions without breaking a sweat.
"I didn't take a single coin. I truly love Yohan from the bottom of my heart."
"..."
Yet Yuna was a seasoned, consummate actor. Even I was taken aback by her deadpan, unwavering sincerity as she countered my father's interrogation. Father, having never encountered a performer of Yuna's caliber, blinked in wide-eyed astonishment, momentarily struck dumb.
...And to be brutally honest:
At this point, even I had no clue what was real and what wasn't.
The sheer passion with which Yuna regaled my father with the tale of how she fell for me was magnificent.
"Yes, if he hadn't saved me back then, I wouldn't even be standing here today."
With a hand pressed against her chest, Yuna spoke with an earnest, heartfelt countenance. Not a flicker of deception showed in her eyes—or at least, she made it look entirely genuine.
"Oho, such a thing happened...? Just like my boy. Exactly as I expected of a Damus!"
Setting aside Father's instantaneous, 180-degree flip in attitude...
...Wait, this is an act, right?
The emotional resonance was so organic that a seed of doubt sprouted in my chest. She isn't actually being serious, is she? Because it was Yuna, of all people, I genuinely couldn't tell.
"And that's how I came to love Yohan. Oh dear, saying it out loud is so embarrassing!"
Was this acting? Or was it real?
Just when I thought I had a handle on her personality, I found myself plunged right back into confusion. What if Yuna actually harbored feelings for me? Indulging in such delusions made me feel slightly pathetic, but can you blame me? I had done plenty of dramatic things for her.
Hmm... being too popular really is a burden.
"I see. I've listened to your words well, Miss Yuna. I apologize for my premature cynicism and for doubting you."
"You needn't apologize, Father! It was only natural to be suspicious given the circumstances. As long as you can acknowledge our relationship now..."
"However, it is still a fact that the two of you dating is a complete lie, is it not?"
"...Pardon?"
"My apology was strictly regarding your feelings. I merely apologized for treating your earnest affection as a farce."
The affable, sweet smile plastered across Yuna's face froze solid.
We've been caught. But how? It looked like she had him completely convinced!
"Yohan, your face gives away everything. You hopeless fool. At first, I was on the fence about whether it was true, but then I saw you staring at her with the exact same confused look on your face..."
"Ah, damn it..."
The problem was me.
Because I'd started wondering whether Yuna's acting was real, my internal turmoil had leaked right onto my face, and Father had picked up on it instantly. Deceiving family really was an impossible task.
"Well, regardless! Miss Yuna, your feelings have certainly reached me loud and clear!"
"N-No, um... Could we just pretend that was a lie too...?"
"It was truly passionate."
"P-Please stop..."
Yuna shuddered, trembling in sheer humiliation. Turns out she actually did possess a sense of shame. In all the time I'd known her, I'd never seen her like this.
"Now, would you mind giving us some privacy for a moment? I have family matters to discuss with my foolish son."
"Yes! Excuse me! Have a wonderful time, you two!"
In the end, completely abandoning our pact, Yuna waved the white flag and bolted for the exit at breakneck speed.
With that, every single plan involving her was scrapped in an instant.