Chương 9: Broken Script

After Vionette finished her tea, Noa had leaned back casually against the wall, folding his arms over his chest and propping one foot flat against the surface. Vionette stood directly facing him, her fingers shifting through her long hair to fix the stray strands as they talked.

"So, what's my payment?" Vionette stopped her hands mid-motion. She tilted her head slightly, her crimson eyes narrowing in faint, genuine confusion at his question.

"Payment? You're not getting a payment."

"Ah-ha. That's a good amou—" Noa blinked once, then twice, his expression freezing.

"WHAAAAT?"

"You're my partner, Blackie," Vionette laughed softly and delivered a smooth, playful flick right to his forehead.

"So my money is your money, and my position is your position."

"Oh… That's what you meant." Noa brushed the spot she had just flicked.

"Why are you calling me 'Blackie'?"

"Teehee~ With that hair colour and matching eyes, I just thought it suits you." She winked at him, her face lighting up with a playful expression.

"Enough of that, let's get to the main point." Turning on her heel, Vionette walked back toward the dining table and sat down sideways on the wooden chair nearest to him. She rested her one elbow flat on the table, propping that hand up just above her ear, while her other hand rested lazily over the back of the chair.

"First of all, I don't have any talent for combat. And when I meant 'any', I meant none. No high Aether capability to use magic, no physical strength." She raised a single index finger to emphasize the point.

"I'm not even an Augmented Lifeform like you." A Vital Lifeform—a normal individual with little to no Aether—could eventually transform into an Augmented Lifeform by gathering enough Aether into their Aether Core. While still physical, their cells would degrade slower, effectively halting their aging and pushing their physical capabilities far beyond mortal biological limits.

"I could guess that with how pitiful your aura is. But why…" Noa paused, his gaze drifting to Vionette's blade leaned against the table with a deadpan expression. The sword looked almost like a katana because of its delicate, sweeping curves. Its double-edged blade was white like her hair, with thin crimson veins rooting through the middle from the guard all the way to the tip. The guard itself was dark, holding a small metallic crimson rose.

The grip was wrapped in black leather threaded with thin lines of red, ending in a tear-shaped pommel that held a small, deep-red gem. What's with the cool-looking sword? Noa thought to himself.

"Don't look so suspicious. It's just made for looks, bro. You know, it kinda looks cool, right?" Vionette grinned at his stare, her royal posture slipping into casual excitement.

"Its name is Crimson Night. It is better than common swords, but I can't use its full power."

"Then, I got just the idea!" Noa said loudly, a proud smirk breaking across his face as he lifted his chin up high.

"Just give it to ME!!!"

"OH HELL NAH!" Vionette hissed, quickly grabbing her sword and hugging it protectively against her chest.

"I am NOT giving my sword to you! It's mine!"

"Yea, yea, just keep it. Imma make one on my own anyways." Noa moved his hands dramatically.

"By the way, just saying, I might even fall for you by how compatible we are."

"…Well, don't say it to my face, you idiot. It's embarrassing." She smiled faintly, a soft tint of pink warming her pale cheeks as she buried her face behind the flat of the blade.

"That aside, on the note of clothi—""'I can almost fall for you', he said." A bratty, highly amused voice cut through the air.

"Right? The ship can't be sailing this fast." An elegant voice added right after the first. A vein instantly pulsed at Noa's temple as he recognized the two voices he had been dealing with for more than four years. He turned his head slowly, his expression twisting as he looked over at the doorway. Sure enough, Mara and Lina were standing right there near the frame, their shoulders pressed together as they openly eavesdropped on the conversation. So they were listening.

They're going to brag about this for at least a month. Noa opened his mouth to snap at them, but as he looked at his little sister, his irritated expression suddenly softened into a look of genuine care. But more importantly… Lina looks cheerful again.

"Hey. Were you guys eavesdropping?!"

"Sigh, I thought my son was going to get a girlfriend," Mara said, pressing a hand flat against her cheek with an incredibly dramatic sigh.

"Keep up the good work, big bro!" Lina gave him a massive thumbs-up, her bright blue eyes sparkling with mischief. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. AHH!!! These two...! Do they not care that she's a princess? Scratching his cheek with a finger, Then again… neither do I.

"Ahem!" Vionette gently cleared her throat, trying to pull the attention back to her.

"Sorry about that, you can go on."

"That's okay. So what I wanted to know was…" She paused before standing up and walking toward Noa, her expression shifting completely.

"…why the hell couldn't you stay still in Cyradis until I came?! I HAD TO DO A COMPLETE ONE-EIGHTY just when I was near the border!"

"Wait! Wait! Hear me out—" Noa stammered, raising his hands defensively as she pressed the issue. Before he could continue his sentence, Lina suddenly lunged forward, jumping directly in front of the two of them. She spread her hands far apart, standing firmly facing Vionette like a tiny, protective human shield.

"It's not big bro's fault! And why are you shouting at him?!" Lina shouted back, her small brows knitting together tightly. Vionette froze. It wasn't because she was offended by the sudden accusation, but because of how the little girl looked standing in front of her.

"This kid…" Vionette whispered, her voice dropping into a soft murmur as she placed a hand over her mouth.

"When I helped her earlier, I thought she was cute, but now that the blood on her is gone… she is soo cute!"

"That's right, brother!" Lina declared dramatically, suddenly spinning around to face Noa.

"It's your stupidity that got you into trouble! Look at this beautiful lady and learn!"

"H-HEY!! You switched up way too quickly, you brat!" Noa pointed his finger at her in utter annoyance.

"Bleeeh~" Lina quickly ducked behind Vionette and hugged her waist, using the princess as a shield.

"Cute—Ah! I nearly forgot what I was going to say." Vionette reached down, her fingers twitching with the urge to poke Lina's puffed-out cheek, but she instantly remembered the point she had forgotten due to the sudden cuteness overload.

"Let's go shopping!"

"…What?" Noa blinked.

"Don't look at me like that. If you're going to live in the castle, you need good clothes, like mine!"

"Well alright…?" Noa muttered, relenting. Good god, that outfit really does look gorgeous on her. Noa scanned up and down at Vionette's clothes. It's like a gacha game ahh outfit mixed with modern fashion and fantasy vibes.

"Quit staring at me like a pervert." Vionette said flatly before she turned her attention back down toward Lina.

"Hey cute girl, what's your name~?" She asked, gently patting Lina's head.

"Lina!" the girl replied brightly, looking up.

"Okay then, Lina." Vionette crouched down slightly to match Lina's height, her expression warming.

"Get your mother's and your things. We're going somewhere faaaar away."

"We're already done," Mara said from near the doorstep, casually holding a piece of luggage in her hand.

"Eh?" Vionette turned her head.

"Yes. We were planning to move tomorrow anyway." Mara explained with a serene smile. I can understand myself agreeing to the proposal, but how the fuck did you two decide to just go with it this so fast? Noa stared between his mother and his sister, completely dumbfounded.

"Then let's go shooopping~! I know the best place!" Vionette launched a hand high into the air, flashing a vibrant peace sign.

"Yayyy! Let's go!" Lina cheered, bouncing on her heels. As Noa watched the two of them enthusiastically hurry out past the doorstep, Mara walked up behind him. She gave a gentle tap to his shoulder with hers as she passed. He looked over at her, and she simply smiled and tilted her head toward the doorway before continuing her walk outside. Noa smiled, an unintentional grin forming on his face as he shook his head and followed her out into the open air.

Even though she only needed one transport vehicle to come here, Vionette had come prepared with two full carriages. Noa and Vionette sat inside the interior of the lead carriage, while Lina and Mara were guarded by a knight and the green-haired medic inside the second one trailing right behind them. The rhythmic clattering of the wheels signaled they had just now passed the Thalaor borders. Throughout the long journey, Vionette had explained a few things to Noa.

So, although she calls herself 'princess', she's technically the queen of Crimvane. And her parents had been assassinated by a rival kingdom…?

"…And that's what happened on my side so far." Noa ended his own story, wrapping up the summary of his past few chaotic years. He was sitting right on the edge of his cushioned seat, his right ankle placed on top of his left knee. He leaned an elbow heavily against the wooden window frame, looking out through the glass pane at the passing landscape.

"Darius Corvain from Cyradis… So it was him?" Vionette asked, her crimson eyes narrowing. She sat directly on the opposite seat's edge, her legs elegantly crossed as always and her arms folded tightly across her chest, while her whole body leaned back against the carriage wall.

"You know him?" Noa turned his gaze away from the window, looking straight at her.

"Not personally. But I heard stories about him—a talentless knight who suddenly rose in power and brought Cyradis up in power using his 'knowledge'." A cruel smile mixed with genuine pleasure spread across her face.

"And looking at your story and combining everything together… he's a regressor."

"What…?"

"A sudden rise in power and unknown knowledge, the targeted attack on your very first day, that Aoyama dude's betrayal, and if we assume he brought the analyzing device too… he knew you had no system."

"I mean… that head mage said he was the one who brought it." Noa tightened his lips, nodding along as the pieces of the puzzle began to click together.

"The hero Shun Aoyama, the antagonist Darius Corvain, and the anomaly Asakura Syo. The story was fully meant to unfold like that." Pointing a finger directly at Noa, she added, "But another anomaly named Noa changed the plot completely."

"What is this? A power fantasy novel?" Noa let out a dry laugh, shaking his head.

"I'm not joking." Her voice lowered.

"In the past few months, while analyzing Vionette's memories, I noticed strange phenomena. And I think…" She turned her face toward the landscape outside for a brief second before giving him a sharp side-eye.

"…This is a world where stories unfold." … A few months later, clop… clop… The carriage slowed down before the coachman announced from the front, "My lady, we've arrived at your destination."

"We're already in Crimvane?" Noa asked, pressing his face tight over the window pane and looking outside to see where they had stopped. Vionette stared at his pressed cheek blankly.

"No. This is where my favorite clothing shop is, Lythoria. We can go to Crimvane after passing here and make you a sword." She gave him a proud thumbs-up.

"I've already recruited the best dwarf there is to make one." Recruited? Is she building an Avengers team? Who does she think she is? Fucking Nick Fury?

"Hey," Lina whispered after jumping down from their carriage, peeking through the window with a smirk.

"Did you two enjoy the ride alone together~?" Noa ignored her, stepped out of the carriage, and looked at the bustling streets in front of him. With one hand in his pocket and the other hanging lazily at his side, his commoner clothes waved in the wind of the busy capital.

"Well then, let's get some outfits."