— ??? —
Within the opulent bedroom, sunlight stread through the window, wall, chandelier, and various decorations were adorned with golden gears and intricate clockwork. A silver-haired, goddess-like woman slowly rose from her bed. The blue jewel on her forehead shimred with a mysterious light.
Traces of tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes, while her sapphire-blue gaze carried a sense of longing, nostalgia, and guilt.
She looked at the grand, golden clock on the wall and saw that it was ti for Maximilian to wake up. She quickly stood, waved her hand, and her nightdress transford into a white, elegant gown—one befitting soone ready to receive guests.
The silver-haired goddess hurried from her tower bedroom to her observation room—a chamber connected to the universe itself, allowing her to observe events, feed her desire for entertainnt, and more importantly... connect to Maximilian's System.
On the screen, she saw Maximilian had just woken up, tears still at the corners of his eyes—just like hers. He touched the dried trail on his cheek, then his expression shifted into sothing serious.
"System... no... Eleanor, is that you?" Maximilian's voice ca through the machine.
"Er..." The goddess-like woman froze. She didn't know how to respond. Quickly, she turned her face away from the monitor.
"Ahhhhh, how am I supposed to answer that? He hates liars with a passion! I can't lie to him—but if I tell him the full truth, he might never want to speak to again!" she muttered to herself, clutching her head in panic.
"Ah! I've got it!" she exclaid, spinning around and hastily typing on the keyboard to send a ssage:
[System is under maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience.]
—The ssage appeared without the usual system voice.
"Cut the crap, Eleanor! I know it's you! Your antics, your teasing, the way you talk—I never forgot! Now that I know, there's no point pretending anymore!" Maximilian shouted, his voice filled with frustration.
"Ahhhh! Goddamn it! Can't you give so ti!? I still haven't thought of a good excuse!" the silver-haired goddess cried out, gripping her head in frustration—before realizing...
"Oops."
She had forgotten she was still speaking toward the machine—her voice, along with her emotional state, was being broadcast directly to Maximilian through the System UI.
— On Maximilian Side —
[Ahhhh! Goddamn it! Can't you give so ti!? I still haven't thought of a good excuse yet! (＞﹏＜)]
[Oops. (・∀・;)]
Seeing this, Maximilian's mouth twitched. This girl never changes! She is still a goofball.
At first, he had felt a strange familiarity with the System's antics and harbored suspicions—many of them, actually. But he never imagined that it would actually be his deceased girlfriend, the one who died from leukemia in his previous life.
But... a smile involuntarily crept onto the corner of his lips. A deep sense of relief, born from long-held longing, welled up in his heart.
It's good to see her again... and to hear her voice.
"Okay, go ahead... do your best. I can wait," Maximilian said, crossing his arms.
[Err... Max, don't you need to teach Ricardo and his gang today? (;￣Д￣)]
"You're right," Maximilian nodded.
[Right? So... (◕ヮ◕)]
"Give a minute," Maximilian replied. He then took out his phone and dialed Ricardo. After a few monts, the call connected.
"Ricardo? It's . Training today is postponed. I've got so important business to take care of... I'll make it up to you later."
With that, Maximilian hung up.
"Now I have an entire day... I can wait," he said with a smirk.
[You... (￣▽￣;)]
Maximilian waited patiently. anwhile, on the silver-haired goddess's side, the awkwardness and pressure continued to build as ti passed. After about half an hour, she finally spoke.
[Err... What do you want to know?] the System asked reluctantly.
"Everything. From the start..." Maximilian said firmly.
[I... I don't want to lie to you.]
"Then don't. What's the problem?"
[It's not as easy as you think. I can't... and I didn't dare to tell you.]
"You can't, or you didn't dare to?"
[Err... a bit of both, actually.]
Hearing this, Maximilian let out a long sigh.
It wasn't that he wanted to corner her like this, but he was a little angry. Did he care about the truth? Maybe... but not as much as he cared about being reunited with her again.
Back then, when he thought he had lost her forever, sothing inside him had changed. It felt like a part of his soul had vanished alongside her.
Now... he had the chance to see her again.
It felt like a dream co true.
"So... what can you tell , Eleanor?" he asked.
[Err... Before we start... my na is Atherna. Can you call that? I feel really strange hearing you call by that na.]
"Oh... is that your na in this world? Alright, Atherna... tell what you can," Maximilian said, then waited patiently for Atherna to respond.
[Okay... First... I didn't want to hide who I really am from you, but... I just wanted to tease you and...] Atherna stuttered.
"~Sigh. And you just wanted to tease too much, then sohow missed the right mont to reintroduce yourself. After that, you were afraid I'd get angry, and you couldn't help but keep up the act. Am I right?" Maximilian finished the sentence for her.
[That... that's right... I'm sorry,] Atherna said in a small voice.
"What's next?" he asked.
[Umm... Second... Please believe when I say I didn't dare tell you because... there's a reason. One I still can't disclose. But know this—I never wanted any harm to co to you. When you're stronger in the future... I'll see if I can safely tell you.] Atherna said with a bit of hesitation.
"Safely tell ? Are you in any danger?" he asked, worried.
[No! No, not like that... It's complicated. Please... don't ask anymore. I don't want to lie to you. I know you hate that,] said Atherna.
"Okay... anything else?"
[There's... one more thing. It's not a confession... it's a favor,] she said.
"Favor? What do you need?"
[If... in the future, you co to know that I've... wronged you in the past, can you promise not to hate ?] she asked.
"In the past? You an like... the ti you were trolling ? Or when you brought a group of aggro monsters to when we played that ga back then?" Maximilian joked. He couldn't rember a ti when she had truly wronged him—not even once.
Okay, maybe so trolling and teasing had annoyed him occasionally, but that was it. Annoyed, yes—but angry? Never. He knew that was just her nature.
[Er... sothing like that... but... it's a little more than that,] Atherna stuttered again.
"Don't worry, Athel... I promise, I won't hate you. So you don't have to worry."
With that promise, Atherna let out a smile. This had always been one of her fears—
She'd been afraid all along that he might one day hate her.
[Athel?] Atherna repeated.
"Your pet na—just like how you call Max. Atherna is a bit too long," said Maximilian.
[Oh! I see... Athel, huh? (´∀`) ]
"Why? Don't like it?"
[No, I like it. (๑>ᴗ
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