!!!"Emily"s body became engulfed with white light as it reformed itself through divinity. She"s now wearing a tight bodysuit that is white on the right half, and black on the left. She also had a right angel wing and a left devil wing. Her pink hair became princess-long, and her fists sp.a.w.ned bone claws like Wolverine. She"s also wearing a half skull mask.
"Wooooooow!!!" All of us were filled with amazement.
"That form is a lot cooler than your sister"s," Heushac muttered.
"Y-Yeah!" I cheered. "And you"re way a lot prettier and s.e.xier!"
"Thank you, everyone!" G.o.ddess Hel bowed. "I hope I"ll be of help in our upcoming battle against Helena!"
"You sure do," Rikkun replied with a smile.
Hearing those positive words coming from the arrogant king, G.o.ddess Hel was now blus.h.i.+ng. She held her bountiful chest and made a soft yet heavy breathing three times.
"M-Master Alaric p-p-praised me!? This is the first time!" She exclaimed.
"H-Huh!?" Rikkun cluelessly tilted his head.
Lord Hel gasped so much air as if it was her last. Then, she released all her feelings to our leader in a series of shocking sentences.
"Master Alaric! This is the first time you really praised me and acknowledged my existence! Now that I have become a G.o.ddess, I think I"m more than worthy enough! I want to confess one last time! I...I...I love you!!!"
All of us were silenced.
W-W-What the heck was that for? That was so sudden and without a warning! Wait, is this the sixty-third time she confessed to Rikkun!?
On the background, I can hear soft voices and whispers.
"This won"t end up so well again…" Key muttered.
"Emily is a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t. She only confesses just to get hurt." Heushac whispered.
"E-Emily-chan…" I held my heart.
Rikkun looked around, and finally locked eyes with me for about a second. Then he stared at the prideless G.o.ddess in front of him. There"s a hint of a smirk on his lips.
I know that there"s going to be a painful rejection once again.
My fist is ready. I hope his nose is ready too.
"Emily…" Rikkun made an eye-to-eye contact to the confessing G.o.ddess.
"Y-Y-Yes!" G.o.ddess Hel unleashed steam from her ears as she reverted back to her maid form. I didn"t know that Rikkun"s stare can even cancel the power of a G.o.ddess!
"I… I"m sorry. I can"t respond to your feelings." Rikkun"s eyes sparkled as he unleashed gentle words with a smile. "I"ve seen your hard work… your determination… and your willpower. But sadly, those things that you are showing are not for me. There are better guys out there who deserve you more. And I… I already have somebody to love."
Everybody became silent.
n.o.body expected this to happen. This is the very first-time Rikkun properly rejected a confession.
Emily bowed. Tears started to fall from her eyes. She never shed a tear during those past painful rejections she had. Now is the very first time.
Rikkun slowly approached the sobbing maid and petted her head. "Good work, Emily. You are a vital part of the Aether Crusade. We all acknowledge your hard work and determination."
"Thank you, Master Alaric… Thank you… Thank you…" Emily cried on Rikkun"s chest.
Rikkun maintained his smile as he stroked the sorrowful maid"s pink hair. Then he looked at me.
My only reply to him is a pure and genuine smile. I"m glad that Rikkun finally learned his lesson.
<>
It was already ten in the evening. The sidewalks and the highways would be full of darkness if it wasn"t for the bright street lamps. It would be dangerous for a girl to walk this late, so Rikkun escorted me once again.
We don"t have the usual awkward silence because we had something to talk about.
"I couldn"t believe that you made a proper rejection to her, Rikkun!" I happily said. "I know you"re not a rude person!"
"Let"s just say I learned my lessons from you. Your demonstration on that cherry blossom tree last Valentine"s helped me save my nose just this time." He said. Then he muttered under his voice. "Though it"s mostly your fault that my nose would always get broken."
"Ahahaha…" I scratched my head. "I"m sorry about that. Don"t worry, I"ll heal you if I ever failed to control my fist again."
For some reason, Rikkun is not paying attention to my words. His eyes are focused on something in front.
He"s just staring at the flickering street lamp from afar, fifty meters away from us.
Flick. Flick. Flick.
The street lamp blinks three times.
The fourth time it went on, it lighted something sinister. It revealed the face of a woman with crimson red eyes.
It was…
Helena Efilion.