Chapter 337: To Accept Is To Be Reborn [Part 1]
"... He bid for what again?!" Latifa asked, while looking at her Alter, Lumi, in disbelief.
It was already ten in the evening. The ladies of Endless Horizon, including Vaan, were at the clock tower for a sleep over.
They were all seated on the carpeted floor, with the exception of Nessia, who was inscribing runes at the round table.
However, the young lady was also paying close attention to the discussion, curious about Alex’s latest escapade.
Lumi had arrived a while ago, and started her tale, which had caught her interest. As someone who prided herself over her power of observation, Nessia understood that subtle relationship between her club members.
"He bid for lingerie in the Auction House," Lumi said in a solemn tone. "A very sexy one at that."
Latifa’s Third Alter had developed a habit of observing Alex on her free days, when Lotte was assigned to guard Latifa.
She had followed Alex all the way to the Velvet Vault Auction House, paying close attention to him every step of the way.
"Let me get this straight." Lavinia crossed her arms over her chest. "Alex went to the Velvet Vault. Then, he met Lady Aeris when she went to his VIP Room on her own, correct?"
"Right." Lumi nodded.
"So, they didn’t plan to meet at the auction house?"
"Based on Alex’s reaction, plus the way he handled the situation, I am sure it was a coincidence that both of them were at the auction house. However, I believe Lady Aeris might’ve known that Alex was there beforehand."
Lotte glanced at Latifa before asking Lumi a question.
"Did Alex say what he was going to do with the lingerie?" Lotte asked.
Lumi paused before giving Vaan a side-long glance.
"Actually, Lady Aeris also asked him that question," Lumi answered. "Alex didn’t answer right away. He looked really flustered at that time. But after she pressed him for answers, Alex said that he planned to gift it to Vaan."
Suddenly, they heard a sound that was somewhere between choking and coughing.
At the table, Nessia was doubled over, as if in pain.
The young lady coughed a couple of times more. Her eyes were red and moist with tears that were threatening to fall down her cheeks.
They weren’t tears of sadness, but tears of amusement. Out of some lingering respect for her president, she was doing her best to hold back those tears and laughter.
After realizing that Nessia was in no real danger except dying of laughter, the ladies turned their attention to Vaan, who was just sitting there in his white pajamas and looking like a delicate and innocent maiden.
Vaan blinked once then twice before a devilish smile appeared on his face.
He looked at his friends smugly, as if he felt that he was superior to them all, prompting them to click their tongues in annoyance.
""Tsk!""
Perhaps not wanting to worsen things, Nessia finally spoke up to defend Alex... At least, that was what everyone thought.
"Wait," Nessia said in a tone that made her sound like the voice of reason. "I think Alex lied when he said that he planned to give the lingerie to Vaan." She knew that Vaan was actually a boy in secret, which meant that the underwear set couldn’t be for him.
"What do you mean?" Lumi frowned. "I didn’t lie. Alex really said that he was planning to give it to Vaan."
"I’m not saying that you lied," Nessia replied calmly. "What I’m saying is that the situation forced him to come up with a name. Look, given the nature of his purchase, it is very obvious that he intended to give it away as a gift.
"Although he said that it was for Vaan, it was clearly a lie to stop Lady Aeris from pestering him for answers."
The girls thought that this was a possibility, so they pressed Nessia for answers.
"Then, who is the intended recipient?" Latifa inquired.
Nessia fixed her glasses, making herself look like some kind of detective who had managed to find the piece of evidence needed to crack an unsolvable case.
"The answer is really simple. Who among us will have their birthday soon?" Nessia asked.
As one who handled some of the affairs of their club room, Nessia knew the birthdates of all of their members.
At that moment, a gasp escaped Lotte’s lips.
"Tomorrow is Lapiz’s birthday," Lotte said in a serious tone. "Wait, don’t tell me..."
"Right." Nessia nodded. "That item should be his gift for Lapiz."
""What?!""
The ladies couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Of course, since Alex bought lingerie, he had to give it to someone. There was (hopefully) no way that he would wear such an item, so all of them believed that it was a gift for a girl.
But, after realizing who he wanted to give it to, Latifa, Lavinia, Lotte, and Lumi, all stared at Nessia. Their complicated expression revealed that they were all wondering if they should shoot the messenger.
"Think about it," Nessia said with a smile, unbothered by the killing intent that seemed to have saturated the club room. "Alex couldn’t possibly tell Lady Aeris that he planned to gift that item to her sister, right? If he had done that, I doubt our president would still be among the living now.
"I won’t be surprised if she would do everything she could to force Lapiz to leave our club and prevent her from ever seeing Alex again. Since that’s the case, he couldn’t have answered truthfully."
Naturally, Nessia also had no idea what Alex planned to do with the lingerie set.
She was simply fanning the flames because she wanted to see the world burn!
This was her revenge for all that overtime he made her do!
Alex better give her an entertaining show in exchange for all the runes she had to transcribe on talismans, magic stones, and all sorts of artifacts he procured "just in case" they were needed one day!
Nessia might be mature and reliable, but that didn’t mean she was going to pass up on the chance to get back at Alex.
Just as she expected, Latifa, Lavinia, Lumi, and Lotte, looked like they were ready to crucify the young man and whip him until he confessed his crimes.
Vaan, on the other hand, covered his lips to hide his smile. Like Nessia, he had to resist the urge to burst out laughing.
Their eyes met briefly. A little smirk appeared on Nessia’s face, lasting just long enough for Vaan to see it.
Whether their guesses were accurate or not, Alex would find himself in deep waters for the next few days...
The next day...
"Happy birthday, sister!" Prince Kaelen exclaimed as he handed Lapiz a storage ring. "This is a gift from me, father, and mother. Both of them wish to celebrate your birthday with you, but since they can’t leave the Kingdom, they have asked me to give this to you in their stead."
"Thank you, Kaelen," Lapiz replied, holding the ring with tenderness and pressing it close to her chest. "I’ll treasure it."
"And, this is my gift to you." Aeris summoned a silver orb from her storage ring, which was pulsating with golden runes at its center. "Happy birthday, Lapiz."
"Thank you, sister," Lapiz accepted the silver orb, wondering what it was. "Sister, what is this?"
"It’s a Pseudo-Legendary Weapon," Aeris answered. "Its name is Enigma, and it will transform into a weapon that best suits its wielder. A droplet of your blood is needed in order to activate it, and it will transform into a weapon. Go ahead, try it."
"A Pseudo-Legendary Weapon?" Lapiz’s eyes widened in shock. "Sister, this must be very expensive."
"It’s not that expensive," Aeris answered. "I bought it at a discounted price."
Aeris had no intention of letting Lapiz know how much she had really paid for Enigma. If Lapiz knew that it cost twenty thousand gold coins, she might not accept it as a birthday gift!
Yes, Aeris bought Enigma as a gift for her sister, who had just turned eighteen years old.
This was also the reason why she had made such aggressive bids at the Velvet Vault. She believed that Lapiz would need this weapon in the upcoming Dungeon Expedition and there was no way she would allow her sister to be underprepared.