“I can't believe it…” Miguel thought to himself.

(“I have two women in my apartment. Me. The diamond hermit*…”)

*The title the few friends he had remaining referred to him as.

He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming and watched as the two women talked to each other.

(“This is supposed to be a great moment isn't it?”) He thought to himself. (“Then why?”)

He was a few feet away on the floor clutching his chest, as he gasped for air.

(“Why the hell is the atmosphere so thick!?”)

He thought as he struggled to pull himself up. The women noticed the pathetic man on the ground and decided to ease off their intimidation of the other.

“What's wrong Miggy, having a hard time with two women in your house?” She asked as she pulled him up back to his feet.

“Shut up, I don't want Lucy thinking the stupid shit you say has any merit!” He said as he landed flat on his feet. He quickly turned around to the other woman. “Oh, don't worry Lucy, we're just joking around.”

“I feel your plight, Miguel, I don't I'd feel at ease with two men in my abode.”

“I think you'd feel uncomfortable for a different reason than I am.” He then whispered the next part to Louise. “Though with how strong you are, maybe I should be afraid for that reason.”

She pinched his side. “If you don't shut your mouth I'll open up Google and tell the shadiest escort I can find about you. You'll have a real reason to fear that happening to you then, rich boy.” She answered with a dark chuckle.

“My, what are you two talking about?” Lucy asked as she pretended to be unaware of what they said.

“Nothing important Lucy.” She answered.

Miguel breathed a sigh of relief she didn't hear that and Louise continued. “So you found her, what now?”

“Hmm?” The woman thought. She placed a finger against her lips and really seemed to be thinking about her next course of action.

Miguel leaned over to Louise and began whispering. “Hey, is she like an airhead? She kinda has that oblivious aura to her, you know? No disrespect.”

“She's many things but stupid isn't one of them,” Louise answered. (“I just hope she isn't plotting anything too annoying.”)

“Why don’t we take this time to deepen our respective friendships?” She answered after considerable thought. “After all… I hope you won't take my words in the wrong context but I'd love to get to know you more Miguel.” She said with a smile. To Miguel, it was one of an angel. To Louise, it was more artificial than red 40.

“O-of course not. I've just met you after all.” He said as his mind was already creating fantasies of her. “How do you suppose we get closer?” He asked.

“I'd love to play a board game with you two.”

Louise slowly walked over and whispered something in her ear. “If you choose twister I swear to God I'll {redacted for the sake of brevity and common decency}”

Even the carefree Lucy had to look at her with caution after a comment like that. “My, I had no idea you were into those sorts of things Louise, but I'm not sure the boy would approve if you did something like that here.”

“He'll just have to settle with a new fetish,” she said as she placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Miguel, do you have a twister? I've never played it before but Louise said it'd make for an excellent bonding experience.” The woman said with an unapologetic vigour in her voice.

Miguel looked at Louise with a glare and the woman played along.

“Don't look at me like that. If you have a box, you've been waiting for a day like this to happen even since you bought it.” She tapped Lucy back a few times, with the taps sounding more like slaps from Miguel's ears.

Miguel clicked his teeth at the comment and looked at them with mild discomfort. “Do you guys seriously want to play Twister?”

“You actually bought it?” Louise asked. She was just joking around earlier, what the hell would a guy like him need it for? Well he was rich, so it wasn't unthinkable he'd hire a bunch of hot women to-

“Wipe that look off your face, please. My brother gifted it to me during a Christmas and I couldn't be bothered to throw it away.” He walked over to a nearby drawer and pulled it out. It was as fresh as could be and even had plastic wrap on it.

“I can guess what he said when he gave you it. “Hopefully, you can find enough women to play it with.”” She said in a voice similar to Micheal's.

“Here's hoping you can find enough women to play it with…” He said, recanting his brother’s exact words. Miguel's eyes lost their warmth and he slowly placed the box back, embarrassed of the person who gave him it.

“So what do you want to play actually, Lucy?” Miguel asked.

“Is Twister truly not on the table? The way Louise described made it sound quite fun.”

“He'll probably die of a heart attack if one of these touches him.” Louise soon had a hand placed under one of Lucy's breasts like she was holding up a basketball. “Want a feel Miggy? I don't think she's picky.”

He blushed before turning around and looking for the first game he could get his hands on.

----------------------------------------

He soon returned with the game but both women were disappointed with what he brought back. They were all gathered around a table with Miguel taking his seat.

“Oh,” Lucy said with a hint of disappointment.

“Can't we just roll some dice?”

“You guys said a game and this is one right?”

In Miguel's hand was a familiar box of colourful cards labelled one to nine.

“Yeah but…” Lucy said as she dragged with her speech. “(While this game is quite well adjusted for infuriating other players, I need something with more substance to figure out how they truly feel about each other.) Can we add a penalty for losing?”

“Huh? I mean, I don't see why not but I'm surprised, you didn't seem like the competitive type.” Tibaut answered. He began shuffling the cards and gave the parties their hands.

“Careful, your real face is slipping,” Louise whispered to her, grinning from ear to ear.

“(I can't suggest stripping now, can I? I do think it'd be interesting to see who he'd have laid bare first but it's far too soon for something like that… Maybe something more innocent, like a date or even that king's game I heard of? No even that seems extreme for a man like this. What would show his feelings regarding her without- Ah ha.) Being around someone as strong and spirited as her benefitted me in some ways.” She said with a smile. “Do you accept, Miguel?”

“Sure I accept, (I mean it's not Louise is suggested it. Knowing her she’d probably have the losers run around the building naked or something.) What are we betting?” He asked.

“The losers will have to say what they think of the winner. (I won't use my powers but reading an expression with the current topic will make deciphering his feelings a simple task.) I believe that is a nice way for us to pass the time and learn from each other better.”

“I guess that's okay. I personally don't like that sort of stuff but with only three people, I suppose it isn't so bad.” Miguel answered.

Louise immediately sniffed out what Lucy was planning and was going to make sure it never came to pass.

“So are house rules fine with you two?”

“Yes, I feel it's too pedestrian for me, normally.”

“The more chaotic the better,” Louise answered.

He shrugged his shoulders and the game began.

They played rock paper scissors and Miguel went first.

(“She's obviously going to try and get me to win.”) Louise thought. (“Now I'm… not sure about Miguel honestly, I can't tell if he's just starstruck with the first woman he's seen in a while or actually considers me in those ways but regardless, if he has something regarding me that's serious, then she's gonna know how he feels about me.”)

Louise hadn't been seriously trying to figure this out for her own reasons but she absolutely could not allow Lucy to obtain this information. She hoped it wasn't the case but if it was that Miguel liked her then…

(“Ah, I can find what I want so easily if I asked him directly but where'd the fun be in that? Joking aside, I'd like to get this done as safely as possible. It hasn't happened yet but he might see through my intentions if I immediately asked him if he loved Louise. I asked something similar before but I was so focused on taking him, that I wasn't paying attention to his reactions.”)

Miguel played his first card and Lucy placed hers down second.

(“However there is a flaw with this whole situation.”) Louise thought. (“I have to win for any of that to happen. But that bitch already knows this.”)

Louise moved to draw a card but Lucy grabbed her hand.

“Louise, why are you drawing a card when you already have the number?”

“!”

“Huh? Did you get a glimpse of Louise? You're not supposed to let out something like that outright.”

“Oh dear, my apologies, I wanted to keep it quiet but she made a strange move.”

“Well, wait a sec, are you trying to sandbag Louise? Why would you-”

“She likely feels embarrassed at how I would talk about her and would rather avoid it.”

(“Tch, you bitch, she probably figured it out from the reflection of my eyeball. You don't like using your true power for stuff like this but that body's always been fair game. It might even be more ridiculous than mine.”) Louise thought as she grabbed the cards.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“She already knows my cards so why not reshuffle the deck? By the way, wanna add a new house rule?”

“Which is?”

“If someone’s sandbagging then they lose automatically and the other two win. (Well if you lose then I don't have to worry about you trying to read Miguel.)”

“And how would we do that without messing up the game?”

“Simple, we just keep our cards face up. We're just playing for fun after all.” Lucy answered.

“(This bitch! I was hoping we could kill the game entirely) Come on Miguel, this is stupid.”

“Hmm,” He looked at her and smirked. “If you're so afraid about what she has to say, I'm kinda curious what it is, let's do it.”

“(You little ass!) Whatever, it's not even that interesting.”

The cards were reshuffled and placed again.

But Miguel wasn't convinced. “Hey Lucy, could you reshuffle those?”

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about, I already shuffled them!”

“Yeah, but…”

“She might have done something shady, correct?” Lucy added.

“Do you gamble Louise?”

“I mean sometimes but it's not a comm- Are you saying I'm cheating? Fine then have that blonde bitch shuffle it since you don't trust me. I'll win this game and I won't go easy on you when you're talking about me. You probably think I'm a crackwhore or something.”

Miguel shot her a look of “Could you tone it down, I don't feel comfortable talking like that with her around.”

The deck was then handed to Lucy.

She carefully watched as Lucy shuffled them but to show how trustworthy she was, she aimed the front of the cards towards the ground while she stood and shuffled them for an extended period before handing them to Miguel for the final shuffle.

(“Whatever, if it's not your set it's pretty hard to cheat with these sorts of cards.”)

Miguel placed his and Lucy placed hers. With nowhere to run, Louise placed down hers as well. And the turns slowly ticked on by and…

----------------------------------------

(“H-how did she?”)

In Lucy's hands were thirteen cards. Miguel had three and Louise had five.

“Lady luck doesn't seem to be treating you well today, Lucy.”

“Sigh, and I had high hopes as well.”

(“Her sandbagging is one thing but how did she get me a winning hand?”)

Soon she only had two cards in her hand and both her cards were the exact same. A skip-turn card.

With Miguel skipped, Lucy was guaranteed to get her to play the card.

(“I'll have to play it in when my turn comes around.”)

She sighed as it came to her and placed one of the cards down. She could only hope when Miguel spoke of her, he considered her only as a friend and nothing more.

(“Now, I can finally figure out how to go about dealing with him. He obviously means a lot to her and she's quite protective, but in what way is he important?”)

As she hesitated to place the second card, Miguel said “You didn't say Uno.”

CHAPTER 31

“Damn, you're right!” Louise snarled as she picked up the cards.

She picked up a card and Miguel raised an eyebrow.

“It's supposed to be two cards.”

“Well, you said house rules and the rules I play with is to pick one.”

“Tsk, which rules do you play with Lucy, I don't feel like arguing with Louise over this.”

“Come on Miguel, this is a pain in the ass!”

“Shush you, I'm waiting for her to respond,” Miguel responded, preparing to show her a middle finger but quickly aborted as he looked back to Lucy.

“Well, since I usually play with Lucy…”

Miguel’s face lost any sort of joy as she talked.

(“This isn't good, she is trying to annoy him into quitting the game before any of us win. While it would be beneficial for me to side with her, if she continues doing this then he might just throw out the game and try to move onto something else. Damn you Louise, are you trying to get me in a position to access every rule that benefits you?”)

Lucy thought as she changed course. “I'd suggest that rule as well, but it's your home, and I feel we should be playing with your rules.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Pick the two cards up bitc- Louise.” He said with a smirk.

She did her best to seem miserable as she picked them up and thought about her next move.

(“I don't like her winning either but all she'll get is empty words from me and a bit of meaningless ogling from Mr. Newton over there.”)

She breathed a sigh as her next two cards weren't in any way or form similar.

(“But how is that bitch Lucy doing that?”) She wondered as she looked at the cards.

The next turn came and went and Louise played another card with Miguel playing one as well.

She watched her more closely this time and noticed she'd pull a card from the pile very strangely. She put her finger on the top and used her finger to either pick out the third or fourth card on top of the pile. When she pulled a card that wasn't from the top out she'd usually scoff and quickly pull it out as if she made a mistake. This was done fast enough not to draw any attention to it.

(“Did she somehow mark the deck? No, she'd have to done while we were watching the shuffle to pull that off, but how the hell did she-”)

Louise quickly looked on the floor and began cursing all sorts of things in her mind.

She looked into it and saw her own reflection off the tiled floor. That bitch memorised the deck of the floor's reflection and kept that order in mind before Miguel shuffled them. It might sound a bit much for the average human but with her, it wouldn't be all that shocking.

(“As long as it’s within human capabilities that bitch will do whatever and say she's not cheating.”)

Louise looked into her hand and smirked before throwing down her card and reaching out her hand.

“Come on Tibaut, hand your cards over.”

“We're playing sevens as well? I guess you did say something about chaos.”

(“Won't you at least ask me if I agree?”) Lucy wondered. Being the third person only mattered when two people argued.

She got Miguel’s arguably better hand and he was left with two of the same colour, which was pretty much guaranteed he would draw a few cards based on the current one laid down.

After realising sevens were being played, Lucy quickly swapped hands with Miguel as her deck was chock-full of them.

(“Tch, I forgot about that variant. I never expected the boy would agree so easily to it as well.”)

It didn't matter too much, she knew the cards well and could play around it.

----------------------------------------

The game went on for twenty more minutes and Miguel sat in agony as he pulled out two more cards. He had five, Louise eight and Lucy twenty-three.

“God damnit, can somebody just win this game already!?” Miguel yelled.

“The sevens have made the game more time-consuming, can we exclude it for the time being?” Lucy asked.

“Oh, do you have to go somewhere soon?” He asked.

“No, not especially, but a game like this dragging on for far too long can drag down the mood.”

“Right… So how do you feel about this Louise?”

“We can stop right if you'd like, and play rock paper scissors to decide the winner.”

He turned back to the blonde woman.

“(I'm surprised she didn't try to worm her way out of it.) Are you good with that Lucy? I'm good either way.”

“(Her reaction times are similar to mine in our bodies so it would be a fifty per cent chance either of us succeed… I'll take the guaranteed win.) N-no, I've come this far, I still have a chance to win.”

“That's the mentality Lucy, let's go all out.”

She said as she picked a card from the pile. But this time was odd. She used a trick similar to Lucy.

(“How did she… So she has started keeping track as well.”)

Around a few minutes ago the draw pile was getting thin, so they decided to reshuffle the deck with Miguel being the one to do so using the discard pile. With only ten cards left, it was easy for Louise to avoid the unseen cards when they topped the pile.

(“She knows all but ten cards, but as the game goes on she'll know all of them.”)

The best Lucy could hope for was thinning out the pile fast enough to thin the draw pile out for her to reshuffle. But when would be enough? As long as she could shuffle out of the eyes of Lucy she had this game won lost.

She reached her hands out but Louise stopped her.

“What are you doing?” Louise asked.

“I thought it would be an appropriate time to reshuffle the deck…” She innocently murmured.

Louise held her hand and looked at Miguel.

“Hmm, it can stay for now. Let's wait until it reaches, like, ten cards or something.” Miguel answered as he placed down a card.

Lucy slowly pulled back through her hand and bided.

(“Phew, now that’s over. I'll just have to wait until the card deck’s low and grab it.”)

The turns passed by and on the fourth round, Louise quickly had an idea of Lucy's newest plan.

(“The bitch!”)

She did her best to ensure when the pile reached ten it'd be her turn. Louise knew this as she'd position Miguel to either play or not play cards on a certain round, while also drawing or playing based on what Louise did. If she played regularly, the deck was going to be in her hands soon.

She scoffed this off and attempted to grab the cards but Miguel slapped her hand.

“I said ten cards, chill out.” He said as he observed the cards on display again. “I don't know what's going on but was there something that happened in your last game that makes you guys antsy about reshuffling?”

“N-no.” Lucy answered unconvincingly.

Miguel sighed and picked the cards up, shuffling them with anyone's permission.

“Since you guys are acting weird, I'll be the one to shuffle them from now on.”

(“This is going to take a while.”)

(“But I'll figure out how to make that bitch win!”)

Louise had to skip a turn and picked a card without thinking. Then Miguel placed down two cards and leaned back in his chair.

“Finally!”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Both women wondered. “Why'd you put down two cards Miguel?”

“I wonder the same… Ah, Miguel, that isn't nice.” The blonde woman pouted before resting her head on the table.

“What, you guys didn't know jump-in was allowed?” He confidently stated.

“Oh screw off, I don't allow those in my rules!” Louise said as the stress of this game left her body.

“Well, as Lucy said, earlier it's my house and my rules.”

“I did say that, didn't I?” Lucy mused on the cold surface of the table.

“You could have told us asshole!”

“I didn't know it was gonna take me this long to use it!”

He responded. “But since I won, I'd like to know what you two think of m-me.” As he proudly proclaimed that he suddenly realised why this wasn't the reward he thought it was.

(“Ugh, Lucy might be kind but I'm sorta scared of what Louise has to say. She might call me a small dicked pervert. That wouldn't be so bad but with Lucy here I'd rather not have her say anything like that!”)

“Uh, guys, how about you gals just uh, buy me a game or so-”

Lucy began first. “Miguel you seem like a wonderful person and I have no shame in saying I’d love to have you as a friend going forward. Louise always described you as a brother and I have no problems considering you one as well.”

She said while watching his reactions.

“Uh, t-thanks.” He said with a light blush on his face.

(“Tch look at him, you give the guy a small compliment and he's swooning over a chick he met today.”) Louise thought. She soon opened her mouth and Miguel prepared himself for what was about to come.

“Seriously, are you a puppy or something? Hoping for me to give you a reward? Well, all I have are words for ya. You're a decent kid but I just wish you'd stop looking at every woman that comes your way.”

“Wha- easy I don't do that!”

“Yes you d-”

She stopped as she watched his face. She saw it and Lucy saw it too. They were experts at reading the emotions of people if they needed to. What was written on his face was as clear as day.

It was mostly embarrassment from such a saying being uttered in front of an unfamiliar person but…

(“I can see it. With me, he tried to hide his lust and found mild happiness in my comment about him. But with her, as soon as those words exited her mouth he let it show. A pang of sadness hit his face.”)

Louise had a slight blush hit her and she continued, no longer caring about what Lucy wanted.

“What, are you saying Lucy's no good?”

“N-no, no I'm not saying that but…”

(“I can see it. I can see the discomfort you feel trying to hide your feelings.”)

“I just think I'd have to know a person more for something like that, you know?” He said as he twisted his hair while looking away.

“G-g-good, don't fall p-p-prey to woman's looks, it hides more than you'd think,” Louise answered.

They silently sat together for the next few moments until Miguel got up.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

He got up and walked presumably to the bathroom.

Louise blushed and tried to hide her face.

“Aren't you glad I came?” Lucy said.

“Shut up you man-stealing whore.” She said as she hid her face with the table. Lucy got closer to her and whispered in her ear.

“But maybe he'll be the one. Maybe he'll be the one who won't leave you. Isn't that what you want, Louise?”

“S-shut up, I'm far above him, I don't need someone like him. Besides, you'll probably do what you always do.” The woman commented, sounding defeated.

“There, there.” She began patting her back.

“Stop acting like you're not the one that causes it.” She responded like a whipped dog.

CHAPTER 33

Tibaut woke up in his bed, unsure what had taken place a few hours prior.

“Hmm?” He mumbled as he tried to recall. He knew it was a game involving Louise but he could have sworn someone else was there.

“Am I going insane or something?” He said as he tried harder to remember what happened. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember what occurred yesterday.

“Fuck man, it's not like I play football or box in my spare time. How the hell am I forgetting shit like this?”

He said as he slumped off the bed. He looked at his phone and it read 4:09 am.

“Louise is probably still sleeping, so I guess I'll stay for the meantime.”

He got up out of his bed and headed for his desk. He flipped between wanting to play something or finishing an anime he didn't particularly care for.

“I mean, I'm already 63 episodes in. Might as well get it over, it's not like I have to worry about wasting time.” He softly chuckled before pulling it up.

As he watched the glorified background audio his mind went back to Louise. He really did try to focus on what was playing on his screen but it wasn't anywhere near engaging to his mind off this topic.

(“Is she using me?”) He wondered to himself. (“I don't know why but recently I've started to wonder about the sort of friends a woman like her keeps. Okay, that sounds more harsh than I meant but she constantly drinks and smokes. Also, she's pretty violent so it wouldn't surprise if she hangs around shady people.”)

It wouldn't surprise Miguel if she kept him in mind as a plan B in case she suffered some sort of heartbreak.

(“I mean, sigh, I don't want to think anymore man. Of course, I'm happy! I finally have someone to talk to, not just that, a woman too! I haven't talked to one in ages. But nothing that good comes for free. I know how people are. I had to cut off a few of my friends when I got my inheritance.”)

As he sat in front of his desk tormenting himself through his thoughts, he heard a knock on the door.

He got up and slowly approached it. The person behind opened it to reveal themselves. It was Louise and she was looking well-rested.

“Uh, I'm not used to you being up this early. Or have you not slept since yesterday?” He asked.

“Dumbass, didn't you remember us going to bed early yesterday?” She said.

He thought about it for a moment. “Oh right.” He said unconvincingly.

“You good?” She asked. (“At least she kept her word.”)

“That obvious? Did you hit over the head or something last night cause I can't recall shit.”

“Phew, isn't that good? I had a friend over and I don't know what happened but sheesh, you ran her off before I came back.”

Miguel stared at her, cringing at her words. “T-t-that's a joke right?” He asked.

“Anyway-”

“Don't you dare brush that off!”

“I'll be leaving today.”

Miguel felt his heart drop. He did the best he could to hide the pain making its way to his face and tried to keep his cool.

“Oh, finally, is your place free from that bitch?” He asked. (“Why?”)

“Yup, got a call about it last night, so I thought I'd let you know before I head out.”

“(Please don't, not yet at least! Do you know how miserable it's been just wallowing in my thoughts before you came here!?) I see. Well, see you soon I guess, if ever. (Why now? Couldn't I have at least had some time to prepare? Is she even going to talk to me anymore now she doesn't need an apartment to stay at?)”

His mind was being flooded with regret as he talked to her. He knew how things would play out at this point. This time he spent with her was a once-in-a-lifetime moment and it'd never happen again. She wouldn't come back to visit and at most, they'd occasionally text each other until one day, she'd no reply to the words of the sad little boy living independently of her reality. He was to lose the only friend he had gained in the past five years and he'd do nothing to stop it. He always was a pushover. There were times he should have been more firm about something yet remained all too accepting. Louise moving in with him, allowing his brother to cheat without so much as a word to his lovers and not being insistent enough on his parents not leaving that night. If only he managed to put them off driving another day maybe they wouldn't have-

“Are you crying, Miguel?” She asked.

“Huh?” He wiped his eyes but thankfully he only seemed a bit glassy-eyed. Who knows the amount of shit she'd give him if he started crying.

“You are crying, you bastard.” She said as she became teary eyes herself. “Wh-Why else would I be getting all sappy like this.” She struggled to maintain her expression and her lips quivered as she looked at him.

It seemed Miguel wasn't the only one getting emotional about leaving.

“Pft, I'm just mad about the A/C don't look at me like that.” She said as she tried to wipe her face.

Miguel couldn't hold it back any longer and started crying as he walked into her arms.

“I'll miss you.” He said while sniffling from his crying.

“S-shut up, I'm not gonna die or anything.“ She said as she held him tightly. “This whole thing is stupid, why am I getting like this over you.” She whispered as she pressed her face into his shoulder. (“Lucy you fucking whore, if it wasn't for you I could stayed here for a few months!”)

CHAPTER 35

Tibaut had tears in his eyes and Satan was nowhere to be seen.

“It's s-so stupid. It's not like she was leaving to go somewhere far away.” Tibaut commented as he rubbed his eyes.

“There, there Tibaut, it's alright to feel that way when you're separated from a friend.” Lucy softly said. She was leaning against his shoulder and began patting his back in an attempt to comfort him. “Even if your love for her wasn't romantic, don't let anyone, including that rude brother of mine, try to make you feel lesser for it.” She began stroking his head.

“But that begs the question.” Satan appeared in Tibaut’s lap. “If she can talk to you in such a way.”

“Shh.” She said with a finger on her lip.

Tibaut didn't get to hear most of what the pair of Louise and Lucy were discussing, especially their thoughts, while Satan, through his own methods, was able to.

“What exactly is she? I have no records of a being of your standing with her appearance.”

Lucifer looked at him for a moment and sighed.

“Of course, she isn't from this world. She's from Tibaut’s or rather Miguel's.”

“Is she the Lucifer of that world?”

“Of course not, but you won't find me telling you her name.”

“Her name starts with L… Lilith?” Satan asked.

She turned her face away.

“But aren't you calm boy, it's quite a discovery the woman you loved was a demon of hell, isn't it? Perhaps she desired your life in some way, or maybe she's a being that has a taste for the flesh of men.”

Tibaut ignored Satan and turned to face Lucy, hugging her side. “Hey Lucy, c-can Louise do the same thing as you? Ca-can she show up in my memories? I don't care if it's just a fragment or vestige or vintage or whatever, can she-”

Lucy sighed before rubbing her cheek against his own and caressing the other with her hand. “I'm sorry Tibaut, I fear she may not possess the strength necessary for something like this. If we were in your world, it might be possible but in a world so far away, you'll have to give up on that dream.”

He glared at Satan before resting his face back on Lucy's shoulder.

“What a shame,” Satan said. “But I've grown quite tired of you sister. I'll punish your body when I find it but I have no use speaking to a being like you.”

“Screw off you bastard,” Tibaut mumbled as he brought his face to her bosom. “Then leave, you asshole! I'll stay here with her until I wake up.” He said like a child throwing a tantrum.

“Do as you please,” Satan said before disappearing. (“I still need him for my goals and given it's her, if I leave them together for too long she might leave his mind in an irreparable state.”)

Tibaut picked his face back up and positioned himself to lay his head in her lap.

“I'd ask if you mind but there's not really much you could do if said no, is there?” He asked as he laid his head down.

“Do you like a woman that can do nothing, Tibaut?” She said as she rubbed his head.

“Stop making it sound weird, you're nothing more than the memories of an old friend. At least if I do anything weird to you… wait you're fully independent of Lucifer right?” He asked. “I'd kinda feel like a scumbag if anything I did here translated to her.”

“Really? Didn't you see how Louise reacted to her in your memories? It didn't seem we had the best relationship.”

“You sure? I thought you said you two were friends?”

“And you believed me?”

“Of course. Louise just looked annoyed but she never looked ready to kill you or anything. I mean since you share that supernatural thing in common, she's probably closer to you than me.”

“...” The smile on her face slowly faded and she sighed.

“Tibaut, let me amend your answer.” She turned his face to hers and continued. “I knew her essentially since the moment I came into your world and we may have argued and had our disagreements but the simple fact of our beings being so… complimentary, made us far more forgiving to each other than we probably should have been. However… by the time the end of your life came, I don't think there was ever doubt as to who she loved most in your world.”

“Thanks. Can I ask Lucy something?”

“What can I answer for you, Tibaut?”

“Do you remember how she reacted when I died?”

“...” Her face remained static. “Maybe another time.”

“W-what's with that reaction?”

“Haha, actually I think I had left your world at that point, I only heard bits and pieces about what happened and I don't think I'd provide much useful information.” She lifted him up and placed him in her lap. “Besides you talked about my body, yes? What might that be about, I recall saying you'd be free to use it in whatever way-”

“Did something happen to her!?” He shouted.

She remained tight-lipped. In fact, she stopped momentarily.

“Lucy, come on, answer me, what happened!?” He shouted while shaking her.

She remained motionless for a few more moments until finally regaining movement.

“Dear me, what did you do Tibaut? I was really struggling to maintain my existence for a moment.”

“Huh?”

“I am but a by-product of viewing Lucifer in your memories after all, so do be gentle. Did I infuriate you before you retaliated?”

“(It seems like I'll have to ask her in person.) It's fine, I just asked a weird question and you froze up.”

“What could have been so strange to cause that?”

“Don't worry about it.”