"Looks like the jig is up." Waitress girl smiled, "Guess we gotta come clean, huh?"
"Y-You... What's going on...?" I could feel tears making their way down my face.
"O-Oi Meil, didn't you say you two aren't like that?" Even Muscle guy couldn't believe his eyes.
"I did not lie." Meil said with a cold and distant tone.
"Sh-!" I went to yell, but got interrupted.
"Shut the hell up!" Muscle guy spoke up in my stead, "So you can still lie with such a stone face even when you're caught red handed, huh!?"
"Kevin, please calm down." Meil started approaching us, "Please hear me out."
"Fuck no!" Muscle guy only seemed to have seen red at the moment, "Had this been the first stunt you pulled, I might've let it slide! No, I WOULD have let it slide, but you've been toying with all of us with your micro-lies one after the other! For how long do you plan to keep this streak up, huh!?"
"You really should calm down, musclehead." Waitress girl joined in on the dispute as well, "Just hear him out, would ya'?"
"You stay out of this!" Muscle guy shouted, "Dammit Meil, you spout all this bullshit to me about how getting the girl isn't the key to happiness, you actively dissuade me from making a move on Kiria, and when all is said and done, you fall back on your own fucking advice!? Just how much of a hypocrite can you be?!"
"Kevin, we are not dating." Meil said before immediately getting clocked in the face.
"Meil!" I jumped in between him and Muscle guy, "He didn't deserve that, jackass!"
"You still on his side, missy? After all he's put you through in just these couple of days alone?" Muscle guy moved me aside as if I didn't weigh anything at all, "Step aside. If you don't wanna have any part in this do bad, then by all means, don't intervene."
"N-No!" I still stuck to Meil, who was currently on the ground getting helped up by Waitress girl, "I'm just saying it's wrong not to hear him out. Think about it - Meil doesn't see a relationship as something he would need to hide."
"That might be the Meil you knew before, but I'm telling you, this damned University changed him!" Muscle guy firmly stood his ground, "He's been known to tell us all kinds of white lies just like he's doing right now to you! He thinks he's saving us the trouble of getting hurt, but in reality he's just making us suffer more! As his friend, it's my job to knock some sense into him!"
"Jebo ti sebe, you've really set up an elaborate story there, musclehead. Did you ever consider writing a book? I bet it'd sell well." Waitress girl continued interrupting us to speak her mind, "I heard authors tend to ignore the words of others in favor of their own, so I really do think it's your calling."
"What are you insinuating, you damned fiend of a woman?" He redirected his anger to her, "You're still hellbent on convincing us you're not in the wrong here? Oh, lemme guess, you were running away from a dangerous group and had to disguise yourself as an innocent couple?"
She chuckled before explaining what really happened from their point of view, but out of the corner of my eye I could spot Meil's eyes open wide at Muscle guy's offhanded theory. It might not be exactly what happened, but I shouldn't chalk it up as incorrect just yet. Both of them are just way too suspicious right now...
"Pff! Koji kralj!" She burst out laughing, "Oh, you're a riot! Nah, but really, it wasn't a dangerous group, but we did have to disguise ourselves to not get caught."
"What do you mean?" I looked over to where Meil was wiping the blood from his lip.
"Ugh, I see your training is paying out nicely." He glanced over at Muscle guy, "It is as Jelena says - For the entire duration of the outing, I could feel someone following us. I first thought going somewhere a bit farther away would shake them off, but even after we went by carriage, I could still feel their eyes on us."
"H-Huh?" Muscle guy and I looked over at each other.
"Goes to show my fears and anxieties were not unfounded..." Meil clicked his tongue, "That is when we entered this fancy restaurant, expecting whoever they were to not have the funds to follow us. During the whole commotion caused by a sudden proposal, we snuck out and ran into the alleyway."
"That's where I got the idea for us to pose as a couple engaging in PDA." Jelena finished his explanation off, "Don't get me wrong, I only did it to hopefully get away from the stalkers, but after seeing you two, everything started to make sense."
"I-Is that so...?" The two of us mentally facepalmed so hard I could almost hear him telepathically.
"Just tell me, Kevin, Nelly - Were you two the stalkers?" Meil anxiously approached us, "This may sound a bit weak of me, but I will not be able to sleep soundly tonight if that is not the case. Oh, but likewise, do not try to comfort me by lying. It will not work, nor will it do us any good if we're actually getting stalked."
"Y-"
"No. And do you really expect us to believe that shit?" Muscle guy grinned, "Followed by some stalkers, so you started making out in an alleyway as a last resort? Gimme a break..."
Huh? What're you doing, idiot? It's obvious they were aware of us, y'know!? Dammit, they both look creeped out now because of you! O-Oi, stop flashing me that smug smile, muscle brain! I get you're angry at them and all, but this isn't the way to get revenge, you know!?
"I-I see..." Meil shrunk into himself, "Then we should hurry home. Come, everyone, things might get dangerous if we stick around for too long."
Lying won't work, my ass... Dammit Meil, at this point it's your fault for falling for Muscle guy's tricks...
***
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"Meil, he was just messing with you." Waitress girl sighed as we barely following his fast pace, "Slow down, will ya'? These shoes are more comfortable than high heels, but they're still not made for running, you know."
"Bear with it, just for now." Meil rushed on, "And remain vigilant! I get he could be pulling some sort of sick and twisted joke, but you really cannot be too sure about these things! Even if there is a .1-no, .0000000001% chance for him to be telling the truth, I simply cannot brush it off. It is too risky."
"Then I'll tell you that he's lying!" I shouted, "There are no stalkers, okay? W-Well, I guess we're the stalkers, but you know full well we're not dangerous!"
"Nelly, white lies do not suit you." Meil refused to believe me.
"Oh, but they suit you?" Muscle guy retorted, "You do know none of this would've happened had you just been honest to us from the beginning, but no, you had to play the mastermind who doesn't reveal his cards until they're found out by force. No wonder you're so paranoid..."
"Call it what you will, Kevin. Hell, hate me if you want. I would rather that than have any of my dearest friends hurt." Meil said something sentimental all of a sudden.
"Meil..." Waitress girl muttered.
"Oh can it, will ya?" Muscle guy immediately ruined the moment, "You might think of us as your dearest friend, but what's the point if we don't consider you the same, huh? Don't you get it, Meil? A friendship, or any form of relationship for that matter, is based on trust first and foremost! Without trust to build off of, I can't even trust a single word that comes out of your mouth. It's a chain reaction that'll rub off on you, and before long you won't even trust us to take care of Nelly while you're off fucking around with Jelena!"
"Hey now, language." Waitress girl noted.
"Ah, sorry. I meant to say it's a fucking chain reaction." Muscle guy shot back, "Meil, if you want us to trust you, you need to trust us first. Tell us everything, from start to finish."
"... I would, I really would, Kevin." Meil got a bit silent, "But I know for a fact that it will lead to everyone's demise. No, demise is too soft of a word, so I will more accurately define it - It will lead to everyone's grueling deaths. You must not get involved."
"Mn..." Muscle guy groaned, "Then you leave me no choice. This is for Nelly's safety."
"H-Huh?" I suddenly felt him grab me by the arm and start running in the opposite direction, "W-Wait, what!?"
"Nelly!" Meil broke off into a sprint as well, "Come back here right now, Kevin! Do not make me your enemy!"
"Sorry, too late for that, bud!" Muscle guy stuck his tongue out as he lifted me into a princess carry, running with all his might through the densely populated crowd, "As far as I'm concerned, you're the enemy here!"
"Ugh, where are you taking her!? Nelly, get away from him!" He practically begged me with such an earnest reaction.
"You really think I'm capable of wriggling out of this guy's grip!?" I shouted back, "Muscle guy, what the hell are you doing!?"
"Taking you back to your Family." He explained, "I doubt Meil will let me off scot-free after this, but I can't just let you keep living with such a psycho. Until he simmers down properly, I urge you to stay away from him."
"Huh!? No!" I immediately tried wriggling away, "Meil IS my Family! Screw mom! Screw uncle, auntie, great grandpa, and even Harper! Screw all of them, they mean nothing to me! If I go back there, I'll kill myself!"
"Girlie, listen here." Muscle guy smiled as he looked me in the eyes, "They ARE you Family. You might think they don't treat you right, but I'm sure you're smart enough to look past your teenage angst and properly see the love they have for you. A true Family member cares about your future, worries about if you'll be okay or not, but Meil doesn't do that. He only cares about your present, completely disregarding your future."
Now that he mentions it, Meil hasn't really been the one teaching me anything ever since I got here. He's only ever been taking me to his friends so they could do it for him while he did something else entirely. Meanwhile mom and the others have constantly been pestering him with letters asking if sending me out is the smartest move and telling me not to overexert myself. I know that, but...
"Let me go." I uttered, "Please, Meil is my Family. And as far as I'm concerned, so are you. Don't make an enemy out of him, I don't want to see my family argue over me..."
Slowing down to a halt, he looked at me before sighing. A single tear fell from his eye, though I was quick to wipe it away from his face. Slowly and carefully putting me down on my feet again, he explained everything to me in intricate detail.
"Dammit, why are you like this? I get you're a teen, but isn't it too early for your rebellious phase?" He chuckled half-heartedly, "Listen Nelly, Meil needs help. I don't know what his deal is, but ever since a couple of years ago, he's been different. If I take you to a ship to Cardina right now, you'll be with your family and away from him, free from him."
"Yeah, but if I stay, I might help you guys find a way to fix him, bring him back to the way he was before." I chuckled as well, "Please, let me stay. I still haven't even gotten a rank yet."
"Heh, alright." He patted me on the head before turning around, "Got that, Meil? She' stay-UNGH!"
"K-Kevin!" I shouted out as Meil punched him straight in the eye, sending him flying to the ground before barraging him with all kinds of punches, "Meil, stop! He's not gonna take me anywhere!"
"I'm your enemy, huh!?" Meil's eyes flashed red, "Wanna harm me and my friends, huh?! Then fucking die, subhuman trash!"
"Meil!"