It was the morning after now. Everyone was eating their food in absolute silence. Not a fly could be heard. Just mom preparing handing everyone their plates, dad silently shooting death glares at me and Lem, Cene not understanding what's wrong but knowing better than to ask, and Issei and Othelia snickering to themselves as a nervous auntie Eleanor tries to keep them in check.
".............."
"This..." Lem almost choked from the pressure, but pushed through just to say it, "A-Ahem, this food is very nice, ma'am. You're a very good cook."
"I made it." Dad groaned.
"Oh..." Lem stopped eating and looked at his plate, "It's way too salty."
"Oh, so you don't mind nitpicking when I'm the one who made it!?"
"Sit down." Lem used his Ability.
Having no other choice but to do what he was told, dad was left practically glued to his chair. The tension between these two is deathly fierce, and Lem's nasty sense of revenge isn't at all helping. Then again, if I got beat up by someone and was forced to eat their food tomorrow morning, I'd probably dish out snarky remarks too. They're both in the wrong on this, or rather, neither are at fault. Technically speaking, I was... No wait, it was mom who gave the condom to me originally!
"Why'd you even assume we were like that when I specifically told you he's just a friend, mama?" I bashfully asked without using any keywords.
"Nelly, let's... not talk about this during breakfast." Mom awkwardly glanced back.
"Sigh, sadly, I think we have no other choice." Dad let go of his anger to speak with a level head, "I'm pretty sure I told you as well not to treat them like a couple when we just arrived."
"What part of this stupid brat's actions would make anyone think he's not gunning for Nelly?" Issei piped up.
"I was just being courteous!" Lem blushed, "Come on, man! Shut your mouth and stop making the situation worse!"
"Lemmy and Nelly, sitting in a tree~!" Othelia continued to egg us on in spite of the warning.
"You guys, it's not our place to speak up on the situation!" Auntie hit both of them, "Gods, sorry about them everyone. They always wanna spread chaos wherever they go."
Finally, at least one person here is being sensible. I swear, if only Lem was a girl, things would be so much simpler... In any case, he's not, and right now that's making him extremely uncomfortable here. I need to set things straight as soon as possible, otherwise he definitely won't make it until the end of the month!
"In any case, why can't we just forget this ever happened and consider it a memory to look back on and laugh?" I suggested with an innocent smile.
"Because, Nelly, this is something you yourself of all people just can't sweep under the rug." Dad explained with a serious tone, "Ignoring your mother's supposed misunderstanding of the situation, the fact of the matter is—Lemmy accepted the... item."
"Oooh, busted~!" Issei riled Lem up, "He got you there, shorty! Haha, ow! No punching!"
He... accepted it? Well, he was certainly confused for the entire situation, but I guess when I look at it like that... He didn't say no. In fact, all he ever said when I gave it to him was that he wanted us to move to a room to be alone together. R-Right, there's no excuse he can pull for this, I guess he really did...
"I wanted to secretly dispose of it." Lem said plainly, "Back then, I didn't know she thought it was candy or whatever. I just knew she was out of her mind and took it from her."
"Eh?" We heard him out.
"I was cycling through all the options I had." He sighed, "I could toss it out the window, but someone would find it in the yard tomorrow morning. You guys were downstairs, so I couldn't throw it in the bin. My only option was to hide it in my room until I figured out what to do with it, but that's when you entered and caught us."
"Tch, just what you'd expect of a bandit's kid..." Issei rolled his Eyes, "Dude's way too comfortable with crafting lies."
"I'm not lying." Lem looked dad in the Eye, "If you don't believe me, call over Goldie Locks and have him read my mind with his Brown Iro."
"...You're mad if you think I'm calling Ed over just for that." Dad gave up, almost immediately dropping the tension level of the room to near non-existence, "Lee's a good guy, and I guess I did some stupid stuff of my own to you guys back in my youth."
"Yeah, he lost an Eye because of you." Lem commented.
"Right, and that's why I didn't ask any questions when you said you wanted to come here with us." Dad paused briefly before continuing, "In the end, it's as Nelly said—Nothing happened, and thanks to my Healing, no one's hurt to boot. Let's pretend it never happened and move on."
Phew! Thank the Gods, dad's convinced! Nice going Lem! Heheh, if only you wouldn't rub it in my face later, I would actually call you pretty cool just now! He actually managed to keep calm and tell dad off in a reasonable manner, even with dad all furious like that. Now we can continue eating in peace.
"You're forgetting something." Lem refused the suggestion.
"Lem, what the hell are you doing?" I kicked his shin under the table, "Just shut up and eat your food!"
"Ah, the married couple's bickering again." Issei stifled his laughter, "Ow, I thought we agreed we can make jokes about the situation now!"
"You know that's not what Lune meant when he said we can all laugh about it later." Elenor scolded him.
"What am I forgetting then, Lemmy?" Dad stopped chewing his food to ask.
"I dunno, maybe an apology for beating me up?"
"Ah." Dad's Eyes shot wide open before he bashfully admitted defeat, "...Sorry for that, man."
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Always gotta test his luck to get what he wants, that stupid upperclassman...
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"Hey-ho, everyone! Hope you resolved that little issue you had going on." A chipper uncle Ed burst through the door to our house, "Cause it's time for us to go make Issei's mansion!"
"Look at him, galloping like the stallion that he is." Issei greeted him at the door smugly, "At least someone got lucky last night."
"I hope your dick stops working, Slanted-Eyes." Lem briefly stopped playing with Cene to dish out the comment.
"Wait, so he really didn't do anything? Damn, I almost feel bad... almost." Uncle guffawed, "That being said, got lucky is an understatement. It's like magnets, I tell ya'! The farther we're apart, the harder we'll slam into each other when we eventually meet again, haha!"
"Uncle, yuck..." I cupped Cene's ears, "Children are present."
"I don't wanna hear anything from the missy that hands out condoms to weary bandits."
"Ed, drop it, it's resolved now." Dad grunted, "Talk crap about the kids anymore and I'll get angry."
"Oof, wouldn't want that, so I better stop." Uncle finally stopped, "I need all you to be in the best relationship possible if we're gonna make for an effective construction team."
"It's just us three again, isn't it?" Issei asked.
"Well, that was supposed to be the plan, however..." Uncle gave Lem a confident smirk.
"...Oh hell no!" Lem sprung up on his feet, "That's child labor! I'll have you arrested if you make me-!"
"You'll get 10k shils per day of working."
"Make that hourly and I'll listen."
"Deal, but you're gonna have to help us test something out."
And with that, the deal was struck. Men really are simple creatures, aren't they? They were at each others' throats just now, but all it takes is a job together and they'll make amends in seconds! It's almost admirable, but if it was me, I definitely wouldn't have accepted it so easily.
"You're seriously agreeing to pay him 10k an hour?!" Dad gasped, "You do realize that's a whole gold coin, right?"
"Hey, the kid crossed the ocean just for some money." Uncle shrugged, "Even we wouldn't work for any less, would we? I like smart kids, they're quick on the uptake."
"I take it this uptake is referring to that thing you want tested out?" Lem walked up to them as he dusted his clothes off.
"See? What'd I tell you guys?" Uncle patted his shoulder, "Kid's a genius, so I'm sure this'll work!"
"That's all good and all, but what DO you want him to do?" Issei chuckled, "Don't tell me you want him to 'steal' the materials this time?"
"Am I forever gonna be known as the Bandit Kid by you?" Lem slouched.
"Yep, at least until you stop calling me Slanted-Eyes."
"...Slanted-Eyes."
"Yes, Bandit Kid?"
"Good, we're on the same page here."
Am I the only one in the room who's confused as hell here? Ah, no, the other girls seem to be sharing my befuddled facial expression. These guys, how the hell can they joke so lightly? It's like they were lifelong friends in a past life! Well, for these three it doesn't come as much of a surprise, but what the hell is Lem doing there with them!?
"Ahem, Ed?" Dad steered the conversation back on track.
"The idea, right." Uncle cleared his throat, "Lem has the same Iro as that bastard, right?"
"Hey." Mom shot him a sidelong glare.
"He means the king of Carmen, Chant." Dad calmed her down with a chuckle, "But yes, they both have the same Iro Ability."
"Call it by its name—Command." Lem clicked his tongue.
"I was getting there!" Uncle shouted, "I just thought—Lem's Command let's him order us to do whatever he wants, right?"
"In a sense, yes. But overriding one's will is very difficult, let alone three of you." Lem explained, "It's like a 'link'. The link gets stronger the more you'd be willing to do it normally, so say for example—If I told a Purple Iro to kill himself, I wouldn't feel too much strain, but someone who's still full of life would cause me a great deal of headache."
"What a morbid example..." Othelia scowled.
"Yeah, but it paints the picture pretty well." Uncle smiled, "So, what would you say about motivation, kid?"
"Motivation? Ah, I think I get it." Lem smirked, "Don't tell me, you want me to Command you to stay motivated during work time?"
"Heh, I told you." Uncle nudged dad's and Issei's shoulders, "This kid's a genius."
Using Lem's Iro Ability for good? Eheh, that's a new one, but how will it work? I guess it's worth giving it a try, but will it really speed up their work? Playing with a power that controls one's will, that's exactly the type of stupidity I'd expect of these idiots. Oh, Meil, I miss gaining braincells with you, and not just losing them with these dumbos...!
"Wait, then who's gonna babysit Cene?" I asked.
"Is Lem leaving?" Cene teared up.
"I'm not leaving, little man. Just going to get some bread." Lem squatted to give him a high five, "Up high! Down lo-Oh, you were actually fast enough this time."
"Hehe!" Cene smiled proudly.
"Sometimes I feel like you two are better siblings than Cene and me..." I muttered.
"So spend some time with your little brother and work on that, bozo." He frowned at me, "If you don't, I'm taking him for myself."
"Haha! Whelre awe you taking me, Lem?"
"Hey, don't already assume you're leaving with him." I picked Cene up with a frown, "From now on, it's gonna just be you and big sis Nelly, okay?"
"Hooray!"
This little bundle of joy is just always stuck at the happy setting, it seems. He's just like a puppy in that sense. But it seems I'll finally get to properly start my carefree vacation this time. Heck yeah, no horrible misunderstandings, no Lem... Awesome!