"Olya's such a pain in the ass..." I thought out loud as we walked to his place, "Why does he gotta pester me every single day? Doesn't he know I'm a human being, with REAL HUMAN schedules and a body that wants to rest?"

"Tell me about it." Showa agreed wholeheartedly, "He just suddenly waltzed into our island one day when I was a kid and convinced everyone he was our ancestor's benefactor or something."

"Whoa, so that's what happened?" I raised both my Eyebrows in surprise, "I thought for sure he came before you guys."

"No, otherwise it would've been called Olya's Archipelago. Eugh, just thinking about that idea drives me insane, though..." She groaned, "Still, just cause everyone believes him doesn't necessarily mean it's true, right?"

"I mean, he's old as balls and knows a ton of supernatural stuff." I shrugged, "I don't see a reason to doubt his claims."

"So you too, huh?" She smirked, "It's always easier to go with the simplest option, eh? There's always a reason to doubt his claims. In any case, if he wanted to truly give us a better time, he would've come here way earlier, no?"

"He IS immortal, though. Maybe he just forgot about the islands and only recently remembered?" I half-jokingly replied.

"This isn't funny. I think he's got ulterior motives." She whispered quietly, "Think about it, he keeps doing all these sudden tasks like becoming the island leader and kidnapping you and that boy, but he has to have a reason for doing so. It can't be anything good for us, I know that much."

Yeah, he does have motives, much like everyone else that does something in their lives. In this case, though, it's nothing to be worried about—He just said he wants to revive his best friends. Well, that, and to release my family from a supposed Book curse. I didn't really understand that part of his explanation all that well...

"I think we should at least wait until we figure out some more details before making any rash assumptions." I kept things civil, "I agree the guy's sketchy, but it's wrong to just frame him as the bad guy for no apparent reason."

"Whatever. Look, we're here." She mimed, "Not a word to him, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. All clear." I nodded.

"Damn, and here I was preparing to die of old age before you two got here." Olya chuckled, "Just kidding. Thanks for bringing Nelly here, Showa. You can go about your day now."

"I think I'll stay a bit, after all." She gave him a nasty glare."

"Is that so? Well, I don't mind." He shrugged, "Now, Nelly. You gonna tell me about you trying to contact people outside the archipelago last night?"

Wha~? He found out already? Geez, he must've used the Book of Fortune, then. But still, that's scary, it kinda feels like he can have Eyes and ears everywhere in the world like this. I guess that's the power of the Books, though.

"You're not mad, are you?" I egged him on, "I was instructed to experiment with using the Book, so that's precisely what I did. Nothing wrong with that."

"Why so defensive? I never said I was mad." He chuckled, "It's the opposite, in fact. I'm proud."

"Your praise means nothing to me." I scowled, "In fact, I was more looking forward to getting scolded by you."

"Huh, so you really are a masochist." He flipped through the pages, "I thought for sure the Book was kidding, but here we are."

"Hold on, does it really say that about me!?" I jolted.

"I figured her to be way more of a sadist, honestly." Showa chimed in, "She realy likes to boss people around."

"Not you too!" I turned around.

Gahh, my reputation as the sweetest princess in all the lands~! It's withering away before my very cute Blue Eyes~! These two better sleep with one Eye open tonight, cause this slander against royalty cannot be forgiven! Fufu, maybe if I pranked them with the power of the Books? Should I spawn in a bucket of warm water under their hand, I wonder? Or maybe if I put some whipped cream on their hands? Ah, how about both? Have them piss themselves with the warm water, and when they wake up, they smack themselves with the whipped cream! Muahaha, I truly am a genius sometimes!

"Yeah, just look at that wry smirk she's got on." Olya pointed to me, "One shudders to imagine what kind of horrid acts of tomfoolery are currently brewing in her mind."

"Am not!" I hurried to reply.

"Got caught Red-handed and still refuses to admit it." Showa shook her head, "How very unlady-like."

Wuh-!? I am a lady, and you better believe it! Geez, if all I came here for is to get ganged up on by these two primitive dolts, then I should've just stayed back and did my laundry! Y'know, like a REAL lady!

"Ah, where are you going?" Olya stopped me, "We're not done here, come back."

"You said what you said, so I'm leaving now." I tried storming off.

"That's not all." He brought me back, "We need to talk about Lem."

In less than a second, I had turned around and ran back to hear him out. His tone was grim, and it indicated something was amiss. Could he be talking about Lem grabbing my wrist unconsciously last night? He should know of that, surely, since he has the Book of Fortune with him. Did something happen to him since last night? Oh Gods, I'm worried all over again now. Don't keep me in suspense, old man!

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***

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"Oh, did he show signs of waking up?" Showa asked.

"You stay out of this, it's not your business to snoop around against our guest's wishes." Olya scolded her.

"Hmph."

"Olya, what happened?" I worriedly asked.

"Right, as I'm sure you're aware, his hand had grappled onto your wrist without him even opening his Eyes." Olya explained.

"Eugh, scary." Showa grimaced.

"Quiet!" I shushed her, "Olya, continue."

"Thanks. In any case, usually this would mean that brain activity is rising, in other words—He might be waking up soon."

That's... great news, actually! Wow, why was he being so anxious about telling me this! Dammit, this old geezer just keeps wanting to give me heart attacks at any moment! My prayers worked, Lem's waking up soon and I couldn't be happier!

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"But..." He gulped, "The Book of Misfortune said nothing of this, right?"

"Ah, that's right." I recalled our previous conversation, "It said he wouldn't be waking up any time soon, but that's not really a definitive time frame."

"Well, the same was said about my friends, Shaid and Schnell." He shook his head, "They won't be reviving any time soon."

"Oh no..."

"...But that doesn't mean the boy won't ever wake up." Showa interjected.

"Huh?" We both turned to her.

"I mean, yeah. It's not any time soon, but it didn't say never." She reasoned, "He'll become conscious one day, it's just that that day may not be in the coming days, weeks or even months. But you WILL see him again."

"That's... true." Olya chuckled warmly, "Guess that means those two will be coming back one day as well."

"But is there really no way for us to triangulate the exact date?" I wondered, "Just sitting around feels like wasting time."

"It's not really wasting time, more like we already did all we could do." Olya explained, "The boy is being kept in a stable condition, though unconscious, and you are steadily learning how to use the Books' powers. Right now, we can't start anything before your father comes here."

Eh? But there's gotta be something, I feel really bad about just lounging around. Isn't there a way to speed things up a bit?

"Wait, can't I use the Books powers to teleport him here right no-?"

"No!" He interrupted me, "Don't do that! You absolutely mustn't!"

"Whoa, what's got you so scared, old man?" Showa jeered.

"You joke, but the fact of the matter is that it'll ruin everything!" He hastily explained, "This isn't me trying to trick you or a prank or anything, Nelly. Please trust me when I say this—Do that, and you'll never see your family again."

Hey now, that's quite the nasty warning, no? There's no way it can be that serious.

"Don't give me that suspicious gaze, I'm serious!" He looked worried that I'd try it anyways, "Though the Books are all-powerful, having someone as untrained as you use it for such rash purposes may have unwanted consequences. Think about it, if you just send your father here, what'll happen to the others in his travel party?"

"Ah, that's right, dad's not going alone on this rescue mission." I recalled, "But still, we can just ask him who he went with after we send him here, then we'll write them in as well."

"Again, that's too risky." He kept shooting the idea down, "If you recall what I read to you the other night, they're using some sort of otherworldly flying machine to come here as soon as possible. Though they mentioned Edward will be the pilot, I can only imagine that flying for so long will wear one's psyche out."

"In other words, they may switch." I continued, "And if the pilot were to just suddenly disappear, it'll leave the others confused and scared, with very little time for us to write them in as well after the fact."

Ah, but then again, we already know who's on the search party, no? It's just four of them, dad and uncle Ed as the guests, and Issei and mama as their +1s. If that's the case, then couldn't I just teleport the four of them here? The old man is once again being intentionally dense to try and steer me away from a certain direction, but what do I do? Should I disobey his orders, or should I remain patient until a proper chance to strike occurs? Honestly, if Lem wasn't unconscious and being kept under his care right now, I would've chosen the former in a heartbeat.

"Fine, I won't try anything." I sighed, "So is that all?"

"Yep, you're free to go." He waved me off happily, "Ah, Showa?"

"...Yes?" She turned back to face him.

"Nelly can leave, since I told her all I was supposed to for now." He kept giving her a nasty smile, "But I still haven't given you a proper punishment for visiting young Lem's hospital room without our permission."

"What? You're still hung up on that, you old fart?" She defiantly hissed, "Come on, the past is the past. Plus, I had to protect my islan-"

"If I were to walk into your house and spy on your family at night while they were sleeping..." Olya kept smiling, "I wonder if you would still keep that same stance on the matter?"

"...Tch, I get it." She started begrudgingly walking towards him.

Serves her right, honestly. Well, she's a good person, and I daresay she might even be considered a friend in this scenario, but she broke a very important rule I held close to my heart. Lem's state was, is and will continue to be uncertain, so having random islanders from the archipelago just waltz into his room and possibly tinker with the medical equipment... I just want to keep him safe. Olya's once again favoring me and my wishes by chewing her out for this, and I'm glad he is. Very few people would care this much about upholding someone else's self-imposed rules.

"Nah, it's fine." I suddenly spoke out.

"Hm?" They both looked to me, "Nelly?"

"Water under the bridge, she was justified in being suspicious." I shrugged, "Plus, I chewed her out enough already, no need for you to keep pouring salt on the wound."

"But she disobeyed a very simple rule you had set in place?" He exclaimed, "Can I take this to mean everyone in the archipelago is free to enter now? It has been quite bothersome to keep them at bay up to now."

"No, I'm not saying she can go whenever she pleases, and neither can anyone else for that matter." I heaved an annoyed sigh, "Just forgive her this one time. Consider it a Yellow card."

"Yellow card?" Showa tilted her head.

"A warning." Olya explained the term before shooing her away, "Alright, be sure to thank Nelly for her grace. You're both free for the day, so best make the most of it."

Why did I save her from the punishment, I wonder? I dunno the answer to that myself, but just seeing Olya's lecherous smile as he beckoned her to him... I don't know what he would've done, but I feel like a guy like him wouldn't have stoppped at just scolding words.