TOKYO, JAPAN

OCTOBER 15

13:00

Just yesterday I realized that I hadn't kept the promise I had made to myself. When I realized it, I was once again trapped in an exhausting routine of daily chores and demands. I know they are necessary tasks, I don't want to diminish their importance, but seriously, when I realized it, my life was becoming an endless spiral of commitments and relationships that I didn't ask for and that were accumulating and becoming quite burdensome. I didn't have time to be myself, to live and be Cesar even for a moment, to enjoy watching an afternoon go by, to sit and talk with people I really appreciate, but instead I was surrounded by work, problems, people I didn't want around me like Sakura, or obligations that others wanted to impose on me out of nowhere like Haru visiting my house just because she wanted to.

I'm not that sociable and good-natured by nature, and forcing it only wore me out faster, so I just plan to slow down a bit to rest and admire.

So, what am I doing right after that? I'm going to the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater to see Romeo and Juliet, as if my life hasn't had enough misfortune and bad endings to experience another one. Of course, it wasn't my idea at all, but Xian insisted that since every other girl had a personal date with me, she wanted her own. And I thought that would at least give me an excuse to do something else on Saturday. But to my surprise, Xian planned this date herself instead of me having to plan everything, which I appreciated because it saved me the hassle of trying to find something she might like, but it also hurt a little to leave everything to her and not help. That's why I sat silently in my chair, even though I was really bored and about to fall asleep.

During a break, while the stage was being prepared for the next act, Xian told me that there was a restaurant nearby that she wanted to try and that she had managed to reserve a table despite the short notice. But she said we had to go right away. I replied that it was no problem at all, so we left. I didn't know exactly where it was, but when we had to take an elevator to the top of a building, I knew something was wrong. It was the Fish Bank Tokyo restaurant in Shiodome, a very luxurious restaurant overlooking the Tokyo Radio Tower. On the menu, you could see a large variety of exotic foods of all kinds, much to my dismay, without even seeing the prices, which bothered me because I didn't want to inconvenience Xian with whatever I might order.

ElJEXRQ.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/ElJEXRQ.jpg]

"Hey, aren't you going to order something?"

"Are you worried about the prices?"

"Don't worry, I'll pay, no problem."

"It's not always the man's job to do everything on a date, sometimes the girl should do something for the relationship too."

"Just pick something you like and eat in peace."

"......"

"Xian, look at me, I look like I came from a cosplay convention."

"Under this sweater, I have two other hands holding up my breasts bigger than yours."

"I don't even meet the dress code for this place, really."

"Do you really think I'm cut out for a place like this?"

"I don't know what the ingredients are in the food."

"I feel too out of place, I'm just making a fool of myself."

"......"

"Did you really have to come with me? Wouldn't it have been better to come alone or with someone else more ..... Normal?"

"Come on, don't worry, it's just a restaurant where they serve food."

"From what the other girls said, you like to eat, right?"

"Enjoy the opportunity to try something new and experiment."

"......"

"Can't I order something from the kids' menu?"

"Look, if you don't know, leave it to me."

"I suggest you try the Rossini Lunch."

"It's seven courses, an appetizer, soup, fish, main course and dessert."

"The main course is beef tenderloin and foie gras 'Rossini'."

"Each dish may seem small, but the combination of dishes makes for a meal that won't leave you hungry."

"All for the modest price of $50."

"I could buy 16 cheeseburgers for that."

"......"

"Do I miss out or go for the anecdote?"

"Too late, I already ordered the food, now it's your turn to eat."

"Well, okay, then."

"At least after this, I can criticize it more properly."

During the course of the meal, I could see a succession of dishes being presented to the table for our enjoyment, each dish was quite delicious, although the feeling of guilt never disappeared, this was one of the few times that I paid so much attention to what I was eating. As we ate our main course, I could see around our table, several high society couples, with their luxurious and expensive clothes, important businessmen, owners of similar important companies, trying to court beautiful women, princesses of the owner of another important company. Xian by my side seemed like a beautiful one worthy of being in such an important environment, her traditional Chinese clothes together with her beautiful delicate body at the same time that beautiful was a little different from the rest but not for that reason of lower quality but it clashed with her huge metal necklace she was wearing, yet this was the environment she belonged to, the one she knew, while next to her instead of an elegant man with a bright future there was only a schoolgirl wearing a hoodie and tennis shoes pretending to be her girlfriend. The looks of the others said it all, judging the real reason we were here in the first place.

"Tell me, is something wrong, honey? You've hardly touched your Foie Gras."

"Xian, be honest with me."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I know the whole marriage and slave magic thing came out of nowhere for you."

"But you don't have to play along anymore."

"If you want, you can leave and pretend it never happened."

"That's fine too, I'll do the same and leave it all behind as just a bad joke that happened one weekend."

"......"

"You don't have to waste your life with me because of what happened."

"Elise... no... Cesar,"

"Since you asked me to be honest, I'll be honest."

"The truth right now is that I'm curious."

"I find it strange that other girls are okay with dating you at the same time."

"It seems really strange that all these girls are okay with being part of a harem."

"... "

"This week I've listened to the others tell your story so far."

"I heard about you being Adelis' son, what happened in the war, in Atlantis, what happened in the hospital."

"And all that without mentioning the parts I already knew."

"I was curious why the other girls didn't mind being with you, knowing there were others."

"But even when you weren't there, there was something noticeable in that house."

"I can't quite put it into words, but I like the atmosphere there, maybe a bit chaotic, but always fun."

"... "

"All this without even mentioning what actually happened."

"Like how you helped me with being an Arachnea, protecting me and even going so far as to give me a place to hide, while still treating me like a person and not a monster, maybe a little bruised, but telling the truth like you would to someone you trust."

"And without asking for anything in return? Not even now, when I'm inviting you to eat."

"... "

"I just thought I should at least give you a chance and see what happens."

"Who knows, maybe I'll find the real person I love in the end."

"I feel like maybe I would feel less if I tried to love someone with so many girls behind him, but I've seen how the others say they don't feel alone or less than the others, so I thought I'd at least stick around for a while."

"... "

"And when you got upset yesterday and said you wanted to rest, I thought it was my moment to take a little initiative and give you a break from my part of the daily exhaustion."

.....

"Are you really sure about this?

"To be honest, I don't think I'm the right person for you, my life is already chaotic and a constant problem."

"I would feel bad having you by my side, knowing that I'm a burden in your life. I don't know what your expectations of a relationship are."

"But I don't think dating a girl made of water who gets into fights all the time is one of them."

"Well, you're right, it wasn't what I expected in my life."

"Just like I didn't expect to be not human, or to be so well received despite my ugly appearance as a giant maneater spider."

"And yet, here we are."

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"......"

"Sometimes I see in you someone too innocent, someone who never understood the game of adult love."

"But that's okay in a way, it means it's easy to see that you're honest, and that's so little appreciated these days, fighting against everything, trying to stay the same in a world that doesn't want that."

"It's easy to know when you really love, and that's what I'm seeing right now."

"And personally, it seems to me to be something worthy of admiration and appreciation."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm sorry if I sound very stupid and dense, but I prefer to make it clear before I create a misunderstanding by thinking something that isn't."

"It's simple, I want to have the same relationship you have with the other girls."

"To say that we're married, that we love each other."

"And if I feel it's not working, I'll tell you right away so we don't waste each other's time."

"....."

"Although I really intend to fight and stay."

"I don't want this to be like a threatening note demanding everything from you while I give nothing in return."

"I just want to see that honesty and loyalty in César that the others have mentioned so much every time I have asked them why they love him."

"I just want to see the real César."

"......"

"Well, I have no problem with that if that's what you want."

"I wouldn't mind treating you the same way I treat Tamamo or Momo."

"....."

"Just, I hope you understand that right now, as a couple, at school..."

"With my own teacher..."

"'That will give us a lot to talk about."

"!!!!"

"Oh yeah, of course I understand."

"It's not like I'm going to demand that we have a date in the classroom in front of everyone."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a little better."

"Well, now that we've got that cleared up and everything is fine, why don't you finish your meal, it's quite delicious, try it."

After finally getting that weight off my chest and clearing things up with Xian at the restaurant, I could eat with a little more enjoyment, although I still felt a little guilty for leaving everything to her. But the day wasn't over yet, because Xian had more things planned. On the way to our next destination, she found something interesting that she wanted to try out out of curiosity. It was a shop with a rather cheap looking western church facade where you could do something called a "fake wedding", a place where you could pretend to have a small wedding ceremony without any real weight, just to experience what it would be like to dress up as a bride, hold a bouquet of flowers and take a picture. The problem? The usual one.

"Come on, Elise! Look, this one's pretty."

"Don't you like it? Just look at the ruffles it has!"

"That would make even Levia's dresses shake!"

"Yes, it's pretty."

"But why do I have to dress up like a bride?"

"Well, we arrived unexpectedly and all the men's jackets are being used."

"Besides, why are you embarrassed? You dress worse at home, well, less."

"That's not the point, what if we just wait for one to become available?"

"It might be hard to find one in your size, Miss Big Thick."

"Look how pretty this dress is! Don't you like it?"

"The others told me you like nice clothes, so why not take the opportunity to dress up now that you can?"

"......"

"Because then we have to take a picture"

"And both of you show up dressed as brides....."

"Oh come on, that's the idea, to look pretty in the picture."

"And besides, this is the least you should accept."

Because of the weirdness of this marriage, you still owe me a wedding!"

"Just look at the huge choker I have to wear all the time because of you."

"......"

"Yeah, but ...... dressed as a bride."

"......"

"Why did you rent those dresses?"

"I don't even know how to put them on, where am I supposed to put my gooey hands without looking weird?"

"That's why I paid for us to get our hair done."

"Don't worry, you'll look like a queen when we're done."

"Ugh, all right."

"But then we're going to get burgers later, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, but only after the pictures."

"......"

"Oh my God, what am I doing?"

" When Lisa finds out about this, I'll have to come back here next week."

After getting ready for the photo and seeing the stylist's doubts about my strange hair, we were called into the fake chapel to take a few pictures, both dressed as brides, both in white, both with bouquets, only me with a face as red as a tomato from embarrassment, but at least the photo turned out nice, which I think is what counts in the end. After finally returning the clothes and heading back to the road, I felt like I could breathe again, thanks to the fact that the last place I visited was something as simple as an art museum.

P8TyOeF.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/P8TyOeF.jpg]

The Mori Building Digital Art Museum wasn't like the typical art place with white corridors and rare paintings to boredom, this place was a bit more magical, filled with projectors and lights illuminating the walls with vivid colors or flashy neons. Each room was dedicated to a concept that evolved over time, seeing a waterfall in the middle of the jungle become part of the night and the stars, seeing the seabed give way to life on earth in a simple transition, incredible optical illusions that played with perspective and space. This time, Xian's idea was one that really interested me, to take a simple moment to enjoy the present experience.

"What do you think of this place?"

"Interesting, isn't it?"

"Well, I have to admit it's better than what I originally expected."

"This is much more fun than going to the theater."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I really thought since it was a romantic story and you have so many girls, maybe you'd like it."

"It wasn't until I was in the middle of the play that I remembered how the story ended and that Tamamo told me about the story you had with Nanami."

"..."

"But from those conversations, I also heard about the forests of Atlantis and their beautiful colors."

"So I thought that even if it wasn't the same, it would at least be something similar to what I think that place would be like."

"Oh, well, Atlantis is nothing but a bunch of lifeless ruins all over the place."

"But yeah, if you really want to see what it's like, I could take you someday, since you're the only one who hasn't seen anything of it."

"Are you sure? Isn't it a place you hate?"

"Hate?"

"..."

"Yes, I hated its people, its weapons, its temples, and most of all its people, without a doubt."

"..."

"But even so, there was one unique thing about this place, and that was undoubtedly its special nature."

"Those sky-blue forests in the middle of a huge cave, with shining crystals everywhere.

"Or those huge, imposing mushrooms that shone to illuminate even the darkest and most forgotten parts of this place."

"..."

"It seems ironic that a place cursed by its people would be blessed by its nature."

"At least I could appreciate that it wasn't destroyed during the war."

"I would say that another of the sins of the Atlanteans was that they never appreciated the treasures they had in their own homes."

"There was a place, a beautiful garden in Remshys that I visited several times with Nanami, that was a bit like this place."

"So I appreciate the gesture."

"..."

"Thank you."

"That name, Nanami, was a name I heard a lot when I talked to the others."

"How she was the first and what happened to her."

"And how even now you remember her."

"Even though you never knew her real name."

"Well, if you've already heard about her, what more do you want me to tell you?"

"..."

"I don't even know what else to talk about that isn't already known."

"..."

"I still love her despite what happened, and I can't forget her."

"..."

"But I can't pretend that what happened after that didn't really happen."

"When I met Tamamo, or Lisa, or even now, I can't just say that I didn't love them in reality either.

"..."

"You know, I hate my current name too."

"Xian, it's just a clipping of my mother's name Xian Fang, if you can call it that."

"It carries a cruel burden that I shouldn't have to carry."

"So I wanted to change my name as well."

"And I was thinking that you could be the one to choose my name like you did with Nanami."

"So what do you think, can you choose a new name for me?"

"Huh? That comes out of the blue."

Just like that, without warning, I have no idea what to choose."

"I don't think you'd like a name like Acerola Maneater Black Belzebub Raratīna"

"Moron!"

"Something nice like Nanami or something, not the name of a novel."

"Try something that's Chinese."

"Girl, understand me a little."

"I don't even know how to speak that after being there for a week."

"Try it, don't worry."

"..."

"Mei?"

"My sister's name?"

"The only other names in Chinese that I know are Li Wei, Wu Yan, and Jackie Chan."

"No, it's okay, I'll stick with Mei."

"Hey, if you don't like it, just give me some time and I'll try to come up with another one."

"No, no, it's okay, it's better than Xian for me."

"It's not like my sister is here to reclaim her name either."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't worry."

"At least I can know that out of the few names you had, you still tried to choose the most beautiful one."

After spending a good simple and quiet time, enjoying the simple moment as I wanted, it was time to go back after another stop for lunch, this time to a much more common and simple place for me. Although when we got home somehow Lisa realized about the fake marriage and so insistently told me to go immediately to get our own married photos, so it was up to Xian or now Mei, or I have no idea anymore, to drop us off in her car and pay for a second set of photos on the same day, with the penetrating and judging looks of the cameraman and the stylists.