Chapter 6: Ideal, the Supply Vessel

Chapter 6:
Ideal, the Supply Vessel

 

SEVERAL DAYS had passed since the New Year’s Festival, and it was nearly time for Leon’s fiancées to head back to Holfort.

Livia was sitting opposite of Angie. An awkward atmosphere hung between them. There were no other occupants in the room; Cordelia was making sure no one intruded.

As she fidgeted, Livia finally worked up the courage to say, “Uh…um!”

“Livia, I—”

They spoke at the same time, and another uncomfortable silence ensued. The girls scrunched their faces. Neither one was good at expressing themselves. Fortunately, their expressions were so silly and they were so eager to make up that they broke into grins.

“I caused you so much stress,” said Angie. “Everything you said about Noelle was correct. I ignored her feelings, and I’ve been taking time to reflect on that.”

Livia shook her head. “I was the one in the wrong. I didn’t give any thought to your position and responsibilities, and I said such insensitive things. I knew you were taking a great deal into consideration when you said everything you did.”

That was all it took for them to finally make up, but that didn’t mean Angie had changed her mind.

“I’m sorry, but even now, I still think we should take Noelle with us.”

“For the kingdom’s sake?” Livia asked.

“That’s part of it.”

“And what’s the other part?” Livia tilted her head.

“Noelle will spend the rest of her life as a target,” Angie explained. “She’s just that valuable.” Other countries would stop at nothing to claim her if they could, all because of the benefits her Sacred Tree Sapling would one day provide.

“I understand that.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” Angie countered, convinced Livia was too naive to truly grasp the grim reality. “There is no limit to how merciless and cruel people can be. Especially when a tremendous profit is involved, sitting right in front of them, ripe for the taking. They will do anything to take it.”

“Angie…?” Livia murmured, confused.

Angie shook her head. “I don’t want to go into details. Just know that if worse comes to worst, all that awaits Noelle is a living hell. Maybe coming with us isn’t what she truly wants, but what do you think would happen if some other country got ahold of her and made her absolutely miserable?”

“W-well…” Livia didn’t really want to give it much thought, but she didn’t doubt that Noelle would be unhappy being forced to live in some unknown country. That, however, was not what Angie was worried about.

“If Noelle is miserable, that will weigh on Leon. That’s just the kind of person he is. I don’t want to see him suffer.”

The moment Livia realized Angie’s concern was centered on Leon, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry. I never dreamed you were thinking that far ahead.”

“Unfortunately, it’s only recently that I started analyzing future repercussions in this light. I hadn’t put quite this much thought into things before, so you have no reason to apologize.”

Livia dropped her gaze, but Angie threw her arms around Livia. In turn, Livia embraced Angie as well.

Angie whispered into her ear, “Honestly, I don’t really want any other women beside Leon, but he has a habit of stirring trouble. I don’t want to see Noelle miserable either, and as a noble of Holfort, I can’t just ignore the value she represents.”

“I feel the same way,” said Livia.

“I hope you can forgive me. I know this isn’t what you want either, but our only choice is to let her be with Leon. Even if we take her back to Holfort with us, we can’t hand her over to the palace.”

Livia nodded, and Angie leaned in close, pressing her lips to Livia’s.

 

***

 

As Yumeria was busy cleaning the foyer, she paused and lifted her head. “The weather is so nice today!” She was in a chipper mood, and the warm rays of sunlight made her want to curl up for a nap. Fortunately, she managed to shake her head and focus on the job at hand. “I can’t afford to do that. If I don’t put some effort into this, Kyle will get mad at me again. It’s time to knuckle down!”

No sooner had she returned to her cleaning than a woman came through the front gate, a blue-colored robot floating at her side.

“Huh? Is that Mr. Luxion?” Yumeria murmured, dumbstruck.

“Hey,” Lelia said, not paying her comment any heed. “Are Leon and Marie here?”

Yumeria flinched in surprise before nodding several times. “Yeah… I mean, yes, miss!” She corrected herself, fearing her tone too casual. “They are currently here.”

“All right, then summon them for me. Tell them Lelia is here to see them.”

“A-all right!” Yumeria tried to scramble down the front hallway, but the second she turned her head, her foot slipped. “Eek!”

“H-hey! Are you all right?”

“M-my apologies. I’m a bit of a klutz.”

“Your name is Yumeria, right? You don’t have to be in such a hurry. Just go at your own pace and fetch them for me, okay?”

“Yes!” Yumeria peeled herself off the ground, dusting her skirt before scampering along.

“H-hey! I told you not to be in such a rush!” Lelia hollered after her. “Ideal? What’s the matter?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. So that elf woman’s name is Yumeria, hm?”

Yumeria had already disappeared inside the house, so she was unable to hear this question.

 

***

 

“It feels like I’ve been in the dark while so many things were going on.” Noelle was sitting in the stairwell with her arms around the sapling, which was snug in its protective case.

Marie sat next to Noelle. The girls had grown close during Marie’s time abroad, and since she knew Noelle’s circumstances, she was doing what she could to support her.

“You can leave all of this stuff to Leon. The bigger question is: What are you going to do?”

Noelle continued cradling the sapling in her arms, unable to make up her mind. “I don’t know. I don’t feel like it’s right to have Leon look after me. After all, he’s already engaged twice over. Do you really think it’d be acceptable for me to impose on him?”

“He ruined your wedding,” Marie reminded her. “You should totally lean on him. Use him for all he’s worth.”

“That’s going a little overboard.” Noelle couldn’t bring herself to go to such extremes; she still had feelings for Leon.

“Well, you can mull it over for a while. You have plenty of time.” For as relaxed as she sounded, Marie was inwardly panicking.

We can’t just leave Noelle on her own, but my brother insists on letting her make the final decision. What are we supposed to do?! Ugh, I can’t stand this. Nothing is going the way it’s supposed to!

Marie racked her brain, trying to think of some way to resolve things to the satisfaction of all involved, but she didn’t get very far before Yumeria came stumbling up the stairs.

“Ah, Lady Marie! W-we have a guest!”

“For me?”

“Well, she asked me to summon Lord Leon as well, so I plan to fetch him next. If you’ll excuse—ah!” Yumeria was in such a rush that she tripped on a stair and banged her knee.

Noelle hurried over to Yumeria and helped her up. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes. Our guest asked me to move quickly, so I’m trying to hurry.”

Marie saw no problem with making their guest wait, personally. If they were asking for Leon as well, she could guess exactly who it was. As she gazed down from the second floor, she wasn’t surprised to spot Lelia boldly stepping into the foyer, her arms crossed over her chest. Floating beside her was Ideal, the AI Leon had told Marie about.

While Yumeria left to retrieve Leon, Noelle made her way to the first floor.

“Lelia, what are you here for? Huh? Why does that floating round thing look exactly like Luxion?” Noelle asked, puzzled.

“A pleasure to meet you, Lady Noelle,” Ideal said in a friendly tone. “My name is Ideal. Luxion and I are…well, similar, I suppose. I do hope we can be friends.”

“Uh, yes. Sure.” Noelle was baffled; how had Lelia come to possess something that looked almost exactly like Leon’s familiar? Marie didn’t seem the least bit bothered by it, but Noelle couldn’t shake her confusion.

“You sure do like to show up out of the blue,” Marie said snidely.

Lelia flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I told Leon that I would come to speak with him a while back. But I’m more concerned about what the heck is going on right now.”

Since they couldn’t discuss anything in front of Noelle, Marie said, “Have a seat in the parlor for now. Leon will be along shortly.”

“All right. I’ll wait then. Oh, and in the meantime, I’m going to have a talk with my sister.” Lelia grabbed Noelle’s hand, pulling her along to the room.

Marie sneered. “What does she think Noelle is, just some doll she can drag around when it’s convenient?”

 

***

 

When the two sisters reached the parlor and Lelia said her piece, Noelle was left exasperated. “You’re telling me to stay in the republic?” It wasn’t a question; Lelia was delivering a command.

“That’s right. I don’t think you’d make it abroad anyway, and it’ll be safer for you to stay. I’ll make sure of that.”

To Noelle, Lelia’s tone was the peak of condescension.

“What are you saying? Just because you’re engaged to Emile doesn’t mean you’ll be able to—”

“Emile won’t be protecting you. I will.”

“What do you mean? Emile’s the one who’s always looking for us, right? I’ve noticed at least that much.” Noelle assumed Lelia was only acting tough because she enjoyed the benefits of being engaged to Emile.

But this time, Lelia showed no intention of relying on him. “He’s irrelevant at this point.”

“What do you mean, ‘irrelevant?’” Noelle demanded. “Did you fight?”

Being Lelia’s sibling, Noelle could sense the conflict that had likely taken place. She was more right than she knew.

“That has nothing to do with you,” said Lelia.

“Of course it does. I don’t know what happened, but it’s hard for me to believe Emile would do anything to upset you. What did you do?”

Lelia’s face clouded, and she averted her gaze.

Noelle’s suspicions heightened. “I knew it.”

“I told you, it’s none of your business!” Lelia shouted. “And anyway, I don’t need him anymore.”

“What does that even mean? Especially after how much you—”

As the sisters bickered, a knock echoed through the room. Both girls turned toward the door, where Leon stood, Luxion floating beside him.

“All right, that’s enough of that,” he said. “No more squabbling between siblings.”

Marie scoffed where she was hovering behind him, “You think you have any right to say that? Not altogether convincing when you’re constantly getting into it.”

“I’m a total pacifist. I hate fighting.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sure it’s a total coincidence you’re so good at it then.”

Leon and Marie wore smiles even as they shot death glares at each other. The sight of them made Noelle and Lelia sober as they realized how pointless their bickering had been.

Lelia crossed her arms. “I have to talk to them, so see yourself out.”

“Why?” Noelle demanded. “Why are you always leaving me out of everything?”

“You don’t need to know. Now leave!”

With that, Lelia managed to drive Noelle out.

 

***

 

“You sure have a nasty attitude with your sister,” I said, exasperated with the forceful way she’d shooed Noelle out. Lelia had grown arrogant since obtaining Ideal. “You’d better stop letting your power get to your head before it comes back to bite you.”

I would have expected her to pull a face, annoyed by my unsolicited advice, but it was Luxion who got all shocked.

“Master, how many times have I told you to look in the mirror when you say that sort of thing?”

Marie concurred. “Pot, meet kettle. You’ve got some nerve, you know. Don’t you feel the least bit ashamed? As your sister, I definitely do.”

Excuse me! Do I have to sit here and take this from Marie of all people?

“You think you have a leg to stand on here?” I barked back. “Whatever, let’s drop it.”

“Hey!” Lelia snapped, trying to admonish me for my attitude. I ignored her. This particular topic was a waste of time. I needed to get to the point.

“Lelia, tell me: Why does Ideal have defensive measures set up inside the Rault estate?”

Lelia tilted her head. “What are you talking about?”

Marie put a hand on her hip and jabbed a finger in Lelia’s direction. “We can’t rescue Louise thanks to your stupid stunt! Enough of this nonsense. Get rid of those defenses.”

Lelia’s face contorted in anger. It was beginning to seem like she was genuinely clueless. “I have no idea what you’re talking about! Stop blaming me for everything. I don’t know anything about what’s going on with Louise, and the whole reason I came was to discuss what to do about it.”

Neither Marie nor I had expected that answer.

“In that case, it is that much easier to identify the true culprit,” Luxion said, his red lens focusing on Ideal.

“M-my deepest apologies,” Ideal stammered.

Lelia gaped. “What? Explain yourself!”

“Y-you see, I only put those measures in place because Lord Serge ordered me to do so.”

“Serge? Hey, hold on a second. I’m your master, aren’t I?!”

Welp, Lelia really was ignorant of the circumstances.

Ideal, similarly, seemed confused. “What? N-no. At the time you found me, I registered you both as my masters. Thus, the only people who can order me to take action are you and Lord Serge.”

“That can’t be.” Lelia’s jaw dropped. This was the first she was hearing about this. When she claimed her cheat item, she’d probably never dreamed anyone other than herself would be able to control it.

This is a huge problem. I frowned. “Of all people, it had to be Serge? You couldn’t have picked a worse person to share that kinda power with.”

As I’d experienced, Serge was the type to punch first and ask questions later. I hated him.

Contrary to my despair, Marie grinned triumphantly. “Well, that makes it simple. We can fix this in a jiffy. Lelia, order Ideal to remove the defenses.”

“F-fine, I will. Ideal, do as they’ve asked.”

Without missing a beat, he replied, “I cannot.”

“What?” Lelia gasped.

“Unfortunately, both you and Lord Serge are of equal status in my eyes. I cannot simply cancel an earlier order from one of you without sufficient reason.”

I glanced at Luxion. “Well?”

“Military AIs have a completely different command input system that’s unique to them. That aside, if we can destroy these defensive measures, we can rescue Louise.”

Given the circumstances, it seemed like we’d be able to avoid going head-to-head with Ideal too.

“The problem is Serge. I’ve heard he’s got a pretty complicated relationship with his family, right?” I glanced at Lelia, but she avoided my gaze.

“He was adopted into House Rault, but he never really fit in,” she explained. “He’s told me how much he wants a real family.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right. I’d kill to have a family like his. They’re amazing.”

There was no real point in comparing the Raults with my own kin, but at least on the older sister front, the Rault model had mine beat by a mile.

Dammit. Life would have been so much better if Miss Louise had been my sister instead.

However, since the Raults were the final boss in the original game, Lelia didn’t share my sentiments; she couldn’t see any good in them.

“How do you figure? Serge told me that he’s the only person in their household who hasn’t been accepted as a member of the family. I bet they only took him in because they wanted an heir. Pretty selfish to uproot him like that just because their own son died.”

On the contrary, I thought they were all incredibly kind. Albergue was even willing to go to war if it meant saving his daughter.

“Well, your opinion is kinda irrelevant,” I said. “Anyway, can I assume you’re going to oppose Serge on this matter? And Ideal, which side are you going to take here?”

It was highly likely we’d make enemies out of Serge, which meant Ideal could be a real threat.

Having sensed the wariness in my gaze, Ideal shook his eye from side to side as if exasperated. He reminded me of Luxion in that respect. “I would like to avoid prioritizing one master over the other if at all possible, but with the circumstances as they are, I will not be providing any militaristic backup. However, that is the extent to which I am able to compromise. I will not rob Serge of what fighting power he already possesses.”

“If you can promise that much, that’s plenty. We can handle the rest,” I said.

That was at least one issue out of the way. All that remained was figuring out how best to extract Miss Louise.

Having deemed that particular subject dealt with, Lelia changed the topic. “All right, now let’s talk about my sister. I’ll be as frank as I can. Since I have Ideal now, I am more than capable of protecting her. There’s no need to rely on you guys anymore.”

Marie scowled. “Quit getting carried away, you big snob. If my brother seriously wanted to, he could beat you into next week.”

Uh, why is she overselling me? I have no desire to pit myself against Ideal.

Although I had noticed that since retrieving Ideal, Lelia had become much more assertive.

“Oh? You actually want to fight me? Ideal is a military ship. Your Luxion is just a migrant ship. Do you think he’ll be able to hold his own?”

Luxion, who had been silent until this point, immediately jumped into the conversation, speaking at a rapid-fire pace. “Hm? I am shocked; I did not think you were capable of analyzing our fighting capabilities. Do you even know my primary strengths? If not, then it’s rather arrogant to act so triumphant. Military ship or not, Ideal is a supply vessel. Since you don’t seem to understand what that entails, I’ll explain as simply as I can: he’s not the type of ship that fights on the front lines. He utilizes his unique skills by staying in the rear. He wasn’t built for expertise on the battlefield. Were you not aware of that?”

“Huh? Uh…what?” Lelia glanced back at Ideal, looking for help.

“Luxion, please don’t pick on Lady Lelia,” said the other robot. “Besides, as much as I may not look it, I do have a wealth of experience in battle. It’s impossible to know which of us would win against the other. Or do you disagree with my assessment?”

“No, I do not,” Luxion answered. Even he couldn’t confidently claim he’d be the victor.

Guess that means something’s giving him doubts.

“Didn’t expect to hear you say that,” I said. “You’re really not going to swear that you’ll come out on top?”

“We were created to battle against the new humans, not to engage in a war between our own people. Thus, no data exists of battleships like ourselves facing off against one another.”

So they wouldn’t know how things would turn out unless they actually squared off. Aha, now I get it. Luxion isn’t sure he can win. I’ll have to tease him about it later.

Future plans aside, it was good that we’d been able to at least learn a little more about Ideal.

“So you’re saying you actually fought the new humans?” I asked him.

“Yes. It was a brutal war. I returned to our base in order to make necessary preparations, and that was where I waited for my new masters to arrive. Alas, a Demonic Suit breached the base and nearly destroyed everything within. I was fortunate enough to survive, only because I was left on standby and could not engage.”

Lelia’s brows shot up to her hairline. “Wait, seriously? Oh, are you talking about that Armor we saw in there? Is that what you’re calling a ‘Demonic Suit’?”

“Correct.”

And as if on cue, Luxion burst out into incomprehensible cursing, which he always did when these demonic whats-its were mentioned. “Asdfghjkl!”

Lelia retreated to the wall, maintaining her distance from him. “Wh-what’s wrong with you?!”

“Sorry,” I said. “He’s got a real hatred hard-on for those Demonic Suit things.”

Ideal bobbed his lens up and down as if nodding. “I understand how he feels. I also loathe them.” In spite of saying that, he seemed eerily calm.

Luxion’s eye gleamed menacingly. “Where is it? Where is this Demonic Suit? We have to destroy it. We must utterly decimate it beyond repair. Any legacy of the new humans must be wiped out.”

“Yep, I saw that reaction coming from a mile away,” I muttered.

“Please calm yourself, Luxion. I have already dealt with the Demonic Suit. It’s gone now,” Ideal assured him.

“Oh, very well then.”

Now that Luxion wasn’t on the verge of going berserk, I turned my attention to Lelia, who was still pressed against the far wall. “Anyway, I think we should let Noelle decide her own future.”

“Wh-why should I do that, huh?! The republic needs her and that sapling!”

I shrugged. “If things get dire and we need to rethink our plans, we can cross that bridge when we get there. But I don’t think the current Sacred Tree is going to spiral out of control.”

“B-but…”

The way Mr. Albergue was now, it didn’t seem likely he would become the final boss. Although if he were to lose Miss Louise, what would happen? Despair over her death might drive him off the edge. Keeping her safe was key to keeping the world from falling apart.

Oops, guess that means I’ll be saving the world again. Man, it sure is tough being me. Especially since I’m out here rescuing humanity from disaster all the time.

Jokes aside…

“Noelle has a good head on her shoulders. Better than you give her credit for. So…” I left the rest unspoken.

Lelia stared down at her feet before starting out of the door.

“Ah, Lady Lelia!” Ideal called after her. “Please excuse us, everyone. Lady Lelia!”

Soon, they were gone, leaving Luxion, Marie, and me.

Marie wrinkled her nose. “She’s let Ideal’s power go to her head. Big Bro, you should threaten her like you always do.”

“Don’t wanna. And plus, what do you mean by ‘like I always do’?”

She averted her gaze. “Lelia thinks of Noelle as an object. If we leave everything to her, she’ll make Noelle miserable.”

Though they were twins, one thing separated Lelia and Noelle, and that was that Lelia carried memories of her previous life in Japan. Perhaps as a result, she didn’t seem to have the sort of sisterly affection you’d have expected.

“Well, what to do? Luxion, got any brilliant ideas?”

“Every time you find yourself in a tough situation, you turn to someone else. You really must think your brain is mere decoration, considering you never use it to think up solutions.”

“I’m no good at that kind of thing.”

“Oh, yes. You’re always bad at it when it’s inconvenient. But were you not also the one who said you normally make a point to be shrewd and cautious?”

I shrugged. “Humans like to say and do whatever’s easiest whenever it’s easiest. What can I say? To the point, what do you think?”

“Anyone who obtains immense power, you or otherwise, grows arrogant as a result. It’s human nature, and I personally quite like it. I am sure if Lelia was burned once, she would wise up, but that will be difficult for us to arrange considering Ideal. That said…”

“Yes?”

Luxion paused. “Actually, no. It’s nothing.”

“Now you’ve got me curious. Out with it.”

“It will only confuse you at this point. Once I have sufficient evidence, I will make my report. Arranging to save Louise is more important at present, if I’m not mistaken.”

Oh, crap. He’s got a point. I conceded. “Yeah, you’re right. Guess I better get things together. Oh, and Marie, call the idiot brigade.”

“Sure, but what do you plan to make them do this time?”

I grinned. “Something really fun.”

Marie pulled a face, dismayed.

 

***

 

After fleeing Marie’s estate, Lelia hopped into the back of a car that Ideal had prepared for her. She stared down at her lap as the vehicle started toward her home. Ideal was in the driver’s seat, but he called back to her, trying to offer comfort.

“My lady, please don’t let it weigh on you too much. I see the thought and consideration you’ve given Lady Noelle and her situation.”

Lelia nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. No one else understands the lengths I’ve gone to for my sister. Everything I’ve done since I was reborn…”

Memories from her past life flashed through her mind.

 

***

 

In her past life, Lelia had also been a little sister. Her older sister had been far more talented than her, which should have made her proud, but instead it meant everyone compared them constantly.

“Why can’t you be more like your older sister?”

“You’re such a failure. Your older sister was able to do this at her age.”

Her parents always measured her against her older sister, and school was no different. When she developed feelings for a boy and tried to communicate them, he turned her down, saying, “Oh, but you’d be doing me a huge favor if you could hook me up with your sister.”

Lelia had thought of her sister as a nuisance. When she was older, she got engaged to a man whose family ran a business. He was in line to be the next company president. He wasn’t the most serious about his work, but he was handsome and fun to be around. Back then, Lelia had been proud of their relationship.

At the time, her sister was dating someone who clearly wasn’t in the same league as Lelia’s own partner, which drove her to think, I can finally beat my older sister. No, I already have!

She brought her fiancé back to her parents’ house to introduce them, to show off how much better she had done. At first, her parents were delighted; they told him, “We hope you’ll accept her, flaws and all.”

Alas, her triumph was short-lived. A mere few months later, her fiancé began dating her sister. Lelia couldn’t comprehend what had happened. When she grilled her fiancé about it, he didn’t even act ashamed of his infidelity.

“Yeah, my bad. But the two of us just mesh really well, you see.”

Her sister’s answer was even more crushing.

“I’m sorry. But you know, I think you’ll find someone way better anyway. So can’t you be happy for us?”

Lelia clearly remembered the smile on her sister’s face, even as she “apologized.” Lelia hated it. She tried to protest to the rest of her family, but they all said the same things:

“You weren’t good enough for him anyway.”

“Your sister is a way better match for him. Go find someone else.”

They wouldn’t even give her the time of day. And so, she cut ties with every last one of them.

Her experiences had made her loathe the very concept of an older sister with a passion.

 

***

 

As she thought about her former life in the back seat of the car, Lelia began to identify the similarities between that woman and Noelle. Lelia hated the very notion of being a younger sister. No matter where she went, her previous world or this one, she was treated like an unnecessary extra.

“I gave up everything for you. I even picked the most boring, unappealing love interest. So why aren’t things going the way I planned?”

It irked her that Noelle wouldn’t fall in line. She’d held herself back from any of the other love interests, opting for the least desirable, yet Noelle wouldn’t give the others a second glance. Worse, of all the people she could have fallen in love with, it had to be Leon—who, like Lelia, wasn’t originally from this world.

“My sister in this world is no better than the one I had before. They just take everything from me. On top of that, she was the one who got chosen as the Priestess. I was born into the Lespinasse house just like her, but I didn’t even qualify.”

Lelia was envious of Noelle’s role in the story. There had been a time when she’d naively thought that she might be special too, since she had been reborn as the protagonist’s twin sister, but reality soon came crashing down on her. Their parents had told her that, unlike Noelle, she lacked the qualities necessary to be the Priestess. That made her realize something.

No matter where I go, I’m just my older sister’s unwanted tagalong. That’s why I resolved to live a humble life. Why do you have to get in the way of even that?

As much as it pissed her off that Noelle wouldn’t follow the script, she was no less irritated at Leon and everyone else who kept giving Noelle a helping hand. Even though they had been reborn into this world like her, they chose to aid Noelle instead.

“At the end of the day, everyone always picks my older sister. I’m nothing but an accessory. But that doesn’t matter; I have a will of my own. My own ambitions.”

While Lelia continued staring down at her lap, Ideal eyed her reflection through the back mirror, and his lens flashed an eerie red.