1.29. News to Me

<Avner Cross>

"Have you checked your locker.."

"My locker? Oh right, I forgot I had one."

"You don't even use it!"

What's up with Avner's locker? Brunette also told me to look into the locker. Did I leave something important there?

We arrived at the teacher's office.

"..."

"..."

"I keep forgetting I don't have access to this place. Give me a moment, I'll contact the teacher."

"Remember to go check your locker later."

"Why?"

"Just check it, You'll know when you open it."

I already told Brunette that I'll go clean up my locker.

I operated the AR interface and called Cain.

"Okay, he should be here in a moment."

We were brought into his office. Unlike last time, there were a few other teachers present at their cubicle. Without minding us, Cain went to the pantry. I wonder how he plans to identify Pu'er as an unawakened angel?

"Did you tell the teachers.."

"What?"

I turned to hir and saw a tomato with steam rising from the top.

"I can't believe it.."

"W-What?"

"Nothing. You should go look in the mirror."

This elf still likes Avner.

"Hikh?!"

I don't get hir at all. Last time xe said very bluntly that xe and Avner weren't in a relationship.

"Read.. what happened?"

"Nothing, xe's the one I was talking about."

"Pu'er was it? Do you have a fever?"

"N-no I don't.."

Cain was confused. I don't have any intentions to explain the details.

"I want you to drink this."

Two cups of tea.

"Me too?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Alright. Just to be sure, I can drink this right? It won't affect me because I'm not the same race."

"Trust me. I wouldn't want to harm an asset like yourself."

A demon is an angel's asset. What a great way to phrase it.

Nevertheless, I took a sip.

It's good.

"It reminds me of the tea she makes."

"Hm?"

"No, just recalling the past."

Novelle's sister-in-law is a tea fanatic. She brews amazing tea. And I'lI admit, it's a taste I don't think I can forget anytime soon. Just thinking about it makes me want to drink it again.

"Pu'er."

Xe's just staring.

"W-Why do I have to drink this? No, don't.."

Xe panicked.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, fine!"

Xe drank in a hurry. Coupled with hirs flushed face, xe's cute.

Avner, I know you still hold feelings for hir but shut up.

"You two have to complete the drink."

Cain looked at me, I better prepare myself.

"Okay."

"It's good.. thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you for coming."

"No, thank you for inviting me."

"Good, now it's ready. Avner."

{WARNING: YOU ARE BEING TARGETED}

Ripples formed in the fragments of the world. I got tossed out of my body.

"How did you know?" Cain asked, stunned.

I turned to look at Pu'er and myself, who was sitting side by side. A reddish-purple aura, like steam, seemed to ascend upwards. On the other hand, Pu'er was covered in a dim golden glow.

"I just know."

"Xe was your advisor, wasn't she?"

"Advisor?"

"I heard before that Your Holiness used to have a secretary. White hair, blue eyes. An angel who pledged loyalty not to God, but a demon."

What?

"Say that again? Who is xe? Tell me everything you know."

The 233rd Avner was a cruiser. That meant that he didn't need to be part of a fleet. He operated solo, without any help with the exception of one young lady.

She was thought to be his only aide.

After Avner went missing, she went kamikaze and initiated a civil war within the angel's sphere of control. She died, leaving behind the title of fallen angel.

"I believe that fate wills it you two be one. To complete what you began."

You've got to be kidding me.

Pu'er in her previous life was a girl. In this life, an elf.

"What was it that I began?"

What did Avner seek?

"Peace. Peace on both fronts, to conclude this perpetual war forever."

Somewhere inside my head, though I couldn't understand it myself, there's something there screaming out.

Avner's will. His determination, damnation.

I gripped my hands into a fist.

"I won't be doing it."

"Pardon?"

"This war. It has nothing to do with me."

Complete what you started.

I don't care. I'm no longer just Avner. Shin doesn't need his aspirations.

We get to choose whatever we want.

War isn't something that can be stopped simply by a single person.

"You're Holiness.."

"War happens not because of conflict. Think about it. Can you say the human world is free of conflict, even till now?"

Then what is it that causes war?

"If we want to stop the war, destroying the head is not enough. No, rather, we don't need to destroy the head."

In the first place, the head will come down if those below him start a revolt.

"Then.."

"What we need to change is the root."

I promise myself I won't do anything stupid just because I inheritted Avner's ambition.

"That root being culture."

And to change a culture that has been going on for more than 200 generations.

That's just impossible.

Cain lowered his head.

"You never cease to amaze me Your Holiness."

"I'm sorry. There's nothing a single person can do about war but– we can cause small ripples on the waves. However little the change, it will expand, proliferate and eventually become reality."

Which basically just means I'll do me. I'll inevitably be involved in this war, and the only thing I can control about it is the way I act and conduct myself.

"I see.. so this is the strategy you will take in this life.."

Cain. It's not a strategy, it's just me telling you that I don't want to get involved!

"I shall support your cause with whatever is left of this one's life," Cain saluted.

"You're misunderstanding.. whatever."

Every existence will influence things one way or another.

War didn't end because people realized it's terror.

It ended because people learnt from their past, which informed a change in culture.

"Your Holiness, is there anything more you wish to say?"

"No. That's it from me."

"Then we shall return."

I nodded.

The next second my stomach went into full revolt, colours spinning all around me.

Does Cain not feel nauseated? Or is it because he's the one initiating the mine?

"A-Avner?!"

Pu'er panicked at my reaction.

"I-I'm alright.. still not used to this feeling.."

"Pu'er, if you notice any weird changes, immediately seek Avner or me for help. Do you understand?"

"W-What weird changes?"

"You'll know it when it happens. Just don't let your AI know."

Randell doesn't know about it either. I'm not sure what will happen if information about the war is revealed to the world.

Rather, something at this scale can't be hidden unless there's a team actively purging the internet, right? It may be a needless worry.

"Huh? W-What did you do to me?!"

Xe's misunderstanding.

"Pu'er, it's not what you think it is."

"Your powers will awaken, keep that in mind."

"My powers..?"

Cain nodded.

"Until then, you can only wait."

The confused Pu'er nodded slightly.

===

dotturndot: Avner's past and Shin's past. Who is who exactly huh? And Pu'er too. In fact, I plan to write an extra volume about Avner (not Shin) and Pu'er's past life, though.. that will be for the future hehe.. If all goes well, I'll need your full support to help me win okay?