Bar

Editors: Sebas Tian, Speedphoenix, Joker

"So, yeah. All in all, I think it looks pretty good, and I'm pretty much willing to accept. What do you think?" The first thing I did after getting to the room we were borrowing was to ask the girls for their opinions.

"Hmmmm…" Leila paused for a moment to think. "To be honest, my lord, it's difficult for me to say. I do think that accepting would be the better choice overall, but doing so will put you in great danger."

"Yeah, that's not really something I mind all that much."

The danger was something I'd known I would be walking into from the start. Such was the nature of dealing with one's enemies, and such was the nature of dealing with demons.

Survival of the fittest was a lot more deep-rooted in demon culture than I had initially expected. I almost didn't understand their values. But still, reasons aside, demons had the tendency to obey the strong. I knew for a fact that the demon king wanted me to flaunt my might in order to pacify and potentially even convert those that stood against his regime. Of course, things weren't going to go that smoothly. Not everyone was going to listen to me just because I was swole. The fiend faction would most likely still see me as an enemy. But that was fine. They had tried to use Lefi, and as far as I was concerned, that put them well beyond the point of redemption. Agent McHoodface was right. I'm probably going to have a run-in with them eventually, so I might as well squash 'em while I'm here.

That was why I was here to begin with. Functionally speaking, visiting the demon capital was no different from visiting the human capital. Both were operations in which I moved to crush my foes before they could inflict any further harm.

"It's okay," said Enne. "I'll keep Master safe."

"Thanks Enne." I chuckled and gave the kimono-clad sword girl a pat on the head before continuing. "The only thing I'm really worried about is getting stabbed in the back by my so-called allies."

"While I can't say for certain that they won't, I don't believe that it's anything you should be too worried about either."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Well, My Lord, it's rather simple, really," she said with a nod. "You are only one of the many allies that the lord of the demon realm has made, and I doubt the others would be as willing to trust him if they caught wind of a betrayal."

"Makes sense…"

I frowned as I contemplated the implications of his actions. As far as I could tell, Leila had hit the nail on the head. He probably didn't want to lose any credibility given the situation he was in. He was already short on allies. The loss of even a single one could result in the tides turning against him. That was why I didn't have to worry about trusting him on a personal level. Betrayal wasn't even on the table. Phynar had no choice but to remain as honest and trustworthy as he could given his position. That went double given his propensity for peace. The demon king's foreign policies suggested that he preferred reconciliation as opposed to angering others and fueling the fires of war. And, honestly, most people in charge tend to have a bit of the whole devious little bastard thing going for them anyway. Yeah, I guess I might as well trust him.

"Another thing I was a bit worried about was keeping my associates, namely you two, safe. I'm obviously going to try to make it so people don't go after you two, but take this, just in case they do anyway."

I handed each of the girls a necklace. Both were plain, silver chains featuring a small translucent crystal. There was a tiny device at the back that let one adjust the accessory's length to suit one's needs.

"What's this?" asked Leila.

"It's just a little something that'll let you warp back to the dungeon. I know it doesn't look all that flashy or anything, but you'll have to forgive me for that. It's more for function than it is for decoration."

Leila gasped. "Does that mean this item manipulates spacetime?"

"Pretty much," I said with a shrug. "But it's only a one time use kinda thing."

To be more precise, the item would allow the person wearing it to teleport right back to the true throne room, the room containing the dungeon core. It was easy to activate too. All it took to activate was for the person wearing the item to channel their mana through it.

I had bought them before leaving for the demon realm, just in case. I was pretty sure they would prove useful, both if something happened in the demon realm, and if something happened back home while we were away. Of course, the necklace itself wasn't capable of doing something as fancy as telling me that the dungeon was in trouble, but I already had myself covered in that regard anyway. That wasn't a feature the necklace needed given all the other detection-based mechanisms I had at my disposal. Not that the dungeon's really going to need my help anyway. I've got Rir, the others, and an assload of traps on standby. Lefi's there too. Hell, I'd even say it's probably the safest place in the world right now, and it still would be even if it was under attack. Not that I'm planning on letting an attack happen in the first place.

"Master, how do I put it on?" asked Enne.

"I'll do it for you. Come here and turn around." I took the necklace out of her hands and placed it around her neck. "There, nice and pretty, right?"

"Mhm."

The compliment caused Enne to blush a bit before breaking into a smile. That cuteness though.

Enne's personification skill would undo itself the moment she moved outside its effective range. Her more human-like form would vanish into thin air, and her consciousness would be forced to possess her real body. That exact thing was sure to happen if she were to use the item without first grabbing ahold of the blade currently propped up next to me. There almost didn't seem to be much of a point in providing her with a method of escape given her circumstances, but I chose to do so regardless. Not providing her with the same thing as everyone else, even on the basis of practicality, would have been a pretty racist decision to make. And bullying poor little Ms. Enne here wasn't exactly something I was all that keen on.

On the topic of Enne and race-related matters, her body was actually quite bizarre as far as properties went. Any clothes she put on while personified would stay on even if she was to turn into a sword and back.

"You want a hand too, Leila?"

"I suppose I'll take you up on that offer then, My Lord," she giggled.

The maid turned around to reveal her beautiful, slender neck. I took the necklace and closed its rear clamp around the base.

"It looks really good on you," I said.

"Thank you very much, My Lord," she said. "And don't worry, I won't tell Lefi that you tried to court me."

"W-wait, hold up! You've got it all wrong! I was just trying to be nice!"

"I know," said the maid with a mischievous giggle. "I was just kidding."

Can we not? You almost gave me a heart attack.

"And as for our earlier discussion," she said. "I believe that you are in a position to ask for additional compensation, My Lord."

"Really? I thought I was getting a pretty sweet deal."

"I am sorry to say this, My Lord, I must say that I find your sense of value questionable. Would you mind leaving the negotiations to me? I'm certain that I'll be able to negotiate a deal that works more in your favour," said Leila enthusiastically.

"S-Sure. I guess I'll leave negotiations to you then."

I was a bit taken aback by how eager she was to jump into negotiations, so I ended up casually nodding along as I continued to ponder my supposed lack of common sense. Am I really that bad at figuring out how much things are worth?

***

Leila followed through with her claims the next day and spoke with the king on my behalf. The two came to a contract featuring three main clauses. The first was that the demon king's faction would do their utmost to support and protect me. The second was that they would treat me as a mercenary, and the third was that they would agree to pay me a prespecified amount immediately upon the resolution of the demon realm's current dilemma.

Neither the first nor third terms really came with any further implications. They were exactly as they were defined. The second term, however, involved publicly announcing that I was someone the demon king had hired. Though it didn't actually seem all that significant at a glance, it turned out that it was actually something very important.

Functioning as a mercenary provided me with a greater degree of freedom when it came to flaunting my power. Moreover, the fact that they were hiring me meant that I wasn't a permanent ally. And thus, those I wronged would be more likely to ignore me as an individual and fault the demon king and his faction for my actions. It made sense the moment I began to think about it. My knowledge of history informed me that grudges were often split between those doing the fighting and those that had ordered the aforementioned onto the battlefield in the first place. And, at least according to my study of the post-world war two era, it seemed that the brass bore most of the burden. You know… I probably really should've just left all this talking business stuff to Leila from the start. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and uhhh… let's just say, when it comes to negotiation, this trusty maid of mine has more than got me covered.

Dear Diary. I learned a lot today! I think a bit smarter now. Sincerely, Me.

The negotiation itself had been quite a sight to behold. Both Leila and the king had spent the entire session with huge smiles plastered all over their faces despite the fact that they were engaged in one of the most intense verbal sparring exercises that I had ever borne witness to. Both spoke with heavy, deliberate words phrased in ways that carried implication after implication. I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the pressure they were giving off. Even just being there had put me well out of my depth. The same went for Agent Haloria. She had been there too, likely because she was in charge of seeing to our needs, and the intensity of the discussion had quite literally left her trembling.

"My Lord, I know that you are the type to attempt to resolve every issue you encounter all by yourself," said Leila. "And I understand that is just the type of man you happen to be. However, I would like to say that it is still okay for you to rely on those around you. In fact, I think that you should be doing exactly that on a more regular basis."

"Mhm," nodded Enne. "Agreed."

"Yeah, my bad." I forced a bit of a smile in response to their insistence before grabbing my glass off the table and draining its contents.

The three of us were currently situated in a bar, one located in the demon realm's maze of a capital city. Phynar had more or less told us that he would ask for me later because he didn't actually have anything for me to do just yet. He suggested that we check out the city and have a bit of fun. I didn't see any reason not to agree, so we went ahead and found ourselves a decent looking place to grab a bite. Hence the bar.

Although most bars had the tendency to be rather small, this one wasn't. It was a decently sized two-story building, and we were located on the second. There was actually an indoor balcony smack in the middle of the second floor. A bunch of ivy-like plants hung from the balcony. The plants emitted beautiful but faint spheres of light and offered the building a secondary source of illumination. Of course, the primary light sources were the lamps that hung from the building's ceiling.

The combination of the mystical lights, the modern, stylish interior, and the calm song the band was playing almost made the place seem more like a nice restaurant than a bar. But it was definitely a bar. Few people were paying any attention to the musicians on stage. They were instead engaged in the act of making noise themselves. Most of the people present were very obviously drunk.

I happened to spot a pair of hooded figures sitting nearby right as we got ready to start eating. At this point, the term "hooded" almost immediately made me think of Haloria and her coworkers. But it wasn't them this time. The mantles that this pair wore weren't like the mantles that the demon realm's secret operatives wore. Even the colour was different.

Hooded figures were surprisingly common in the demon realm. I'd seen lots of them wandering the streets, so the pair didn't actually stand out that much. And they weren't acting especially suspicious either, but for some odd reason, I couldn't help but find myself curious as to why they were concealing their identities in a bar with an atmosphere this bright and cheerful. Might as well use Analyze. Why not, right?

"Wait. Nell…?"

One of the hooded figures immediately span around the moment it heard my voice.

"Huh!? Yuki, is that you!?"

The face I saw under the cloak's hood was one that I couldn't have possibly mistaken for another. The hooded figure had turned out to be Nell, the church's hero.

The results of my analysis were as follows.

***

General Information

Name: Nell

Race: Mid Devil (Human)

Class: Skilled Swordsman (Hero)

Level: 59

HP: 2996/2996

MP: 7670/7670

Strength: 684

Vitality: 757

Agility: 902

Magic: 898

Dexterity: 1101

Luck: 1299

Unique Skills

Barrier Magic

Accelerate

Skills

Holy Magic VI

Sword Mastery V

Enemy Detection IV

Crisis Detection V

Dagger Mastery III

Fire Magic II

Titles

Holy Blade's Wielder

Chronic Yes-Man

Protector

***

She seemed to be making use of some sort of item in order to conceal her identity, but it wasn't anywhere near as powerful as the demon king's. My level ten skill blew right through the item's effects and laid everything bare. Her false stats were still displayed, but their original values remained right there beside them, albeit in brackets. Wait a second. When the hell did she get this strong?

It had only been about a month since I last saw her, but Nell had grown. A lot. She was already stronger than the adventurer I had fought in Alshir. I was confident that she would have no problem dealing with the demon realm's residents should they aggress on her given the fact that most of her stats sat at around the one thousand mark. Some had even exceeded it. Even her luck stat had spiked for reasons unknown. What the fuck!? I'm so jealous. Mine basically refuses to budge. And god damn she got stronger fast. Honestly though, I kinda expected it. That's just how the hero trope goes. You know, I kinda wanna see how strong she ends up getting once she's done with the whole hero's journey thing.

"W-why are you here, Yuki?" asked Nell.

"You took the words right out of my mouth. Why are you all the way out here?" I cocked an eyebrow. "Are you trying to find yourself a party so you can go on an adventure or something? You know, seeing as how this is a bar and all that."

"Huh…?" She gave me a confused, blank stare. "No…? Why would I be doing that?

Right. Of course she wouldn't get the reference. Yeah, nevermind. Let's just pretend I didn't say that and move on. Please.

"Someone you know?"

The hooded figure asked Nell the question in a bit of a suspicious tone. Like the hero, the other person present was also a fairly young woman, one that happened to speak in a tone that made her sound kinda sleepy. Welp. Guess that isn't Carlotta after all.

Although I had initially expected the hero's companion to be the paladin I had met in the capital, I soon came to realize that such an event was unlikely. Carlotta had been a part of the brass. She probably wasn't going to be allowed to just randomly up and casually leave the country unless there were extenuating circumstances. Is it just me, or is basically everyone I know a chick? Most of my friends are girls. In fact, I don't think I have a single male friend at all. The ratio seems kinda skewed. Does that mean I just so happen to have a lot of female friends? Or is it more like my friend count is just kinda low to begin with? Okay, you know what? I'm not really sure I want to find out, so I'mma just stop.

"Uhm… I… Uhh…"

"Yeah, calling us acquaintances pretty much sums it up." I noticed that Nell was struggling to explain the nature of our relationship given the fact that I was a demon, so I stepped in and gave her a bit of a hand. "We just happened to get to know each other and hit it off a while back."

For some odd reason, the hero ended up flashing me a dissatisfied frown. She didn't seem all that happy with my explanation. I don't get it. I'm pretty sure I didn't say anything offensive. Why's she so mad?

"That's right," said Nell with a humph. The hero turned away from me as if to express disinterest before picking up her cup and sulking as she slowly sipped away at its contents. Nell sure is a bit of a weirdo, isn't she?

"Oh, right." Only after pouting for a bit did she realize that she had totally forgotten to introduce us despite being the mutual acquaintance. "Yuki, meet Ronia. She's a good friend of mine. Ronia, meet Yuki, another good friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you, Ronia."

"You too," said Ronia with a bit of a nod.

Ronia reminded me a lot of Enne. They both spoke in shorter sentences and seemed to carry a bit of a taciturn aura. However, unlike Enne, Ronia came off as drowsy. I wouldn't have been surprised to see her clock out at any given moment.

Her stat page was disguised in much the same way as Nell's. It could be summarized as follows:

***

Name: Ronia Lucidor

Race: Mid Devil (Human)

Class: Skilled Sorceress (Court Mage)

Level: 42

***

Ronia was a court mage, and she had stats to match. Most of her numbers, like strength and the like, were pretty average as far as humans were concerned, but her magic and dexterity were both through the roof. She was sure to prove useful in anything that even remotely resembled a magical slugfest.

That said, all her stats were lower than Nell's. She failed to surpass the hero even in the areas in which she was most gifted. Comparing the two really served to emphasize just how special Nell was. She was so divorced from human standards that her raw stats could completely eclipse those of a court mage, an individual I assumed to be high ranking and highly specialized. You know, now that I think about it, she was probably like straight fresh out of training when I first met her, huh? If she had started getting stronger even just a few months earlier, I might've ended up getting butchered on the spot. Errrrr, actually probably not, huh? Seeing as how she was so terrified she couldn't even stand up straight and whatnot. Yeah, you know what? I probably would've been fine.

Like Nell, Ronia's character sheet had been subject to disguise. And of course, both of them had altered their physical appearances to match those of the race that they were supposedly a part of. They had small horns on their heads and tattoos on their cheeks. I suspected that they probably had demon-like tails as well, but I couldn't actually see them due to the fact that both girls were wearing trench coats.

"I'm sorry if Ronia ever comes off as rude," said Nell. "She doesn't mean it. She's just not a great talker."

"Not true," complained the mage. "People are just bad at listening."

"But you're the only one most people have trouble understanding…" said Nell with a wry smile. "You're so blunt that it confuses everyone."

The hero paused for a moment to emphasize her point before turning towards the people I was with.

"It's nice to see you again, Leila." She smiled at the maid before turning towards the literal walking sword. "And who's that? I don't think we've met before."

"That? Oh. That would be my daughter."

"Huh!?" The hero's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. "Y-You had a daughter!? W-would that make Lefi her mother!?"

Nell practically flew off her chair and shoved her face in mine as she pressured me for answers. She got so close I had to lean back to avoid contact.

"K-Kinda? I mean technically, you aren't really wrong," I said. "And you have met her before. Remember this?"

I pointed at the weapon I had mounted on my back.

"Is that the weapon you were using last time we met?" she asked, dubiously. "I can't really tell since it's all wrapped up in cloth, but it looks to be about the same size."

"Yup. That's her." I plopped the hand I wasn't using to point at the blade on top of the sword girl's head and more or less shrugged the reveal off as something that wasn't too big of a deal.

"Uhh…? What…?"

"To be more precise, Enne is the blade's personified form. I made her, and she's literally got some of Lefi in her, so she's pretty much our daughter."

"Uhm… Yuki… I don't understand," said Nell. "How exactly did you manage to give a weapon the ability to turn into a person?"

"Iunno. We just kinda thought it might work, so we tried it and it did."

"I…see…" Only after a long pause did the hero manage to squeeze out any more words. She slowly brought her head to her hands and started to rub her temples as she spoke in a pained tone. "You tried it… And it worked…"

You want some aspirin or something? I'm pretty sure I have a bottle or two sitting around.

"I understand how you feel, Nell," said Leila. "Please allow me to give you a piece of advice that will assist you greatly in times like these. My Lord and common sense do not, by any means, ever go hand in hand. Attempting to justify his actions and behaviour without a shift in perspective will surely wear you out."

"Good point," said Nell. "I would probably go crazy if I started questioning all the weird stuff Yuki does or says."

"Oh, come on," I said as I rolled my eyes. "You guys are making me out to be some kinda hopeless weirdo."

"I'm sorry Yuki, but that's exactly what I think you are," said Nell.

Woman, you've got guts. I'm definitely getting you back for this.

"I do apologize, My Lord, but there is nothing I can say in your defence."

Leila, please! Aren't maids supposed to take their master's side!?

"That's… not true…" Enne paused for a long while before opening her mouth again. "Master is a really good person."

Enne… I'm glad you stood up for me and all that, but is it just me, or did you very obviously have to stop because you couldn't come up with anything good to say? And can you like, stop totally averting your eyes and actually look at me? Please? Come on!

"Oh yeah," Nell reached into her bag and started rummaging around. "I almost forgot, but I actually have something for you, Yuki."

The item she ended up handing me was a letter.

"The hell's this?" I cocked an eyebrow as I took it from her and read the text written on the envelope.

To My Beloved Demon Lord

"…" I paused for a moment before more or less repeating myself. "What the actual fuck?"

"It's from Lady Iryll," said Nell. "She told me to give it to you the next time I saw you."

Iryll…? Oh, right. The princess I saved.

"What's that, Master?" asked Enne.

"J-Just something personal. Don't worry about it."

I turned my back on the two girls I was travelling with in order to make sure they couldn't read the letter's contents before opening it and running my eyes over the page.

Dear Mr. Demon Lord,

I decided to write this letter as I thought of you while basking in the warm, early afternoon sun. I don't think that a single day has passed where I haven't longed to be by your side.

I've missed you so terribly that I've even tried sneaking out of the castle in order to visit you and tell you how badly I've wished to see you in person. Unfortunately, I didn't make it very far. Father's soldiers caught me in the act and brought me back home almost immediately. Father was so awfully angry he gave me a long lecture on safety. Still, I won't give up. I'm going to keep trying my best to make it all the way to your home. But, I would be awfully pleased if you came to visit me before I finally succeed.

I can't wait to see you again. I spend every night dreaming of the day you'll finally kidnap me.

Sincerely yours,

Iryll

I could easily tell that the princess had put her all into writing the letter. The handwriting was neat and looked like it had been printed with the utmost care. Reading it led me to pause and freeze up.

There was a problem.

I didn't know how I was supposed to react.

Iryll had sent me the type of personal note that could only possibly be described as a love letter. It was my first time getting one, so I simply didn't know what I was supposed to think or how I was supposed to feel. I was, of course, happy to know that she liked me as much as she did, but that aside, I was just confused.

Silence aside, the only reaction I could muster was to get rid of the evidence before it caused any trouble. I slowly folded the letter back up and dumped it right into my inventory.

"I'm going to be here for a while, but could you make sure to write a response before I leave?" asked Nell.

"Do I really have to?"

"Not replying would definitely make Lady Iryll sad," said the hero. "I can help if the problem is not really knowing what to say."

"…Yeah, I'll be taking you up on that then."

Nell had immediately pinpointed one of my greatest concerns. I had no idea how I was supposed to respond to a love letter addressed to me by a little girl, and there was no way I could possibly consult either of the two I was travelling with. Telling them that I was agonizing over how I was supposed to respond to a kid indirectly confessing her love to me was no different from stabbing myself in the face with a rusty knife.

"Right." I coughed to cover up my lack of composure. "So I know we kinda got off track, but what did you say you were doing here again, Nell?"

"Hmmm…" She paused for a moment to contemplate the ramifications of divulging her mission. "I don't think His Majesty or Carlotta would be too mad at me if I told you, so I guess I might as well. But you can't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. I think it'll be okay. Yuki's an ally, and a reassuring one to have at that."

"Okay. If you say so."

Though she had stepped in to pull the brakes on the conversation if necessary, Ronia backed off the moment Nell confirmed her intentions. The speed of her retreat was undoubtedly a result of trust. Wow, Ms. Hero. Look at you, all reliable 'n trustworthy 'n stuff.

With the other girl's complaints silenced, Nell quickly scanned her surroundings and made sure no one was listening in before starting to speak. "Honestly, it's not really that big of a secret. I'm guessing you already know who the people behind the incident in the castle really are, right?"

The terms she used were pretty obvious as far as I was concerned, but they were a bit too vague for those that lacked context to understand.

"Yeah."

"The incident made us realize that we couldn't stay passive, so we started sending people over in order to gather more information. The only problem is that we couldn't send too many. The only people that can really get by around here are those that are a bit stronger, so it's just me, Ronia, and a few others. The reason only she and I are here right now is because we're all working on different tasks."

"Sounds like a pretty bold move," I said.

Being the hero meant that Nell was one of her country's most powerful and influential pieces. In fact, I wouldn't have been surprised to discover that she was amongst the strongest human beings alive. Sending someone so important deep into enemy territory was about as risky as playing with fire. Though if you ask me, this seems more like a stroke of fate than anything. As far as tropes go, heroes are more or less destined to be sent to demon realms.

"I think so too," said Nell.

"Was the king the one that came up with this crazy plan?"

"Mhm."

Wow. I've really gotta give it to him. That man's got balls of steel.

"So that's why I'm here. Why are you here, Yuki?"

"Apparently, the demon realm's king wanted to see me for something."

"Really?" said Nell with her eyes wide.

"Yeah." I nodded. "You remember how I crushed some dumbass' plans or whatever last time I saw you? Yeah, so apparently, there's a group of demons that kinda don't really like me because of it. The king doesn't really like the people who don't like me, so he wanted to check if we could lend each other a hand."

"I see… So does that mean that the people who don't like you are…"

"Yeah, it's pretty much what you're thinking," I said. "Do you know how the demon realm has been split into two main factions?"

"That was one of the first things we uncovered after getting here."

"Good. That means I can keep this short and sweet. So basically, one of the two factions is the one the king is in charge of. The other is made up of my enemies, and I guess yours too. I hear it's headed by a group of fiends."

Hearing the details caused Nell's expression to turn more serious.

"Hey Yuki, can I uhm… ask you to do me a favour?"

"Lemme guess, you want intel? Yeah, sure. I'll pass on whatever the demon realm's king tells me."

"Really!? You will!?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" I said with a shrug. "The king said he'd tell me a bunch of stuff, but he never said anything about not leaking it. I can pretty much say whatever I want, so it's all yours as long as you keep me up to date on what you've got figured out too."

"Okay!" said Nell. "That works for me, but are you really sure you won't mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"The people we've brought with us are good at what they do, but we don't really have that many connections in the demon realm just yet, so we probably won't really have that much information to share to begin with, so it kind of feels like you're going to be getting the short end of the stick."

"Don't sweat it," I said. "I already benefit plenty."

Cross-referencing what I learned with what Nell learned might not have seemed like the best of ideas at first glance, but having a variety of sources meant that I would be able to be more confident in what I knew. Moreover, it also made me less dependent on the demon king and his lackeys. I didn't know how skilled Nell and her friends really were at gathering information, but I believed it was safe to assume they were at least fairly competent.

Moreover, trading information more or less made Nell and I allies. Having weak allies probably wouldn't help much, but Nell was far from weak. I assumed that most of the others dispatched with her were probably around Ronia's level, which meant they were decently powerful, even with the demon realm's standards in mind. Chances were, I would be able to count on them should anything ever come to pass.

"Is that all, Leila?" I whispered.

"I believe so, My Lord," responded the maid with a smile.

Yeah, that's right. You guessed it. All that smart sounding stuff? Nope. Not me. Leila had basically been whispering into my ear throughout the entire conversation. And in doing so, she once again proved that she was a master of negotiation and that her foresight far eclipsed my own. Yeah, you know what? I'mma just leave this kinda stuff to her from now on.

I was so impressed that I felt the urge to pull a Lyuu and submit to her while say something along the lines of, Wow Leila! Thanks for always tellin' me what to do!

"Thanks, Yuki," said Nell. "Knowing that you're here to help makes me feel a lot less nervous and a lot more motivated."

"No problem," I said with a chuckle. "And I'd say that this is pretty much as good an opportunity as any other for you to start referring to me as Mr. Chic the Stylish Badass."

"I think that's probably the one thing I'd never call you."

Oh, fine. Have it your way then. Though I felt the urge to grumble about it, I didn't actually mind the fact that Nell wasn't going along with my whims. In fact, I probably would have been more bothered if she had.