EPISODE 24: DIVIDED WE FALL (PART 1)

31st December, 2011

Ayumi and I finally stood before Decay. The evil soul had finally revealed its true nature, a great serpent that liked to hide in the depths of murky waters.

We stood on top of the banks of the Shining River as the serpent lifted its head to greet us.

"So finally we see you for what you truly are. The lying voice that poses as our conscience and continually condemns us" I said angrily. "Prepare yourself. I won't forgive you for what you did to Prince".

"It's payback for my sis, a hundred times over!" Ayumi growled menacingly.

A few hours earlier, at the break of dawn, Ai had awakened from a nightmare. She finally told us everything that went down the day Prince was murdered. We found out also about Decay's connection to Ayu's mom and how he was trapped within the Shining River after its purification so, needless to say; it was a rather easy task to locate Decay; and now, we stood before him!

"I hope ye thinketh it not that easy to vanquish me. Ye wouldst be making a tragic mistake from which the path to recovery would be an impossible venture" Decay said.

"And you have the guts to talk big too, I'll kill you!" I roared as I charged into the river.

The serpent quickly attempted to slither away but my blade connected quicker with its side.

"Zan! Don't be reckless!" Ayumi warned me but we were coursing along the river too fast.

Ayumi had to race along the banks of the River to catch up.

"I'm still not quite used to this new sigil and my Dreamweaving powers yet" I heard Ayumi speak within my mind.

"Of course, it's only been a day since we discovered Pyrostellis Luminares and you got your Dreamweaving powers. These things take time, you know?" I thought to Ayumi.

"Unfortunately, time we don't seem to have" Ayumi thought to herself.

"You impudent human! Let go of me this instant!" Decay roared.

"Make me!" I challenged.

I saw a sinister glow in Decay's eyes.

"As you wish then; it was ne'er mine intention to resort to taking your life but if thou is resolved unto death, I wilt honour thine request with utmost respect!" Decay roared as he dived into the river.

Even though it became hard to breathe and the currents of the River tried to break my hold on my blade, I had resolved to kill this particular soul of evil no matter what it took; for my rage was great. Fortunately, the resistance acting on me, coupled with my weight, caused my blade to inflict a lot of pain on Decay. The evil soul roared in pain and surfaced, hissing ferociously.

"Is that brat…giving you any problems…Decay? " I heard a strangely familiar voice.

"Sloth, you're finally here" Decay said as a strange humanoid figure in tattered clothes, the epitome of poverty nested itself on the crown of Decay's head.

"Let go now Zan or I will curse you" Sloth threatened.

"Ha! That all?! Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can do me naught!" I mocked him.

He sighed and shook his head.

"I find your ignorance rather distasteful. You human lot severely underestimate the power of words though you know what they are capable of. You are right; words can do nothing to you. They may not be able to directly harm your "human" but they are capable of altering your "being". Words may not be able to beat you up like you beat one another up…but they can change who you are…even without your consent. Your very existence is dependent on a word" Sloth said.

"I find it pretty amazing how you evil souls can be so malefic and so damn self-righteous at the same time. No matter what you may say, I am determined to end your hold on this reality" I glared at Sloth threateningly.

He temporarily backed away.

"What strong killing intent" he thought to himself.

"I believe I may have overestimated you Ayzan Nightbane, you are far weaker than I expected, if it did not take much for Decay to…" Sloth was saying when I suddenly flashed past him and slashed with all my might.

Sloth was able to evade my strike at the last moment. He seemed surprised at first, then it appeared to me that he seemed amused.

"It's quite ironic that the embodiment of Sloth could be so quick" I mocked him.

He sighed.

"And that is precisely why I say you are weak. I originally believed a debate might have been enough to put you in your place, just as Decay did with Ai and that nincompoop. But now I see it's just a waste of time. You are far too immature a species to comprehend anything I might try to tell you now" Sloth said with a smug look on his face.

"And here I was thinking those lines were only used in anime. You really know how to make me mad. Well here's one from me, 'now that I've said I will kill you, your death this day has been ordained!'" I roared and charged towards Sloth but he evaded quite easily.

I was quite surprised by his extreme agility.

"You…are you really Sloth?" I wondered for I had always thought he'd be the easiest soul of evil to defeat but if he was the last soul of evil, then I knew he was very formidable, though I didn't know why until he said;

"Like I said, you underestimate the true nature of Sloth. Demotivation, Despair, Laziness; they are only symptoms of my true nature. You have lost sight of the true terror of Sloth for too long; let me remind you of why I'm such a fearful force" Sloth said.

"Sorry, I will never underestimate laziness again" I said flatly.

"Hey! Are you even taking this seriously?!" he roared angrily.

"Who would ever take you seriously if all you do is spout outdated lines" I said indifferently.

"You have infuriated me! Well then, instead of slaughtering you verbally, I will teach you a practical lesson, the likes of which if you ever survive…which I honestly doubt by the way…all your fears of Zanfar would be nothing but…"

"Lemme guess… 'a happy memory right?' It appears to me you are not taking things seriously enough either" I said flatly.

Ayumi finally caught up to us.

"Zan! Don't be so reckless! How many times do I have to repeat myself?! The next time I repeat myself, you're going to take a flying leap!" she scolded me.

"Heheh, sorry Ayu" I laughed nervously.

"There she comes, finally, the extreme flame that either chars everything or nothing. Ayumi Kirisawa, do you know nothing of the beauty of moderation" Sloth mocked her.

"Cut the hypocritical civility, nothing bores me more. I dare say, there is nothing more extreme than a man in tattered clothes riding atop an unclassified serpentine freak of nature" Ayumi wasted no time in paying back with compound interest.

"I'm bored. You two are not as interesting as I first imagined. So here's what's going to happen next, I'm going to zap Zan with an electrical surge and his reality is going to be turned so upside down, inversion would be an understatement" Sloth said.

"And you dared to say it out loud. Are you just that strong or are you just stupid?" I mocked Sloth.

"Not strong, quick" I heard Sloth's voice speak from behind me.

The next thing I knew, the hairstyle a mad-scientist has after experiencing an electrocution was atop my head; then everything went blank for a while. I had mocked a force I knew virtually nothing about but now…I was about to experience why atop the food chain of evil souls, Sloth currently lay just a rank below Zanfar…

13:00 GMT… THE KIRISAWA RESIDENCE…

When I finally managed to open my eyes, I found myself in my former room in the Kirisawa residence. It took a while for my vision to focus but while it was still blurred, I thought I could see seven mes standing over me.

"What's this? A dream? Ah, I must be hallucinating. What's this, a bad joke of an anime dream sequence?" I wondered.

"Yo! Looks like he's still alive y'all!" I heard myself say, except I did not feel any vibration from my throat.

"ZANFAR!!!" I screamed and jolted from the ground.

"Keh! He even has the guts to mention that name. He must be dumber than I thought!" I heard myself say again.

"Wh-Wh-What's going on?! I'm seriously in need of an explanation right now!" I screamed.

(As are most of you readers by now huh? Lemme try and guess your reaction:

1. I so did not see that coming.

2. I'm far past the point anything this guy writes surprises me. Whichever it is, if you decide to review this, don't leave it out of your comment 'kay?).

I suddenly heard footsteps approaching followed by sharp knocks on my door.

"Zan, are you alright in there?" I heard Ayumi call to me.

"YES WE ARE!" all of me including me answered.

Wait wha…?! How the heck am I even supposed to identify myself now?!

"SHUT UP YA RUNTS!" I yelled at the other mes.

"Zan, what's going on? Is someone in there with you?" Ayumi called.

"N-No-No, I'm all alone…in a weird manner of speaking" I murmured the last words with a show of extreme annoyance.

"No one is with me" another me added.

"You didn't have to repeat it damn you!" I yelled angrily.

"It's only me" another me said.

"HEY YOU!!!" I roared angrily.

"Stop messing around! The only one here is me dumbasses!" another me yelled angrily.

"I give up. As if one of me isn't weird enough to land me nineteen years of hardship, now I have seven extra mes, my future is starting to look pretty bleak all of a sudden. That's it, I'm finished. That's enough weirdness to make even the devil choke" I slapped myself on the head.

"What's going on? They all sound like Zan but it's like different personalities with the same voice" Ayumi wondered. "Zan, open up!" she demanded.

"Quick, you guys hide!" I ordered the other mes sharply.

"Why do we have ta be the ones ta hide damn ya! Don't think you're hot stuff just cos you're our vessel ya hear me?!" one me yelled at me angrily.

"Haah?! Are you retarded? Listen closely, at this rate Ayu's going to think I'm some weirdo though of course now it's painfully apparent but that's not the point! Pages of planning since Book 1! You guys! Put the previous books together and you'll see it took almost six hundred pages to earn Ayu's love! I don't want to end up at page one!" I yelled angrily.

"Zan!" Ayumi called again.

"Haah? So what's your point?" one me asked.

"Hey you! What are you now, Luffy? The point I'm trying to make is… 'at this point in my life I don't mind becoming Zanfar so you guys better help me out or a lifetime won't be enough to regret it!'" I threatened the other me.

"If you can say that easily, then you're plenty Zanfar yourself!" the most annoying me said.

"Indeed, it is as thou imagineth! My mind is ruled by tyranny. There can only be one me to rule me all!" I laughed vainly as the other mes escaped to find hiding places.

Some made it to the bathroom, others hid in the wardrobe and some more hid under the bed. When I was sure they were well hidden, I opened the door.

"What's going on Zan? Don't tell me you were actually brave enough to hide a girl in here?" Ayumi asked with a threatening glare.

When she said that, I fell on my knees as I felt all my manly pride deflated. The usual scene would have an adulterous man trying to hide his mistress…but I was hiding my selves. What the heck kind of setup was this?! And in closets to boot! Hiding my own skeletons which still had flesh on them inside closets?! That was a new low in the history of my life.

"ZAN, KISAAAAMAAAAAAA!!! (YOU BASTAAAARD!)" Ayumi roared angrily.

"You're being paranoid Ayu! What kind of thief hides stolen money in a police station?!" I scolded her.

By that time she was cracking her knuckles angrily.

"A very clever one!" she growled menacingly.

Wow, a real life application of Inuyasha's backlash wave except the backlash wave hit the caster.

"How can I prevent Ayu from thinking I'm demented. Sloth damn you, this is one tragedy I'm not willing to overlook!" I thought angrily.

"Zan, tell me you're not seriously hiding anything from me" Ayumi sighed.

"M-M-Me? Hide anything? I'm an open book, a-a-a really bad l-l-liar see?" I stammered nervously.

"Yeah, you're proving that you're a bad liar right now but you're also proving that you're attempting to lie to me!" Ayumi glared at me angrily.

I could tell her patience was wearing thin.

"Heheh, nice one there Ayu!" I heard one me say.

"You're smarter than I thought. Even if you look like a dumb girl with a violent temper" I heard another me say.

"Oh? So you actually have the guts to say that to my face huh? I overestimated your cowardice" Ayumi smirked.

When I saw that expression on her face, I thought for a moment a scythe was going to materialize any moment and I'd witness the Grim Reaper come to claim my soul and then I remembered Zanfar might actually scare the Grim Reaper off but that just meant I had enough lives to witness the tragedy of the saying, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned IV!" renamed, "I'd rather live with a tiger whose tail has been stepped on than with a furious woman!"

"You're acting pretty weird Zan" Ayu sighed and walked towards my bed. She sighed and sat down. I heard a loud wheezing sound come from under the bed.

"Jeez you're heavy, what do you weigh, five thousand megatonnes?" I heard a me say from under the bed.

"HAH! HAAH! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! THAT'S A TABOO YOU MUST NEVER SAY TO A WOMAN IN THIS WORLD; IN THIS AGE! DON'T COMPOUND MY TROUBLES IDIOTS!!!" I thought angrily.

"GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRHHHHHH!!! If you don't want me around, why don't you just say so!" Ayumi roared and charged out angrily.

I slapped my head in despair. Five books plus one in progress, twenty three episodes plus one in progress, wasted in an instant!

"You guys! It's interesting to note that you'd purposely rebel against me. I hope you're prepared to reap the consequences of your actions. I can assure you it's going to be more than just an abundant harvest!" I roared as I shut the door behind Ayumi and began a battle that would later be referred to by the youth as;

"Room Wars!" and be adapted into an MMORPG of a massive scale.

FIVE MINUTES LATER…

"Ouch! I didn't think you'd really beat yourself up about it. You're pretty insane vessel" one me said.

"Beat myself up about it?! Ha! Very funny but yeah, pull a stunt like that again and it's gonna get even worse" I warned them. "So before we start to get all chummy, I want answers and I want them pronto!" I demanded.

"I see you still doubt the obvious huh?" one me said.

"Well duh?! This doesn't happen in real life! Heck it's even so illogical in anime, it's often limited to two personalities, same person, three tops! The last time I saw this was the original BOF and since it's an old school RPG, there's even a gap in century and millenium all at once. So you guys better give me an answer that doesn't result in me Oga punching you into the ground!" I roared angrily.

"An explanation huh?" the me who just spoke said.

"Not just an explanation, one without legal loopholes!" I growled angrily.

"How's this… 'we're all in love with Ayu and we'll fight even you to be acknowledged by her!'" the annoying me roared.

"Hmmph! You've got guts to say that with my face; to my face, do you want to die?!" I yelled angrily and would have pummelled him down if the others did not restrain me.

"CALM DOWN ALL OF YOU AND LISTEN! Sheesh, you're acting like a bunch of overgrown brats!" the other me who spoke before the me I attempted to pummel said.

Aaah! This is getting quite confusing!

"I demand an explanation!" I roared.

"Heh! Interesting; He demands an explanation. Like he's got the right to demand anything from us. If some idiot had succeeded in protecting Ayu, then he wouldn't have had to turn her into a Dreamweaver and weaken his own personality bonding! Oh, where are my manners, if I recall correctly, that idiot was you!" the me I attempted to pummel roared.

"Oh yeah?! Why don't we take this outside huh?!" I dared him.

"Why don't we just settle it right now!" he dared me.

"SHUT UP YOU MORONS!" another me got between us and punched us both to the ground in an instant.

"Sorry" we apologized immediately.

"Fighting won't change anything" the me that seemed more reasonable advised.

We all remained silent for a while.

"You demanded an explanation didn't you Zan? Well, here goes. Whether you decide to believe me from this moment on is completely up to you" the reasonable me said.

"I'm at the point in my life I don't think anything surprises me anymore" I scoffed.

"We are the seven attributes of your being. Within each human lies a collection of attributes that make up their person. You could call the collective nature of these attributes your spirit. The constitution of spirit is unique for each individual but certain traits are usually so predominant and common I believe you refer to them as 'emotions'. Your predominant attributes are Zansur; your anger, Zanyen; me, your reason; Zanlar; your laughter, Zanpuosang; your sorrow, Zandambien; your fear, Zanbazorodambien; your fearlessness; and the one whom for lack of anything to call him by due to his absurd nature, we refer to as Zanabana, your flirtatiousness. We are your seven predominant attributes" Zanyen, the reasonable me introduced us.

"What of Zanfar?" I asked curiously.

Zanyen glared at me grimly.

"Zanfar is not an attribute; he is everything we are not, yet he is us. He isn't an attribute as we are but everything you deny. In other words, to your angelic nature, he is your demonic nature; to your love, he is your hatred. He is the embodiment of everything you curse" Zanyen explained.

I stared at him in fear for a while and then sighed.

"And how is it you came to be here now?" I asked him.

"Like Zansur, your anger explained; it was because of your own actions. Within you and every human is an adhesive wall of sorts that bonds your spiritual constitution together. We often refer to it as "The Wall Of Personage". When you gave a bit of yourself to Ayumi, you weakened that wall and allowed Sloth to shatter it altogether when he cursed you" Zanyen explained.

"I don't understand" I questioned him.

"It is precisely because you underestimate the nature of Sloth. Sloth has many names and definitions but amongst the forces, he is commonly known as two things. The first is 'The Force That Wastes Away Life'. The second is simply 'Sin'." Zanyen explained.

"What do you mean?" I seemed puzzled.

"His first name; 'The Force That Wastes Away Life' has many meanings depending on the angle from which you approach it. It could mean 'procrastination is the thief of time' as you often say. It could also mean 'false sense of security wastes away personality' or it could mean; 'Indifference and Indecision wear away humanity'. All in all, Sloth is what keeps humans from being human and limits their innate capacity for spiritual growth and adaptability. To put simply; a hindrance to evolution" Zanyen explained.

I gaped at him.

"I know; it's quite overwhelming" Zanyen said.

"That's not it. Was I always this reasonable?" I laughed and scratched the back of my head nervously.

"I believe you would be better suited to ask, 'is even what you hear from me now, the limit to your capacity for reason?'" Zanyen said.

"So is there a way to undo this?" I asked him.

"There is; but it is almost impossible for you as you are now. You've let complacency rule you for too long, just as most of humanity has. This might have impeded to a great extent the enormous capacity you have for building up your character; the person you were made to be; your destiny. To undo what Sloth has done and slow down mankind's freefall towards an apocalypse, you would have to overwrite your base desires and personal agendas with the strength of responsibility. The responsibility to become the best possible you; your destiny" Zanyen explained.

"That doesn't sound so difficult" I chuckled. "Right guys?"

"Heh! You have no idea! That would be asking fear and fearlessness to shake hands and fuse. Then you'd have to find a way to make laughter and sorrow shake hands and fuse too. After that your reason would have to shake hands with your anger and you and your own flirtatiousness would have to become bosom buddies and shake hands with all the aforementioned. That might restore the wall of personage…but…hold it right there….I think I'm forgetting something important. Yeah…at the end of your journey, you'd have to find a way to shake hands with Zanfar as well and I just don't see that happening any time soon, do you? Either way, you might end up being absorbed by him or fusing with him. Good luck with that" Zansur, my anger said.

"You're quite brutal aren't you? You're more of my sarcasm and less of my anger or are both just the same?" I asked with an irritated look in my eyes.

My eyebrows twitched as I tried my absolute best to stifle the abyss of that so called infinite pool called; aah, I nearly forgot, the one standing right before me.

"It's exactly as he says. One attribute is the exact opposite of the other or at best, they just don't get along so well. When one's in, the other leaves. It's actually quite a miracle that all of us are able to stomach standing under the same roof right now" Zanyen said as he eyed Zansur from the corner of his eyes.

Ha! So even Reason has an agenda huh? That's quite interesting.

I sighed in exasperation.

"So in the end, what exactly is Sloth?" I asked the reasonable me.

"It's the exact opposite of Good" he replied calmly.

"So, it's not simply laziness then, is it?" I sighed.

"No, it isn't" he answered.

"So basically, me thinking I had an edge against him from the beginning was…" I was about to say when he completed my sentence for me.

"Indeed, it is as thou imagineth, it was all a trap. The true essence of Sloth is either abstaining from the good you are required to carry out or refusing to abstain from the evil your heart desires. All in all, the true nature of Sloth is that of Sin itself" Zanyen explained.

"Hah! And here I was thinking I actually had an edge against him. I imagined a snail I could just kick aside but if Sloth isn't necessarily laziness, then it isn't necessarily being slow or stupid either. That just makes Sloth the most cunning of all the evil souls! And you guys could not find some way of telling me that within the depths of my being?! DID IT REALLY HAVE TO TAKE SPLITTING UP MY PERSONALITIES TO GIVE YOU GUYS A CHANCE TO TELL ME THIS?!" I yelled angrily.

"How is it our fault? Think on it and you'll realize it's you who are to blame. You are courageous, kind, humorous and have abundant love inside you yet…" Zanyen was saying when Zansur interrupted him.

"It only took a dumb looking representation of a woman with wings whom you yourself knew was an evil soul to tell you you were Zanfar; and as naïve as you are, knowing full well what she represented; you still somehow…" Zansur was saying when Zanbazorodambien (Zan's courage) took over

"…managed to forget all these other good traits about yourself and focused all your attention on a trait you cannot even guarantee exists within you as you fear it does. What are you, Ryu from SF?!"

"Though it may sound callous, I really advise you to strengthen your strengths instead of focusing…no, wasting all your time trying to raise your weaknesses to be at par with your strengths! You are causing yourself unnecessary pain!" Zanyen yelled at me.

"Yeah sure, so how do I just throw away a part of myself I don't like!" I roared angrily.

"Oh? So he didn't fall for it huh? A smart kid; he might stand a chance against Zanfar" Zanbazorodambien said.

"Huh? You lost me" I said.

"We told you a bunch of things you know to be true, and diverted the path you should take towards an easier one you'd prefer to take. You can't defeat Zanfar by denying your weaknesses, remember that" Zanyen advised.

"You need to find a way to bring us to harmony. Only when we can all agree that one thing needs to be done; and that one thing exceeds the dislike we harbour for our polar opposite attribute will the Wall Of Personage restore itself. To defeat Sloth, you must push yourself to do what must be done, even if every cell in your body advises against it. Chances are, the things you'd readily agree to do without careful consideration are being suggested to you by Sloth" Zanbazorodambien advised.

"And remember that most of those things are what end up locking your life in a routine that keeps you from truly living. This in turn will impose on your spirit a false sense of security leading to a laxity that furthers Decay. This is why Sloth and Decay are almost inseparable" Zanyen said.

"Hah, now we've fulfilled the requirement of imposing on you the knowledge required to face both Sloth and Decay. The rest depends on your actions from now on" Zansur said.

I nodded. I finally understood the seriousness of what they were saying. It wasn't so easy to understand the true significance of their words but they had done their best to explain it using our limited human vocabulary. Now, at best…if I could not relate to what they were saying, due to the limits imposed upon me by my limited human senses, I'd have to find a way to live what they were saying. The core of the message was simple; "I must do the good I am required to do; and avoid the evil I desire to do". I had to translate their words into my life in very much the same way analog data can be translated to digital data. That connection wasn't so different from that between body and spirit.

"Are you guys hungry?" I asked them.

The anger in my voice had subsided.

"Well, I must admit, we're pretty hollow" Zansur said.

I laughed. Have these guys watched Bleach? That's quite a dangerous term to use now that I've learned that all the things I used to consider fairy tales may actually be extensions of my life being told under spectra of light not visible to me.

"Okay, you guys give me a sec. I'm going to try and sneak some food up here without running into Ayu" I joked and left my room.

I had just walked out my door when I bumped into Ai.

"Um…hello Zan" Ai greeted.

"Hello Ai, how are you today?" I greeted.

"I heard you and Ayu got into a fight" Ai said.

"Ha, you have no idea. It would be more appropriate to say Ayu and mes got into a fight. It wasn't just one me" I murmured.

"What was that?" Ai asked.

"N-N-N-N-Nothing, just thinking out loud" I quickly defended myself.

"Zan, I've got a question to ask. Have you really forgiven Ayu?" Ai asked me.

I blinked, startled by her question.

"Well…I can't say I've forgiven her because I have to keep forgiving her every day that pops into my mind but I don't hate her anymore" I confessed.

"That's great! But I think you might have to show her that. I think she might still believe you hate her" Ai advised me.

"Sure" I smiled. "Never thought Ayu was such a worrywart though", that last thought I ensured, wasn't thought out loud.

"Zan, I need to warn you about something" Ai whispered.

"What?" I asked her.

"The Dream Knights have been acting a bit strange lately. They might have been given orders to eliminate you. So far, my dad hasn't spoken about it and I don't think Ayu knows either since she's been sick for a while now. Be careful okay?" Ai whispered.

"Sure" I whispered back.

"By the way Ai, you're a hardcore otaku ain't you?" I whispered.

"Huh?! What has that got to do with anything?!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Could you do some anime based research for me? Find out how you defeat an evil that gathers evil energy from the hearts of people and uses them as a power source" I asked her.

"You're one funny guy you know? Basically, you'd need to take out the power source. If that does not work, you would at least have to find a way to terminate the transmission process or at least slow it down except…" Ai was saying.

"Yeah, that doesn't work on a power source that has the power to do this at its own discretion utilizing its own judgement. The flaw with this plan is humans aren't easily influenced by sentiments and this is truer the more reasonable they are" I whispered.

Ai suddenly appeared to be serious.

"Zan, can I offer you some honest advice? It might actually hurt so I apologize in advance" Ai said.

"Sure, go ahead" I offered.

"Lately, when you refer to humans, you often say 'they' as though you've excluded yourself from us. It's almost as though you've unconsciously started to renounce your own humanity so I plead with you Zan, for the sake of myself, Ayu and yourself, don't give up on us yet and don't give up on yourself" Ai advised.

I was startled by this sudden revelation. I hadn't noticed it myself till Ai said it like this. It saddened me and frightened me but I decided to try my best to change this small fact.

"Thanks Ai" I said and walked away.

I felt Ai might have thought I was angry with the way I walked away but I decided I should not assume to know what she was thinking. I decided not to talk more on the matter and resolved one other thing;

To definitely sneak food out of the kitchen without Ayu's notice!

Fortunately, Ayu wasn't inside the house. I heard she was in the gardens from one of the maids. Well, with a house full of maids and servants, it would be absolutely difficult, if not impossible to sneak food out so I decided to "order" some food instead; food for eight.