"…Eh?"
Everyone in the room went quiet.
The silence lingered for a few seconds, broken only by the faint sound of footsteps descending the stairs.
A moment later, Fran stepped into the living room. She stopped just inside the doorway. First, she looked at her mom. Then at everyone else.
Then finally at Liscia, who remained standing in the middle of the room while several pairs of eyes continued staring at her.
To be fair, Liscia looked a little pale.
Not that it meant much.
She was already pale to begin with.
"What's going on?"
Fran walked over and settled beside me, her gaze still fixed on her aunt. I glanced at her briefly before looking back at Liscia.
"I was just asking about Liscia's employment, that's all."
Fran blinked.
Then slowly looked around the room again.
"Why's everyone quiet then?"
Even as she asked, she turned toward Lena and smiled.
Then toward Egrathiel.
"Also, welcome back, big sis. Big sis Egrathiel too."
"Mhm."
Lena had apparently already recovered from whatever existential crisis Liscia's paperwork had inflicted upon her.
"Want some ice cream?"
She lifted a hand.
"I still have some from my pocket reality."
A moment later, a swirl of light orange soft serve materialized in her palm.
"There's regular ice cream too, but I figured you'd like this one."
She held it out.
"It's peach-mango flavored."
Fran's eyes immediately brightened.
"Oh."
She accepted it with both hands.
"Thanks."
Then she settled onto the couch beside Lena and Egrathiel, already taking a small bite.
For a brief moment, the room almost felt normal.
Then every single person present slowly looked back toward Liscia. Including Fran. The pressure returned instantly, which Liscia visibly noticed. Then Anathasia was the first to break the silence.
"Liscia…"
Her voice came out strangely careful.
"You committed fraud...?"
The accusation struck Liscia so hard she physically recoiled.
"What?!"
She immediately bounced back, wildly gesturing with both hands.
"It isn't fraud!"
Her arms flailed even harder.
"I have credentials!"
Another gesture.
"Diplomas!"
Another.
"What, do I need to show you my Form One-Three-Eight or something?!"
Across from us, the three girls simply watched. Lena continued eating her ice cream. Fran continued eating her ice cream as well. Meanwhile, Egrathiel had somehow acquired another bag of churros.
I honestly wasn't sure where she kept finding them.
I looked back at Liscia. The poor woman was now actively defending her right to participate in society.
"Why would I of all people commit fraud?" she demanded.
Then she suddenly pointed at Anathasia directly. Accusingly.
"If anything, she should be the one you people should be worried about!"
Her finger jabbed toward the white-haired woman again.
"She bought a hundred-million-dollar airline ten years ago!"
Then she spun around and pointed at all of us.
"Isn't that the concerning part here?!"
"Wait."
Anathasia smoothly raised one hand. Liscia immediately turned toward her.
"What?!"
"How do you even know I bought a Boeing 747 ten years ago?"
Liscia blinked, her shoulders relaxed slightly. Then she tilted her head.
"What do you mean how?"
She looked genuinely confused.
"I read the book, obviously."
"The literal book?"
"The literal book."
Liscia huffed.
"What else would I mean?"
She folded her arms.
"It's not like there's anything else."
A brief pause followed.
"Besides, I'm not going to look back through time just to verify something that pointless."
"You guys are getting off track."
I finally cut in before the conversation somehow derailed even further. Both women looked at me.
"How did Liscia even become a middle manager at a consulting firm in the first place?"
I gestured toward her.
"That's still the important part."
Almost immediately, Liscia straightened. Her posture became noticeably prouder. One hand settled over her chest.
"Because," she declared.
"Obviously, I am competent."
Across from me, Anathasia immediately narrowed her eyes. Liscia either didn't notice or chose not to care.
"What else could it be?"
She lifted her chin.
"I am hundreds of times smarter than Flopnatasia over there."
"Excuse me?"
Anathasia raised an eyebrow.
"Smarter?"
She pointed at herself.
"Me?"
Then at Liscia.
"You?"
Her expression slowly shifted into one of disbelief.
"The same person who couldn't get the dishwasher running until Lena showed up?"
Dead silence.
Across the room, Egrathiel immediately snorted. The crunch of a churro followed right after.
Lena looked away.
Fran suddenly became very interested in the carvings on the coffee table.
Meanwhile, Liscia stood frozen. Her jaw slowly dropped. Unfortunately for her, Anathasia wasn't finished.
"And let's not forget—"
She raised two fingers.
"—the rice cooker incident."
Liscia visibly flinched.
"You spent ten minutes staring at it because you couldn't figure out the difference between steaming rice and cooking rice."
A pause.
Then Anathasia tilted her head.
"When cooking rice literally means steaming it."
For a brief moment, nobody said anything. Then faint snickering began spreading throughout the room. Lena lowered her head. Fran pressed a hand over her mouth. Even Egrathiel looked suspiciously focused on her churros.
I sighed quietly and rubbed my forehead. The poor woman looked genuinely devastated.
Her lips parted.
Closed.
Opened again.
Yet somehow she couldn't find a single argument. Across from her, Anathasia crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow.
Waiting.
Confident.
Victorious.
An entire minute passed.
A full minute of Liscia staring at the floor while everyone else avoided eye contact. Then she finally looked up. Her gaze swept across the room.
Across Lena.
Across Fran.
Across Egrathiel.
Across me.
Finally landing on Anathasia.
Her eyes shimmered slightly.
The moment Anathasia noticed, she immediately stiffened. The snickering stopped. Even Egrathiel paused mid-bite.
Liscia's lips trembled.
Then she pointed at all of us.
"IS IT A CRIME TO BE A FUNCTIONING MEMBER OF SOCIETY TO YOU PEOPLE!?"
The sheer betrayal in her voice echoed throughout the entire living room. All five of us exchanged glances as Liscia suddenly began wailing.
The reaction was immediate as Lena practically dropped her ice cream. Fran nearly fumbled her own. The two of them were already rushing toward Liscia before I could even process what was happening.
Lena gently supported her from one side while Fran rubbed her back as she sobbed into Lena's shoulder. Meanwhile, Egrathiel simply stood behind them. For some reason, there was still a churro hanging from her mouth.
"I... I think Aunt Liscia is already a functioning part of society..." Lena said hesitantly.
She looked toward Fran for support.
"Right?"
Fran nodded so quickly it was almost concerning.
"Of course!"
Her hand continued moving soothingly across Liscia's back.
"Aunt Liscia already got a job as a consultant."
Another nod followed.
"I think that's already a pretty good contribution..."
"She gives good financial advice too."
Egrathiel's voice joined the conversation. A loud cronch followed immediately afterward.
Then another.
Then another.
Apparently she had no intention of postponing her snack for the sake of emotional support.
"I was there."
Cronch.
"At the consulting firm downtown where Miss Liscia works."
Cronch.
"I happened to walk past it while heading to the town library."
Cronch.
"So I decided to stop by."
Anathasia and I slowly turned toward her.
Then toward Liscia.
Then back toward Egrathiel.
Then back toward Liscia again.
The woman in question was currently burying her face against Lena's shoulder while making deeply offended noises.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then I noticed Anathasia's expression shift slightly. The earlier smugness disappeared.
In its place came something that looked suspiciously close to guilt. She stared at Liscia for several seconds. Then quietly asked:
"Did I go overboard?"
"I think..."
My gaze remained on the sobbing woman.
"I'm the one who went overboard this time."
Anathasia immediately looked at me, one eyebrow rose.
"Meaning?"
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Well..."
A sigh escaped me.
"I'm the one who pushed the whole *questioning-her-credentials* thing."
My eyes drifted back toward Liscia.
"So... yeah."
Anathasia stared at me for a few seconds. Then her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh."
A finger snapped.
"That's true."
She nodded firmly.
"It is your fault."
I stared at her. Then slowly raised both hands in surrender before standing from the couch.
"Wow."
"What?"
"You agreed with me way too fast."
"Because it's true."
She pointed at me.
"Now go apologize."
"I was already planning to."
"Good."
With that, Anathasia leaned back into the couch as though her role in the situation had officially concluded. I shook my head and slowly walked over toward Liscia. Lena and Fran both shifted slightly to give me room.
The moment I got close enough, I gently rested a hand on Liscia's shoulder. She looked up slowly, a flicker of suspicion flashed in her eyes.
"What?"
I swallowed. For some reason, apologizing felt more intimidating than it should have. Clearing my throat, I finally spoke.
"I was wrong."
Liscia's eyes immediately narrowed. She didn't interrupt me, though. Which somehow made it worse.
"I just assumed you used your... well... authorial authority to get the position."
A brief pause.
"I never actually asked whether you had credentials."
My hand slipped away from her shoulder as I took a small step back.
"Which was unfair."
Another pause. Then I dipped my head. A proper apology deserved at least that much.
"I'm sorry for assuming you were using your authority."
The room grew quiet. For a moment, nobody said anything. Then I rubbed the back of my neck again.
"Besides..."
My gaze drifted toward her.
"Now that I think about it, you spent years sealed inside the story Anathasia put you in."
A small shrug followed.
"You definitely would've gone to school at some point."
Silence lingered for another few seconds. The only sound came from Egrathiel.
Cronch.
Nobody acknowledged it. Mostly because we were all trying very hard not to laugh.