Xeno: "What... What did you call me?" He slowly cranked his head towards Anastasia.
Anastasia: "What's wrong, Xeno-kun? Didn't expect to be caught?" She asked with an amused smile.
Xeno: "You are really annoying, you know that?" He retorted.
Putting Mimi down, who ran towards Anastasia's side, Xeno fully facing her, annoyance written all over his face.
Anastasia: "That's really mean. A maiden's heart is a fragile thing, Xeno-kun." She said, faking looking heartbroken.
Xeno: "I'm not Ainavol." He firmly denied.
Anastasia: "Come on, Xeno-kun. Is there still a reason to keep up the act? Though I have to say, I admire your ability quite a lot. I'm even a little bit envious of your abilities."
She praised him, but whether she truly meant it or was attempting to lower his guard, he didn't know. Still, he didn't react and continued looking displeased.
Xeno: "Save me your words. I'm not Ainavol, end of story. I'd like to move on."
Anastasia: "Now, now, what's the rush? Are you afraid I might spill your secret? You don't have to worry about a thing. Your secret is safe with me."
Xeno: "..."
Looks like he can't avoid this conversation, and if she did find out he's Ainavol, well... If her "I want the entire kingdom to become mine" speech at Royal Castle is anything to go by, then he might as well kiss his peaceful life goodbye.
Xeno: 'Great, just what I needed. More problems.' He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"You know what? Fine! I'll play along. Go on, Anastasia, tell me why you think I'm Ainavol." He said dramatically.
Anastasia: "My, my, Xeno-kun. So direct. Are you sure you want your—"
Xeno: "Out with it." He interrupted.
She smiled at that. He caught the bait. She had purposely been trying to put him in a bad mood so he'd react more to her words.
Anastasia: "Well, if that's what you want, Xeno-kun. Mimi, mind giving us some privacy?" She turned to her by her side.
Mimi: "But Anastasia-sama, what if he tries rubbing his dirty hands all over you?" She said, still stuck on that issue.
Anastasia: "Don't worry about that, Mimi. Xeno-kun here won't try anything... Will he?" She turned to him, waiting for his response.
Xeno: "I'm not into little girls." He deadpanned.
Anastasia: "..."
She actually looked offended by that, but regained her composure.
Anastasia: "See? You got nothing to worry about." She reassured.
Mimi looked hesitantly at her lady, then at Xeno, before nodding and going off somewhere. Now it was just the two of them.
...
For the first time since arriving here, the atmosphere between them became tense, him being surrounded on all sides by Anastasia's men and by her as well.
Instead of panicking, something he would have done before, he looked completely serious. He had a mission he wasn't going to fail. He couldn't.
Xeno: "Alright, Anastasia, why do you think I'm Ainavol? Can you just gloat about how amazing your connections are and how smart you are already? Because it doesn't matter in the end."
Anastasia: "You really are direct, but if that's what you want, I won't hold back." She took the challenge.
"I'm the type of gal that likes to stay one step ahead of people and gain the best deal, but you? You're a strange one now, Xenophanes. I've done extensive research on your background."
She started normally. She wouldn't do this, revealing all this information, but Xeno is a special case. There is an advantage to this.
"And after intensive work, we found no record of you. Not in Lugunica, not in Kararagi, nowhere. No records of you exist. It's like... you just appeared one day." She said with intrigue.
Xeno: "You investigated my background. That isn't creepy at all." He joked, not happy with the news.
Anastasia: "Now, now, it wasn't my intention to go that deep, but the more I found out about you, the more I desired you."
Xeno: "..."
Anastasia: "Not even a comment? How mean." She pouted, acting cute.
Xeno: "...Just get to the part about why you think I'm Ainavol already." He stated, unamused.
Anastasia: "Alright, alright, Xeno-kun. Before that, I have to say, your people did a fantastic job of hiding Ainavol's past whereabouts. I had quite a bit of trouble finding them." She genuinely meant it.
"But once I did, a clear pattern started forming. Ainavol's earliest appearances were always near each other, despite taking carriages that came from completely different places. Nobody knew who he was or where he came from. Even the people handling his business kept him completely anonymous."
Xeno: "..."
Anastasia: "That was until you slipped up. And that was all it took for me to start connecting you to Ainavol."
Xeno: "..."
There it was.The massive blunder he had made.
The situation had been dire at the time, and he hadn't thought much of it. If it weren't for one of the merchants he had made friends with pointing it out, he would have never known this.
Anastasia: "You see, Xeno-kun, coincidences are perfectly normal. One strange occurrence means nothing. Two might still be a coincidence. But when I started comparing Ainavol's movements... things started becoming very interesting. They all were around the boundaries of Roswaal's territory."
She gave an amused smile. Still, she'll give credit where it's due. Xeno somehow managed to bury this information. Despite the numerous people he traveled under, she was only able to find six of them.
Which was more than enough to establish a pattern, but what about the others? Where did they venture off? She couldn't even find them.
Xeno: "..."
Anastasia: "Combined with your own strange background, I found my connection. That's not even mentioning the mysterious powers both of you possess."
Ainavol's "Eyes of Judgement" his weird red aura and energy punch and Xeno's Point of Obsession, which he uses very frequently in Arlam. It's literally no secret there; he has strange powers.
Xeno: "..."
Xeno: "That's all circumstantial, in my opinion, but I can see it. But aren't you forgetting one VERY important detail?"
Anastasia: "Of course not, Xeno-kun. You're going to bring up the fact that you were crippled while Ainavol-san has shown no sign of that, right?" She narrowed her brows.
This was something that bothered her to no end. The more she investigated the two, the more connections she could make between them.
Hell, in the early days, even their personalities matched to an extent. She could go on and on. Everything matched except for this fact.
Even if he changed his haor colour, somehow hid his strange eyes, and was a master actor, you know what he can't hide? The fact that he's crippled and blind from the right side.
She had rechecked multiple times to see if one of them was faking it, but no. Xeno was genuinely crippled to the point he needed assistance walking.
Ainavol, on the other hand? Pretty much the entire town had seen him running, jumping, and punching through walls.
How was that even possible?
Good question, actually. How did he even do any of that?
...I was going to say moving on, but I've already done that joke twice and you'll must be tired of my shit.
So I'll actually explain how. The simple answer is Gluttony. Xeno discovered, he can target individual parts of his body to erase from existence. From there, he used Envy to replace it with a mechanical spine.
As for why he doesn't just keep doing it, it's because it takes a literal metric fuck ton of concentration to target a specific part of his body and keep it that way.
It's so mentally taxing he only maintain it for a few hours at best. Afterwards he's mentally drained and exhausted.
With that explanation over with, let's move on.
Xeno: "Hey, I was crippled. Even you saw it in the Royal Castle. And last I heard, Ainavol isn't one besides I only got it fully healed just today. So your theory pretty much crumbles apart."
Obviously, he had been preparing in case someone did figure it out, and proving once again, his disability had its advantages.
Anastasia: "I agree on that part. Without some way to explain that, I can't prove you're Ainavol, now can I?" She said with a smile.
"And that's okay because I never wanted to expose him in the first place."
Xeno: "...You didn't?"
Anastasia: "Why would I? Leaking your identity is more harmful to me. If anything, I want to work with him."
Xeno: "...If you're not going to expose him, then why go through all this? You could have just said that from the start." He stared in disbelief.
Anastasia: "Ah, that's where you're forgetting something, Xeno-kun. I only wanted you to know that I'm aware of your secret and that it's safe with me.... You're the one who demanded I spill the details."
Xeno: "..."
Anastasia: "What's wrong, Xeno-kun? Didn't expect that?" She giggled at his expense.
Xeno: ".... You really don't want to reveal my identity?"
Anastasia: "Oh! Are you finally admitting it?"
Xeno: "Depends on the answer."
Anastasia: "Then no, I have no interest in exposing your identity. I'll do you one better and go out of my way to protect it as much as I can."
Xeno narrowed his eyes, studying her expression. She didn't seem to be lying. Then again, it could be a trick. Then Xeno had to just bring out one of his own.
If Xeno's pupils were visible, she would have noticed that they became red. Completely matching Ainavol's. But since his eye sockets were empty, she didn't know.
Xeno: 'Alright, Gluttony, what's her game plan here?'
[She's telling the truth. The reason she's doing this is exactly as she said. Ana wants a partnership with Ainavol because of the numerous advantages it'll grant her. You just need to ask, and she'll tell you.]
Ah, Gluttony. It really is convenient, isn't it?
Xeno: "Alright, fine. I'm Ainavol. There, happy?"
He admitted it with a sigh.
Anastasia: "Very much so." She said happily.
Xeno: "Goodie, it actually works out because I already needed your help. So I guess this works out for the both of us."
Anastasia: "My help? Xeno-kun you wanted to make a deal with me?" She said intrigued, by this information.
Xeno: "Yeah.... But first, I want to know why your so interested in making a deal with me? What so special about Ainavol?" He raised a brow.
Anastasia: "Alright, if you insist." She leaned back in her seat, folding her hands together.
"You see, Xeno-kun, Ainavol has something that most merchants would kill to possess."
Xeno: "That would be?" He tilted his head curiously.
Anastasia: "Success! Ainavol has shown a supernatural level of success. I tracked all of your deals, Xeno-kun. All of your deals, always, no matter what, succeeded."
Xeno: 'I know, right? My business luck is absolutely cracked.' He crossed his arms, nodding.
Anastasia: "At first, I thought it was simply a matter of talent. But the deeper I looked, the more I realized something. When it came to commerce... You're extraordinarily lucky. Every disadvantage you faced turned into an opportunity. Every opponent you faced either went bankrupt or was integrated into your Alliance."
"Every problem you should have faced when you debuted... Simply never happened. Your rise to power had the most... convenient things I have ever witnessed."
She was in awe, frustrated, and envious by it.
Xeno: "That sounds like luck."
Anastasia: "Exactly. It really is unfair, Xeno-kun." She pouted before moving on.
"But then I started looking beyond Ainavol himself. And I found something even more interesting. Your 'Blessings.'"
Xeno: "Okaaay?" He blinked at her words.
Anastasia: "Businesses that became associated with Ainavol began experiencing unusual success. Some of them had been struggling beforehand. Then, after doing business with Ainavol or establishing some sort of connection with him, their circumstances suddenly improved."
Xeno: "Really!?" He was surprised by this, not knowing everything about it.
Anastasia: "Yes, really. And the number of times it has happened is too big to be a coincidence."
Xeno: "How many were affected by my... Blessing?"
Anastasia: "Thirty-six."
Xeno: "...Thirty-six?"
Anastasia: "Thirty-six separate cases that I've been able to verify." She could hardly believe it herself when she first found out.
Anastasia: "And I'm not talking about a shop selling one of your products and making a little extra money. I'm talking about businesses that suddenly gained customers, merchants whose deals unexpectedly worked out, investments that should have failed but didn't, and people who somehow managed to stumble into opportunities they couldn't possibly have planned for."
Xeno stared at her. Did he really have some secret ability to "bless" people?
Anastasia: "I don't know whether it's a skill, a blessing, some strange property of yours, or you sharing your absurd amount of luck. But whatever it is, there is clearly something unusual surrounding Ainavol."
Anastasia: "And I want to know whether that something can benefit me." She slightly leaned forward.
Xeno: "So that's what you mean by wanting my 'blessings.'"
Anastasia: "Exactly."
Xeno narrowed his eyes. So that's what she wants, huh? She really values my "blessing" that much? Again, this worked out for him. Doesn't mean he trusts her, though.
'Gluttony, what she up to?'
[She discovered that the closer someone is to Ainavol, the greater the amount of luck that follows them. So she wants to get as close to you as possible. To milk as much of your "blessing" as possible and, you know, get a share of whenever you inevitably succeed.]
Xeno: "..."
Xeno: "I didn't expect you to be this shameless, Anastasia."
Anastasia: "Whatever could you mean, Xeno-kun?" She tilted her head innocently.
Xeno: "Don't act all innocent with me. You want to leech off my success." He pointed at her accusingly.
Anastasia: "Leech? Now, now, Xeno-kun, that's such a mean way to put it."
Xeno: "Oh yeah? How would you word it?" He glared at her.
Anastasia: "I believe it is more of a mutual deal. You get access to my help anytime, and I get your blessing. Isn't that a fair deal?"
Xeno: "..."
...
You know, he believes himself to be a kind and patient person with everyone, except Priscilla. Fuck her.
But right now, hearing the shameless words of Anastasia... He was reaaaally tempted to punch her in the face.
One hit wouldn't be that bad, right?
Xeno: "You're lucky I need your help." He really wasn't happy about being her luck charm.
Anastasia: "Don't be lik–"
Xeno: "Apaapapapapa." He reached forward and bopped her nose, interrupting her.
"You're on thin ice here, Anastasia–"
Everyone reacted, getting up on guard, weapons ready to be drawn. Anastasia, meanwhile, was stunned by his actions, simultaneously having a blush creep up on her face.
Xeno leaned back, looking at the men ready to pounce on him. He was annoyed by their presence.
"Tsk, calm down, will you? I'm not trying to hurt her." He rolled his now visibly purple pupils and sat back down.
Anastasia raised her hand, signalling them to stop. They reluctantly sheathed their weapons, sitting back down while keeping an even closer eye out.
Anastasia: "...You were saying?" She restarted the conversation, ignoring the fact that he had booped her nose.
Xeno: "Right! You're on thin ice, Anastasia. Speaking of which, here's what's going to happen. You will help deal with my problems, and I'll reluctantly... let you leech off my blessings."
Anastasia: "Th–"
Xeno: "And! You're going to do one thing and one thing only! Say yes and ask questions related to this problem. If you so much as try to do your bullshit even once, so help me, I'm going to commit FUCKING arson!" He yelled this entire thing, testing his patience.
He had important things to do, yet here she was, messing and toying with him.
...
Anastasia: "..."
Xeno: "Good, you got the memo. To here, I'll get straight to the point. I want to take down the White Whale, and I need your help to do that."
Anastasia: "You want to kill the White Whale!?" She was shocked by how casually he said that.
Xeno: "More accurately, Crusch wants to. I just want to partake in it."
Anastasia: 'Ah! So that's what her plan is.' She cupped her chin, several thoughts going through her mind.
Xeno: "And I think I have a good enough offer to make her agree to ally with my camp, buuut the problem is, I fear she might not find me credible enough. So that's where you come in." He pointed at her dramatically.
Anastasia: "You want my support to sweeten the deal. Interesting... Say, Xeno-kun, can I know what your offer is?"
Xeno: "It's sustainable, I can say that much. I know exactly when and where the White Whale will appear, and beyond that, there's my most important bargaining chip."
Anastasia narrowed her eyes, her interest growing.
"And that would be?"
Xeno: "As someone who fought that overgrown fish, I know every trick it has under its fins. That's my bargaining chip."
Anastasia: "You fought the White Whale!?" She said in complete disbelief.
Xeno: "Sure did. I pissed it off so badly, it even activated its attack hue on me." He boasted.
Anastasia sat there processing this information. Normally, these would be the words of a madman or liar, but...
If there is one thing she learned about Xenophanes, it's that he's no liar. He doesn't lie unless he has to.
Meaning... He actually fought it and lived to tell the tale? She could hardly believe it, but seeing the genuine, confident look on his face...
Anastasia: "Xeno-kun... That's quite the claim, and if it's true... then I want a part of it." She, after some thought, agreed.
If he really did know everything that calamity could do, and if Crusch's forces were as big as she thought they were, alongside her own forces, combining efforts with someone who had actually fought it...
Their chances at victory were looking high.
And if they did succeed, her reputation would gain a boost for participating. She could even secure an even more favourable separate deal with Crusch.
So she chose to trust her instincts and bet on Ainavol.
...
After that things went smoothly, they discussed a few details before the meeting came to an end. Though Anastasia still had more questions to ask.
She let it be when Xeno insisted he was busy and had more things to do. So she left with all of her men and Mimi following behind her.
Xeno, meanwhile, slumped onto the table. He hadn't even started, and he was already feeling mentally tired.
Xeno: 'Is this what Crusch has to deal with every single day? Ugh, no wonder she was exhausted. Sigh, now there's that Russell Fellow guy. I hope my letter can convince him.'
He got up, hands in his pockets, and started walking away. He still needed to do one more thing before he started his negotiation with Crusch.
Moving to the spot where he told Rem to meet up with him, Xeno activated Gluttony. He had questions he wanted answered.
Xeno: 'Alright, Gluttony, tell me what the fuck is up with luck? Why am I even so lucky when it comes to commerce?'
[Your luck is extraordinary in two places. Other than that, it's pretty average. Those being romantic luck and commercial luck.]
Xeno: 'Huh? Wait, I'm actually lucky when it comes to women!?' He was joking all those times when he called himself lucky, but it's actually true?
[Yes, you're really lucky with women. How else do you think you managed to make three women fall for you?]
Xeno: 'Wait, three? That can't be right? There's Rem, then Crusch in the previous loop. Who's the third one?'
[...Your assistant, dumbass.]
Xeno: 'She has feelings for me, how!?'
[Moving on. Your commerce luck–]
Xeno: 'Hey, don't ignore me!'
[It works in several ways. It exists solely to make your Ainavol persona and your commerce life entirely convenient and successful. All kinds of events happen to avoid making your life stressful.]
Xeno: 'I... Really?' He temporarily moved on from the previous issue.
That raised an interesting question, though. If his luck exists to help him through commerce, does that mean... His luck influenced Anastasia in some way?
[If I'm understanding the mechanisms of your luck correctly, then the chances of Anastasia finding out you were Ainavol solely for it to help you today... are decently high.]
Xeno: '...Damn. Okay, what about my "blessings" then?'
[You can bless people with luck, though there's more to that than simply being associated with Ainavol. There are two parts to your blessing.
1. Like Ana concluded, the more closely someone is associated with Ainavol, the greater the luck that follows them. But it only makes up 25% of the whole ability.
2. Your relationships are the majority here, making up 75% of the luck they receive. Depending on how much you like them.]
Xeno: 'Interesting.' He cupped his chin in thought.
'Anything else?'
[Yes, here's the kicker. Your luck also works in reverse. If you dislike someone, you can curse them with misfortune.]
Xeno: 'Huh?'
[Really. If you really dislike someone, you can ruin them. And you want to know the best part of it all?]
Xeno: '...What?'
[Anastasia thought she had a winning deal when, in reality, because she became your partner, becoming associated with you... she'll face catastrophic amounts of bad luck. Just because you dislike her now.]
Xeno: '....Wait, does that means!' A smile crept up his face.
[She inadvertently leashed her company to you and handed you massive leverage over her, thinking she won a massive deal. Yep, she did.]
Xeno: "Pffff—Hahahahahahahahah!" He burst out into laughter at the absurdity.
He almost felt bad for her... Almost.
...
After a few minutes of walking, he had finally arrived at his destination: an overview of the capital as it bathed in the golden light of dawn.
There, Rem was waiting for him, standing against the railings. The moment she saw him approach, her expression lit up.
Rem: "Xeno-kun, did your meeting with Anastasia-sama succeed?" She came closer to him, now standing face to face.
Xeno: "Sure did, Rem. The deal is done and dusted. Now all that's left to do is go make an alliance with Crusch." He gave her a thumbs-up.
Rem: "Rem is happy to hear that, Xeno-kun." She let out a sigh of relief.
Xeno: "How about you? How did things end on your front?"
Rem: "It went well, Xeno-kun. I delivered the letter to your executive."
Xeno: "Great. Let's hope my plan works."
Rem: "...Xeno-kun? May Rem ask something?"
Xeno: "Sure."
Rem: "Why did you call Rem here? Was there any special reason?" She asked curiously.
Xeno: "Right... About that." He looked away, scratching his head, embarrassment slowly coming up.
Rem noticed that whatever her hero wanted to say was definitely personal.
Xeno: "I've just been thinking about... you lately?"
Rem: "About me?"
Xeno: "Yeah. I think I haven't done much to show... how much I appreciate you, Rem."
Rem: "That's not true! Xeno-kun has done plenty to show his appreciation." She fiercely defended him.
Xeno: "You say that, but..." He didn't look so sure about that.
Rem stepped forward, realizing he was going through something. She didn't know what, but Rem knew she had to step in.
Rem: "If Xeno-kun hadn't appreciated Rem, then he wouldn't have promised to go on a date with her. He wouldn't have brought her nice clothes. He wouldn't be there to cuddle with her."
She looked into his eyes. She meant every word. Xeno just sighed, knowing all that. But you know what they say.
You can't truly appreciate something unless you lost it. He did lose her, and now he grew to love her and everyone else even more.
Xeno: "I know, but I'm not satisfied with that. That's why... I'm going to do something that you'll never forget."
Giving both her hands, he took a deep breath, steeling his will. He needed to do this to make himself feel better.
He tapped the floor. A dark purple wall engulfed them. Now it was just the two of them, making Rem suddenly very self-conscious.
Rem: "X-Xeno-kun? What are you doing?"
Xeno didn't say anything. Instead, he looked directly at her lips intently.
A massive blush came up on Rem's face upon seeing his intentions. She closed her eyes, leaning forward, allowing him to continue.
Which he did. He slowly but surely came closer to her lips.
Both of their hearts hammered against their chests as the two locked lips, turning into a sweet kiss.
This was what Xeno wanted. His ultimate gift to his lovely Rem.
A kiss.