17—Crossing Stars

Marice slowly opened her eyes, her vision adjusting from the hanging lamps on the ceiling. She then took a moment to stretch her limbs as far as they could go, the bed creaking a bit as she rolled on her side. Once satisfied, she propped herself up before letting out a huge yawn.

She didn't know how, but she was able to take a nap despite the tempest of thoughts that had been brewing in her head. Thanks to that, she felt a lot more chipper than expected.

"Finally awake, huh?" Vivianne, who was floating by the bedside, looked up from her phone's screen. "How are you feeling?"

But before she could respond, Laetitia tackled her into a hug, knocking her back on the bed. Marice was taken aback at first, but she eventually returned the hug, reveling in the pleasant warmth flowering in her chest. As the familiar started to tremble, she patted her head, which did wonders in calming her down.

After a while, the teary-eyed spider familiar then broke off from the hug, presenting her phone. "Are you okay?"

Marice smiled as she got up, letting her eyes wander around the room. From the various alchemy equipment on one side to the indoor garden setup on the other, much of the floor space looked more like an alchemy workshop than someone's bedroom. A relaxing vanilla scent lingered in the air as well, emanating from a familiar bottle of scented beads on the nearby nightstand. "I feel great, surprisingly. Nothing seems to be wrong with my eyes at least."

Vivianne sighed, pointing her smartphone at the bottles on the nightstand. "You should thank your half-sister for that. If it weren't for her supplying your body with astral ether, those eyes would've feasted on your soul for nourishment instead."

She shook her head, fishing out her own eye drops from her shorts. "Oh, so she told you."

"Morbid, if I'm being honest."

"Magic in general is a big can of worms if you think about it."

"I wanted to say you were lucky Mireia was there. But knowing how you operate, you most likely took that gamble on purpose. Am I right?" As Marice didn't respond, Vivianne shrugged. "Seriously now. I just left you two for a moment and you went ahead and almost got yourself killed again. Unbelievable."

Marice channeled ether into her gloves, activating their repair and sterilizer features. Once her hands were clean, she tilted her head backwards and tugged on her lower eyelid, applying the eye drops. "What were you expecting me to do? Twiddle my thumbs and get us all killed in there?"

"I didn't say you made the wrong decision. It's just that I feel like I'm going to turn into a nervous wreck the more I hang out with you two."

"Then spare yourself the trouble and leave."

A flash of disappointment appeared on her face before she assumed her usual haughty expression. "Hmph. All the more reason for me to keep an eye on you. My conscience would never live it down if I just left you floundering like this."

"Floundering? I don't need your help."

"This isn't all about you. Have you had any idea how worried Kath can get every time something like this happens?"

The bitterness in her voice made Marice shrink in shame, inwardly kicking herself for goading her. "Of course you'd bring her up..."

Vivianne lowered her head. "Just... don't do that again. We were really worried."

With the medication fully absorbed, she opened her eyes again, blinking the blurriness away. "You know I can't promise that, right?"

"I'll keep reminding you nonetheless. We're friends, after all." She looked at her familiar. "You too, my dear Laetitia. Don't hesitate to scold this self-centered brat if you think she's about to do something stupid."

Marice and Laetitia exchanged smiles. "Aren't you taking this whole friendship thing a little too seriously?"

"On the contrary, too many people take their friends for granted as if they are dime a dozen. I want to make sure that the word actually holds weight whenever I say it."

"Can't say I dislike that mindset."

"Naturally. That's to be expected from someone of my stature."

"For all I know, you're simply playing the long con just so you can rope me into your business."

"How rude."

As they shared a laugh, familiar voices erupted from below the tree house. She tilted her head again and used her eye drops on her other eye. "Anyway, where's Kath and Mireia?"

"They're helping out with dinner preparations. Your sister is on delivery duty, while Katherine's in the kitchen."

"We should pitch in too. Just gimme a minute."

"There's no need. They're just about to finish anyway."

"Wait. So you just stayed by my side all this time? Wow."

Vivianne cast an embarrassed look to the side. "Don't give me that. I want to assist them, but they won't let me."

She opened her eyes again, putting away her eye drops. "What about Kath then?"

"She kept pestering them until they finally relented. She probably just wanted to take her mind off the recent stunt you just pulled earlier."

"Could you not?"

"No, I'm being serious here. It seems like she took it really hard, so you better have an apology ready later."

"I know that."

Vivianne folded her arms. "I don't think a simple apology won't cut it this time though. Do you have something else in mind to sweeten the deal?"

Her cheeks heating up, Marice hugged her stomach as a smile tugged her lips. "Well, nothing in particular really. It's Kath, so I'll just spoil her and play along with her antics for a while."

"Do you think that would be enough?"

"Unlike you, she's not fussy with the details. She'll be happy as long as we're together."

She stared at Marice for a moment before her eyes widened, a cat-like grin spreading across her face. "Oh?"

"Wh-What?"

"Have you finally realized it?"

"R-Realized what?"

"About Kath. How she's been acting as of late and everything?

"She seems to be the same as ever, so I don't know what you're-"

She leaned closer, furrowing her eyebrows. "Isn't it a bit too late now to feign ignorance? Everyone can see it, you know?"

Marice squirmed under her gaze, avoiding eye contact. "Tch, I let my guard down."

"What are you getting all flustered for anyway? Don't tell me that you've actually started developing feelings for her as well."

"H-Huh? Of course not! There's no way I'd fall in love with my best friend! Yup, no chance in hell!"

An awkward silence passed as Vivianne and Laetitia stared at her with dumbfounded looks on their faces. "I'm sorry, Marice. I didn't think it would be this easy."

Her whole body quivering, Marice curled up on the bed and buried her face into a pillow. "Kill me. Kill me now. I don't care anymore."

She huffed. "In all honesty, I'm just glad you finally caught on. I know how obsessed you are when it comes to furthering your craft, but how come you didn't notice it sooner? You two lived under the same roof for many years!"

"I did notice her keeping her distance, but it never crossed my mind that she was in love with me!"

"I suppose the two of you truly are late bloomers. How cute."

Marice propped herself up, glaring at Vivianne. "I-I'd say we're just in the right age for this kind of stuff!"

Assuming a more serious expression, Vivianne cocked her head as her leg swayed in the air. "So what now? How are you going to respond to her feelings?"

Taken aback by her gentle tone, Marice grew even more flustered. "Th-That's none of your business..."

"I beg to differ. You and Kath are my friends, therefore it is in my best interest to make sure both of you will find the happiness you deserve. Don't you feel the same way as well, Laetitia?"

Laetitia nodded, rapidly tapping on her phone's screen. "Lady Vivianne's right. If there's anything we can do to help advance your relationship with each other, then don't hesitate to ask."

Marice paused for a moment, hugging her knees. "I... appreciate the enthusiasm, but let me sort out my thoughts on the matter first, alright? I honestly don't know what to do from here..."

"Well," Vivianne replied, tapping her cheek with the corner of smartphone, "what else is there to consider? You love her. She loves you. All that's left is to make your feelings known and everything will be right as rain."

"If it's only that easy."

"So it's about that, huh?" She sat beside her, eyes looking forward. "What did you see in her future? I want to know."

Marice closed her eyes. "She has no future."

"You mean...?"

"She's going to die in battle. During her first mission as an official Crimson Knight."

She scowled. "During her pilgrimage. That certainly gives a new context to my own readings of her future."

"What did she get from your readings?"

"They were positive for the most part, but the dragon was always present in them."

"Dragon?"

"The dragon's head and tail. The beginning and the end. While the latter doesn't necessarily indicate misfortune or tragedy, it's still a cause of concern in a reading about one's future, even if the circumstances surrounding it are somewhat favorable."

"But they were still favorable overall, right? And yet you seemed troubled with the results. Why?"

"Well, she told me about the time where the two of you raided a crypt and met this so-called guardian angel of hers."

"Yeah... she can't just shut up about it."

"During your fight against the crypt's master, she said she was struck by blightsteel. No mortal being should have resisted its corruption, but she was able to survive thanks to that angel's timely intervention.

"But what brought about the intervention in the first place? Divine beings don't concern themselves with us mortals unless it will benefit them somehow. Am I correct to assume that Kath is one of those rare cases whose soul is deemed worthy enough to be poached by them?"

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"But Kath claims she didn't enter any soul-binding contract with one of them in the past."

"Plenty of these divine beings are pricks who think they can just do whatever they want. It's possible that she entered a contract without her knowing or realizing." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Either that or she's been lying to us."

"Why would she lie about that? She knows that you have the ability to perceive divine beings."

"Most likely to preemptively stop me from asking the details of her contract."

"Knowing her... that might be..."

As she trailed off, Marice shook her head. "We're getting ahead of ourselves here. What really matters is Kath surviving past her pilgrimage."

"How are we supposed to accomplish that? Even if by some miracle you were able to learn Resurrection, we'd still have to contest against that angel for Kath's soul."

"I'm not that worried. I'll send her packing before she could lay a finger on Kath."

"You're going to challenge her in single combat? Have you lost your mind, Marice?"

"Do you have any other bright ideas then?"

Caught off guard, Vivianne crossed her arms. "W-Well... she might be reasonable enough to parley with us."

"That's it?"

"Better than going all barbarian on her, don't you think?!"

"Hmph. Odin doesn't deserve Kath's soul if a mortal like me can best a valkyrie in battle."

"O-Odin? Valkyrie...?"

"Ah, right. Kath's guardian angel's actually a valkyrie."

"A valkyrie?! And you're actually expecting to win?" But just as Marice was about to reply, Vivianne held up a palm while massaging her forehead with her other hand. "No, I don't need to hear it. I shouldn't be even surprised at this point."

A smile tugged her lips. "I'd say it's more doable than learning Resurrection on my own."

"You really are something else, brushing off divine retribution like it's an acceptable risk. If I didn't know any better, it really does sound like I'm listening to the ramblings of a madman."

"Didn't you already convince yourself that necromancers have loose screws in their heads?"

"It's just that... I've always wondered where on earth are you drawing all your confidence from."

"I'm confident, huh? I guess I am..."

"Now that's a curious reaction. Was I off the mark there?"

"No... that's just the pedant in me talking."

Vivianne paused as she glanced at her smartphone's screen. "I suppose it can't be helped. We'll just have to make do with the cards that we were dealt with."

Marice nodded. "I just need that sealed demon to tell me the minute details of Resurrection before that happens."

"About that. What if you weren't able to learn the spell in time?"

She grimaced. "Then she'll have to stay in a reanimated state until I can revive her."

"But for how long?"

She balled her hands. "I will learn Resurrection. Whatever it takes."

Her tone of finality ground the conversation to a halt, a palpable tension settling between them. The silence dragged for a minute until Vivianne spoke again.

"Can you humor me for a bit longer?" she asked. "Seeing that you're the one who brought it up, I need to ask your thoughts on this matter."

Marice considered this for a moment but decided to relent. "Shoot."

"You mentioned the possibility that Kath willingly entered a contract with this valkyrie, which would mean that she might already have a general idea when she will meet her demise in the near future. If we assume that to be true, then how come she hasn't consulted you about it? Could it be that she's perfectly content with passing on? Or in her case, ascending to divinehood?"

"That's absurd. She practically crawled herself out of hell just to get a second chance at life, and you're telling me she's just going to throw away everything she has now?"

"But you said it yourself that she would fall in battle at some point during her pilgrimage. She would still be fulfilling her duty as a Crimson Knight, and there could be no greater honor than that."

"If you're gonna bring up honor and pride, it makes more sense for her to stick around so she can help more people in the future. That's way better than sacrificing herself for some arbitrary reason."

"Arbitrary? And here I thought you understand her more than anyone." She shook her head. "No, I don't think that's the case. You do understand her, and that's exactly why you're in such a hurry to learn Resurrection in the first place."

"I..."

"You knew that her lifelong dream would be the cause of her untimely death, and yet you still supported her all the way. So I'll ask you again, Marice. Can you really say that everything will be all for naught if she's simply following through her raison d'etre as a Crimson Knight?"

"I... I just want to give her a more fulfilling life than that..."

"But that's not for you to decide, Marice."

"I know, but still..."

She heaved a sigh. "For how long have you been shouldering this burden? You're such a glutton for punishment, aren't you? Physical or otherwise."

"I don't need your pity."

She had a dour expression on her face for a moment before smiling. "I'm starting to understand why she's so smitten with you."

"Sh-Shut it."

"Anyway, I've stalled you long enough." She stood up and gestured at the large open window to her right. "Shall we?"

Donning her cap and jacket, Marice walked up to the window and peered at the hustle and bustle below. Four long tables were lined up across the backyard, three of which were fully decorated with all sorts of dishes and drinks. A large projector screen and a pair of tall speakers also sat at the venue's forefront, presumably set up for videoke purposes.

Seeing a few more people entering the backyard, the turnout was more than what she was expecting as well. Her family and neighbors aside, Karina had brought her colleagues from the animal shelter she was working in. Meanwhile, Mireia had Ronnie, Shiori, and Sophia along with her. Akagi was also present, accompanying a pale youkai lady with alluring golden eyes and dripping-wet hair.

"Ugh, this is quite a feast, huh?"

Vivianne cocked her head. "You sound disappointed. Why's that?"

"They weren't supposed to know we're visiting. Damnit, Mom."

"Ah, I do recall you not wanting to impose on them, but they seem to be genuinely excited to see you again."

"No, no. They're just being polite for my mom's sake."

"You should learn to be more considerate and accept their hospitality. After all, they were your loyal vassals."

"I am being considerate." She grumbled. "As if I'll be able to ignore them now. Come on, you two."

As the trio floated down from the tree house, Mireia alerted the others, forming a crowd before them. "Big Sister, feeling well already?" she asked.

"Yeah, surprisingly enough." Marice handed her her eye drops. "Thanks."

She beamed, slipping the small bottle into her waist pouch. "Great! It'd be a problem if you slept all night and missed out on all the food!"

"We're very glad that you've decided to pay us a visit," Eugene said, "but we certainly didn't expect you to show up out cold!"

Lester, Karina's father, laughed as he put his hands on his hips. "True. Even when you've grown into a fine young woman, you're still giving us quite a scare with your little adventures, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," Marice looked away, blushing, "I swear, I'm not doing this on purpose. Still, sorry for making all of you worry."

"Save that for our daughter. She practically flew here the instant she found out what happened to you."

"Sh-She did?"

"I swear, that girl is just trying too hard to be like you. But I guess that just means she missed you so much after being gone for years."

"Really? I'll have to take your word for it..."

"Speaking of which, what's taking them so long?" He turned around, facing the house. "Bel! Are the crabs ready yet?!"

A woman poked her head through the kitchen window. "Hush, dear! We know! We're already bringing it over!"

Seconds later, Isabelle, Katherine, and Karina went out to the porch, each of them carrying a large pot. They set them on the table next to the drink fountains and glassware before joining up with the rest.

"How are you?" Katherine asked. "Does your eyes still hurt or anything?"

"Oh, uh... not anymore. I feel great. Thanks for asking."

"G-Good to hear then!"

As their painfully stiff exchange ended, Karina scoffed. "If you're going to show off, at least make it look like you know what you're doing. You just made everybody worried for no reason."

"Don't say that. We were able to purify the sanctuary only because she's always quick on her feet, you know?"

"I was half-joking. How are you even friends with someone as self-serving as her for so long anyway?"

"Because that's just how she acts on the surface. I'm sure you knew that already or else you would never have rushed to us the way you did earlier."

She looked away, folding her arms over her chest. "N-No, I'm not concerned in the slightest! We just owe a great debt to Miss Mariella, so it's in our best interest to make sure her reckless daughter doesn't get into trouble!"

Isabelle giggled, looking at Marice. "This is coming from the person who basically demanded Marice to be transferred in her workshop-all that so she could keep a close eye on her at all times. How sweet."

"Wh-What are you talking about?! Miss Mariella will have our heads and more if something happens to her under our watch!"

"Trying to impress her, are we?" She glanced at Katherine and Vivianne. "That's fair, sweetie. You do have some stiff competition here."

"Ugh, clam it." She suddenly spun on her heels, walking back to the tables. "Come on, let's eat already. The food's gonna get cold."

Isabella clapped once. "Okay, lay out the banana leaves for their table! And those who need to wash their hands-use the sink and that hose hanging over there!"

As everyone gathered by the tables, Marice noticed that Katherine was keeping her distance again, opting to sit between Mireia and the youkai lady on the opposite side of the table. A few moments later, Vivianne and Laetitia took the empty seats beside Marice. "We tried," the former said in a whisper.

Marice sighed, taking her cap off. "You guys will just make things more awkward if you force her."

"My, you're taking this way better than I was expecting."

She was, but only because everyone's attention on her had been distracting her since she left the tree house. And as much as she wanted to immediately sort things out between her and Katherine, this small feast wasn't the right place for it anyway. Her chance would come, so she resolved on putting on an amiable appearance for everyone's sake.

"Is everyone set over there, sweetie?" Isabella asked as the sound system started playing instrumental pop music.

"Yeah," Karina replied, parking a cauldron-loaded cart by the table. "I'll start serving them now."

Armed with serving spoons, a pair of jelly homunculi hovered above their heads and started spreading aligue rice on the banana leaves. The way their tube-like tentacles circled to and fro the cauldron and the table was swift yet oddly satisfying, leaving her to wonder how much time did she train these simple homunculi for them to achieve that level of dexterity and spatial perception.

Once they were done with the rice, the homunculi servers began arranging the main and side dishes across the table in an alternating yet organized fashion. The usual party staples were there: lumpiang shanghai, pancit canton, sauteed veggies, and barbecue. But as one would expect from a region bordering the vast Pacific, the rest of the fare showcased the ocean's diverse bounty. From crabs to oysters to even seaweed dishes, seafood lovers would be in for a treat.

But before their servers could even finish, the youkai lady grabbed a lumpia from the stack in front of her, taking a bite out of it. "Finally. The main event. I've been looking forward to this."

"You really got no shame in you, huh?" Akagi said as she let out a contented mewl. "We ain't supposed to be here."

Locks of her hair suddenly began to wriggle as she popped the rest of the lumpia into her mouth. "Duh. I wasn't going to waste my fresh haul on your subpar cooking."

"Gah. Go do your own cookin' then, you damp vampire."

"Can't you just be thankful that I brought you along?"

"You mean when you asked me to be your pack mule? Yeah, sure."

She picked up another lumpia. "If you're going to waste their generosity on something so trivial, then that's on you. I'll be more than happy to eat your share."

"You're ridiculous." He gave Marice a look of disbelief, gesturing at his companion, but Marice just smiled in return. "Gah. Fine. Not like I can just up and leave anyway."

She wagged the half-eaten lumpia at him. "I'm expecting you to take notes while we eat. This could be a good opportunity for you to improve on your techniques."

As the two continued to bicker, Eugene approached their table. "Marice, care to do the honors?"

She then followed him to the middle of the venue where the dinner's highlight was prominently displayed: a four-foot tall yellowfin tuna lechon. After a short cheer from everyone, Marice carved out a slab from the spit-roasted fish, kickstarting the dinner party.

As Marice went back to her seat, she plopped the tuna on top of the barbecue stack in front of her. "Feel free to nab a piece."

"So we're really going to use our hands for everything, huh?" Mireia said, fidgeting with her hands.

Vivianne looked up as she started grabbing a few pieces of fillets and scallops. "Isn't that the point of this eating tradition?"

"Yeah, but it just feels... weird to be able to pick food from a buffet-style arrangement with your bare hands."

"You speak as though you've never partaken in such feasts before."

"Well, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I haven't." She then shivered, hugging her stomach. "Our handlers conditioned us well."

"What?" the vampire youkai said. "Worried about spit getting all over the food? Wouldn't matter if we ate them all, right?"

"Can you just shut up?" Akagi said. "You're goin' to ruin everyone's appetite."

"Gosh, why are you making such a fuss in front of this dinner's guest of honor? She clearly doesn't mind." She leaned forward, looking at Marice. "You don't, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Marice replied. "Don't worry about it."

Mireia giggled as she watched Vivianne take her first handful of fish and rice. "You seem rather blasé about this though. Since you're friends with Big Sister, I take it you've experienced eating with your hands before?"

Vivianne brushed a grain of rice at the corner of her lips. "This is the first time I've attended a kamayan-style feast, but I've been practicing since we arrived here. It's a custom in this country after all."

"What about you, Kath?" As she asked that, Katherine looked at her, cheeks full from the fish longganisa and rice she just shoved into her mouth. "Ugh, you guys have to teach me."

Katherine swallowed her food, garnishing her next morsel of rice and grilled fish with atchara. "You use your fingertips to gather up rice like this, then you push the food into your mouth with your thumb... like so!"

Topping her rice with a pinch of tempura, Mireia imitated the gesture and fed herself. Her eyes lit up as she looked down at the food. "Man, this fried rice's really good!"

"I know, right?"

"Hmm... okay! Since I love crabs, teach me how to open them!"

Katherine reached out for a crab of her own. "See this flappy part underneath? Peel it off, then separate the top part from the body with your thumbs like so!"

"Whoa, there's a lot more meat inside than I thought..."

"Oh, those are its lungs actually. Don't eat them."

"Huh, I see! I'll just peel them off then!"

"Yup! Next, you snap the body lengthwise so you have easy access to all the meaty goodness tucked in it... like so!"

Mireia scooped out a chunky piece of crab meat with her forefinger, dipped it into a sweet vinegar dip, and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm! Thanks, Kath! I guess this makes you more of a Filipina than I am, huh?"

As Mireia laughed, Katherine turned pink. "Y-You're exaggerating. Marice regularly cooked Filipino cuisines back in London, so I just thought it'd be fitting if she could teach me this traditional way of eating too."

"But it's obvious that you've made a habit out of it. Most foreigners will only see it as a novelty for occasions like this."

"Yeah... I guess."

"But now that you've brought it up, I really wanna try Big Sister's cooking!"

"Don't get too hyped up now," Marice said. "My cooking's nothing special."

"Being modest, are we? I've read that you're one of the top alchemists among the graduating classes across Britain this year."

As she pointed that out, everyone's gaze zeroed in on Marice with varying degrees of adoration on their faces. Marice, in turn, focused her attention in taking apart her crab. "But that doesn't really mean anything. If you want food made by an alchemist, ask Karina. She's the one who specializes in food science."

"Oh?" Shiori uttered. "But just earlier, Katherine was just bragging about how delicious your cooking is. Especially your adobo and-"

Katherine hastily swallowed her food. "I-I wasn't bragging!"

"So you were just being honest?"

"Huh?!" Glancing at Marice, she furrowed her eyebrows. "W-Well, of course! My taste buds don't lie!"

"Must be nice, being able to eat her cooking every day."

As Katherine shrunk in her seat and shoved another handful of food into her mouth, Mireia narrowed her eyes. "You're teasing her again."

She placed her free hand on her cheek. "I couldn't help it. She's so cute I just wanna gobble her up."

"But I must say, this crab sure is sweet and succulent. You certainly weren't kidding, Sagami."

"Heh, of course," the vampire youkai said, taking apart a crab, "I just wish we could've explored more of the island crab's bounty."

"You caught these on that thing?"

She nodded. "You'll find the most succulent crabs and molluscs in the mangrove ponds of an island crab. Too bad they're a bit tricky to track with them slipping through one realm to the next."

"There has to be a way to make it stay put for longer periods of time," Vivianne said, glancing at Marice's portion of the table. "Otherwise, I won't be able to study it properly."

With Mireia successfully diverting the topic elsewhere, Katherine looked relieved as she focused on the food in front of her. Marice did the same, but she couldn't help but throw furtive glances at her direction. Katherine caught on eventually, and the two of them engaged in a silly cat and mouse game of who gets to steal the most glances at each other.

She kept score for a while until Karina's parents invited her to the other tables to mingle with their neighbors. From their inability to look at her in the eyes to their careful selection of words when addressing her, their wariness towards her was painfully obvious. Well, she couldn't blame them really. It had been a decade since they last saw her, and one of the first things she did after showing up in Estrellia was to pick a fight with her own grandmother.

Despite that though, she wouldn't want to besmirch the good relationship her mother had fostered with the people here, so she did her best in humoring their random and trivial questions. Thankfully, they reciprocated her enthusiasm not long afterwards, the conversation becoming livelier. With all lingering tension out of the way, the dinner party went on in full swing for the next two hours, making full use of the videoke system.

As expected, Katherine became the star of the night, dazzling everyone with her versatile singing across several different languages and genres. Marice didn't know what spurred her to take up the challenge and sing in front of a sizable audience, but she felt proud with her decision all the same. More people could stand to know that talent of hers, even if singing was a hobby she had mostly reserved for their private karaoke sessions and university choir duties.

After spending all that festive energy, everyone settled down and enjoyed nature's calming lull, chatting among themselves. Finishing her ube cupcake, Marice noticed that Katherine had yet to return outside after excusing herself ten minutes ago. Considering that she was practically gorging herself with all the food she could get her hands on since the beginning, she assumed that it was simply a case of her overeating like a goldfish again.

With a sigh, she washed her hands and entered the house. She found her sitting on the sofa in the living room, staring at the ceiling with a glazed look in her eyes. As she went closer, Katherine turned gaze towards her, forcing a smile. "Ah, what's wrong?" she asked.

Sensing Katherine's apprehension, Marice stopped by the sofa. "Did you really have to ask?"

"O-Oh, um. Sorry, I just need to rest for a bit. I'll return once I feel a little better, so you should get back outside."

"Nah, I'll stay."

As Marice sat down, Katherine tensed, shifting in her seat. "Uh... there's nothing to do here..."

"Well, you're here. We can talk."

"But what about Vivianne and the others?"

"They're getting along just fine without us." She reclined against the backrest, closing her eyes. "And frankly, I need some space to breathe."

"But they might start looking for you, you know?"

"You really wanted to leave that much, huh? But I thought you'd hate me forever if I did that?" A sharp gasp escaped her lips a second later, prompting her to meet Katherine's equally surprised expression. "Uh..."

"Th-That's just mean! Did you have to bring that up now?!"

With her heart pounding against her chest, Marice smiled anyway as she opened her eyes again. "Well, there you have it."

Katherine let out a whimper. "Ugh. Marice, you dummy..."

"What?"

A short pause. "Hmph. Nevermind."

The two of them basked in the awkward stillness of the room, content on just staring at the beige ceiling above them. Their smallest movements made them too guarded to relax, much less to actually start a conversation and ease the tension choking the air. After a while, Marice decided that she had enough of that and let out a tired groan.

"This is stupid."

"E-Eh?"

She leaned forward, meeting her gaze. "Kath, let's bounce."

"Um... we're leaving? To where?"

"I dunno. Somewhere we won't be disturbed, I guess."

"Eeeh?!"

"Why do you sound so surprised? We're just going for a walk, which by the way will do you better than just lounging on your arse here."

Katherine considered this for a minute until she nodded and jumped to her feet, tugging at her trench coat. "Alright! Count me in!"

"You're awfully fired up all of a sudden..."

"Still have room for dessert?"

"Well, sure. I only had the cupcakes Mireia bought for us."

"Great! I'll bring some snacks for us to munch on!"