I Want to Survive

Birds of a feather folk together, I heard. Even similar neural responses to movies predict friendships. Is that true, what the heck?

But it worked with Saintess Scolastica, so this may work too with Saintess Flavia. Isn’t it easier and fun to talk with our friends? Isn’t it also easier to gain favor from our friends? I feel like I’m a bastard who calculates everything, but I don’t manipulate, and I have been always like that.

Therefore, I have to show that I can be a bookworm. Thus, befriend Saintess Flavia.

But Kousuke banged his head on the table. He got bored. What the fuck is yaoi ho*e?

Luckily, Arabella was still busy reading a BL book beside him. She made various facial expressions during reading: she was surprised, angry, and even sweaty. It was interesting to watch her for Kousuke. For the record, the BL title was “Your Yaoi Ho*e Is Mine”.

Hal grabbed his jacket, kissed Flavia’s cheek, and left her blushing. “Hal!!!” Flavia protested. “I have guests!!”

He had been looking serious and angry, but then he smirked and said, “Peasants don’t dare to complain about what nobles do.”

“How rude!” She smiled.

Why are you smiling if you think that’s bad, Your Holiness?? What a tease, like Arabella Dekever!

“But seriously, I have to go, I need to do something about that stupid ritual.”

Flavia jolted. She curled up her lips and looked like she had given up on something. “It’s okay, Hal. I have been the happiest saintess ever in this place. Because I have you.”

Hal embraced her and put his lips on her lips. He held her hand and looked determined. “I promise. I will save you.”

“Hal, don’t. It’s my wish.” Flavia caressed his face. He couldn’t look happy, but he seemed to give her wish consideration.

And then they kissed again.

Fuck, can we stop this mwah mwah bullshit?! I’m jealous!

Arabella just covered her mouth with a book, witnessing their kiss.

Hal stood up and went down the stairs. Flavia looked at his back, stunned for a while. She sat with her legs in a W. Then she took another book and began to read it, forgetting their sweet time that she possibly couldn’t achieve anymore.

Kousuke walked around to find amusing books. But he didn’t find one. So, he forced himself to read and sat beside Arabella until the night came. Sometimes, before the night, Felis came to bring food for them, so they wouldn't starve.

The glass ceiling was full of distant wonders. Even Kousuke could see the stars that seemed to belong to a spiral galaxy. Arabella too, was dazzled by the night sky in that world.

There was also a red dot like the neighbor planet in Kousuke’s world. But it wasn’t there when Kousuke stared at the sky on the Norma Ocean. So the developers of Astarthe Online probably wanted to add it just for the Great Library, despite the inconsistencies. Like clothing, aesthetics was more important in ASO!

Flavia put her book on her thighs and raised her chin. She seemed to just stare blankly at the sky. Then she said, “So, what do you need, Outsiders?”

“How do you know we are outsiders?” Arabella asked.

“Well, I actually have two miracles. One of them is capturing your spatial memories through your eyes, although I couldn’t see anything through your fiance’s eyes. It was just dark. I feel like he isn’t a part of this world.”

Bullseye, Saintess.

A program can’t see its developers unless it has that function --- a camera. ASO only had voice chat.

“Isn’t a part of this world? Do you mean this man is a god or something?”

Yes. I am Christ.

“Well, I feel like you should ask your fiance about that. So, what do you need?”

“Saintess Flavia. Can you bring us to that floating island?” Kousuke asked. Her second miracle is transporting anything relatively small to any place she has seen. It’s a complement to her first miracle.

“For one day?”

“A week, probably. You can just drop us and come back later.”

Flavia didn’t respond for a moment. She said, “I can’t pick you up later. I will be sacrificed within the next two days to fill that divine monster’s stomach for 21 years.”

Connecting the dots, everything that they heard since the time they entered the town, made Kousuke and Arabella realize that someone powerful should have been sacrificed, so the townsfolk didn’t have to sacrifice more people. One for All.

“Does that monster need much MP to fill himself?” Kousuke clarified. A saint or saintess has almost unlimited MP after all, so he or she can perform some miracles. That’s the lore.

“Yes,” Flavia replied succinctly.

“Does that damned monster have a body of a man and a head of a bull, the Giant One-eyed Minotaur?”

“One-eyed? No. Two.”

Hmm, so it isn’t the Giant One-eyed Minotaur? Or hasn’t been one-eyed? By whom? Kousuke rubbed his chin, and Arabella also did the same thing after. They looked cute together.

“But it’s still a giant minotaur. Don’t you know that if we attack his left eye for a while, we can lower his defense for a moment?”

Flavia didn’t respond again, but she took longer, and she still wasn’t looking at Kousuke and Arabella. “Do you mean we can kill that monster?”

“If we can’t kill him, at least we can intimidate him, so he would find human prey in other regions instead or just eat animals and other sea monsters. That giant minotaur can also eat fish daily to fill his stomach, actually. You guys just pamper him with luxury food for years.”

“What is your name, Outsider? I feel like I can trust you since you are likely another world being, and you killed that half-octopus without any sacrifice.”

“Durant Deroulade. A sniper,” Kousuke stood up and spread his arms to look cool. “So let me ask you, o, the Saintess of Knowledge. Do you want to live?”

Flavia turned her head and looked at Kousuke. Her face was red. She smiled and dropped tears. “I, too, want to live.”

“Then, do not lose hope, Saintess, and pray to God if it can retain that hope.”

Kousuke walked to the staircase. Arabella followed him, but before he stepped on the stairs, he looked back, so he could be cool and say, “I promise you. In the name of my great-great-grandfather!!!”

He waved his hand, smiled, and walked away. Very cool!!

Kousuke then saw Hal lean his body against the wall and cross his arms. It seemed that Hal waited for them on the staircase. He had been there since afternoon. He wanted to do something to stop the Ritual of Sacrifice without any sacrifice, but he didn’t find one, so he was just frozen and frustrated.

“Peasant. Do I have to lend my hand?” Hal asked.

Kousuke snorted. You can just say, “Can I help you?”

“Your Grace, can you stun that monster for a while with your miracle? I need to shoot his left eye,” Kousuke asked.

“Obviously. That’s a piece of cake for a duke like me!”

When Kousuke was about to give Hal a smile, suddenly, he got a strong headache. It was so strong that he wanted to scream. What’s going on??

“I saw a puke near that vendor. Did you eat a green brain?” Hal commented. “It’s a drug to increase blood flow to your p*nis and improve erectile function. If you did not do anything with your puny thing, eventually you would get that headache.”

A fucking Viagr*??

“Don’t worry, I will help you, Outsider,” Hal added.

Wait. What are you going to do???

Kousuke fell onto Hal’s arm. When he was about to close his eyes, he remembered something. My female colleague told me that tulips symbolize hope, optimism, and love.

This guy seems to have been giving Flavia tulips to tell her that she shouldn’t give up. Although Flavia didn’t say thanks or anything, he is still doing that. How romantic.

And that’s giving, not exchanging love, right?