After hearing my request for directions, Akeno-san had been surprised, but agreed readily. I followed silently as Akeno-san led me to my desired destination. We traveled down another seemingly endless corridor of this gigantic structure. Seriously, they must have had to pay the architect a helluva lot of money to plan out this place. I mean, everything was so neat and tidy and perfect.
Eventually, Akeno-san came to a stop by a door with a guard posted next to it. Akeno-san spoke to the guard for a moment before he nodded to the both of us, stepping aside to allow me entrance. Akeno-san decided to stay outside.
I lightly knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Came a response. The voice sounded much less cheerful and honestly almost dead, but it was without a doubt Rias.
"It's the Ghost of Christmas Present." I joked, not having any better one to brighten up the current situation. "Nah. It's just me. It's Ruto."
There was a sound of shuffling and the sound of a door being unlocked before the door was pulled open to reveal Rias…
"Hey…"
I stared… Honestly? She looked hot. I would never make a move on her, but she still looked fairly attractive in that dress. I quickly shook my head, snapping out of it.
"Did they send you to make sure I didn't try to run away…?" She asked.
I raised my hands, rapidly shaking my head. "No no no! I might be Ravel's servant, but they'd have to hold my manhood at sword point before I tried to make you marry a douche like Riser! Honest!"
"Sorry… that was supposed to be a joke." Rias explained, sighing to herself. "I suppose I was never much of a comedian."
"Well, if I may make a note here, I'd say that you should give a small smile when you're joking." And just like that, I felt stupid. "Anyway, just came to check up on you. Making sure you're doing okay."
Rias nodded. "As good as I'll ever be. I decided to send Koneko and Yuuki back to the party. I didn't want to spoil their time with my bad mood."
She looked really depressed… Well, this isn't exactly the best situation.
"Come in. Have a seat." I couldn't tell if Rias was ordering me or inviting me. Just in case of the former, I entered the room, taking a seat away from Rias.
I shifted uncomfortably. "Rias… I'm really sorry it came to this."
The crimson-haired princess shook her head. "No… No this was all my fault. This was my failure." She buried her face in her hands, shaking her head still as if trying to erase the reality of her current situation. "I've been such a selfish fool, haven't I? I put every one of my servant's lives in danger because… because I wanted something selfish. A selfish dream where I could marry for love and not my Gremory family name. Now Haru is… I don't even know if he is OK or not… There… There was so much blood… Even though he was so injured… he kept on moving… It's all my fault… He… He did all of that because of me—"
*SMACK!*
Without hesitation, I stood up and smacked a self-loathing Rias in the head. Rias cringed from the pain, rubbing her brush head, staring at me with an expression that clearly said "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Dumbass!" was how I started. "Don't be so arrogant!"
"W-What?"
I was honestly a little angry. "Haru did it because he wanted to! That dumbass was madly in love with you! That's why he did it! It was for his reasons, not yours!"
Rias was taken aback, looking as if she had been slapped again. Only now, both sides of her face turned red albeit for different reasons. "W-What?!" She looked away, seeming incredibly embarrassed.
I shrugged. "Oh come on. Surely you must've figured it out. Those longing glances he sometimes throws at you when you're not looking? The sudden burst of determination he got when your future was the line? He did that because he loved you. And I know you love him, too."
"E-EH!? W-w-what a-are you t-talking a-about?! I-I—" And just like that, Rias was a stuttering mess. "W-What gave you that idea?!"
"Rias, I'm not an idiot harem protagonist in just about every harem-genre manga." I explained. "I'm very perceptive to the feelings of others. Even if you've yet to realize it, you do love him. I heard about what happened at the end of the game… You cried for him. The tears you shed were the same ones that Ruruko shed for me once. The same tears Serafall shed at the thought of losing me. You cried because of your love for him."
Rias seemed much more uncertain now, crossing her arms under her chest and looking away. "I…"
"Listen, I'm not saying it's an easy thing to comprehend, but you gotta listen to you're heart." I explained. "Do that and you'll never be disappointed. I know you've given up considering the current situation, but wanna know what? While I'm not the cliche harem protagonist, I can certainly tell you that Haru is! Believe me! Anytime now, Haru's gonna burst through the ballroom doors with the words 'I object' and proclaim his love for you in some indirect fashion!"
I wanted to give Rias some hope… but I had to sound more confident than I was.
Rias closed her eyes and inhaled… then exhaled. She seemed so tired still, but not quite so sad. She managed the weakest of smiles. "I don't quite share your optimism… but thank you."
I gave her a thumbs up. "Don't mention it. I just believe in Haru. If that idiot is as predictable as I think he is, he'll be waking up right now, his first thought being how to get here and kick some ass. You better believe it!"
Rias actually giggled at that. "Considering his more heroic qualities, I could imagine him doing that… but then he'll end up being hurt again if he tries to fight and—"
*SMACK*
"Could you please stop doing that!" Rias glared at me, tears in her eyes as I gave her another good smack in the head.
"That one was for looking down on Haru!" I explained, crossing my arms. I stood up from my seat and turned to leave. "Don't underestimate, Haru. I've known him since we were little. If there's one thing I truly know about him since we were little (other than the fact he's a raging pervert), it's that he'll never lose to the same trick twice. Unlike me, Haru loses very often, but that's why he's so strong: Haru knows what defeat feels like and learns from each failure. He always gets back up stronger than before…" I started walking out of the door. "That's why he's the person I most admire." I shot the stunned-looking Rias a goofy grin. Then I left, followed by Akeno-san.
"Did you really mean everything you said?"
Akeno-san's question caught me unawares.
"Hm?"
"About Haru-kun coming to save Rias?"
We made our way back to the main party, Akeno-san seeming like she had something on her mind.
"Maybe." I answered honestly. Then I answered more honestly, "I dunno. Part of me wants to keep holding out hope. To keep believing that everything will be resolved in a good way, that there'd be the classic ' Happily Ever After' like in fairy tales. It's either optimism or denial. I honestly can't say which."
"Perhaps a little bit of both." Akeno-san suggested. Then she grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly. "Rias is my best friend… It feels like I let her down every time I see her in her current state." I sighed sadly, noticing the crestfallen and vulnerable expression Akeno-san showed.
"Yeah… I'm pretty sure everyone feels the same. Nothing to do but hope that a miracle happens." I paused, pursing my lips. "That's a word that always bothered me. Miracle. What is a true miracle anyway?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… what defines a miracle?" I asked almost to myself. "Is it an event that occurs against all odds? Is it some abnormality in the hand of fate? Or is it a supposed gift bestowed upon others by the gods themselves? I've always heard things like 'This was a God given miracle' or 'Thank God', but what is a miracle, I wonder…" I honestly don't know. "Ah, never mind. I'm just being pointlessly philosophical."
"Well… I believe miracles are things we achieve on our own." Akeno-san answered with a tired smile. "To face adversity yet still overcome all trials. That in itself is a miracle. From the way you talked, I can't help but think that Haru-kun was your own personal miracle. You seem to always put so much faith in him."
I considered Akeno-san's words. "In a way… I suppose you have a point. It's a long story, but I can kinda get that. It's like I said before: I have a lot of faith in Haru because he's the one I admire most. The strongest person I know. If Haru doesn't save the day here and now, then there will be no other miracle. We'd be screwed. So, nothing to do but wait until the end."
"Where have you been?!" Ravel demanded, causing me to jump due to her loud shout. She looked miffed. "I said you could go with your friend for a couple minutes, not over an hour!" Hm? It's been at long? Time sure flies when… you're doing stuff. Ravel pouted and looked off to the side. "Jerk… you're supposed to be spending more time with your King…" She was blushing.
Deciding that she was due some affection, I wrapped my arms around her and started nuzzling my face against hers. "Awwww! My adowable master wants some wuv too!"
"H-Hey! C-Cut it out!" Ravel blushed, but she didn't struggle. I also could have sworn that she gripped the sides of my shirt.
"Ara ara! Doing such a thing in front of me to make me jealous? How cruel of my adorable Kouhai." Akeno-san teased.
""Hey! We wanna hug Ruto-oniichan too!""
Ile and Nel complained, stomping their feet in a childish tantrum.
In a way, this was somewhat relieving, to be able to joke around like this again. For a brief moment, I thought that the situation could be anything but depressing… That I had a chance to be able to live in ignorant bliss if only for a moment.
Then reality had to be a bitch and smack me upside the face.
The first thing that alerted me was the sound of horns, playing a grand-sounding tune. I knew something was up because they didn't do that for just any arrival. I have not heard those horns for anyone, not even for the family of the bride and groom.
Then there was the fact that all of the other nobles began to part like the River Nile, making way for the unseen guest. Some of them bowed politely while others completely knelt on the ground. There were a few who stumbled and fell face-first onto the ground in desperation.
No… such an announcement… My heart sank… Even though I was confused, I think my heart knew the words that were about to be spoken:
"Announcing the arrival of a Maou, Serafall Leviathan-sama!"