Chapter 26: Aftermath: 7
A/N: Here's another chap to celebrate hitting over 1,000 Powerstones.
To all those who wanted Mylene in the harem… I apologize but it's starting to seem unlikely. Also, will be changing some things about Olivia's background.
…
"Noir!" The next day, summer break had officially started. Our first destination was my parent's house.
Alice greeted me first, as soon as I landed down and before I could fully even exit the ship. Livia looked nervous as she watched the ecstatic Alice hugging me. While Angie looked as cool as can be.
"I'm home. Did you miss me?" I hugged my little sister tight. 'Did she grow a little?'
"A little… Who are they." She didn't skip a beat as her gaze ran over the duo behind me.
"I'll introduce them in a second, where's mom and Felix?" I said as I ushered her down the ramp so we could actually walk to the house.
Just before she could answer I heard the sound of someone aggressively opening a door before a dark-haired woman rushed our way. Soon after, a much calmer man walked out.
Thankfully, we made it off the exit ramp before my Mother reached it.
Without a word, I caught my Mother in a warm embrace and felt the tears already soaking my shirt.
"Welcome home, Noir."
…
10 minutes later, we were in the house sitting on the couch.
"This is Olivia, she's a scholarship student at the academy. And, this is Angelica, one of the top scorers. Their both amazing friends of mine." I introduced the two.
"It's a pleasure," Angie responded simply.
"Ah, yes, it's nice to meet you." Livia seemed a lot more nervous as she bowed lightly.
"FRIENDS huh?" My mother emphasized the first word as her gaze seemed to remain on Livia a little longer. "It is a pleasure for me as well, I am Chloe, Noir's mother, thank you for looking after my son."
"I am Alice, Alice Fou Starida, a pleasure." Alice stood up and curtsied. My little sister was getting swept up in Noble customs and I don't know how I feel about it.
The last one who needed to introduce themselves was apparently caught in a stupor, only snapping out of it when my Mom stepped on his foot.
"Ah-, I am Felix. Noir's father…" So not much has changed. A damn shame.
"Noir, I must ask, how long do you plan to stay?" Mother asked as she finally stopped grinding her foot into my father's.
"Hmm, only around a day, we have plans after this," I answered, this place wasn't exactly built for guests, after all, there was only one extra bedroom.
"Only a day huh, I guess you're a busy man now." She seemed a bit saddened by that.
"Ah, excuse me…" My father spoke up as there was a bit of sweat visibly coming from his forehead. His gaze directed at Angie
"Yes?" Angie with a raised eyebrow responded.
"Would you, perhaps be, Angelica Rapha Redgrave?" He scratched the back of his head, his words throwing the room into silence.
I hadn't mentioned any family names to avoid this.
"I am." She nodded simply, though I could tell she would have rather kept that a secret.
"Please forgive my rudeness, Lady Angelica." My father doing what he does best instantly prostrated himself.
This time though my Mother didn't correct him as she was stuck in a stupor.
"Please ignore him." I sighed in annoyance.
"He's making it quite hard," Angie responded with a sigh.
My attention was taken away from the poor excuse of a man as off to the side I felt Alice tugging at my shirt.
"Noir… why didn't you tell me you were bringing over a Duke's daughter." She yelled in a whisper, a bit of panic seeping in though she was a lot more controlled than the other two.
"Slipped my mind." I shrugged before I turned toward my Mother.
"Mom, unfortunately, Felix's current state isn't one we'd like to see. I'll take them on a tour of the island." I said as I stood up along with the two.
"Noir… is that okay," Livia said as she looked at Felix, a bit concerned.
"Please don't mind him," I begged as I ushered the two along with Alice away from the scene. Allowing my Mother to do what she did best, getting the man to act right.
…
Hours passed as I showed them around the island. Small as it was we got through all of it fairly quickly.
Livia more than anyone seemed interested. While Alice was more preoccupied with asking Angie a bunch of questions.
When we returned home Mother had tea waiting on the table for us. Her skills rivaled my own when it came to tea making.
It was getting close to the time for dinner, and surprisingly Livia offered her services in making it.
While that was happening, Angie, Alice, and I were in my bedroom.
…
"I'm shocked, you're a lot more knowledgeable than your brother," Angie commented, indirectly scolding me on my lack of political knowledge.
"Thank you, Lady Angelica. With how stupid my brother is I thought I needed to step up and help him out." Alice nodded with a smug smile.
"That so, enough with the Lady business. Just call me Angelica, you are Noir's sister after all."
"Seriously, you would allow me such an honor. Thank you." Alice held a reverent gaze as she clasped her hands.
"As much as it hurts… she isn't wrong. She's partly the reason I was even able to attend the Academy as an advanced student." I nodded as I patted my sister's hair.
"Oh, please tell me more." Angelica leaned forward as she wished to hear the tale.
The tale of the vile bitch named Agatha.
…
"I see, I wondered why you referred to your father as such, I understand now." Angelica nodded with her arms crossed she didn't seem pleased.
"Agatha Fou Layman. I hate to admit it but she really isn't even the worst amongst some Noble wives… not even close."
"Speaking of, Alice, has she been around lately," I asked my younger sister.
"No. Not since the last time. Thankfully." She sounded incredibly grateful.
I knew that already. I, of course, had some of the helpers monitoring her. Even if she hadn't been bothering my family, she'd still get what she was owed. I was simply waiting for the perfect time to strike.
The helpers were incredibly useful for things like this. They were being mass-produced in large quantities, all specialized for something specific.
Most were assigned for whatever project I needed done, while a lot were sent out for spy missions. Overall, they made work a lot easier especially when it came to building stuff.
As I had figured out, Stellar hadn't actually been built from the bottom up. It was renovated from a pre-existing ship, that's why it didn't take much time to be deployed.
Valor, on the other hand, took a lot longer even when the number of helpers working on it had more than doubled.
Thankfully, we were getting to a point where any big task was being done in under a month thanks to the sheer number of helpers we produced.
…
"Pick it up try again," Angie said as she commanded the sluggish Alice.
My poor sister had on a whim asked for some training from Angie. That proved to be a mistake as Angie like a drill sergeant had employed everything she learned from her time under the Queen.
She had even asked if we had maid uniforms that Alice could wear.
Once again Alice picked up the 5 books and placed them on top of each other, before balancing them on her head.
Once careful step at a time, she tried to move as gracefully as possible, keeping the books centered on her small head.
She had managed a few steps toward the end of the room before yet again they fell onto the floor with a crash.
"Pick it up try-." Just as Angie was about to order the door was knocked on and Livia's voice carried through.
"The food is ready."
Opening the door, Livia with an apron on became visible to our eyes. It truly was an amazing sight. I had of course seen it a lot up until now, but that didn't stop the warm feeling in my heart.
"Thank God." I heard Alice mutter under her breath as she began putting the books away.
…
Alice wasn't able to escape. Table manners were also apparently part of the impromptu training.
Each movement of her arm and hands was evaluated under Angie's intense glare. Every time she scraped the plate, or used the wrong fork, she was forced to put the food down and try again.
While that was happening, the rest of us tried to ignore it and talk about other stuff, though Livia was a little distracted by it.
"Ah, there was also this time when Noir was eight, he had climbed a tree out in the back. It took us an hour before we realized he was stuck up there."
Mom got along well with Livia, thinking it was necessary to tell her of my embarrassing past. Livia was eating it up like it they were the greatest stories ever.
"When we finally got him down, he told us he was looking for Hector."
Oh god… not Hector.
"Who is Hector?" Livia questioned.
"Hector was his Monkey stuffed animal, I gave it to him when he turned two and he was all over it until he lost it. He used to love that little thing." Mom thought fondly of the past.
Yeah, no I didn't lose Hector, that annoying bitch Evelyn stole him from me. I just never told anyone. Maybe, I should get it back.
"How cute." Livia giggled into her hand as she spoke.
'What's with this girl and calling me cute?' I wondered before I turned towards Felix. I noticed the small smile on his face as he seemed to be lost in his own recollection.
…
Dinner finished a while later. Alice had been finally given a break from the Demon Goddess, and had excused herself for the night.
I had told my parents I'd take care of their sleeping arrangements and they went off for the night.
Instead of going straight upstairs, however, we went back to the ship. They needed to get their stuff for bed. We also grabbed our incomplete game of Monopoly and a stack of uno cards and took them with us. Tonight would be exhausting.
…
While Angie was taking her shower first, I and Livia were enjoying the short time alone we had.
We sat on the floor, her on my lap as we kissed. It was nice having Angie around but it did come at the cost of limited time where we could do things like this.
It was weird, we still weren't dating but stuff like this seemed so natural to do.
"I learned a lot about Noir today," Livia said when we broke away, her arms around my neck.
"Nothing bad I hope." I chuckled as I pulled her closer, bringing her back into a kiss.
She shook her head when we broke apart again. "Noir was a good kid, and clumsy." She smiled lovingly as she said that.
"Well, now I'm curious about you. What do you say about visiting your own parents before we go to the island?" I asked as I rubbed her cheek.
"Ah, no I couldn't possibly ask you to do that." She shook her head, she was still in that mindset.
I looked her straight in the eye, trying to convey my dissatisfaction.
"…I would like that, but only after the island, it's closer to the Academy so it won't be too far off course." She said looking into my face to make sure I wasn't dissatisfied.
"Good, I wonder what they are like," I said with a nod that made her sigh in relief.
"Angie won't mind… right?" She asked unsure.
"Ugh, stop thinking so much, we're your friends, she'll be fine with it," I said before pushing her down and lightly resting her on the floor.
"Right…" She responded as she lay down in thought.
"I said to stop thinking so much." I broke her out of it with a barrage of tickles. I worked my way under her shirt attacking her under arm.
I sat on top of her not letting her escape as she was forced to howl in laughter begging me to stop.
"What's happening," Angie asked as she opened the door and saw her friend on the floor giggling uncontrollably.
"Angie help me," Livia begged, but found an evil smirk forming on Angie's lips.
"This is payback for Uno." She said before she attacked her neck.
Her torture didn't end until I had decided to turn traitor and Livia and I ganged up on Angie.
Soon enough the two lay on the floor breathing heavily.
"Traitor," Angie said as she pointed at me.
To that, I just put on a smug smile satisfied at my overall victory.
"That's not fair." Livia pouted before she shared a look with Angie and their frowns turned to smiles.
Both stood up and before I knew it began approaching me. My position in the corner made it impossible to escape as they both came at me.
I was tickled in places I didn't even know I was ticklish in, as the girls laughed at my suffering.
Even when I had managed to grab Livia and use her as a meat shield Angie didn't stop as both of us were tortured.
"Payback feels good." Angie declared as she sat next to our downed forms.
I was still holding Livia even when I knew it was over, scared for another round.
"Yes, yes, you are the tickle champion, just please no more," I begged in surrender.
"Hmph." Angie crossed her arms in victory as she looked down at us.
"Angie's cute," Livia said as she had remained silent since the war ended. "Right Noir?"
I was surprised at the question, was she actually asking that? Looking at her though, I understood what she meant. I had never seen her so genuinely happy before, she usually had some hint of stress present.
"A lot cuter." I nodded.
"W-what are you two talking about." Angie blushed.
That only added to our point as we looked at each other before bursting out in laughter.
"I guess it's my turn," Livia said before she rolled off of me and onto her feet.
"Don't start playing without me." She scolded before grabbing her towel and a change of clothes before leaving the room.
Sitting up, I fixed my ruffled clothes before turning to Angie.
"Still confused?" I asked.
"Yes, what was that about?"
To her question, I just looked around my room before getting up and grabbing something from my drawer.
"Here, look." Taking the handheld mirror in her hand I spun it around so Angie could look at the reflection.
She seemed to understand immediately as her fingers traced the smile on her lips.
"See, you're not as stressed, hence why we called you cuter," I said off-handedly as I watched her watch herself.
"It's thanks to you two you know… It's because you allowed me to come with you two." She gave me back the mirror. Her face had formed the brightest smile I had ever seen her wear.
"I'm having so much fun, and it's only the first day." I was enamored by her. This girl was beautiful, a lot more than I had noticed before.
"Don't give us all the credit, you're just as responsible for making it this fun. I'm glad you agreed to come." Unconsciously, my hand went on top of her head and I stoked her hair.
I was so used to doing that to Livia I think I was building a habit.
Instead of being uncomfortable though, she smiled a little more.
In that calming atmosphere, I spoke to her. "We decided that we'd go visit Livia's family as well. Are you okay with that?"
"I am fine with that, though I do request we do so a bit quieter." Angie nodded, she herself seemed a bit interested.
"Ah right, I guess it would be bad to show up in Valor… though that shouldn't be a problem," I reassured her.
"You have a different ship to use?" She asked confused at my meaning.
"You will see," I said cryptically much to her displeasure.
…
Livia came back a bit later before she ushered me into the bathroom so we could hurry and start the game.
She ushered me so fast in fact that I forgot to get my clothes and towel, only realizing it after I was done.
Thankfully, Livia came in minutes later.
"Hehe, sorry." She said as she scratched her head before leaving.
…
We were finally able to end our Monopoly game that night and somehow I came out on top.
Like before on the airship, we ended up falling asleep all on the same bed. This time though, the bed was a lot smaller.
…
I woke up in the middle of the night with a full bladder.
It was as I was relieving myself that Angie walked in. It was probably my fault that I didn't lock the door behind myself.
It wasn't my fault though, that I woke up a bit bricked up and it hadn't changed even when I was peeing.
It took Angie a good five seconds to comprehend what was happening before she turned around quickly and with a "Sorry!", Left.
When I had left I saw her blushing face standing near the door.
"Sorry." She apologized again, this time a lot quieter.
"It's fine." I waved her off before heading back to the room.
"Noir? What happened." The yell from Angie seemed to wake Livia up as she peaked out the door.
"Nothing." I brushed it off before dragging her inside and back to the bed.
A few minutes later I heard Angie's footsteps as she returned to the room.
By the fact that she didn't immediately climb back into the bed, I could tell she was a bit contemplative. It was one thing to accidentally fall asleep in the bed, and another to willingly return to it.
Eventually, though, her exhaustion seemed to win out as I felt the space behind me being filled.
…
The next morning I woke up in paradise, sandwiched from both sides by two sets of heavenly mounds.
…
A/N: POWERSTONESSASSS
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone