Chapter 357: Moonlight (02)

--This Chapter is written in Maya’s POV—

After a relaxing bath together, I asked Catherine whether we could spend the night in my room.

The Divine Event had many rules about interactions between Gods and their Champions, and Catherine seemed rightfully hesitant at first.

But she never denied the possibility, and after I insisted a little, she told me all the rules she knew.

I couldn’t find any rules we’d be breaking just by bonding, so I pestered Catherine until her will started to crumble. For my final blow, I told her it was a prerequisite for my forgiveness, and she relented.

Maya: "Even though I got these for myself, they look so much better on you..."

It’d be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I was a bit too embarrassed to spend the night talking with a naked Goddess.

I ended up going a bit overboard exploring the Celestial Palace’s closet and its magical ability to create any clothes I wanted.

She and I had similar builds, so the clothes I got for myself fit her perfectly. Her looks were nothing like mine, though, and my clothes felt completely different on her.

Catherine: "I’m not a dress-up doll... But if that’s what you wish of me, I suppose it may not be a terrible exchange."

Even though she never agreed to milk and cookies, she was surprisingly willing to play along with everything else.

Maya: "E-Eh? Y-You’re not? I was so sure though..."

Catherine was stiff, and she’d often stop breathing. Her flawless, pale skin resembled porcelain, and she frequently stared blankly into nothing. How could she blame me for mistaking her for a cute doll?

Half of the time, with how frigid her skin was, I couldn’t even tell whether she was alive. I kinda expected her to stop working out of the blue if I took my eyes off for a second.

Catherine: "Though I appreciate the compliment, I’m not foolish enough to believe that man’s sister would ask me to stay the night without any ulterior motives..."

She spoke in a peculiar rhythm, calm and deliberate, as if reading words from a sheet of paper.

Her readiness to deflect and gloss over my praise made me think she might be a bit shy underneath, but her lack of expression made it impossible to tell for sure.

Catherine: "...What is it that you desire to know? I swear to answer you honestly."

Taking it as a challenge, I spent a couple of seconds staring at her, trying to see if I could read anything from her expression.

Her cheeks seemed slightly puffed. Perhaps she was pleased.

But more likely, it was just wishful thinking on my part...

Maya: "Hm... You’re right. I wanna know everything."

Catherine leaned against the edge of my bed, wrinkling the sheets as she sat across from me on the floor.

Catherine: "Don’t be unreasonable. My everything would be a story longer than that of your world."

She had a point.

I wanted to learn more about her, but the next phase of the Divine Event was set to start the next day.

We didn’t have enough time to talk, and under this constraint, I probably wouldn’t be able to express my feelings about her tonight. We’d hardly sort anything out in just a few hours...

Or so the weak part of me whispered; the part of me that wanted to shoo her away without listening to a word, falling to what was easier.

It was harder than usual to shut that side away, but I had already thought of a way to speed up making friends with the red-haired Goddess, and I was determined to be strong enough to win against my shadows.

Maya: "Can you ask my brother for a few things?"

Since he had put me through this trial so one-sidedly, he owed me at least one favor.

Knowing him, he probably already anticipated I’d need his help, though...

Catherine: "...I’ll return in a few minutes."

That was great news since I needed to prepare a few things.

Normally, it’d be impossible in such a time crunch, but with the Celestial Palace’s magic on my side, I worked swiftly to set my plan in motion.

I had almost everything finished before my doorbell rang.

I found Catherine waiting in the Palace’s hallway beside two guests with familiar silhouettes.

They were Mia and Elizabeth, Miwen’s wolf and demon friends.

Maya: "Sorry for the late invite, and thank you for coming!"

Despite how late it already was, the two girls greeted me politely.

They also seemed fresh out of the bath, the smell of shampoo filling the air.

My room was the same as Miwen’s and every other in the Celestial Palace, so there wasn’t much point in showing them in.

Still, I made sure their eyes were closed until they entered the bedroom and saw the surprise I had prepared.

Elizabeth: "...You expect us to wear these?"

The demon held a wooly, baby-blue shirt with long sleeves and a pattern of cute bear faces drawn across its surface.

It contrasted starkly with the black military uniform she wore, yet I felt it matched her blue eyes surprisingly well.

Maya: "Fufu. Not just these."

A selection of pajamas lay across the bed.

Every single one was different, and each one was cuter than the last.

Maya: "You’re gonna help me out, right, Catherine?"

All three women seemed hesitant.

Eventually, Mia sighed and, with a shrug, she entered the bathroom to change.

Though the denim shorts and white tee were gone, she still chose something familiar in a pale, loose pink shirt and dolphin shorts.

Neither flashy nor overly plain, they felt perfectly suitable for a pajama party.

I wanted to see her wear something even cuter, but I still clapped.

Elizabeth: "I suppose the blood is thick..."

Unwilling to try any of the options I prepared, but still not wishing to be the odd one out, Elizabeth used the closet to create something more suited to her taste.

After a few minutes, she came out of the bathroom covered head to toe in old-fashioned black pajamas.

They looked neither comfy nor cute, so they were instantly rejected.

Catherine even giggled to herself before covering her mouth with both hands and falling to her knees, begging for forgiveness.

Elizabeth: "...What is wrong? Are these not appropriate?"

They were perfectly fine as pajamas, and with how pretty she was, anything would work, but they looked like a granny’s.

For a cool demon, it was such a waste!

Maya: "That won’t do... Leave it to us."

Judging by the clothes she wore when she entered the bathroom, Catherine probably knew a bit about Earth’s modern fashion. She had also reacted strongly to Elizabeth, so I trusted her with helping the demon change into something even more ’appropriate’.

As for Mia...

She had such a sharp, serious expression.

I really, really, really wanted to see her wearing a cute animal head pattern.

I had to.

Mia: "I guess you saved me back there, so... Just this once."

Her face was burning red, and she could barely meet my eyes as she cuddled up in her bear pajamas.

Mia: "Also, you can’t tell this to your brother. And no pictures, either. He is... Annoying... With stuff like this..."

I could hardly blame him.

I was desperately holding back from hugging her.

Elizabeth: "I suppose every gathering demands proper attire... Am I approved now?"

Unlike Mia, Elizabeth wore her silly pajamas with pride.

I could tell from the dark crimson colors and the thick hoodie that she still had a strong say in it, but the cute bats and the big moon drawn in the center were definitely Catherine’s suggestion.

Dark and gothic stuff weren’t really my style, but for this part, they were a perfect fit.

Maya: "Alright! We can finally start!"

While Catherine was out asking for the others, I tricked the closet into making a "piece of clothing" that was actually just a big, fluffy die with different phrases written on each of its faces.

It was the perfect cheat to make friends and a fun icebreaker for a pajama party.

Maya: "Here you go!"

I took the cube from under my bed and tossed it to Catherine.

She reacted by not reacting at all. The die bounced off her face and landed gently on her lap.

The Goddess stared down at it, then back at me.

Maya: "You throw it in the air, or roll it forward, and... You have to say something related to the phrase it lands on..."

A brief, awkward silence settled in the room as the others seemingly realized it was a much simpler game than they imagined.

Catherine: "...What bad luck."

Just as instructed, Catherine rolled the die.

Though she called it bad luck, I was glad she landed on "Your first memory," since I knew almost nothing about her, and there was no better place to start than the very beginning.

Maya: "You can skip if you don’t want to answer, but... We’ll have to punish you~"

Her eyes widened abruptly, and she even brought an arm close to her chest.

Maya: "I mean a playful dare, like eating mustard or something..."

I actually thought about garlic first, but I was afraid that could scare a vampire even more.

Catherine: "I see..."

She pulled the die back to her lap, and for a second, she seemed to consider whether it’d be better to reroll it.

Catherine: "...I’ve told Queen Elizabeth about my origins just this morning. I wouldn’t wish to bother her by repeating the same story."

Her eyes fixed on Elizabeth, waiting to see whether she’d approve.

The demon kept quiet, directing her gaze at me, as if to say it was the host’s responsibility to decide.

Maya: "Well, I haven’t heard it... Besides, you can always sprinkle in more details?"

Seeing Elizabeth nod, Catherine clenched the die.

Catherine: "My first memory... I don’t remember how I was born, and my first memory was brief. I was in a dark room, and a second later, I felt the cold steel of a sharp blade decapitating me."

With how calmly Catherine spoke, and how little Elizabeth reacted, I was glad to see Mia had the same expression as I had.

Maya: "...Why? Did you do something?"

The vampire Goddess shook her head, her shoulders drooping.

It was strange to see her emotions surface, and it drew my eyes.

Catherine: "I wondered about that for the first few years, but no. I was a monster. That was all the reason they needed to hunt me."

I couldn’t blame those who attacked her; vampires and a few other exceptions were intelligent, but most monsters couldn’t be reasoned with.

I also couldn’t blame her for being born this way, and accepting that this was just the way things were didn’t sit right with me, either.

It pained me, but even though I could never agree with it, I had no solution.

Elizabeth: "You must’ve been shocked to wake up to that scene."

She took the words right out of my mouth.

Though I’d probably have chosen a stronger word than "shocking".

Catherine: "Quite. Even though I didn’t know who or what I was, I knew I could survive such a wound, and yet... My head lay on the floor during the entire battle. I simply couldn’t process what transpired."

She wasn’t emotional or anything.

Yet, I felt for her.

Even though it was the fruit of something so horrible, I decided to look on the bright side.

That I could feel sympathy for Catherine was a good sign.

Catherine: "Well, I’ve reattached my head soon after the battle ended, as Caroline started complaining to me..."

Her fingers ran circles on the die’s face.

It seemed involuntary.

Considering how deliberate she’d been, I had to probe.

Maya: "...Who’s Caroline?"

Catherine didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, her gaze briefly fell onto the floor.

Catherine: "I had three sisters. Christine and Carmine were my middle sisters, while Caroline was our eldest..."

Her knees buckled as she curled up slightly.

She even brought the die closer to her chest, almost hugging it.

Catherine: "As monsters inside the Boss Room, we didn’t know who was born first, of course. We decided our hierarchy based on who awakened first, which coincided with our strength..."

That would mean she was the youngest, and the weakest...

It was a bit scary to think there were three other vampires as strong as her roaming around, but that also begged the question of where they were right now.

Catherine: "I suppose Caroline was... Someone I admired. She took good care of me, and... She was reliable. Though a bit too enthusiastic and short-sighted..."

Her words trailed off, almost as if she didn’t intend to speak them.

She’d already done enough, but I decided not to interrupt her when she was finally opening up.

Elizabeth: "Interesting. You admitted your feelings toward her easier than you did for me."

The demon girl wore a slightly cheeky smile, but it was so small, it became charming.

Catherine only mumbled a response to herself before tossing the die to Mia, and our game continued with each of us sharing a little about ourselves.

Mia told us about one of her strongest desires, while Elizabeth had to tell us about one of her happiest memories.

Both girls struggled a little in different ways. Mia was not willing to admit how much she wanted to set my brother straight, while Liz had too many different memories to choose from.

In the end, Liz cited one memory from her old life, when she defeated a powerful opponent in one of her father’s trials, and one from her current life, when she confronted Miwen about her role in his kingdom.

Maya: "Here goes nothing!"

I rolled the die, and fate smiled upon me.

Maya: "My strongest memory..."

There were plenty of things I would never forget thanks to my good memory.

However, there was one thing I would remember with heart and soul rather than mind.

Maya: "I had watched a broadcast saying a Dungeon Rampage happened. When I looked it up, it was the one Mom and Dad were raiding..."

I still remember how I felt in that exact moment.

The TV controller fell from my hand, but my knees reached the ground first.

It was like the world had stopped, and the only thing that broke through the agonizing buzz in my mind was Miwen’s voice.

Maya: "There was a handgun in one of the drawers. Miwen was only six, so I had to protect him, but..."

I was too late.

Mia: "Miwen took it first?"

It surprised me to see how well she knew him, and I silently nodded.

Maya: "We could’ve escaped to one of the bunkers, but Miwen said our parents were definitely coming home, and he stood guard in front of the door."

The Rampage lasted for five hours until a certain Witch of Narrations showed up and cleared the streets of any monsters roaming around.

When she found Miwen and me sitting in front of the door, Piper raided the Dungeon herself and dragged our parents and their party out.

Maya: "...You and I have a lot in common, I guess."

Catherine tilted her head slightly to the side.

Maya: "I don’t remember how I was born either. I don’t think anyone does..."

She seemed ready to interrupt, but I continued before she could.

Maya: "But I do remember what it’s like to live in fear of being killed for no particular reason."

I tossed the die back to Catherine.

Maya: "It’ll be hard for me to ever accept you. But as someone with the same fear, you should already know the answer, right?"

After a long second, she answered me.

Catherine: "...I shall do my best to earn your forgiveness."

It was far from the ideal answer, but we were in sync.

I was also planning on doing my best to forgive her.