Chapter 764: The Council’s Disapproval
This wasn’t the first time Arthur had mentioned his Cosmic Superiority issue, and it wasn’t the first time he said he’d been told something about it, while not mentioning who told him.
Which was natural, as only the Devildom’s Royal Family knew Lucifer’s current existential status. And it was going to stay that way unless Lucifer himself decided otherwise.
Something Arthur guessed was bound to happen wherever he was going to scam—correction, collect that so-called ’debt of life’.
But anyway, circling back to the question Arthur had tossed at Nicole, the young woman quietly mulled it over while Arthur and Layla discussed the World Engine.
After a few moments, she finally replied, "Okay, I’ll follow you."
Her voice was soft as always, but her words made Layla blink in disbelief.
"Wait, what? You’re just gonna follow him just like that?! Nicole, this is another universe we’re talking about here!"
"Yeah. But I’m eventually going to leave Hell at some point, so why not now?"
The sheer casualness of Nicole’s response left Layla speechless for a second. Then she sighed, took a deep breath, and grabbed both of Nicole’s hands before speaking gently.
"Sweetheart, while I understand that you guys are in a..." She glanced at Arthur, then back at Nicole. "...situationship..."
Arthur chuckled at that, but Layla ignored him and kept going. "Please don’t end up as whimsical as this idiot over here."
That made Arthur burst out laughing. "Harsh much? Also, what the hell do you mean, ’situationship’?"
Layla turned her gaze toward him, one brow raised as she responded.
"Excuse me, am I wrong? That’s the perfect word to describe whatever it is you two have right now."
"No, it’s not," Arthur protested.
"Yes, it is," Layla shot back instantly.
"I mean, as far as I know, for the longest time, you didn’t give a damn about romance or any of that stuff. At least that’s the image you always put out.
Who knows what was actually going on in your head..."
Layla’s voice lowered at that last part, though everyone still heard it loud and clear. After a moment’s pause, she continued, "And then out of nowhere, suddenly you’re after my best friend? Sorry, but the council is very suspicious of your intentions, and we do not approve."
As Layla said that, she pulled Nicole closer, as though trying to shield her from Arthur, who just laughed and asked, "Alright then, what do I have to do for the council to approve me?"
Layla blinked at the question, then tilted her head. "Well, for starters... when?"
There was no context in her question, but all of them understood what she was asking about.
Arthur went silent after her question. For a few seconds, he tried to search his memories, but he eventually gave up with a sigh.
"To be honest... I don’t actually know when. At some point, I just... realized."
Layla frowned at this response of his. "Yeah, no. That’s not going to fly. When?"
Chuckling lightly at her sharp reply, Arthur said,
"I’m serious. I really don’t know when. I think... since I’ve always known how she felt, maybe she just had my attention more than anyone else. So maybe that’s where it started."
Shrugging, he continued.
"As for the actual trigger? No clue. Somewhere in the stretch of years between that time I got soul poisoned and when the Realm Expedition got postponed... I guess I came to terms with the fact that something had changed, and I decided to embrace it."
Despite how much thought he’d put into his reply, Layla still eyed him skeptically.
"The council is still very suspicious of your intentions."
"Come on. I have very pure intentions," Arthur replied with a grin.
Layla still wasn’t buying it though. Folding her arms, she narrowed her eyes at him and spoke.
"Arthur, place your hand on your chest and say that again."
At that, Arthur fell silent, then glanced away and muttered under his breath, "...Well, you know, I am a young man with natural desires."
"Bold of you to admit you’re lusting after someone," Layla shot back, "right in front of her."
"You’re making it sound way more explicit than it is," Arthur said, shaking his head. "All I said was that it’s natural, no? Besides, it’s not really a problem since that side is tamed. It’s something you tame, not suppress, after all."
Layla squinted at him, her gaze still filled with blatant suspicion. After a few moments, she huffed and declared,
"The council still doesn’t approve."
That made Arthur burst out laughing again, shaking his head as he said, "Sounds like this council would never approve of me."
"Well," Layla began, "technically, the council would approve you. Because the head of the council is... well..."
She trailed off, her gaze moving from Arthur to Nicole, who had been silently playing with Arthur’s hair this entire time, a completely unreadable expression on her face.
Arthur traced Layla’s gaze, blinking in confusion as he asked.
"Wait... the head of the council is her? Isn’t that like, against the rules? I thought these councils were made up of friends excluding the person involved?"
"They usually are," Layla replied. "But this council happens to consider the opinion of the person in question as... decisive."
"Ah. I see."
After Arthur’s words, the conversation fell into a quiet lull.
Nicole finally looked up at the both of them, her expression revealing no hint of what she was actually thinking as she asked them in her usual quiet voice.
"Are you two done?"
Arthur immediately raised a hand. "Yeah, I’m done."
Layla shook her head, crossing her arms. "I’m not. But I’ll defer this to later. The council is adjourned until further notice."
It was almost comical how, despite being the main subject of the entire conversation, Nicole had remained completely silent the whole time, just casually playing with Arthur’s hair, weaving small bits of it together.
As she twisted another lock, she moved her gaze to meet his eyes and asked, "Did you stop the hair as well?"
"Yeah. I mean, if I could stop my entire body, why would I leave the hair? Saves me the trouble of getting haircuts every now and then."
Arthur’s response made Nicole tilt her head slightly, her voice a bit lower as she murmured a reply.
"That’s... quite sad."
It was obvious she wanted to play with Arthur’s hair, but there simply wasn’t enough of it for her liking.
Noticing this silent desire, Arthur let out a weary sigh and spoke.
"Well, I would let it grow if I had the energy to command time to move. But right now, I don’t.
Celestia just sucked the little energy I had recovered."
That statement of his reminded Layla of a question she had been meaning to ask for a while.
"Exactly why is your sword doing this again?"
"Hmm? Ah, right. I haven’t told you guys yet. I’ve become a Low-Tier."
He dropped the bombshell as casually as if he were talking about the weather, and hearing him, Layla pressed her fingers to her temple with a sigh.
"This guy says the most insane shit with the most causal tones."
Nicole glanced at the muttering woman and said, "Layla, you’re thinking out loud."
"Yeah. That was kind of the point."
Layla responded with another sigh, and Arthur chuckled at her reaction before continuing.
"No, seriously. I ascended this morning. And with my ascension, Celestia’s ascending too, feeding off all my energy and even using my body as a conduit to absorb the ambient cosmic energy."
He gestured vaguely around them and added, "You might not see it, but the cosmic energy around here is going wild right now."
That wasn’t an exaggeration. The swirl of cosmic energy around Arthur was so thick that it had prompted Belphegor and Diablo, who were in the main Royal Palace, to check the area and make sure everything was okay. That’s how intense it was.
But just like a plant that shrunk when touched, and as though Arthur’s words were that touch, the swirling cosmic energy began to settle. Gradually, Celestia stopped guzzling his reserves, and Arthur’s energy began to recover at a normal pace again.
Within seconds, his magic power reached the threshold required for basic Authority Activation, and he immediately used it to lift the semi-permanent command he had placed on his body with his Anti-Divine Gravity Authority.
His weight immediately returned to normal, and Arthur raised a triumphant fist before letting his body slump sideways, landing comfortably in Nicole’s lap.
The sight, however, made Layla roll her eyes as she muttered.
"And now they’re casually flirting in front of me."
"I haven’t even done anything yet," Arthur said innocently.
"Yet, Arthur. Yet."
Layla replied deadpan, and Arthur simply chuckled at her reaction.
He rested on Nicole’s lap for only about a minute before suddenly sitting up and rising from the bench.
As he stood, he turned to her and asked, "Your father’s still around, right?"
Nicole nodded silently.
"Good," Arthur said. "Time to go convince him to let me take his daughter out of the universe."
With that, he headed toward the castle, where the nobles, having just finished their beginning-of-year budget meeting for the day, were now chatting and networking.
As soon as Arthur was out of sight, and more importantly, out of earshot, Nicole, still watching the direction he’d gone, spoke in her usual soft voice.
"Layla."
Layla raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
Nicole didn’t look at her as she continued. "Something’s bothering you. What is it?"
"..."
Layla went quiet.
Even though Nicole’s tone hadn’t changed and her expression was unreadable, Layla knew without a doubt that Nicole was in serious mode. As her best friend, she could tell the difference.
Then again, being best friends worked both ways.
Nicole could read Layla just as clearly as Layla could read her. Which was exactly why she knew there was something weighing heavily on Layla’s mind.
After a few moments of silence, Layla spoke up.
"Hey, Nicole... do you... really want to... get with Arthur?"
Nicole finally turned her eyes to Layla, stayed silent for a moment, and then responded.
"This is supposed to be the part where I ask if you’ve somehow forgotten that I’ve liked him for years," she said calmly. "But you haven’t. So I’m going to guess there’s something else about this that’s bothering you."
She paused, then added, just as calmly.
"But yes. I do."
Her eyes remained on Layla as she asked the crucial question, "You clearly have some misgivings about that. Why?"
To Nicole’s question, Layla pursed her lips, hesitating.
"There are a lot of ways I could say this," she finally muttered. "But I guess I can boil it down to just two words."
She turned to Nicole and met her eyes.
"I’m worried."
Then she paused.
"Maybe... another two. For you."
Nicole tilted her head slightly, considering the words, before echoing them.
"You’re worried for me, you say?"
"Yes," Layla replied. "I’m worried about you. Your physical well-being, your emotional state... basically, your safety in every possible way. I’m worried that sticking with Arthur would put you at risk."
