Chapter 51: Chapter 51: An Indecent Proposal from the Villainess.
Noah stepped back twice as Yume’s energy sphere passed in front of him and struck the ground.
The explosion sent dirt flying and left a new hole in the training area.
Yume lowered her hands.
"I was close."
Luna looked at the crater.
"I don’t think so."
"It passed right by the target."
"It passed right by Noah."
Yume pointed at the training dummy, which remained intact.
"But it was going in the right direction!"
Noah dusted off his clothes.
"The right direction was toward the dummy, not toward me."
Yume clasped her hands in front of her chest.
"I’m sorry."
Noah sighed.
"It’s fine. At least you didn’t destroy anything important this time."
Luna looked toward a bench that had been split in half.
"That bench might disagree."
Yume turned her head.
"When did that happen!?"
"During your first attempt."
"I thought it was already broken."
"I can assure you it wasn’t."
Noah raised a hand before they could start arguing.
"Let’s keep training, okay?"
Yume nodded immediately.
"I’ll get it right this time!"
Luna moved off to one side.
"I’m going to stand farther away from Noah."
"Why?"
"So I don’t get hit when you miss again."
"I’m not going to miss!"
"That’s what you said before."
Yume puffed out her cheeks.
Noah watched them as they prepared once again.
Over the past few days, training with both of them had become part of his routine. Luna was in charge of controlling the terrain, Yume tried to reduce the power of her attacks, and he gave instructions from a distance he considered safe... but the distance was never enough.
Even so, they had both improved.
Yume no longer destroyed everything around her with every attack. Now, she only destroyed a few things.
Luna, for her part, had developed new ways to use her barriers. She could create several at the same time, change their positions, and adapt them to different attacks.
Noah looked at Luna.
She kept a black sphere suspended above one hand as she analyzed Yume’s movements.
’She really is incredible.’
The clover app had not shown him any new abilities since the previous day, and that gave him some peace of mind.
Yume raised both hands.
"Now!"
A pink sphere shot forward, and this time it traveled directly toward the dummy.
Noah’s eyes widened.
"Good!"
The sphere was about to hit when it disappeared.
Yume blinked.
"Huh?"
Luna frowned.
The energy had not vanished. It had been diverted.
Noah sensed a presence behind him, and before he could turn around, an arm wrapped around his waist.
"Found you."
The feminine voice sounded beside his ear, and he tried to pull away, but the space around him turned dark.
Yume shouted.
"Noah!"
Luna extended a hand, and a barrier appeared in front of them, but it was too late.
Noah and the stranger disappeared.
For an instant, there was no light, no sound, and no ground. Then, Noah felt his feet touch a solid surface again.
He lost his balance and fell to his knees.
’That was awful!’
He raised his head and saw that he was inside a small room.
The walls were gray. There were no windows, doors, or objects of any kind, except for a table and two chairs placed in the center.
Noah quickly stood up.
"Where am I?"
The girl who had grabbed him appeared several feet away, and Noah could finally see her clearly.
She had long, wavy, dark blue hair. Two small, pointed black horns protruded from the top of her head, and a circular black halo floated above them.
She wore an elegant dress in a style somewhere between Victorian and Gothic, in shades of bluish gray, fitted at the top and decorated with black details. The skirt had several layers and left part of her legs exposed.
The girl walked toward the table.
"There’s no need to worry."
Noah looked at the walls.
"I don’t see any doors."
"That’s the point."
The girl took a seat and crossed her legs.
Noah examined her more closely.
The dark blue hair, the horns, the black halo, and the clothes.
’I know this girl.’
He had seen her in the anime. She had appeared at the beginning of one of the arcs and had quickly been defeated by Yume and Luna. Their fight had not lasted more than half an episode.
Noah remembered her appearance, the way she spoke, and the arrogant manner in which she treated her enemies, but the only thing he could not remember was her name.
The girl rested her elbow on the table.
"You should feel honored, since I don’t normally introduce myself to inferior people."
’Yes, it’s definitely her.’
Noah remained beside one of the walls.
"Who are you?"
The girl smiled.
"My name is Nozomi Kurayami."
Noah’s eyes widened slightly.
’Nozomi. So that was her name.’
Nozomi raised her chin.
"You may memorize it, since it will be important to you."
Noah looked around the room again.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Nozomi extended a hand, and a shadow appeared over the table before taking the form of a folder.
"The Great Mother’s organization has set its sights on you."
Noah stopped looking around the room.
’The Great Mother’s organization!?’
He remembered that part of the story perfectly.
The Great Mother was the entity who controlled the villainesses from the shadows. Her goal was to destroy the humans who possessed no magic and rule over those who survived.
In the anime, her organization had carried out attacks, kidnappings, and experiments involving corrupted energy. Reina, Misaki, and Ayane had worked for her, although not all of them knew her true plans.
Noah tried to remain calm.
"Why would they be interested in someone like me?"
Nozomi shrugged.
"It isn’t my place to know."
"Then you don’t know anything."
Nozomi’s smile disappeared.
"Watch how you speak to me."
"I-It wasn’t an insult. I’m just trying to understand why you kidnapped me."
"My group was ordered to capture you and bring you before the Great Mother."
Noah felt a pressure in his chest.
It made no sense, since he had not even existed in the original story.
The organization had never searched for a specific civilian, except when it needed hostages or people with some special ability.
’Did they find out I have powers?’
Nozomi watched him in silence.
Noah could not allow them to take him before the Great Mother.
He did not know where the base was, how many villainesses were inside it, or what kind of defenses it possessed.
"When are you planning to take me?"
Nozomi looked at the folder.
"That depends on you."
Her tone changed, and her arrogance disappeared almost completely.
Noah frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Nozomi opened the folder and removed several sheets of paper.
"There is another option."
Noah did not move.
"What is it?"
Nozomi pointed at the empty chair across from her.
"Sit down."
"I’d rather stand."
Nozomi kept her gaze fixed on him.
"Sit down."
Noah considered refusing, but he did not know whether she could attack him or teleport him directly to the Great Mother’s base, so he walked over to the table and took a seat.
Nozomi placed the document in front of him.
"You only need to answer a few questions and sign at the end."
Noah looked at the first page.
There were full names, dates, addresses, and spaces for signatures.
He read the heading and froze.
"This is... a marriage certificate!"
"Correct."
Noah checked the other pages, and all of Nozomi’s information had already been filled in.
Name, age, address, marital status, and there was even a section about shared assets and marital residence.
Noah slowly raised his gaze.
"What is this?"
"You just answered your own question."
"You want to marry me!?"
Nozomi nodded.
"Of course I do."
Noah did not know what to say.
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