"Of course I mean it. I see the way he looks at you now. He's clearly smitten by you!" She added fuel to the flames.
"For real?!" Ciara's voice rose higher.
"Of course!"
The exchange, at best, felt strange to me, but I decided not to speak.
"B-but... he's been avoiding me lately. I couldn't even find him during the wedding..."
"That's just a sign that he likes you so much!"
"R-really?!"
"Of course! Trust me!"
"Whoah! You must be right! You won the Magic Ross, after all. Guess that wasn't just pure luck." Ciara beamed, now appearing more excited and enamoured by Aloe's words.
'Well, that's a valid point. Aloe does seem like the most mature and knowledgeable in these things...'
'Maybe I could ask her about... nah, it's not worth it.'
I smiled briefly and shrugged.
"You know, I was a little jealous you won the Magic Toss, Aloe. I thought you were just a conniving bitc—I mean, lady. But now, I can see you're really sincere and nice."
Was it just me, or did Ciara almost say something else right there?
"Why, thank you." Aloe smiled warmly, but I already noticed how she twitched her brow within the hundredth of a second as soon as Ciara said the 'B' word.
Fortunately, it seemed no one was willing to pursue matters any further.
'Thank goodness.'
"You guys... thank you all for your support. It really means a lot to me." Ciara's smile made it all worth it in the end.
We all nodded at her words.
"I really didn't think much of you guys at first, but... it seems... maybe you all aren't Sinbad, after all."
'Hold on, we've been comrades for this long, and she didn't think much of us until now?'
I already figured Ciara wasn't a card I could control, but she always seemed to go along with everything, so I didn't really have an issue with her.
But to think she viewed us so loosely as comrades. It really was heartbreaking.
'And the fact that it's our confirmation of her and Jerry liking each other that makes her see us in a more positive light makes it even worse.'
I huffed slightly, deciding to let the matter die off in my mind.
Some things were just better left unsaid.
"We really should return to the important part of—"
"One last thing!" Ciara's voice interrupted Kuzon, who maintained a calm demeanor, but I could tell he was upset.
"After seeing all that has happened here... I've made my decision!"
We all listened to her speak, though it wasn't like any of us had a choice not to.
"I'll confront Jerry on everything the moment we return! No more hiding or running!"
I wanted to mention how we would probably have to face Legris and whatever plans he had before we could think of romance and the likes, but it was probably better not to kick that hornet's nest.
I could even see Aloe giving me the warning stare, so I backed off.
'Besides, it seems Kuzon's motivation to quickly is also romance-related. I don't want to burst any bubbles.'
"You should do that, Ciara. You deserve to be happy with Jerry... just as we're going to make these two happy with each other." I flashed my completely real smile, giving my best energy in support to their union.
"Jared, you... thanks so much." Her eyes sparkled at me.
Just like that, I was able to score some favorability with Ciara!
'Now that I know what matters her, I should be able to use it to my advantage...'
"I agree with Jared. With all that's happening, it's better to settle things with him as soon as you return—once and for all."
Aloe's warm-hearted words felt more natural, and it seemed Ciara bought more into her words as displayed the brighter twinkles in her eyes.
'Damnit!' I controlled my competitive spirit and decided to settle for what I had.
"Well... I suppose it wouldn't be bad seeing you two together." Surprisingly, Kuzon even rendered some good words.
With an atmosphere so full of life and support for Ciara, the scene that had been overflowing with tension and tragedy a moment ago suddenly became so lighthearted.
"Thank you all... >Sniff< for your support... >Sniff<"
With all our hopeful smiles and cheering demeanors toward Ciara, I could definitely see something positive okay out for both her and Jerry.
Heck, even Neron seemed to be touched by how much love was spreading across the room.
'Oh... he's actually just unconscious. My bad.'
In the end, we decided to end our very odd adventure in this strange world by completing the final piece of the puzzle.
"I know Jerry's mind like nothing else. Even though I've never read it... though I've had the temptation to do it so many times. I should be able to restore this one's mind." Ciara grinned, flexing her nonexistent muscles with newfound energy.
I had to admit, seeing her so pumped up and happy kind of warmed my heart.
"Glad to hear it. I'll revive Ciara with my ability as well. There shouldn't be any complications on my end as well."
We both nodded at each other, having an implicit understanding of our roles in the completion of the entire narrative.
'By reuniting this world's Ciara and Jerry, it'll give her more confidence that things will work out for her and our Jerry. How quaint.' I mused.
"Focus, Jared." Kuzon's words echoed in my ears, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"What are you talking about, Kuzon?" I smiled, finally removing my thoughts from any distracting thoughts and concentrating on my target corpse.
"I'm always focused."
With the bright gleam of my Original Magic, and the glowing particles that began manifesting around the dead body of Ciara's doppelganger, I uttered the Magic Words.
"[The Hanged Man]."
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[A/N]
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