Emma set out at a brisk pace to find Olivia, as Noir had suggested. Olivia’s bombshell figure and light blue hair were extremely unusual, so she wasn’t hard to spot.
“Ms. Oliviaaa, I’ve been looking for you.”
“Oh, it’s you… Who are you again?”
Emma almost fell over. Olivia didn’t even sound like she was joking. That made her question sting that much more.
“I’m Emma, Noir’s best friend!”
“Oh, right, right… So why are you here? If you want Noir all to yourself, you’re gonna have to go through me first.”
As much as Emma wanted to say that she’d known Noir much longer, she ignored the comment and got down to business, asking Olivia to train her. But Olivia turned her down immediately.
Emma was shocked at the snappy rejection, but she persisted—asserting that she wanted to get stronger, no matter what it took. After that, Olivia’s attitude softened.
“Why do you want to get stronger?”
“Because Noir’s grown so much, and I want to keep up. I want to beat him in the King of the School Year Competition.”
“I’m not sure that’ll earn you any points in his book.”
Emma groaned a little, but she had a plan—when she won, she would give Noir the prize. Olivia was about to argue that it would wound his pride as a man, but she found the idea amusing. On a whim, she agreed to give Emma special lessons.
“Noir’s growing by the day,” Olivia said. “And you’ll never be able to win a normal fight, honey. Ah ha ha ha ha!”
“I-Is that funny?”
Emma wasn’t really sure how to react. Olivia saw how flustered she was and grew more serious, explaining her strategy.
“You’ve gotta use that body of yours. I mean, your chest is massive, I’m sure it’ll work.”
Emma wasn’t especially keen about using sex appeal, but Olivia just called her second-rate for being so particular. So much for being willing to “do anything” to win!
Olivia explained that a fighter should never use a specific tactic unless they knew, for certain, that they could win with it. She argued that, amongst animals, insects, and even monsters, no creature had one set strategy. “The strong are victorious and the victorious are strong. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Emma took the hint. “Fine, I’ll do it. But how should I approach it, Ms. Olivia?”
“Ah ha! Now that’s the spirit!”
Olivia jumped on Emma’s change of heart and began instructing her on how to use womanly wiles in combat. She started by explaining how to make her ample chest bounce more as she moved, and the importance of wearing clothes that emphasized her cleavage. Olivia also recommended deliberately ripping her skirt so it seemed like her opponent might get a look at any moment.
Emma was decidedly unenthused about these stupid-sounding tactics.
“I’m telling you, it’s effective,” said Olivia. “You just gotta give your opponent the impression that they’re gonna get a look, but not actually let them see. People get super distracted by that sort of thing. Plus, when a young man gets…excited he’ll be desperate to hide the tent in his pants.”
Olivia chuckled heartily. Men got so embarrassed when others could tell they were turned on and would pull back to conceal it. That greatly reduced their combat ability. Olivia’s strategy was to force that situation. Emma didn’t fully understand, but Olivia was convincing.
“Emma, honey, you already use two daggers, so it’s totally perfect! You can push your boobs together while you fight!”
“Is that really going to work?”
“Totally. Your body is your weapon. Honestly, I’m a little jealous.”
“But, Ms. Olivia, you’re quite—”
“It’s not the same. This is all thanks to skills.”
Olivia stared off into the distance as she explained. Her mother, Meluna, had possessed a stunning figure, and Olivia had always believed that, someday, she would look like her. But by fourteen or fifteen, she still hadn’t developed at all. Sure, she’d grown taller, but her breasts hadn’t filled in. She’d thought it was odd and ultimately discovered that her mother had altered her body with the Big Breasts skill. When Olivia confronted her about this, Meluna replied proudly, “I have the power to change my genes and my destiny! Ah ha ha ha ha!”
Olivia had followed in her mother’s footsteps and did the same thing.
Emma was curious about the skills involved. “Does that mean your mother could use Get Creative and Editor too?”
“Exactly. She was extremely strong. People would cower in fear at the mere mention of her name.”
“Hang on, Meluna Servant…”
Emma remembered the name from world history lessons. Meluna and her sister had defeated an evil organization that was trying to take over the world. It had already taken root everywhere and it had been a hair’s breadth away from total domination when the sisters defeated it. If they hadn’t been around, the world might have turned out quite different. It was a big deal.
“I wonder if Mom’s still alive,” said Olivia. “Maybe she got tired and stopped prolonging her life. If she is still around, I’d like her to meet Noir.”
Olivia explained that Meluna had gathered far more LP than Olivia ever had. She was human, so she should by all rights have been dead by now, but with that much LP, there was no limit to how long she could extend her life.
“Is your mother as…uninhibited as you, Ms. Olivia?”
“I think Mom would consider me the more serious one.”
That settled it. Emma never wanted Noir to meet that woman.