I had Aigis rest in another room until she calmed down and sent Nyarl home for the time being, even though I felt bad about it.
“I can’t believe Lord Weiss has become the sort of man who makes women cry,” Rosalia said with a tremendously sad expression. It seemed like I’d have to clear up this misunderstanding later.
After a little while, Rosalia told me that Aigis was calling for me, so I knocked on the door of the room and called out to her.
“Lady Aigis, are you all right now?”
“Yes,” she replied, “I’ve calmed down. You can come in.”
Upon entering the room, I noticed that Aigis’s face was bright red. She must have been embarrassed after I saw her crying earlier. The traces of her tears hurt to look at.
“Um, I’m sorry, Weiss.”
“Please, you need not apologize,” I answered. “Anyone would find themselves shaken when something so unexpected happens. I’m happy that you trusted me, but I think you should be more cautious. This might seem odd coming from me, but there’s always the chance I’m trying to fool you.”
I understood she felt cornered by her situation, but it would be bad if she just went around trusting everyone as a result of that. In the game, that behavior ultimately led to her falling to the darkness.
To my surprise, she shook her head.
“You’re quite kind,” she said. “You don’t need to worry. I want to be able to pick and choose who I can trust. You truly believe you’ve found a way to cure my mother, right? Or am I wrong?”
“Well, you’re right, but…Lady Aigis, don’t tell me you…”
Something felt off about how certain she was of my intentions. Just recently, I had learned that magic you could only use during combat in-game was perfectly usable outside of combat here. If that was the case, wouldn’t it be the same for her skills as well?
“Yes, you guessed it. I have a skill called Mind’s Eye,” Aigis said with a terribly sad smile. “I am able to see how a person will move, and I can tell whether or not they’re lying based on their facial expressions. The reason I apologized to you earlier isn’t just because I caused you trouble. I was also apologizing for not believing your words. Everyone gave up so quickly, and I just didn’t think that you would actually do anything to find a cure…”
Aigis earnestly lowered her head at me. So that was why she didn’t put up a fight in the garden? She could tell that I legitimately meant her no harm.
“Ah, but, um…” she continued, “I have to activate Mind’s Eye in order for its effects to work, so it isn’t as though I always know when someone is lying to me.”
“That must be so difficult, Lady Aigis,” I said without thinking. “That skill must have caused you much suffering in the past.”
Those words came naturally when I thought about the environment she grew up in. It must have been awful knowing when people were lying to her, especially in noble society where everyone hid their true intentions. That was the kind of power that could easily cause someone to lose their faith in others. Besides that, I was sure plenty of people had approached her, looking to take advantage of the situation with her mother’s illness. The thought left me speechless.
“Huh?” Aigis’s eyes widened in surprise at my response. “You’re not…freaked out? You’re the first person to ever say something like that to me. Um. Thanks.”
Perhaps the reason she said things like “I hate you” to someone she was meeting for the first time was because she wanted to push others away—a defense mechanism to keep her from trusting outsiders. After all, if that person ended up being a liar, who could blame her for not wanting to get involved with others after being betrayed so many times?
That really would hurt. When I started imagining what I could do to help her, I knew what to say.
“Well, I was just thinking about how hard it must be to have a power like that,” I told her. “We’re both around the same age, so I would love it if we could get along.”
“Heh. You truly are quite strange.”
Aigis gave me a blindingly bright smile the likes of which I’d never seen when playing the game. For a moment, my chest burned hot. She was adorable.
In any event, I had no idea that Mind’s Eye worked like that. In the game, it raised her evasion stat, which was a pain to deal with as her opponent, but even in day-to-day life, it was an extremely powerful skill.
Considering I could use my shadow hand to carry objects and do all kinds of work, it felt safe to say that magic and skills in this world could be used in many ways outside of combat.
“U-um, if you really do want to get along with me, may I make a request of you?”
“But of course,” I replied. “If it’s something I can do, I gladly will.”
“Then…would you…b-be my friend?” she asked, her body trembling slightly. Her face was bright red, and I could tell she had to work up her courage in order to squeeze those words out.
Her request took me off guard because she never opened her heart to anyone in the game.
“Absolutely, Lady Aigis,” I answered. “If you are fine with having me as a friend, I would love to be yours.”
“Is that so? Thank you. In that case, you can just call me Aigis. Also, um, if you ever need help, just let me know. I’ll do everything I can.”
“Thanks, Aigis. I appreciate that.”
In that moment, the two of us officially became friends. We spent the time afterward chatting about ourselves, and I could immediately feel the two of us growing closer. Much to my surprise, Aigis was quite the chatterbox, which gave me the opportunity to learn who she really was.
She told me all about how her father taught her how to wield a sword and complimented her skills. How she enjoyed combat but also loved cooking as well, especially sweets. This was information that didn’t exist in the game, and the fact that she was opening up to me made me feel happier than I had words for.
We chatted for so long that I lost track of time. Eventually, one of her servants came to get her.
“All right, Weiss. I had a lot of fun today. I’ll be back again soon.”
“I’m looking forward to it, Lady Aigis.”
“Grrr!”
She suddenly started pouting at me. Did I do something wrong?
“Huh? Why are you in such a bad mood?”
“I told you, you don’t need to speak to me so politely. You can just call me Aigis…” She said through puffed-up cheeks, glaring at me.
That’s what she’s upset about?!
I glanced over at the House Bloody servant who had come to get her, and they nodded as if to say, That’s totally fine. Apparently, I could do as Lady Aigis—er, Aigis asked.
“Okay, Aigis. If I make any progress, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks. But are you certain you don’t want some soldiers? This is our problem, after all.”
“Nah! There are monsters over there, so it’d be best to go in small numbers. Me, Rosalia and Nyarl should be fine on our own. Rosalia’s crazy strong.”
But my proud declaration only had her raising an eyebrow. What was it now?
“Nyarl. He’s that foolish-looking man, right?” she asked.
“Um, yes?”
“In that case, I will accompany you as well. When you know what day you will be leaving, please let me know. Father trained me how to fight, so I won’t slow you down.”
“Wait, for real?”
With a serious look on her face, she climbed into her carriage and rode off before I could respond. What was all this about?
Wait, was she jealous that I invited my friend Nyarl along but not her?