A solemn atmosphere hung in the air of the pure-white space. Surrounding it was a sort of fog, creating a tangible divide that cut it off from the rest of the world.
In the center of this area, there was a large round table covered in white cloth with four women and three men in chairs around it.
Isolated from the laws of the world, this was a special place where the seven inhabitants were all ardent Lilybell adorers—each known to humanity as a Champion of Destiny, a title that was famous even to this day.
They sat clockwise in the order in which they had met Lilybell. First was Great Witch Alys, followed by Great Saint Clarissa, Matthew the chef and S-rank adventurer, Conrad the merchant and alchemist, Roselia the princess of a large nation, Hinako the otherworlder, and Efren the hero.
The Champions of Destiny peered into the large crystal that floated in the center of the table, surrounded by rippling water. It displayed scenes of Lucille, who had just regained her memories of her past life and was about to begin experimenting with her newfound freedom.
The raven-haired Hinako exclaimed, “Ahhhhhh! Lulu is so precious! Every time I see her, I just wanna squeal! Since Lilybell was such a smol and adorable cat, it’s only natural that her human form would be the cutest thing ever!”
Her loud and cheerful voice pierced the surrounding calm, and her long black hair lashed about as she shook her head in excitement.
Sitting prim and proper, Clarissa gave the girl an icy look from her seat diagonally across from Hinako as she lifted her teacup with perfect poise.
“Lady Hinako, please calm down. I know it is inevitable for one to lose their composure upon seeing my sweet little girl, but please, mind your manners. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for Lilybell to live with you,” Clarissa said with a dramatic sigh.
Hinako pouted. “I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that, Saint Clarissa! What do you mean, ‘my sweet little girl’?”
“Why, I meant exactly that, oho ho ho!”
Conrad stuck his hands out between the two women in an attempt to broker some peace.
“Now, now, let’s all get along, okay?” he said. “We all love Lilybell and her reincarnation from the bottom of our hearts, which means we’re on the same side...right?”
He was desperate to placate them because he couldn’t stand tense atmospheres, preferring the serenity of harmony. It was for this same reason that he was trying so hard to keep his true feelings from surfacing, lest he accidentally blurt out, “I’m Lucille’s favorite.”
“Yeah, Lucille considers each of us family, doesn’t she?” Matthew chimed in. “If we’re all her family, then that makes us family with each other too! Ha ha ha ha!” He crossed his arms and laughed boisterously, proud of his logic.
On the outside, if one compared Matthew to the other champions who saw each other as rivals in their obsession over Lilybell—and by extension, Lucille—it seemed like Matthew’s attitude was much more welcoming. No one suspected that he was only saying that because in his heart, he was thinking, If this were one big family, I’d be the dad and Lucille would be the youngest daughter, right? That means she’d love me the most. Any daughter would love a father who spoils her rotten, after all!
“Haven’t we already fought enough?” Roselia asked. “In the end, we agreed to drop this subject because if we start arguing over who loves Lilybell the most, war will break out. I believe it was Saint Clarissa at fault this time! Anyway, isn’t Lord Felix quite the catch?” She rested her cheek on her hand and gazed longingly into the crystal, which was in the middle of depicting Lucille and Felix’s first meeting. “I wish I could be there with Lucille, gushing over that hunk! It’s too bad his attitude toward her is unacceptable.”
“Uh, Princess Roselia, you’ve got a hunk right here,” Efren interjected. “You don’t have to pine over a projection of some guy in a crystal; that’s just depressing. I could hold you in my arms and whisper sweet nothings in your ear right now.”
“Sorry, not interested. I’ve had enough of that kind of thing.”
Before her death, Roselia had been a woman of many lovers. Although she had been renowned for her beauty, her eye for men hadn’t been quite as blessed. As a result, she’d already learned that nothing good came out of fraternizing with smooth talkers like Efren.
Either way, she loved Lilybell first and foremost. Efren was her rival in that sense, so she wouldn’t have so much as batted an eyelash in his direction.
Efren had enjoyed immense popularity in his time as a hero, but he had also been a womanizer, through and through. Lilybell had lost count of how many times she’d been fed up with his antics.
Clarissa’s blunt rejection didn’t faze the experienced man. He smiled nonchalantly, turned his attention back to the crystal, and squinted at the image of Lucille.
Today, Lucille had moved to Leeuwenhoek. She’d just realized she’d been left to her own devices and was beginning to explore the detached house.
“This country’s prince is such an idiot,” Efren said. “My Lucille is beautiful, sweet, and powerful. What’s there not to like about her? And Felix Leeuwenhoek isn’t any better. You just won’t find any other woman on Lucille’s level—I’ve been asked out by noble ladies all over the continent, so I’d know.”
“One strike for Efren!” Hinako shouted. “Don’t ever say the words ‘my Lucille’ again!”
“Aha ha, sorry, Hina. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
Realizing that no one at the table had any intention of yielding, Conrad the peace-seeker gave a weak sigh. “Sleeping with Lilybell in my arms was the greatest comfort at times like this...”
“Whoa, looks like Lucille’s cooking!” Matthew exclaimed. “She’s pretty good for a first-timer. Must’ve been from all that time she spent watching me. That’s my daughter!”
“Oh my gosh, look!” Hinako squealed. “Those are the pastries I used to make all the time! She remembered how to make them!”
Some time later, Clarissa gave a satisfied nod. “Ah, Lucille has identified God’s love for Lady Alice. That girl’s heart has joined the many that have been saved by Lucille. In time, it will become purer and more beautiful. Lucille truly is a noble being, bringing salvation to all with her mere presence ever since her Lilybell days.”
“Well, yeah!” Hinako replied. “Cats are adorable, so they have value just by existing! Since Lucille knows that, she remains beloved even as a human.”
Conrad was relieved that the arguing had finally ended. However, the next moment, he sprang out of his seat. “Look, look! That’s my panacea formula that Lucille’s using to save everyone! But man, she really is extraordinary, huh? I mean, she always was, but I’ve never seen medicine that makes your body glow! That’s a miracle that happened ’cause she poured so much of her special mana into it. She seems to be attributing its effectiveness to me, but my stuff never turned out like that. It’s basically a whole new creation at this point.”
While the other champions were boasting about how Lucille was making use of what she’d learned from them, Roselia gave a satisfied laugh and said, “Why, it looks like Lord Felix couldn’t resist Lucille’s charms after all! I suspected it from the moment he was peeping at her from the shadows. It seems he was late to realize his feelings due to his inexperience with love. Oh, he just discouraged that knight who’s crushing on Lucille! That’s so cute!”
“Whoa, you’re right! Lucille’s super popular!” Hinako exclaimed. “But...this isn’t gonna be an easy romance for Lord Felix, is it?” she murmured glumly.
Roselia tilted her head. “Oh? Why is that?”
The way Roselia saw it, although Lucille was even less experienced in love than Felix—and the scenes they’d seen so far had proven she was incredibly dense—Felix seemed to be trying quite hard to earn her favor, and frankly, he was wearing his heart on his sleeve. Roselia imagined their relationship would work out nicely in time, after their feelings developed further. It helped that Lucille seemed smitten with Felix’s appearance.
However, as Roselia explained her view, Efren interjected with a know-it-all look on his face, “That’s not the problem, though. Think about the ridiculous amount of love everyone showered Lucille with back when she was Lilybell. We spoiled her rotten and then some. So Lucille’s used to being loved—too used to it.”
“Oh!” Roselia now understood the issue. “So small gestures of affection won’t be enough for her to realize it’s a special kind of love! Oh no... This is going to be really difficult for Lord Felix. Poor guy... But honestly, I also think it’s an intriguing scenario, tee hee!”
In contrast to Roselia’s excitement, Conrad was holding his head in sympathy. “I see... Felix’s job got a lot harder because of us...”
“Well, it’s also his own fault for getting off to a bad start,” Efren replied. “Besides, if he wants to be with our lovely Lucille, he’d better be able to overcome an obstacle or two, right?”
“That’s true,” everyone agreed with a nod.
While this lively conversation was occurring, Clarissa turned to Alys—who had yet to utter a single word—and asked, “Lady Alys, what do you think about all of this?”
Alys gave Clarissa a disapproving look, as if to say, Why ask the obvious? She then turned up her nose. “Lilybell is a supreme being—the symbol of happiness and the key to destiny. Whichever path she chooses is the correct one, with no room for argument. So I don’t care who she falls in love with or how that Felix fellow tries to win her over. However, there is one thing I must say to all of you.” She smirked at the other Champions. “It’s because of me that you were able to meet Lilybell! You ought to be grateful!”
Everyone else gasped at her words. Indeed, if Alys hadn’t given Lilybell such a long lifespan, none of them would have ever encountered their beloved feline companion.
Alys’s spirited laughter echoed loudly in the white, boisterous space.