Chapter 536: 536: DSMW [536]

"(;?д?) Why did I come out?"As if jolting upright from a dying illness, Dark Aisha shot up from the blanket, her expression one of utter confusion, as though a lifetime had passed.

"I think it's probably because of this."

Miles pointed at the flashing arrowhead hanging over Aisha's flat chest.

Aside from this magic tool that the bratty loli Viel had handed to him through Alester yesterday, Miles couldn't think of any other reason why Dark Aisha could have suddenly manifested herself.

He tried removing the golden arrowhead, but nothing changed.

"What do we do, Miles? I can't go back!"

Even without wearing the golden arrowhead, Dark Aisha was unable to return to the Soul Room within the Millennium Puzzle.

This was a serious situation.

Normally, remaining inside the Puzzle in soul form was one thing. But now she had been forcibly materialized and dragged out.

Didn't that mean that in the real world, there was now an identical Aisha Carlos?

He had only just woken up, yet Miles felt his headache growing worse.

Just when one wave had settled, another rose.

"Miles, are you awake?" Early in the morning, Princess Nova's voice called from outside the door.

What terrible timing. Better pretend to be asleep.

Signaling to Dark Aisha on the bed not to make a sound for the moment, Miles stayed motionless as well, waiting for Nova to leave in quiet.

"Seems like he's still asleep. Does Miles like sleeping in?"

It sounded as if Nova was talking to someone else, which meant there was more than one person outside the door.

What was wrong with this group? Coming together early in the morning like they were visiting a prisoner.

"That's strange. Mr. Miles has been waking up early the past few days."

From the voice, it was clearly Aisha speaking with Nova outside.

Even the original had come along. This was getting even more troublesome.

Miles was so tense he nearly held his breath.

"Looks like he really isn't awake yet. Then let's go have breakfast first, Nova."

He had successfully muddled through. Miles secretly rejoiced.

But in the very next second, Nova's words easily shattered his naive fantasy.

"It's fine even if he's not awake. I have the consulate's master key."

"!!!"

How could such a thing exist?

"Nova, that's not appropriate," Aisha outside the door tried to dissuade her. "Sneaking in while Mr. Miles is asleep isn't very proper."

At least Aisha's sense of propriety was still intact.

"Don't you want to see it, Aisha? Miles' sleeping face."

"(╯°Д°)╯ Open the door!"

Could you at least stick to your principles a little longer?!

"This is really bad."

Miles could clearly hear the sound of the lock turning.

And at that moment, Dark Aisha's eyes were fixed on him, filled with a silent plea for help.

"For now—"

Throwing off the blanket, Miles hastily pulled Dark Aisha underneath it.

After setting Dark Aisha face-down on the bed beneath the covers, Miles himself jumped off the bed, pretending he had just woken up.

Click!

With the crisp sound of the handle turning, the door was finally opened by Nova.

The first thing the two outside noticed was Miles standing alone in the room.

"So you're awake, Mr. Miles."

"Yeah. You woke me up with all that noise just now."

A trace of displeasure flashed through Miles' eyes. He hadn't expected that one day he would have to rely on acting skills to survive.

"By the way, how did you two just come in like that?"

"Um, sorry…" Aisha immediately apologized.

"Tch. I thought I'd get to see what Miles looks like while sleeping."

Yet Nova, the instigator of it all, showed not the slightest hint of remorse. In certain respects, one could indeed glimpse the rumored willfulness of the Third Princess.

"If there's nothing else, then please head out first. I'll tidy up and then go to the restaurant."

"Mhm, we'll wait for you, Mr. Miles. Even though we're not at home, Big Sister still borrowed the kitchen to personally make breakfast."

"Alice… she's really diligent."

At the mention of Alice's name, Miles' expression grew more complicated.

If this had been before yesterday, being able to eat a breakfast personally made by Alice would have felt like pure luck.

Meanwhile, after hearing another possible truth from Sylvia last night, his state of mind was wholly different.

As for whether Alice Carlos was "black or white"...

"Miles, what's this?"

"What do you mean what—wait, Nova!"

Miles' thoughts were instantly dragged back to reality.

At that moment, Nova was poking at the lump on his bed with her finger.

As for that lump, it was naturally Dark Aisha, who had been Set face-down beneath the blanket by Miles.

"Miles, is there something pressed under your blanket? Hey, why won't it lift?"

After poking it with her finger, Nova curiously tried to lift the blanket. But it seemed to be tightly gripped by something; no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn't budge.

"How suspicious!"

Nova's golden eyes immediately sharpened, as if she had seen through something.

"I've seen a similar scene in the manga Sally gave me. Miles, you're not hiding a woman under the covers, are you?"

…That detestable head maid again.

For the first time, Miles felt the urge to report the maid who had corrupted Nova directly to Homar Kaiser and have her hung from the city walls.

"No. How could that possibly be the case? Nova, you've been reading too much manga."

"Then what's under your blanket?"

"…"

"Mr. Miles, you wouldn't actually…?"

Because he couldn't come up with an answer immediately, Miles' mysterious silence even made the original Aisha suspicious.

This was a desperate situation. How was he supposed to smooth this over?

His mind spinning at overload speed, Miles thought even faster than an Accel Synchro, searching for a way to overcome the crisis before him.

And then—he got it!

"Nova, actually, what's under the blanket is a magic prop I practiced with last night."

"A magic prop you practiced with last night, under the blanket?"

Obviously, such a clumsy lie couldn't fool anyone.

But since he had made a move, Miles naturally had a follow-up prepared.

"If you don't believe me, I'll perform it for you on the spot. Cooperate with me, Aisha!"

Grabbing Aisha's wrist, Miles pulled her to the bedside.

"H-how do I cooperate?"

The sudden turn of events left Aisha flustered.

"Very simple. Just close your eyes."

"￣ー￣ Okay."

"In you go!"

The moment Aisha closed her eyes, Miles moved at top speed and stuffed Aisha's original body into the blanket as well.

"And now—it's time to witness a miracle. Don't blink, Nova."

"What kind of magic is this, Miles?" Up until now, Nova was still baffled.

"Here we go!"

As Miles flung the entire blanket into the air, Nova's puzzled expression instantly transformed into shock.

"The Human Division Technique! Behold—two Aishas!"

"っ?Д?)っΣ(?Д?;)!"

With the blanket swept away by Miles, Aisha and Dark Aisha stared at each other on the bed, equally stunned.

There wasn't a single trace of trickery. From Nova's perspective, the Aisha who had been stuffed under the blanket had truly split into two.

"S-so amazing, Miles!"

Such a smooth and spectacular performance made Nova unable to resist applauding.

"How did you do it?"

Heh. How he did it was something Miles couldn't possibly explain to Nova. But he could say for certain:

This was a magic trick that couldn't be performed a second time.

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