"Phew... Nothing seems wrong with me, right?" Scarlett asked, her voice a little shaky.
After joking around for a few minutes, Scarlett had teleported herself and Aoto to the outskirts of Dreadhaven. She didn't try to teleport directly inside the royal palace, knowing that Lunatic or the others would definitely sense her presence and come to her.
She was afraid that her secret of a personality reversal might get exposed. That's why she teleported to the outskirts, so she could go inside with a clear head.
They both walked inside Dreadhaven casually, their footsteps quiet on the path.
"That's the third time you've asked me, you know? Other than you keep asking what's wrong with you, you seem completely fine," Aoto replied with a sigh, looking at her with a tired but patient expression.
"I think so too. I'm feeling quite nervous, too. It seems the effect has gone up instead," Scarlett said in a low tone, her hands fidgeting nervously at her sides.
"Why are you so afraid? Just act like your normal personality, and no one will notice any difference. Many weak people put on a mask of being strong.
It's only easier for you since you are actually strong!" Aoto said, nodding to himself like he was giving some divine knowledge.
Scarlett sighed heavily again, her shoulders slumping. "But I don't even know what my personality is. At one time, I don't like unnecessary fights, yet I cause massacres and kill people in brutal ways for my own gain. I say I'm not into a harem, yet I go around flirting with other females."
"I won't care if the human race gets wiped out, yet I care very much if something happens to you. The same goes for the people here. Other than them, I couldn't care less about other demons or monsters!" she added, her voice filled with frustration.
Not only that, but there were many other situations where her reactions were different each time. Especially when she was tortured brutally for more than six months, she didn't receive any kind of trauma at all.
She felt her mood refresh immediately and even joked around the moment the experiments on her ended. Yet, at the same time, she didn't forget her fire for revenge at all. The complexity in her personality was just too great. She could drink blood happily yet refused to drink alcohol.
"Hmm..." Aoto rubbed his chin, thinking hard. After thinking for a few seconds, he came to a conclusion.
"Actually, your personality type is very simple. There's nothing complex," Aoto replied with an all-knowing smile.
"Really? What is it?" Scarlett asked, leaning in a little, her eyes hopeful.
"Well, you are just racist. A big one at that!" he answered truthfully, his expression completely serious.
"Pftt..." Scarlett chuckled immediately, the tension breaking from her face. "Yes, racist surely fits the criteria!" she said, a real, genuine laugh escaping her lips for the first time since they arrived.
After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the royal palace. The sun had already set, and the long shadows stretched across the marble floors. There was nothing much to do except walk around or have a good chat with anyone.
"I think the entertainment criteria really lacks here. Thankfully, there's a red light district!" Aoto said casually, his hands in his pockets.
"Yes, I think so too. Although there are storytellers, stage dramas, and bards, compared to other kingdoms, we are still decades behind!" Scarlett replied, admitting it with a sigh.
"It's okay. You can take your time. Besides, if there's something you can't do, you can ask the great Aoto for help as well!" Aoto said, pointing at himself proudly with a thumb.
"Is that so!" Scarlett chuckled lightly, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Well then, I'll be on my way!" Aoto said, waving his hand and turning towards the other side of the hallway.
But before they could leave each other, a voice came through the hall.
"Welcome Backkkkk...."
The voice echoed as it got closer and closer. Lunatic came towards her and hugged Scarlett at once, and then leaned closer to her ears.
"Darling!" she added, her voice a soft whisper.
Scarlett's cheeks immediately flushed a deep red as she stepped back immediately, her heart skipping a beat. "Where did 'darling' come from?" she stammered.
Seeing Scarlett's embarrassed expression, Lunatic immediately chuckled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You definitely liked it, isn't it? I noticed that Irish and Reiza both call you by a nickname, and only I was being left behind. But now I found the best one myself!" Lunatic said cheerfully, clapping her hands together.
"No, don't call me that! It's embarrassing!" Scarlett immediately protested, her face still red.
"Darling!"
"Darling!"
"Darling!"
Lunatic just kept calling again and again, her voice getting more playful each time. Scarlett even pressed her palms against her ears, and even turned her back, but Lunatic appeared in front of her in an instant, shouting "darling" in a more sensual and erotic way each time.
As for Aoto, he clearly felt left out and awkward, like he was a third wheel on a date.
"I think I should go," he muttered to himself, quietly taking his leave.
But before he could leave, Lunatic grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.
"Wait, I actually came here to talk to you!" Lunatic said, her tone suddenly serious.
"Me?" Aoto turned around in confusion.
"Yes. Come with me. Reiza and Irish are also waiting," Lunatic said, pushing him gently to walk with her.
"I'll be back soon, darling!" Lunatic said in a mocking tone, waving at Scarlett with a sly grin.
Scarlett narrowed her eyes, glaring at Lunatic's back. "Wait a minute, what are they gonna talk about!?" Scarlett thought but then decided not to dwell on it too much. She was not afraid about Aoto leaking her current secret; she at least had this much faith in him.
*****
Meanwhile, at the same time, Lunatic led Aoto to a private room. Reiza and Irish were already sitting inside with serious expressions on their faces. Aoto sat on the sofa, and then Lunatic sat beside Reiza and Irish. All three of them glared at him intensely.
The atmosphere felt too heavy for him. The room started feeling darker, and anxiety immediately crept in.
"Don't tell me they got to know about Scarlett's condition?" Aoto thought to himself, sweat starting to appear on his forehead.
But then, they all said in unison, their voices serious and low.
"Can you tell us more about Scarlett?"
"Huh? What?" Aoto said, slightly shocked and puzzled. It felt way out of what he had expected.
"For example, does she like receiving gifts? If yes, then what kind of gifts? And many more!" Reiza said in a low tone, her eyes fixed on him.
"Yes, we were more curious about her preferences. Because you are her best friend, then you must definitely know her more than we do," Lunatic said solemnly.
Because of the heart pact, she could naturally sense some of Scarlett's preferences and about her mood, but there was still a limit to what she could know.
"And since it would be cheating to just ask you alone privately, we decided to ask together. As for how one will utilize the information for their benefit will depend on us solely!" she added, her expression determined.
Aoto let out a huge sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't about the changes in Scarlett at all. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled dryly, his tense shoulders finally relaxing.
"Ladies... ladies, I don't think there's any need to. Scarlett is giving her thoughts on who to make the first wife," he said, trying to sound helpful. "It's just kinda hard for her since she loves three of you equally!"
The moment he said it, the room fell into a pin-drop silence. Their glares became even more intense, the air growing thick with a dangerous pressure.
"Mr. Aoto, you should bother to give our answers and nothing else!" Lunatic said calmly, but the calmness clearly felt more threatening than a direct attack.
"Y-yes!" Aoto immediately nodded aggressively, wiping sweat from his forehead. His heart was pounding in his chest.
"I wanna get out of here!" he thought to himself, feeling trapped.
"So, what do you think? What can we do to impress her?" Irish asked, her voice serious.
"Well, I was just her friend. We never really had any deeper conversations regarding these topics!" Aoto replied while stuttering, his hands up defensively.
"She never really had any great expectations, so gifting luxury things will surely be of no use. Smaller things like cooking, soft talks will surely be much better," he said, trying to remember anything useful.
"Bed. What things does she like on bed? Any private fetish?" Lunatic said, leaning closer as she asked in an experimental tone, her eyes curious.
Aoto leaned back a little, feeling cornered. "How would I know? Most of the times, only I bragged about my fetishes and new girlfriends!" he thought to himself, feeling a bit of shame.
"Umm... She did once say that she likes cosplay things!" he said nervously, hoping this was a good enough answer.
"Cosplay? What's that?" Reiza asked in confusion, tilting her head.
"It's a thing where you dress up as a character from some profession or fiction!" Irish replied. She knew about cosplays way more than Lunatic, since she had gone to Scarlett's homeworld with her.
"So what kind of cosplay?" Lunatic asked, her eyes gleaming with interest.
"Umm... Nurse and nun, I guess!" Aoto answered, his voice cracking a little.
"Good, good. Let me write it down," Lunatic said, taking out a pen and paper and writing down what she learned from the conversation, her tongue sticking out slightly in concentration.
After that, they did some more rounds, asking various other questions about Scarlett. They finally released him half an hour later.
"Phew... I'm finally free. I thought I would get vaporized by just their stares!" he muttered to himself, his legs feeling weak as he walked out.
If Lunatic, Reiza, and Irish were the first women he had ever met, he would definitely have developed a fear of women.
As he walked in the hallways, going back to his room, he spotted Yumi Yamamoto coming his way.
"Yo! Prez!" he called out with a friendly smile, happy to see a familiar face.
Yumi looked at him for a second and then pouted her cheeks. "Hmph! Pervert," she said, walking past him without looking back.
"What? I didn't even do anything?" Aoto tried to protest, but Yumi completely ignored him and walked away, leaving him standing there, confused and a little hurt.