He waited impatiently for Miach, but time, as if on purpose, dragged too slowly. He watched as customers replaced one another.
Ding.
Seeing the newcomer, Kopii's eyes lit up.
— Miach-sama, hello! — running up to him with joy, he exclaimed.
— Oh, hi, Kopii, — Miach patted him on the head. Looking at Kopii's joyful face, he smiled, for today the boy had done his best. — Don't worry, Kopii, I managed to get you a worthy title, so you needn't worry.
— Yes, and what is it?!
A sparkle appeared in his eyes.
— Raven.
As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished just as quickly at the understanding of Miach's words.
…
…
— Ahahahahhaha!
The smile slowly began to fade from his face. He could not believe his title.
«Maybe it's a joke? Yes, it's definitely a joke!» — he thought, hoping that Miach was just playing with him.
— Is this a joke?
— No.
— Ahahha, RAVEN! Caw caw caw, ahahahah!
Kane burst with laughter in Kopii's head. But he paid no attention to it, being fully in his own thoughts.
«Welcome the strongest in the world: the Sword Princess, the King of Mercenaries, and… the Raven.» – He felt sick from the imagined picture.
— You deceived me, Miach-sama! You said you managed to get a worthy title, but… raven isn't about that at all! And since when did I become a crow?
— Ah, Kopii, understand, it's a rather good title, I think. It was the best title they offered there. You know yourself that the gods are only interested in fun and interest. So this title was the best that was offered there, — he patted his head and smiled the brightest smile.
— I want to know. Know what other titles were there!
And Miach began to list them; the more he listened, the more he understood that raven was not such a bad name after all.
— I understand, you can stop.
— That's good, Kopii, I'm very happy for you.
— Thank you for this… And by the way, I need to update my stats.
— Ah, of course!
After chatting a little with Naaza, they headed to Miach's room.
— You remember… — But before he could finish, he saw that he was already sitting on the chair with his top removed. Miach decided not to waste time and immediately got to work.
— Here, done. Of course, not as fast as last time, but also not slow, — handing the sheet of paper to him.
Strength: G 280
Endurance: F 331
Dexterity: G 234
Agility: G 265
Magic Power: I 0
«Magic»
[ ]
«Skills»
[Copying] "You can be whoever you want, but not yourself."
— Well, I'll be going, — handing the sheet back to Miach, but freezing.
«Almost forgot the most important thing,» — he thought, stopping and turning his head to Miach.
— Do you know who Raven is?
He looked impassive, asking this question, but that was only on the surface; inside him, a hurricane of emotions raged. His future decisions depended on this answer.
— Raven? Who is that? Is that your friend?
— Yes.
Miach did not see the confusion on Kopii's face. But he decided not to give up on this and decided to also ask Naaza.
– I don't know. Who is that?
– Ah, it doesn't matter.
Leaving, he finally understood that no one remembered Raven. And so the Sword Princess was right, and at the same time not right; he remembered him after all.
— There, as I said, you just need to relax; is it bad for you that she comes almost every day?
— That's…
— Yes, you don't have to say it; I know you better than anyone.
— …This isn't such an important problem; right now, we have more important matters.
— And what would those be? The affairs of Emperor Kopii?
— If you boast so much that you know me better than anyone, why ask such stupid questions?
— This is stupid, Kopii, do you understand that?
— What!?
— Look for yourself, why focus all your attention only on Raven right now, and besides, he's already dead. You'd better occupy yourself with more important questions.
— …And what questions could be more important than this?
— About the skill. However much you push away thoughts about it, we both understand that you've changed.
— So what? I haven't changed that much.
— No, Kopii, — he interrupted him. — That's how it seems to you, but look, you never knew how to cook. But when you first cooked something for yourself, it turned out very well, especially for the first time. Even the Sword Princess liked your food. Do you think you're a genius, that you could learn to cook so fast? Without ever even trying, do you believe that yourself?
— …
— No, you copied someone, that's all. And do you know what's funniest, Kopii?
— And what?
— That you perfectly understand this, but you don't want to admit it.
— …
— Why are you silent? Do you think if you deny it, it won't exist… The answer is no, Kopii, you understand that. You understand how stupid you've become; that's also thanks to your skill. Before, you would have definitely noticed something strange in this, but you just ignored it… Or have you already forgotten that you also copied the thirst, and what it led to.
But seeing how Kopii continued to remain silent, he also fell silent, and they walked the rest of the way in silence, which was very rare for them. But he did not pay attention to it. His whole mind was focused on Kane's words. And he finally understood that he had changed too much, and he had not even noticed it.
— What are you here again? Do you even have a personal life?
— Will you cook today again? — She completely ignored him, but he only sighed at this.
— Yes, I'll cook. – Her eyes lit up a little.
Quickly cooking something. He again prepared a perfect dish; who could he have copied? He knew only one person who could cook well, and that was Raven. No one else among his acquaintances cooked as well as he did.
— Tasty.
Watching as the Sword Princess devoured everything in a few seconds, he was glad of it, but at the same time saddened, because she liked not his food, but the food of the one his skill had copied.
— You come here to eat, and that's all?
— N… no, I'm just waiting for you to tell me the truth.
But watching as she gobbled it up with both cheeks, he smirked — he did not believe her one bit.
Some time later.
— You came again; I haven't even woken up yet. — He had thought about his skill all night, but however hard he tried to come up with solutions, they were all simple guesses that still needed to be tested.
— Hi… Raven.
— Ahahahha!
— …
— Don't call me that… please. Alright?
— Alright. — Before he could open his mouth, she preempted him. — Will you cook something?
— Oh, I haven't even gotten out of bed yet. What, don't they feed you in your familia?
— No, it's just…
— Well, fine, I'll cook you something.
Seeing the difficulty of her words, he interrupted her. Getting up from the bed, he had no choice but to go cook.
«Am I her personal cook?»