Beth stepped away from Sunny's arms and walked slowly toward the girl who had spoken to her.
They were about the same height, although Beth was a little taller than the woman in front of her, but that didn't stop them from locking eyes. Staring intently into Aiko's eyes, she said, "What do you want to talk about?"
Aiko smiled at her. "Follow me, I promise you'll be interested."
With a simple nod, Beth responded and found herself following the woman in front of her. Just then, Sunny regained his composure. "Aiko, wait a minute, I...!"
Aiko, as if she had read Sunny's mind from the start, interrupted him and said, "Yes, yes, don't worry, I'm not going to do anything bad. I just have to discuss a few things with her, so stay there, I'll be right back!"
With that, they ignored Master Sunless's reaction and continued on their way.
Soon, Beth walked through a door and saw the place. It was something like a warehouse and a blacksmith's shop. There were boxes with pieces of nightmare creatures, but she ignored this fact; right in that room there was something more important.
She heard the door close behind her. Beth would be lying if she said she didn't feel a little intimidated by the closed and gloomy atmosphere. Sunny's assistant's mysterious attitude only made her more alert.
The silence and tension in the room were palpable. She crossed her arms, leaning her back against a wall. Using the firmest and harshest tone she could muster, she blurted out, "So, what do you want to talk about? Your name is Aiko, right?"
She took this defensive stance, ready to defend her position. She wasn't going to let Sunny go easily; he was a gem to her.
"Hey, hey, calm down, don't get tense! I haven't said anything bad yet!"
Aiko's mood was in complete contrast to the atmosphere that had formed moments before, but that very contrast managed to relax Beth.
Aiko straightened her back and cleared her throat before beginning her proposal, "Well, before we start, I want to ask you a few questions. Is that okay with you?"
Her voice suddenly took on a more formal tone, but she didn't let go of the playful animosity that made this conversation feel a little more relaxed.
"Sounds good to me, then spit it out."
In Aiko's eyes, Beth looked like an angry cat with its fur standing on end, which made Aiko giggle under her breath.
"Let's start with the obvious. You like Master Sunless, right? Well, if I didn't know that, we wouldn't be here in the first place."
"No, I don't like him, I love him."
Aiko blinked at the strong response. 'Okay...'.
"Interesting. You say you love him, but you've only met him a couple of times. How is that possible?"
Beth stopped leaning against the wall, tilted her head, and broke eye contact, searching for the right words. After thinking for a moment, she made eye contact again. With just her gaze, she conveyed to Aiko: 'I won't back down.'
"Those few moments were enough for me. I refuse to let him go. It's certainly rash, but that's how I feel," Beth replied with the firmness she had acquired in this short time.
Aiko's mouth curved into a defiant smile and she narrowed her eyes. "I'm impressed by your dedication to my boss, but let me tell you a couple of things: that man loves me, and I love him. So... what are you going to do about it?"
Beth was prepared for the confrontation and had already prepared an appropriate response. "He told me you were just close, so you're not a couple yet. Even if you were, it wouldn't change a thing."
Placing her right hand on her chest, she raised her voice considerably. "In short, if he loves you, then I just have to make him love me more."
Cold determination filled the woman's eyes.
After Beth's response, the atmosphere became even more tense. The silence grew increasingly uncomfortable and suffocating. They stared at each other for a few long seconds.
Aiko's serious face broke, air and saliva escaping from her mouth. "HAHAHAHAHA!"
Aiko began to burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. "Are you serious? My God, that's a terrible plan, really bad! Did you think saying that would intimidate me or something?"
After saying that, she burst out laughing again. On the other hand, Beth's face only became harder and more serious.
It took Aiko about a minute to catch her breath. Wiping a tear from her eye with her finger, she finally composed herself. "I'm sorry. Really, that was very good."
She coughed, signaling a change in her attitude. "Okay, you passed. I like you. How about we share?"
"I have many ways to win his heart. I may just be a worldly woman..."
Beth's prepared speech was interrupted by her own silence. Suddenly, her expression twisted into one of indignant, incredulous surprise.
She turned slowly, her eyes wide, and looked into Aiko's eyes, who had a friendly smile and was completely relaxed with her hands behind her back. "What did you say?"
"Just what you heard, or are you deaf? I'll repeat it for you, let's share Sunny."
Beth couldn't believe what she was hearing; the suggestion made by the woman who looked like a teenager was completely unheard of. "What the hell? Really, what the hell?" Beth cursed in her head.
"I mean, wouldn't that be best? Regardless of how you feel, the fact is that I was the first one. I've gotten to know that man well. There won't be any problem if we agree. I can offer you some time with him from time to time. Isn't that better than fighting?"
"Of course I'm not going to let you share my sweetheart just like that. It would be under certain conditions. I love that man, but above all, I also love money. I think you can understand what I'm getting at."
Beth just listened, thinking for a moment that she was dreaming. She closed her eyes and meditated. 'This proposal is stupid. She just told me she doesn't love him as much as she loves money. This is simply ridiculous. I have nothing to discuss about sharing. She's a greedy brat. How old is she? I have nothing to discuss. So...'.
"What are the conditions?" she said, lowering her voice. She wasn't defeated, but her former confidence was gone.
Aiko nodded and said, "Basically, I'm going to offer you time and space completely to yourself with Sunny. I would arrange everything myself so that nothing would interrupt you, but in return I'm only going to ask you for a few small favors from time to time. Oh, and of course, money!"
She said the last part in a teasing, but somehow friendly tone. Slowly, she approached Beth. "It's important to note that this man is slow. Even if you throw yourself at him, he will never take the initiative. If you don't act directly, you will never achieve anything."
Aiko, moving closer to the woman in front of her, whispered in her ear with a depth and emotion contained in her voice, "Besides, even if I offer you all the space you want, if you don't act fast, I won't hesitate to take it all for myself. He's very good with his hands, I can assure you. So, what do you say?"
Beth, hearing all this, couldn't help but blush, imagining herself in an extremely intimate situation with that man. But her indignation at the proposal made her ask, "But if you really love him, why would you actually share him?"
Aiko's constant gaze and attitude slowly faded as her expression became more serious. The petite woman looked away, visibly gathering her thoughts, preparing to say something. "...I haven't actually known my boss for very long. Like you, I fell for him quickly, so in that respect, I really understand you, but as I got to know him better, I noticed some things about him that didn't quite fit."
She paused, making what she was about to say carry even more weight. "He's a deeply wounded man, I was able to tell. He doesn't show it and it's extremely difficult to perceive, but when you notice the patterns, you can see it. So..."
Her voice grew softer and softer, each word coming from the depths of her heart. "...my motivation for this is that I just want to see him happy."
As she confessed this fragile truth, her face regained its friendly and confident smile. "And what man wouldn't be happy surrounded by women? That's all! I like you, so I'll let you in. Tell me your decision. If you need time, I'll give it to you, but the offer won't last forever, understood?"
Beth was shocked by the reality Aiko presented. It made her realize something. 'Wow, so... have I been too selfish all this time?'.
She wanted this man so much that in her premature obsession, she couldn't see him as a person. In her idealization of the "perfect man" for her, she did not consider what he thought or felt.
She only acted for her own personal satisfaction, seeing Sunny more as a stuffed animal to hug than as a person. She felt a deep hole in her chest and regretted how she had acted until now.
'Enough, Beth, it's not too late.'
Clenching her fists, she looked up. She almost gave up on finding this man for a split second.
Aiko turned around and approached the door to pull the handle. "Well, that said, there's a place to attend to..."
In the midst of her retreat, Aiko was pulled back by her sleeve, causing her to turn around and look once more into the woman's determined eyes.
Although she was regretful, she would not give up yet. She decided that right then and there she would start over, this time seeking their mutual emotional well-being. "I accept."
Aiko smiled triumphantly. Everything had gone exactly as Aiko had planned. She predicted that Beth would return the next day, so she deliberately went home, so that she could be away long enough not to be noticed, thus arriving late to interrupt the development of the relationship between the two. She did this to take advantage of Beth's emotional imbalance and increase the chances that the proposal would work. To say that it was a far-fetched and inconsistent plan would be an understatement, but she had a plan B, C, D, and so on, in case of any inconvenience.
'I won.' The satisfaction of victory was the reward she received for spending the whole night structuring her plan.
"I'm glad you chose the best option. If you like, we can discuss the details of our agreement now or later. Either way, it's a pleasure to do business with you."
"I'd like to talk about the details later. The truth is, there's something I'd like you to help me with before I leave. Are you listening?"
Beth had mixed feelings about this conversation, both because of the proposal and because she had accepted it.
Aiko tilted her head. "I guess so. What is it?"
Now, the previously determined girl shyly leaned toward the other petite woman's ear and whispered what she wanted. As Beth revealed her desires, Aiko's smile only grew with each word.
"You win, I'll help you."
Sunny, leaning on the table, reconsidering his entire life, deliberately withdrew his sense of shadows to give the two women privacy for their conversation. He trusted that Aiko had no malicious intentions toward the other woman. So he remained alone for several minutes that seemed like hours, cursing his luck.
The sound of the door opening marked the end of his momentary isolation and the beginning of something else.
He slowly raised his head toward the open door, from which the two women emerged. There were no signs of physical conflict. That fact made Sunny relax his shoulders and sigh with relief. 'Thank goodness...'.
But something didn't quite add up. 'Wait a minute, don't they look too good?'.
During the time he was alone, his mind considered many possibilities for when that door would open, and in none of them did he think anything would turn out well. So it was a complete surprise to see them approaching him slowly, relaxed and smiling.
'Wait, I don't like that smile... What did Aiko do now? Anyway, damn it, what did they talk about? Am I screwed or something?'.
For a moment, Sunny thought that the destined attribute had reappeared in his runes. All of this was too strange and dangerous, just like when fate sent him into deadly battles every so often. But there was no point in checking his runes; he knew it wouldn't magically return.
He got up from his chair, standing up straight. His hands trembled slightly. He knew that even if a building fell on him, he wouldn't be hurt, but that wasn't the point. The wrath of two women was something more deadly than that, in an inexplicable, almost abstract way.
He gathered his courage and said, "E-everything's okay, right? Can I know what you were talking about?"
The two women's slow advance did not stop until they were in front of the man. Without answering his question and concern, they both turned to look at each other, nodded, and gave each other a signal that Sunny was unable to understand, but he sensed the danger that something was about to happen to him.
Aiko finally spoke, catching her boss's attention. "Boss, come with us for a moment."
The house shook, and the mimic felt fear.
Sunny swallowed hard and with a shadow hand turned the store sign that said "open" to indicate the opposite. He sensed that things would not end as he would have liked.