Although I insisted on flying both of us back home... Clementine placed me down on one of her Soul Weapons and flew both of us back.
Her Soul Weapons had turned silver... which meant she reached the higher end of Master rank on her Gift.
She was definitely more powerful than me now.
And so, it only took us around four hours to travel back home.
Yet when we arrived, the first thing Clementine did was toss me onto the bed and cover me in several dozen blankets to the point I could barely breathe.
"Relax, and don't you dare use your Gifts. I'm going to be right back with your food."
"..."
She can cook?
With quick steps, she left the room and slammed the door shut.
Really...
I felt like a child.
But I let her do whatever she wanted.
After all, I felt way too drained.
So when I closed my eyes, I quickly drifted off to sleep.
***
I wasn't sure how long I had slept, but when Clementine stepped into the room, holding a tray of all sorts of food, I was woken right up.
Pasta, pizza, some vegetables, and even three salads.
It was as if she tried to replicate everything we had eaten in the last week.
And honestly?
It looked really good.
"I'll feed you."
"...Clementine, I can eat by myself."
She pouted slightly.
"It's not every day I'm willing to offer to feed you. You either take it or leave it."
Ugh...
"Fine..."
Clementine happily sat down beside me and began feeding me the dishes she made.
They were all delicious.
"Mmm... Clementine, won't you eat as well?"
"I already ate."
I let out a sigh.
"No you didn't. Here..."
I pried my hand out of the blankets and grabbed a slice of pizza.
As I held it in front of her mouth, she grumbled before reluctantly taking a bite out of it.
But it seemed like she liked what she cooked, as she began indulging in the food.
Just like that, we spent the next few hours feeding each other.
When we were done, Clementine took the dishes, washed them, and eventually came back into the room.
She snuggled beside me, and seeing how she wasn't going under the blankets, I tugged her in and hugged her tightly.
Her ears were a little red, but she returned the hug.
For a moment, we just lay in each other's embrace.
I decided to snuggle her closer and place a kiss on her soft lips.
She kissed me back, and although our kiss wasn't as steamy as earlier, it was still very pleasant.
"What was that for?"
"A goodnight kiss."
She raised a brow.
"Are you going to sleep?"
"Nope. I've already slept. I was just thinking of lazing around for a couple more hours."
"So it was just a kiss?"
Eh...
"Yeah. You were just too cute not to kiss."
Clementine just stared at me for a few moments before cuddling up in my arms.
"You don't need to find excuses to kiss me. If you want to kiss me, then kiss me."
"..."
Hearing that, I felt at ease.
I was glad I had someone like her beside me.
But because of what happened earlier, I also knew how easily we could lose each other.
So I had enough of keeping secrets.
"Clementine, would you believe me if I told you I knew the future of this world, and how it would end?"
After a brief pause, she replied:
"I... I wouldn't put it past you. You showed me you knew a lot, so that would explain it."
It would, wouldn't it?
"Then, would you believe me if I told you that the only reason I know so much is because in my old world, this world was nothing but a game?"
She didn't reply, but she did listen.
"I used to play it every day for hours on end on a special machine that had moving paintings. You, and many other people I've met so far, were in that painting."
I felt like that was the best way to describe a phone.
"I'm not really the original Amon Everness either. I became him almost half a year ago after dying of a heart attack in my old world."
A faint smile appeared on my face.
"My real name is..."
My real name...?
...What is my real name?
All of a sudden, it felt like my heart had sunk down to my stomach.
My real name was floating around in the back of my mind.
But now... I couldn't remember.
I couldn't remember my real name—
"Amon?"
Clementine placed a hand over my cheek.
"I'm happy you're finally telling me all of this... and while I don't understand most of what you said, I know you're not a liar. So I want you to be patient with me, even if I ask a lot of questions..."
Clementine...
"And I don't care whether you're Amon Everness or whoever. The person I care about is you, no matter your name or where you came from."
She placed a kiss on my forehead and then laid down on my bicep.
It felt nice to hear that.
And it was a breath of fresh air.
I was just being silly.
So what if I couldn't remember my name?
It didn't matter much.
Now that I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, I began recounting the whole story of the game.
From the start of the canon, to the meeting with Clementine and beyond.
Tens of years of the canon story.
The powerful allies, and enemies.
Their significance, and people I must one day kill.
The bad routes.
And the good...
I didn't leave anything out, and I didn't realize how fast time went by as I spoke for what felt like a day straight.
I finished the story with the only successful route, where all of the heroines lived, and together with the main character, they fought back the demons and sealed them away.
It was a charming ending.
And yet...
"So you're saying... there's not a single route where Amon Everness is happy?"
"The only routes where he seemed happy were when the main character killed him before he could become too powerful. He never really sought out life, but living in a world where everyone hates him is..."
"Tragic."
Clementine hugged me tightly.
"At least you're happy, aren't you?"
Heh.
"I'm very happy."
"Still..."
She tightened her grip.
"There's a lot of work we need to do if we want us to have a happy ending, isn't there?"
I chuckled.
"A lot of work is an understatement."
It really was an understatement.
But she wasn't wrong.
And with the knowledge of the catalysts, I had the key to a much more peaceful route.
So I needed to step up my game, and also grow stronger.
Because in less than half a year, the world would plunge into chaos.
"You didn't ask as many questions as I thought you would."
She pouted.
"Do you take me for a complete fool?"
"No, I just feel like you're usually more curious."
Clementine paused for a moment.
"Then... what happens to me in the routes where I don't follow anybody?"
Right...
I skipped over her a little.
"Truth be told, you wander off by yourself in every single route I played. You only ever showed up once in the Mudflats, and then a few times before the end of the game."
She was surprisingly quiet despite hearing that.
Though, not for long.
"So when I brought you back to your companions... if, and I mean if, they actually took you back, then everything we've experienced... none of it would've happened."
"..."
"That's the sad reality of coincidences."
I had thought about it a little too.
But...
"It's best not to dwell on what could've been. Just focus on what you have now. That's what's most important."
I gave her a peck on the lips, and snuggled my face in between her breasts, surprising her greatly.
"This is the only day where I'm going to pamper myself like this. Tomorrow, we'll be giving the report and then doing some training together."
Though it was as if my words went in through one ear and out of the other as I felt her heartbeat speed up drastically.
Still, she wrapped her arms around my head and allowed me to satisfy my fantasies.
"..."
"You're so selfish..."