Other than the usual, bloodcurdling screaming in my nightmares, I had an easy morning.
"Hehehehe… Stop it, Akeno… that tickles…" Let it be known that I was not fully awake at the time. Thus I did not realize that the thing that licked my face once was, in fact, my adorable kitten, Kuro. When I opened my eyes and realized that fact, I was embarrassed. I sat up and rubbed the back of my neck, feeling embarrassed. "Hey… could you not mention this to anyone else, Kuro?"
The black-furred feline flicked her tail back and forth, eying me.
"Nyaaaaa." She meowed at me. I took that as a yes.
Huh? Then I realized I was on the floor, still in the kitchen where I had been speaking to Serafall the night before. When I had pushed myself up from the ground, I realized I had a huge red mark on my face from where my head had been laying. I groaned, rubbing the red area.
"What was I doing last ni—" That was when I remembered. "Yuuki! Yuuki! I know! I got the name!"
I ran out of the kitchen and into the living room like an excited little child. Serafall had given me the news I had been looking for all night during our conversation last night.
I honestly fell asleep halfway through the conversation due to exhaustion, but from what I heard, the person responsible for the tragedy that ended the Holy Sword Project, Valper Galilei, was not a well-liked person. All I needed to know was who he was and where he was so Yuuki could shove a blade up the geezer's ass. From what I heard from Serafall, he was with the Fallen Angels coz he got kicked out of the Church. He was with the Fallen Angels and was under their protection.
I was going to need to have a serious talk with Raynare, Kalawarner, and Mittelt. I had Serafall try to schedule a meeting with the Fallen Angel Governor Azazel so we could convince him to hand over Valper. Of course, I can't hold my breath that long, so for now I could only tell Yuuki what was going on and try to figure out what we did from there.
There she was, sleeping so peacefully on the couch as I had left her… is what I'd like to say.
But no. The blonde princess was nowhere to be seen. In her place was a note:
Ruto,
I left early to clear my head. See you at school.
—Yuuki
I frowned in disappointment. I had been really excited about telling Yuuki what I had found out… but perhaps… it might not be for the best.
I was on the fence on this matter. It was a slippery slope either way with severe consequences if I didn't handle the situation just right.
On one hand, I could tell Yuuki about Valper. She would let go of her Excalibur grudge and focus more on the geezer behind the project. However, if I did that, Yuuki would go on the warpath and attack Valper who is under the Fallen Angels' protection. That would trigger an all-out war with the Fallen Angels.
On the other hand, I could not tell Yuuki about Valper. She would continue with her Excalibur grudge and go after the Church who owns Excalibur. Yuuki would either lose or, worse, win and kill the person and destroy Excalibur. Her grudge would be gone, but then she might trigger an all-out war with the Angels.
If I didn't handle the situation correctly, Yuuki would trigger an all-out war with one of the other two factions or she would be declared a Stray and killed in order to satiate the other faction's desire for retribution.
I didn't want either of those.
I sat down on the couch, hanging my head back, sighing. "Why can't anything be simple?" I really wish I could be like Haru and just completely ignore the political complications. But no. I had to be responsible on the behalf of my master and the Devils.
"Hey, Albion… I know you can hear me." I said aloud to the open air. "You've been alive for a long time, so you should know about things like this. You got any ideas?"
Silence.
I should've known better. Albion and I haven't really communicated since his proper introduction. Another reason I felt envious of Haru. From what I gathered, his relationship with Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon, was a lot more casual. They held enough of a bond that Ddraig allowed Haru to trade his arm in exchange for his incomplete Balance Breaker, Scale Mail. Albion wasn't exactly the social type. It was a long shot that he would have responded. And even if he had did, what would he have answered? He was a Dragon.
A part of me felt worried.
I had my Sacred Gear just as long as Haru, but he's made far more progress in unlocking its abilities. All I know with Divine Dividing is how to use its Divide ability. Meanwhile, Haru had learned to use Boost on objects and other powers and how to use Gift to transfer his own power. He even managed to attain his Balance Breaker while I haven't even come close.
Excalibur. The Holy Sword that Freed had wielded the previous night. My mind was drawn to that sword. It had radiated such a dangerous presence towards me. If Yuuki had not been there, the fight would have been one-sided and would have ended quickly. I would have died. That was the part that was eating me up the most. All I've truly done since becoming a Devil has been almost getting killed.
I was killed by Raynare. I was almost killed by Freed during our first fight. I was almost killed by Raynare AGAIN during our second encounter while I was letting Haru and Asia escape. And then I was almost killed last night against Freed. I kept asking everyone to place their trust in me, but I had not been able to do anything. I was a smooth talker and pretty damn handsome, but not much else.
"Ruto-sama… what are you doing up so early in the morning…?" Ravel yawned, coming into the room while stretching her arms. Come to think of it, I had no idea what time it was. I just woke up on the kitchen floor like a drunk man trying to recover from a hangover and sat down on the couch.
"I dunno. It depends on what time it is." If it's late enough, I could just go ahead and make breakfast.
"... Are you okay, Ruto-sama?" Ravel asked. "Lately, you've been acting weird. Come to think of it, what happened last night anyway?" Ravel sat on the couch next to me, staring intently. "You said you would tell us what happened after we got some sleep."
"So I did." I noted, nodding, only half-paying attention. "Ravel… Yuuki and I fought Excalibur last night."
Cue sharp gasp.
"Y-You what?!"
I pinched her lips shut. "SSSSSHHHHHH! Don't wake up the whole house!" I hissed in a whisper. I sighed again before shaking my head. "It was a rough fight. The Holy Swords are no joke. I wanted to try and help Yuuki overcome her hatred, but I'm stuck at another political crossroad. It's just… and there's…" I wasn't even entirely sure where to begin. All of a sudden, the weight of all of my problems just started crashing down on me. My nightmares, Yuuki's grudge, the Excalibur, me inability to contact Albion, everything!
"Shirou-sama… are you okay?" I realized how worried Ravel was getting. I was letting my troubles get the best of me and I was worrying her because I couldn't handle it.
I grinned. "Yeah yeah! Everything's fine. I'm just a little sleepy. Don't mind it at all. I'll be fine in a little bit."
Ravel seemed unconvinced. "Are you sure?"
I nodded. "Of course." I waved off her concerns completely. "Now go…" I checked the clock on the wall. "Huh. I guess it's late enough to get up. I guess I could just start whipping up some breakfast for everyone."
Ravel's eyes went all sparkly like. "We can dine on Ruto-sama's dishes again!? Oh joy!" Yeah. My cooking skills were a big hit at the Phenex household. Even Ravel cleaned her entire plate. The more daring of the group like Tania and Ni and Li had three plates full.
I patted Ravel on the head, still grinning. "Alright then. I'll get into the kitchen and whip up somethin' tasty."
Well, despite everything that was going, at least I could still calm down in the kitchen. My hand may have twitched once or twice, but nothing noteworthy.
I was resolved to help Yuuki. But the real question was how I could do it without creating more problems.