OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 281: Honesty

Chapter 281: Honesty

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Shocked, Lily's head snapped up, and her eyes locked on Emir's shades.

"W-What do you mean?"

He repeated:

"Who. Am I. Supposed. To kill?"

Still flabbergasted, Lily stuttered out:

"N-no one, I... d-don't get what you're so mad about."

To Emir, Lily's actions seemed incomprehensibly foolish.

She appeared to be covering for her bully, or worse, hiding their name to protect him from potential repercussions.

Such scenarios were highly unlikely, but if that was her intention, he would be deeply disappointed.

And regardless of whether it was option A or B, he wasn't about to tolerate either.

"I get it; if you won't tell me, then I'll beat it out of Yuriel."

Lily, almost jumping in shock, ran to pull him back, grabbing his right arm.

"Stop!"

Emir, protective as always, didn't want to inflict the softest of pain on her, so he didn't bother shrugging her off and just dragged her along as he continued heading to the door.

"I get that it's embarrassing for you-"

"Stoooooop!"

"But if you won't tell me -"

"I said stop!"

"Who's bullying you-"

"STOP! Wait-"

"I'll find someone that will, so don't worry, we'll just talk."

Her struggling proved to be in vain as Emir reached the door and was about to- "What? Bullying?"

But he stopped moving as he took in her words.

Why was she questioning this word?

Was she crying because of something else?

Emir turned around and faced his sister.

"Were you not bullied?"

Lily scoffed.

"Of course not! Do you think Yuriel would allow that?"

"No..."

"And besides, they're too scared of you-"

"But why cry?"

Emir cut her off with that question, just to get back at her.

"Humph."

Lily executed her classic move...

Subtly puffed cheeks, closed eyes, and a delicate twist of the head to the right.

Adorable was the only way to describe such a move.

But it proved ineffective against Emir.

He remained immune.

All due to his prolonged exposure to her antics.

"Sure, if you won't say it, I'll ask Yuriel."

Her pose broke as she reached out to Emir once again. "Okay, okay, wait!"

"What?"

Emir asked without turning around.

"I'll tell you, but promise that you won't tease me."

He nodded.

"I promise."

She let out a long breath and revealed:

"...I-It was a Nettoon."

The prince was the one who grew confused this time around.

"You cried 'cause of those comics?"

"I see..."

He, who received no reply, quietly nodded and left the room.

Only an embarrassed Lily remained.

Her face was as red as Lyra's of a few months ago. And if it were a competition, she would've

definitely won.

Knock! Knock!

She fanned her face while looking up, expecting that it was her friends coming back into the

room.

"Wait, why would they-"

Her words got stuck in her throat as a person with an 'E' in their name entered instead.

This person wasn't tall or intimidating. He didn't wear all-black either, in fact, his attire resembled hers more than Emir's usual style.

Sweat covered his face, his breaths coming in rapid gasps, indicating he had rushed here as fast as he could. It was a feat shared by Emir, but as siblings, such actions were taken for granted, something that he cared little about.

"W-What are you doing here?"

"I... I thought something happened to you."

Elijah breathed while attempting to compose himself.

"Don't worry, I'm alright."

Lily approached him and tenderly held his hands, showing her appreciation.

The boy flushed red, even more so than Lily and Lyra combined, taking first place by a

landslide.

She giggled at his reaction, about to tease him, but a bang interrupted their moment.

"Aww... You guys hold hands now? How lewd~."

And Lyra, who arrived not more than a minute ago, joined in on Emir's fun.

"How lewd~."

The cute duo began competing to see who could turn their face the most red, and they

screamed:

"EMIR!!!!"

"BIG BRO!!"

-

After everything was over-the embarrassing misunderstanding, teasing, and a bit of banter

-the four of them went up to Emir's office.

The once-red duo sat in front of his desk while Lyra remained behind his right-hand side.

She had a hologram up and was explaining their plan of attack today.

"So you're saying that you'll sneak into Arthur's room?"

Emir nodded at his sister while adding:

"Me, Ly, and Elijah are, yes."

She stood up in a fit of 'rage' and smacked her hand down at the table.

"And why am I not going?!"

He offered no reaction but a sneer.

"Shut up; you don't want to go either."

A huffing Lily sat back down while shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah, but give me the chance to reject you at least."

"You two... Focus please."

The chuckling siblings nodded at Lyra's reminder.

"Now, we wanted to make sure of Arthur's schedule, but unfortunately, Isidore had most

likely sent the 'cheat' today, just like the novel, so we'll have to make do."

After a moment of thought, Lily raised her hand, wanting to ask a question.

Emir nodded, granting permission.

"You're going at night, but there'll still be students around so be careful, if they see Emir,

they'll mob you for questions."

The man in question tilted his head.

"Why?"

"I don't think you understand how popular you are; half of the girls in my class suck up to me

just for the chance that they might meet you, but yeah, don't get too excited, this trend will

blow over in a day or two."

"...Huh."

Emir looked behind him and stared at his beautiful partner, Lyra.

She locked eyes with him.

Her face showed calmness, but her brows were twitching.

He didn't need to ask to know what was going through her mind.

"Don't kill the students, ya hear?"

She nodded... grudgingly. And they continued to silently stare at each other.

After a few seconds, he called it quits, turned around, and faced the cute ones again.

"Let's move on..."

He smiled.

"Do you know what a Yottabyte is?"

--

Two people sat on a bench.

One was Amanda. Lyra's second identity.

The other was Emir. A seemingly popular professor.

Not looks-wise, but more on demeanor, background, and history...

Probably, or at least, that was the most likely case from his perspective.

What surrounded them was a cleared-out plain of marble bathed by an almost moonless

night.

They sat next to the train station and were facing a building for those who could be called Aether-less students.

Minutes passed in silence while they waited for Elijah to arrive. A comfortable silence that

they enjoyed.

This duo, unlike the last, spent every moment at the hip, in an almost literal sense...

Well, Lyra was.

And it only took two words for her earlier worry to disappear.

"I'm fine."

That was all it took.

And yes, her worry was about his mental state, not their relationship; that came first to her,

topping all in her mind.

While she did agonize over how he would react to the whole mind manipulation situation, it turned out that it didn't affect him- at least not as much as she thought it would.

For it obviously did, and she knew that.

Not because she went through his memories; she would never attempt to do so without his permission, not that she could in the first place, but simply because he told her.

Instead of the usual memory sharing, he spoke to her and explained everything, laying it all

out on the table.

The reason why he did so was obvious:

He didn't want her to know his thoughts at the time.

He didn't want to show his momentary lack of trust towards her.

He didn't want to hurt her even more than she hurt herself.

But he still told her everything and briefly explained why.

This pure honesty, along with a million other things, was what made her fall so madly in love

with him.

She knew that no matter what happened between them...

"Ah..."

He would remain true to the end.

"Our little reaper is finally here."