A room had been prepared for Honjou Nia.
Technically speaking, it was a "room," but it was sparsely furnished—aside from a bed, there was hardly anything in it.
As Kotori had put it:
"Once Sister wakes up, this room will be hers. We'll decorate it according to her preferences after she settles in."
So they'd already decided she was staying?
Melusine remembered that Honjou Nia wasn't like the other Spirits. Among all of them, she had integrated into human society the most successfully. She was even a semi-famous manga artist with a handful of close friends she got along with.
Emmm… But this auntie's daily habits were truly a mess. She had zero life skills, was a total lush, and constantly forgot to eat and sleep while immersed in her drawing. In the original story, the first time Shidou met her, she had fainted from hunger in an alley.
According to Nia herself, she had been so absorbed in her work that she skipped all her meals. Once she finally finished drawing and decided to head to the convenience store, she underestimated her own stamina and passed out on the way there.
Honestly, Nia seemed like the least "dangerous" Spirit in need of a power seal—she could live just fine among humans without it. So why had they gone after her in the first place?
But the truth was… it wasn't that simple.
Nia had always hated her omniscient, omnipotent powers. In the original, the reason she approached Shidou and allowed herself to be "captured" was because she wanted him to seal her abilities.
All-knowing, all-powerful… such an alluring concept. So why did those who had it always seem so unwilling to keep it?
Right, Doctor Roman?
Melusine quietly pushed open the door and stepped into the room.
She'd visited this room several times by now, mostly to check on the girl resting inside.
A breeze drifted in from the half-open window, brushing through the girl's gray-white hair. Nia lay there peacefully, hands folded over her stomach, sunlight gently illuminating her sleeping face. In that moment, she really did look like a serene nun.
Shame she's a booze-loving, otaku pervert auntie who can't take care of herself…
Melusine muttered inwardly.
The only reason she had come up now was because she'd heard a faint sound from the living room earlier.
Most people wouldn't have noticed it, but Melusine had caught it immediately—and traced it right to this room.
Her expression unreadable, cold as a glacier, she approached the bed, each step soft and precise, echoing through the otherwise empty room.
Standing at the bedside, she gazed silently at Nia.
Then, a sound came from behind.
Something… dropping onto the floor.
Melusine turned—and saw a book lying quietly in the hallway just outside the door.
Strange… that book definitely wasn't there earlier…
She frowned slightly, her mind whirring. For a moment, she let her guard down.
And in that fleeting opening… someone smiled.
Sensing something, Melusine whipped her head back toward the bed—but—
"Too late!"
With a mischievous grin of triumph, a gray-haired girl pounced on her.
Warm lips brushed against Melusine's cheek.
Smack!
Honjou Nia twirled three and a half times in the air before landing face-first on the bed.
A moment later, a strong hand grabbed her by the collar and hoisted her up.
She met the icy glare of those gold-flecked eyes, now even colder than before.
"Ahaha… um… good morning?"
"It's afternoon."
A wave of pressure rolled off Melusine as the blade of her gauntlet materialized with a shnk, pressing cold and sharp against Nia's slender neck. Beads of sweat gathered on Nia's brow.
"Uh… could you maybe move that a little? My delicate neck can't take something like that, you know?"
Melusine ignored the pitiful plea entirely.
"You. Have anything else to say?"
"Uh… lemme think…"
Nia crossed her arms in front of her chest, closed her eyes, and thought for a moment. Then suddenly she threw her arms wide and beamed:
"Lanchan, your cheek is so soft! And you smell amazing! Like, seriously, ten out of ten! I'm just glad to be alive right now!"
"…Then go die, you pervert! Heavenly Punishment!!"
I haven't even kissed my Master's cheek yet and this freak already—Time to eat a faceful of Arondight!
Okay, maybe not literally. Melusine wasn't about to unleash a Noble Phantasm on Nia—after all, while Nia's powers were OP, she had no actual defensive abilities. If it were Kotori or Kurumi, they'd survive a full-strength blast no problem.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have kissed you! Please have mercy!"
Nia surrendered immediately—before Melusine even raised a hand.
"…I haven't even hit you yet."
"Yeah, but if I screamed like I was dying, I figured maybe you'd feel bad and go easy on me."
That earned her a second airborne trip—this time she spun five and a half times.
Melusine was angry.
But not mainly because Nia kissed her—well, that too—but more because she'd been affected by Nia's power.
Yes. Nia had used her Angel: Tohka's Tome of Revelation.
In fact, Melusine had sensed Nia waking up before entering the room. After all, people's breathing patterns shift distinctly between sleep and wakefulness.
And that book in the hallway? Clearly suspicious.
But the worst part… was that when Nia leapt at her, Melusine didn't react in time.
Nia's angel, Tohka's Tome of Revelation, had two absurdly overpowered abilities. One: infinite knowledge—like a god-tier Wikipedia that knew all truth. Two: future inscription. Anything the user wrote on the blank pages would absolutely come to pass.
Omniscient. Omnipotent.
That's why people called Nia's power broken. Even Melusine wasn't sure whether Tohka's Tome or Rasiel was more overpowered.
That said… the users themselves were a different story. Kurumi could turn Rasiel into poetry. Nia just made a mess.
"But seriously, Lanchan… you're crazy strong. Like, scary strong."
Sitting seiza-style on the bed like an obedient schoolgirl, Nia scratched her head sheepishly. "I only slowed your reaction time by a split second, and that almost drained all my spirit energy… No wonder you rescued me from DEM and beat up Ellen Mira Mathers…"
She paused, then gave a big thumbs up.
"Beautifully done. I still remember how Ellen captured me—she was brutal, not a single ounce of mercy. Seeing her get her butt kicked was so satisfying. Like waking up on New Year's in brand-new underwear—refreshing from head to toe! Nia-hahahahaha!"
…Honestly, judging by that laugh, she might be the real villain here.
Melusine looked at her deadpan. "So… you saw everything?"
"Yup. Saw it all."
Nia dropped the manic grin and suddenly looked rather normal.
Under Melusine's silent gaze, she raised her hands as if to cradle something invisible.
"Tohka's Tome of Revelation."
Particles of light gathered in her palms, forming a massive, gold-cross-covered tome that looked straight out of a church.
"Your infiltration of DEM, the battle with the strongest magician, your dashing rescue of me—I watched it all through the Tome."
Her cheeks flushed. Nia fidgeted shyly. "Ahh… a knight from the sky breaks into the demon king's castle to rescue the imprisoned princess… It's the kind of cliché that usually makes me roll my eyes in a novel, but in real life? My inner maiden is swooning, meow~!"
"You're not a princess," Melusine replied dryly. "Princess is Tohka's role. You're more like a nun."
"Boo!"
Nia puffed her cheeks. "What girl doesn't dream of being a princess?! You just don't get girls at all, Lanchan. With that attitude, no one's ever going to fall in love with you!"
"I don't care."
Melusine was unmoved. "As long as I have Master, I don't need anyone else. As long as Master loves me, I'm satisfied. The rest don't matter."
"…."
Instantly, Nia's smile cracked like a broken vase.
"Muuuugh! Who is this Master person?! How dare they steal Lanchan from me?!"
She collapsed dramatically onto the bed, thrashing around like a child.
"I'm so mad! My Lanchan!"
"…I'm not yours."
Melusine sighed. Then, curious, she asked, "Also… isn't your power supposed to be omniscient and omnipotent? If you wanted to know Master's identity, couldn't you just check?"
"That's the thing!"
Nia bolted upright. "I tried. But no matter what I do, I can't find any information related to your Master."
"Hm? Why?"
"How would I know?!"
Nia gnawed at her thumb in frustration. "I can dig up data on the Origin Spirit, no problem—but when it comes to your Master? Zilch. Nada. Don't tell me your Master's stronger than the Origin Spirit?"
Emmm… stronger than the Origin Spirit? Nah, I'm just a normal person.
The kind of normal person who's fixed over a dozen Singularities, traveled seven Lostbelts, punched Beasts, kicked ORT, and shared coffee with historical heroes… Totally average first-rank magus.
Maybe it's just because I'm not from this world?
"So your Tome can pull up information on me, but not on Master?"
"Mm… I guess so."
Nia shrugged. "I only searched for what happened at the DEM base, and for your Master. I didn't look into anything else about you. I only even knew you had a Master because you mentioned it at the time."
"Why didn't you investigate further?"
Melusine looked at her, genuinely puzzled.
"Well…"
Nia's gaze turned earnest. "You saved my life, Lanchan. I don't remember what happened during those five years in DEM—but given the kind of people they are, I'm sure it was hell. You pulled me out of that pit. I'm truly grateful."
She smiled, but there was a flicker of shadow behind it.
"Even if your reasons weren't entirely pure, the fact remains you came to save me. That's enough. You're my savior—I couldn't bring myself to use my powers to pry into your past or your privacy."
Despite the grin on her lips, there was a flash of pain and insecurity in her eyes.
Before DEM captured her, Nia had lived for a time among humans—and even had a few good friends.
But humans are, by nature, suspicious creatures. We constantly worry whether others are sincere with us, whether they secretly dislike us, whether they hide malice behind a smile.
Nia was no exception.
Only, unlike most, she could see the truth.
She used Tohka's Tome to read her friends' thoughts.
And after that… she never saw any of them again.
Not because they hated her—on the contrary, they all genuinely cared for her.
But it was precisely that genuine care that shattered Nia's self-image. She saw her own distrust for what it was—ugly, shameful.
So I was the only one who didn't believe in my friends…
That day, Nia realized the truth.
Since then, she had built a wall around her heart—isolating herself, afraid her powers would only hurt the people she cared about.