But a witch who made a contract with demons couldn't really bring out the full power of the right eye, so he simply put it away as part of his collection.
And truth be told, the two witches weren't interested in the Eye of the World to begin with. Seeing this, they just looked indifferent.
The black-haired witch even asked him if he wanted to take the left eye as well, but Aiden politely declined.
He had no intention of resurrecting the Creator God anyway. It was better to let the black-haired witch keep the left eye.
At this moment, after settling the matter with Balder, the trip to Vigrid had basically come to an end. However, right now there was still one extremely important thing to do.
They had to send Cereza back five hundred years.
Perhaps because their hearts were in tune, the black-haired witch also turned to him and said, "Give her to me. I'll send her back."
Aiden nodded. He lifted the Cereza from his arms, gently kissed her on the forehead, and then handed her over to Bayonetta.
Realizing what was about to happen, Cereza immediately burst into tears.
She had just watched her father get sealed away, and now she had to part with someone she had grown fond of. The little girl couldn't stop crying.
But maybe because of what Aiden had told her earlier, Cereza didn't throw a tantrum.
Instead, she fought to hold back her tears, wiped her face that was smeared like a little crying cat, and very seriously said to Aiden, "Once Cereza goes back, I definitely won't forget you. I'll grow up quickly, then come find you."
"Good! I'll wait for you." Aiden patted her head, and at her request, leaned his cheek closer.
Smooch!
Cereza once again planted a strong kiss on his cheek.
Holding her, Bayonetta sighed softly, "So reluctant, huh? Why not just keep her?"
"Sure, let's keep her then. Actually, I'm really curious to see what kind of difference there'd be between a Bayonetta raised by me and your personality." Aiden went along with the black-haired witch's words and stretched out his arms, wanting to take Cereza back.
The black-haired witch immediately hugged Cereza tighter, protesting unhappily, "She's my past self! If you raised her, wouldn't history get all messed up? And besides, I'm quite satisfied with my current personality. I don't want a different one."
In truth, there was one more thing she didn't say, leaving aside whether time-space would get all scrambled, she really didn't want to raise a rival in love for herself, especially one who looked exactly the same as her. Just thinking about it was terrifying.
"Alright then." Aiden shrugged, then waved at Cereza. "Goodbye, Cereza."
"Goodbye…" Cereza also waved back. But she really didn't know what to call Aiden, so imitating Bayonetta's way of addressing him, she said, "Goodbye, Mr. Cat."
"Hey hey hey… That won't do. 'Mr. Cat' is my exclusive nickname for him. After you go back, think up your own." Bayonetta grumbled.
Then she freed one hand, pressed the left eye on her chest, and immediately a rift in time and space opened. She and Cereza vanished on the spot.
Watching the two disappear, Aiden felt a pang of emptiness. He thought to himself that he probably wouldn't ever get the chance to see Cereza again.
"Ahhh…"
With a sigh, he pushed down the sorrow in his heart and turned to the succubus.
"Lilith, you should head back too."
"I still want to stay a bit lon, … Alright, I'll go back now." The succubus had just started to protest, but quickly changed her words.
She stomped her foot in grievance, then a dazzling teleportation array whisked her away.
Now, only he and Jeanne remained here.
"Darling, now it's just you and me. Should we do something fun?" The silver-haired witch, seeing the trace of melancholy still on his face, smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around him.
"Not really in the mood…"
After sending Lilith away, once again his body felt utterly drained of energy. Exhaustion aside, after parting with Cereza he had no desire at all, like a saint.
But the silver-haired witch didn't care. She had waited so many days, and finally the "eyesores" were gone.
Even if they might come back any moment, even if that "eyesore" was her best friend and sister, she just couldn't hold back anymore.
Ignoring Aiden's refusal, the silver-haired witch cupped his face and kissed him. As a witch, and wearing high heels, the move came naturally and skillfully. Back home, they had done this plenty of times.
But just as she was about to use her tongue to pry open his weakly clenched teeth, another rift in time and space opened. Bayonetta stepped out.
Seeing this scene, the black-haired witch rolled her eyes. She didn't bother separating them, but her tone dripped with sourness, "Well well well… Can't even spare a moment, huh? Should I be giving you two some space, my… dearest sister?"
Her recovered memories were getting clearer and clearer now, especially the ones about Jeanne. She also knew Jeanne really was her close sister.
It was exactly because they were such close sisters that she was so dissatisfied. This was her man, and her sister had actually joined in, utterly outrageous.
Hearing her words, Aiden, having barely recovered a bit of strength, pushed Jeanne away. "Jeanne, Miss Cat is back."
"So what? She herself said she'd give us space." Jeanne pouted unhappily.
But hearing this exchange, Bayonetta's eyes narrowed. She caught on to one crucial point, one that could finally unravel the doubt that had been haunting her all along.
"Darling, what did you just call her?" This time Bayonetta didn't use "Mr. Cat." Clearly, she was a bit angry.
It was the silver-haired witch who answered instead, looking at Bayonetta in surprise, "Jeanne! Don't you know my nickname?"
"Of course I know. I only remembered it not long ago. But… as I recall, only your mother and I ever knew that nickname. You two… had already met before?" Bayonetta glared at them, her voice sharp.
"Uh…" Aiden had always expected Bayonetta would get angry when she learned the truth, but he still hadn't figured out how to soothe her. All he could do was look up at the sky, at a loss for words.
At this moment, Jeanne smiled sweetly and said, "Since you've guessed it, I'll just tell you. Before Aiden met you, he had already met me. And in fact, it was I who pushed him to approach you."
"So… I'm the third wheel?" Bayonetta ground her teeth.
Jeanne snapped her fingers, "Bingo! Correct answer!"
After settling things in Vigrid, of course they couldn't stay any longer. They had to leave quickly, or else the guards of Vigrid and the guards from Isla del Sol would just become new trouble.
Although the plane they came in had already been destroyed by battle aftershocks, Isla del Sol had its own airport. So Aiden gave up the idea of having the storm robot fly them away.
Robots just weren't as comfortable as planes.
From the moment they left the Ithavoll building all the way to the island's airport, the black-haired witch stayed silent.
Clearly, she still needed a long time to digest the fact that Aiden and Jeanne had known each other all along.
They had already explained it to her earlier, but it didn't seem to help much.
And only after they had managed to get another plane, took off, and left Isla del Sol behind did Aiden suddenly remember, they'd forgotten someone.
The big journalist Luka. But that guy was like a cockroach, hard to kill. Surely he'd find a way to make it off the island alive. So none of them worried long; they quickly put it out of mind.
After that, they safely left Vigrid and returned to the airport where they had first landed after flying in from America.
As for the plane they took from Vigrid, they ditched it halfway.
By this time, the black-haired witch's mood had finally improved somewhat. Although she still occasionally complained to Aiden and Jeanne about being deceived, at least the familiar smile had returned to her face.
A witch, after all, belongs to the kind of people as open and clear as the bright sky after rain.
Now that the black-haired witch wasn't sulking anymore, the three of them began discussing where to go next.
In the end they decided to first head to Jeanne's place in Germany. After all, she still had a lot of luggage left there, and many clothes she'd bought but never worn even once. She didn't want to just abandon them.
Bayonetta had no objections. In fact, she was even curious to see Jeanne's living environment and how it compared to her own. She also wanted to see what Aiden and Jeanne's life together had been like in the past.
So, Aiden simply bought three morning tickets.
———
As they left the airport, Aiden remembered something. He pulled Jeanne back just as she was hailing a cab and asked, "When you move to America later, what about your job?"
Jeanne actually had a proper position as a university history teacher. Compared to Bayonetta, a half-baked nun scraping by with odd jobs, Jeanne's position was far stronger.
"What else can I do? I can only resign!" Jeanne said irritably.
"But resigning just like this means I won't even get the full month's salary. And the paperwork for leaving is such a hassle."
Bayonetta, curious, asked, "Jeanne, what's your job?"
"History teacher," Jeanne replied.
"I've lived so long, nobody in Europe knows modern history better than me. Hmph, I personally watched the First, Second, and Third Industrial Revolutions unfold on the continent. The history books don't record them as clearly as I remember."
"I see. That's pretty impressive." Bayonetta curled her lip.
Thinking of her own occupation, she suddenly felt a wave of defeat. Then in her heart, she wondered if she should find a job as a teacher at a church school. Even though she was a witch, she knew the Bible better than most priests.
As she was thinking this, Jeanne continued, "Actually, salary isn't the main thing. Teachers never earn much anyway."
"But after I stop teaching, it'll feel weird to keep wearing teacher's professional outfits. Speaking of which, Cereza, did you know?"
"Aiden really loves it when I wear those work clothes, especially pencil skirts with stockings. He just can't get enough."
"Pffft!"
Aiden, who had just taken a sip of mineral water, spat it all out in embarrassment. "That's not something you need to announce, is it?"
"Cereza isn't an outsider. She's my sister!" Jeanne said with a sweet smile. But faintly, the sound of Bayonetta grinding her teeth could be heard.
"Sounds like you two did quite a lot, huh?" Bayonetta asked.
But Jeanne didn't answer, because just then a taxi pulled up in front of them.
Aiden naturally sat in the front passenger seat. After telling the driver their destination, he held his breath, eager to hear the conversation between the black and silver witches.
But along the way, neither of them spoke much. Maybe because the driver was there and it wasn't convenient.
Soon, the taxi stopped at Jeanne's apartment building.
"An apartment? Doesn't look that great." After getting out, Bayonetta couldn't resist the competitive urge to comment.
Honestly, Aiden's heart skipped a beat. These two were sisters, bonded through life-and-death battles. Hopefully things like this wouldn't ruin their sisterly bond.
But Jeanne just shrugged and agreed readily, "True, it's nothing special, and a bit small. Can't compare to your place. "
"But at least the rent's cheap. Hm, speaking of which, Cereza, have you thought about preparing a room for me?"
"When we get back you can pick one yourself." Bayonetta, of course, wouldn't refuse Jeanne moving in. But when the time came, she probably wouldn't give the silver-haired witch much choice of rooms.
As the two witches chatted, Aiden headed toward the building.
But before he'd taken a few steps, Jeanne called after him, "Darling, don't be in such a rush. Today's Cereza's first time at my home, we should prepare a little welcome party."
"There's a new supermarket nearby. Let's buy some ingredients and wine… Oh, and the champagne we didn't get last time."
Aiden had no choice but to turn back. At that moment, Jeanne continued, "Cereza, do you have anything you don't eat?"
Bayonetta shrugged. "Nope, I'm fine with anything."
"Then how about I make a few of my specialties from France? Escargot, French onion soup, and pan-fried veal steak, I'll add your favorite rosemary."
"Why don't you ask what he likes?"
"Whatever I cook, he likes. He always finishes it."
"Actually, it's the same with my cooking."
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