Chapter 418 - 355: hug
"I know Ragna used Word of Law to alter everyone’s memories so they wouldn’t remember that the attackers were alternate versions of you from other universes, and so they’d instead believe the attackers were unrelated people whose target simply happened to be you," Peter stated calmly as he looked directly into Aurianna’s eyes.
He no longer wanted to keep pretending that he knew nothing.
’He’s definitely special if Ragna’s memory rewrite didn’t work on him,’ Aurianna thought silently while carefully staring at Peter.
"But honestly... it was a smart decision," Peter continued with a small sigh. "Otherwise, a lot of problems would’ve followed you afterward. People would’ve mistaken you for the actual attackers themselves. So overall, I think it was the right choice."
’Hmm, I’m pretty sure the memory rewrite didn’t affect him because of the other Peter’s soul placed inside him. It probably has some kind of power that prevents mental interference from working on him,’ Aurianna thought calmly before nodding slightly.
"So, Aurianna... we’ll be traveling soon. The entire trip will probably last around four months, meaning we most likely won’t be returning to the academy during that time. The school staff also won’t really have time to properly monitor or supervise us because they’re currently busy handling more important matters. So you might end up being responsible for protecting a group of students assigned to travel with us. But honestly... that leaves a huge opening for the Church of Beauty to attack," Peter explained while staring at her seriously.
"Oh, don’t worry too much about that. Based on everything you guys told me earlier, they’ll probably be too occupied dealing with their own territories and domains for a while," Aurianna replied calmly.
Aurianna remembered all the alternate versions of herself whom Iris had killed.
Each one of them had individually attacked separate continents, overwhelming and nearly killing many of the strongest people in those regions. However, those powerful individuals were never their true targets, so once they discovered who they were actually searching for, they completely ignored everyone else.
And with Ragna’s abilities, she had somehow managed to gather all of them together into a single place.
"Also, Aurianna..." Peter suddenly blurted out while staring directly at her with his green eyes.
"What?" Aurianna asked while raising one eyebrow suspiciously.
"You’re pretty cute," Peter admitted bluntly.
"Ugh!" Aurianna flinched before immediately scooting slightly away from him, her face scrunching up in visible discomfort.
"What kind of expression is that supposed to mean?!" Peter asked while pouting dramatically.
"Don’t tell me you’re seriously choosing this moment to confess your undying love to me. Or has my overwhelming charm finally succeeded in turning you into some mindless simp?" Aurianna gasped theatrically.
"That is absolutely not it!" Peter yelled, his fair face instantly turning bright red.
"Then what is it?" Aurianna asked while continuing to stare at him suspiciously.
"I don’t know!" Peter huffed in embarrassment.
"Maybe it’s the former Peter’s emotions affecting you. He was in love with Bomb after all," Aurianna suggested thoughtfully. As for how she knew, since Bomb became her soul weapon she was getting glimpses of her memory when she was in evolution.
"That’s not it either!" Peter yelled once again.
"Then what?" Aurianna pressed relentlessly.
"So I can’t call you cute anymore?" Peter grumbled before sighing heavily. "And also... I really do like you. I already know you’ll probably never feel the same way about me, and honestly that’s completely fine. I just wanted you to know," Peter admitted quietly as he moved slightly closer before gently curling one of his fingers around a strand of her hair.
"Watching the girl I like fight like that was honestly amazing... but at the same time, I felt horrible because I didn’t have the power to properly protect you. So... I’ll accept your contract, imprint or whatever. I do get a power boost from it, right?" Peter asked while smiling at her.
"You could’ve just said that directly without all the ’I like you’ nonsense," Aurianna replied bluntly.
"Damn... that’s so cold. I really meant it though," Peter said dramatically while clutching his chest in fake pain. "Though honestly, I just hope the contract isn’t something weird or perverted," he added with a nervous chuckle.
"No, it’s not!! I literally just need to look into your eyes and that’s all!" Aurianna stated frantically before quickly calming herself down.
She then stared directly into Peter’s eyes.
A glowing triangular mark slowly appeared within his pupils.
"All done," Aurianna stated proudly while giving him a thumbs up.
"I don’t really feel that different," Peter admitted while blinking a few times.
"Maybe it’s because the soul fused with yours already carried a similar imprint," Aurianna guessed thoughtfully.
"You’re not scared I might end up seeing all your secrets?" Aurianna asked jokingly.
"Well, I already told you one of my biggest secrets. As for the rest, I honestly don’t really care. Besides, since my soul became stronger, I doubt you’ll even be able to look through it anymore. That’s the only reason I finally agreed," Peter chuckled.
"Tch... how sneaky," Aurianna huffed.
"I seriously don’t understand you sometimes," Aurianna muttered while staring at Peter suspiciously.
"Can I have a hug?" Peter suddenly asked.
"Sure," Aurianna replied casually before hugging him.
"Hugging you is always comforting," Peter chuckled softly while holding her gently.
"Pervert!" Aurianna huffed before quickly letting go of him.
———
Up in the heavens, all the gods sat around a massive round table while calmly staring at one another.
The Goddess of Wisdom, Azarath, was the first to finally break the silence.
"She has been invited to attend the next World Summit."
"You mean that child, Aurianna?" Barbados asked curiously.
Azarath silently nodded.
"We still do not know what truly happened after we were kidnapped. And she might very well be the only person who actually knows the full truth," Azarath stated calmly. "However, during the entire period she remained unconscious, I attempted to use my mind-reading abilities on her multiple times, yet I couldn’t see a single thing. In fact, my soul was directly attacked in return. So I believe it would be wiser not to provoke or disturb her for now."
"Even the High God himself instructed us to leave her alone and simply allow events to unfold naturally," Mavia, Goddess of Nature, stated calmly.
She was a beautiful brown-skinned woman with slanted green eyes, long light-green hair decorated with flowers, and a deep green robe covered in floral patterns. Large butterfly-like wings extended gracefully from her back, giving her the appearance of a mystical druid.
"What exactly is the High God even thinking? That girl is obviously suspicious! She’s clearly dangerous! And what could possibly be so special about her for him to personally take interest in someone like that?" Phils, God of the Sea, shouted angrily as he slammed his hand against the table, his voice filled with frustration.