«Sick, I told you she was sick in the head ... - Valerie, who was lying on the sofa in their club room, could not come to her senses. She held a cold compress to her forehead and tried her best to realize reality. The reality that she'd gotten her ass kicked by a girl who, a month ago, had never fought and loved listening to Korean boy bands.
Akeno, who was fussing over Valerie, tried her best to suppress her giggles. She tried, of course, but failed miserably.
«Hee hee hee hee...
«What are you laughing about!!! - Valerie sharply wanted to get up, but with a pained cry she went back to lying down.
The problem is that there is no way she can lose her "gift". The Reinforcing Mechanism does not give the user the ability to "take" phenomena. The Divine Separation has this ability, but the problem is that it can only "take" from others, not from itself.
Here's the problem. The various medicines helped a little, but that was all. There was no going against nature, and calling a full-fledged healer from Hell was probably pointless. The "mechanism" of women can't be limited by any magic, because it's the most primary sign of health. If you artificially blocked it, you could lose the ability to reproduce, and she was never going to become an invalid.
Akeno took one more look at Valerie's dejected face and shook her head and started a conversation with Ichika, who sat quieter than water, lower than grass.
«Gee, kohai... - Akeno shook her head impressively. - Your new technique is certainly not the most ethical.....
«This is bullshit, not an appointment! - Valerie interjected.
-... But I can't help but recognize its effectiveness....
With that last sentence, Akeno and Ichika glanced toward Emeric, who was barricading himself at the other end of the room. The king's head often popped out of the pile of junk, but he hid it as soon as he met someone's gaze.
«You were able to do one trick," Akeno continued a little bewildered. - To disable two of our most capable units...
«I realized I didn't need to use that trick anymore! - Ichika began to justify herself with resentment.
The mountain of junk began to show signs of life, i.e. some hysterical shouting:
«Absolutely not! - Emeric's voice was mixed with doom and disbelief at his own words. - It's too effective not to use it! You did well to develop it....
«President! - Ichika glanced in his direction with resentment. - Then why don't you want to talk to me?!
«Uh, uh... - The voice on the other end was confused. - I'm getting ready for Comic-Con! I'm going to cosplay a hikkikomori who's about to be hit by a truck! Can't you see me getting ready to bend the other world already!
«Do you take me for a retard?! - Ichika exploded with indignation. - I knew you wouldn't like it!
Ichika could see how disappointed she was that her favorite President couldn't fully appreciate her efforts. And she had tried so hard, so long to convince this stupid dragon to help her! "I'm a Heavenly Dragon, you dumb head, I won't do such a thing!". Ugh! As soon as it was mentioned that such a thing would vanshoot any girl, especially White, he shut up and started to help. Though, Dryg never said anything after his success. Traitor!
Emeric, who felt the mood of his pawn in his gut, decided to distract her. But without getting too close, what if she tried her trick on him? And what would happen to him, a man who values his dignity, if Ichika used this "ulta"?! No contact, much less sparring, anytime soon!
He's totally surrendering, capitulating, just don't hit it!
«Did you come up with a name? - He threw a line.
«The title?
«Yes," Emeric calmed his emotions and began to noodle her. - Don't you know that every cool trick needs a name?
«Uh... - Ichika's really loaded. - I didn't think about it. President, why don't you help me?
Why the fuck should he help her in naming such "blasphemy"! If it made sense, he would have crossed himself and sanctified the whole place, especially her extraordinary mind where such an idea was born! He's a demon, but some of Ichika's antics are too outrageous even for him!
But still, he should probably help a little. He doesn't want to offend his pawn, because he has already started to like her, both as a person, with rare exceptions, and as a girl. So, please, think of a name for this nonsense!
«Why don't we not invent a bicycle? How about," Emeric worked hard on his brain. - RasenTration or MenstruGan?
Valerie couldn't take it anymore.
«Why does everything always have to be about fucking Naruto?!
«Shut up, woman! - It sounded menacingly from under the pile. - As an honorary member of the "Naruto is so much cooler than the Sorceress Girls" club, you have no right to say such things!
«I don't care about your club! - Valerie snapped irritably. - Naruto is an overrated anime with a lot of plot holes! Didn't it piss you off that Naruto didn't get any stronger after the timeskip?!
«Uh-oh. - He had nothing to say to that, but he tried. - He became stronger!
«Of course, of course! - Valerie answered him condescendingly. - What about Madara? The author made that villain so strong that he had to be drained in the most ridiculous way! The main characters wouldn't have been able to take him out! Imbecile imba!
«Silence, you stupid woman! - On the other side, Emeric nearly died of overwhelming anger. - I'm expelling you from my club! Turn in your membership card and don't come to our annual pow-wow parties again!
«The only members of your retarded club were me, Surtur who you bribed with booze, Akeno, Aldis and Greyfia who agree with you by default...
«... Ichika, do you want to come to my club? ...
«... Of course, the President! ...
«... Even Okita got a kick out of it when he saw all that "ninja" nonsense! And he's a samurai, like, he hates ninjas by default, but even he couldn't take that kind of mockery of Japanese culture! - She was starting to turn on her inner bitch to the fullest. You could see the hormones already in full effect on her behavior.
«Shut up already! - Emeric was already thinking about getting the hell out of here. Valerie was too deadly today. - The great Masashi Kishimoto is spinning in circles in his grave because of your nonsense!
«He's not dead, you moron! - It was obvious she wasn't going to spare her lover's feelings. A woman, what can you do?
«Yeah, you want to make fun of the dead?! Nothing about you, Valerie, is sacred. Ugh! Nothing human. Ugh! Fuck you! Fuck you, Valerie!
«You erased your own memory and made yourself think the author of Naruto was dead! - Valerie ignored the panicked gestures from Akeno. - You couldn't handle all the pressure of "Boruto"! He's exactly what proves Naruto's inferiority!
-... Who's Boruto? - A puzzled sound came from underneath the pile.
Valerie suddenly realized that she had touched on a taboo subject. A subject that would take hours to soothe their king.
«... It's okay, I was just being stupid.
Behind the barricade, there was the sound of a smartphone turning on. It was clear that Emeric had started to google something. Here we go again.
«Emeric-sama," Akeno tried to reach him. - You shouldn't pay attention to Valerie's nonsense, it's just hormones...
The next moment they heard a cry of despair and pain. A cry that was a mixture of grief-stricken bewilderment and the strongest hatred that can only be born of an equally strong love.
«What the hell is that?! He couldn't even come up with a proper name?! What the hell is "Boruto"?! If he's not dead, I'll kill him myself! Don't ruin my cosplay, Akeno! I don't want to erase my memory! What?! They turned Naruto and Sasuke into hobo wimps for the sake of the plot?! Well, erase it, erase it.
*****
«Yes, my beloved king," Valerie emotionlessly continued to agree with Emeric. - You're absolutely right, forgive this ignorant woman who didn't immediately realize the greatness of Naruto....
«That's right!... - Proudly sounded from the other side. - All right! I'm taking you back to my club!
«Hooray... - With the same brick face, she proclaimed.
Ichika tried her best to hold back her laughter at the clownishness of it all. The President was so childishly cute at times!
«Whoa! It came from the other side. - Someone's calling me in for a personalized contract!.....
«What do you mean? - Akeno jumped up. - It's impossible, the last time you fulfilled your contracts in full was when you were a child!
«Don't you fucking move! - Valerie saw right through her king's mood. - We'll never find you again!
«Calm down! I wouldn't move anywhere out of town! - Emeric said encouragingly. And as they breathed a sigh of relief, he continued. - It's a good thing he's in... uh, our town.
«... Have you forgotten the name of our town again...?
-... Anyway, I have a contract somewhere in our town! I guess! Bye-bye.
«Don't you dare!
Emeric couldn't hear the end of his sentence. He had been summoned as a real demon for once! How could he miss this?!
*****
Emeric blinked away the teleportation and suppressed the urge to cringe at the unaccustomed absence of another man's hand in his palm. It was the only way to teleport with him, after all. By the handle.
He found himself in a lavishly furnished country house that had two floors and, by all accounts, a large backyard with a swimming pool. He found himself in a richly furnished country house that had two floors and, by all accounts, a large backyard with a swimming pool.
«Ha ha, it worked... - cheered him joyfully.
A meter away from him was a trim man, a little over forty. He was dressed in a plain gray kimono. Distinctive was his hairstyle, which included a light-colored dyed bangs. Despite his remark, there was no surprise on the man's face, only joy, as if he had met an old friend.
Just as Emeric had thought. It was a vivid representative of the supernatural world, which had somehow inexplicably summoned him. And if you tried hard enough, you could "smell" a noticeable note of holiness. A perfectly disguised "smell", but not for him.
«Hello, demon...
Emeric did not answer, but delivered a perfectly placed leg kick from the turn. It was so swift and powerful that the fallen man who had managed to block it was blown through several walls. A small smog of destroyed concrete formed in the room.
A whole man emerged from the hole, shaking himself off, as if he didn't care about his unexpected attack. The same ubiquitous smile.
«Well, well," the fallen man began to look at him with interest. He kept his distance, though. - Is that how demons do it? I want to make a contract with you....
In response, Emeric merely adopted a more meaningful fighting stance.
«The contract is already done... - Emeric shrugged and put his fist forward as if challenging him. - You didn't order any pussies, did you?
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