NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 126: Cool
With a clear look of distrust on her face, Rozaliya glanced at him. Ren followed her gaze, before realizing that he was still holding the little girl's tail.
"Ahem, please don't misunderstand…"
"Pervert! Stay away from my sister!" Rozaliya quickly ran back to Liliya's side, and tried to find her weapon, but unfortunately, this was the living quarters. Neither of their weapons were here.
"I'm not afraid of you!" Without a weapon, Rozaliya could only imitate the moves she had seen on TV, bare-handedly facing Ren.
"…" Looking at the little girl's moves, Ren felt a strange familiarity. He raised his right hand into a fist, placed it above his left arm, before abruptly swinging it downwards. "Hmph, nothing more than this."
Rozaliya was startled by his actions. She looked at her own moves, and suddenly felt like they weren't very cool.
"Cool…"
Looking at the little pink-haired girl's sparkling eyes, Ren suddenly realized what he had just done, and quickly retracted his hand, returning to normal. He was only using Kosma's name. How could he have subconsciously started acting like him?
Ren, who had always thought of himself as mature and composed, suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of embarrassment, but what he didn't expect, was that after unintentionally getting on the same wavelength as Rozaliya, it had actually dispelled her hostility.
"If you teach me that move, then I'll believe that you're not a bad guy." The little girl copied Ren's posture, raising her hand to imitate him, but she couldn't achieve the same coolness. "Liliya's definitely never seen a move like this. I have to show off in front of her."
"…" Such embarrassing actions were unacceptable. Ren was about to refuse, but he was met with Rozaliya's expectant gaze.
"Oh well, it's just a little girl." Taking a deep breath, Ren's gaze narrowed. He punched out quickly with one hand, before pushing out with his other hand, his five fingers separating, as if he was grabbing something before slowly retracting them.
"This performance… is still not perfect."
Rozaliya, who had been watching him the whole time, was startled by his movements. Her small mouth formed an "O" shape. "So cool! I have to learn this!"
"It's just a very simple movement." Although he said that, Ren was like an older brother in an amusement park, surrounded by children, enjoying her admiring gaze. The corners of his lips involuntarily curved into a smile.
Wait, what am I doing?
Suddenly snapping back to reality, realizing his childish behaviour, Ren froze. He could face Schicksal's pursuit without changing his expression, and yet, he was feeling satisfied because of this little bit of admiration.
It must be because of the puppet.
"So, can you teach me? You wouldn't want me to tell Mama Cocolia and the others about you, right? If you don't, then you better be obedient…"
Before Rozaliya could finish speaking, she received a flick on the forehead. Where did this little girl even learn to say these things? And, those were supposed to be his lines.
"Fine, I'll teach you a few moves, but you can't tell anyone else about me. You should have read a lot of stories. In those stories, once the protagonist finally finds some kind of treasure, and they accidentally reveal it, it will attract a lot of enemies. Similarly, if my existence is exposed, then it might attract countless Honkai beasts. Then your sister, your mom, and the others would be in danger."
"Ah? Then… how about I don't learn it? I can let you go back." Hearing that everyone would be in danger, Rozaliya immediately began to back down.
But Ren wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. He placed the seashell in Rozaliya's hand, and winked. "It's already too late. I've already set my sights on you. Even if you throw me away, I'll still find you. And at that time, I'll be very angry, and I might turn into a huge monster!"
"A huge monster? Then there's no other choice. To save the world, the clever and courageous Rozaliya will have to make a deal with a demon, and obtain the power to protect everyone from him." As expected of the famous idol, Vodka Girl Rozaliya immediately got into character, tightly gripping the seashell in her hand with a determined expression.
"Don't add your own settings!"
In the end, Ren still taught Rozaliya the few moves that he knew. Don't ask him where he learned them. Everyone has a past.
Although these movements looked simple, it was a little troublesome to learn them. By the time Rozaliya had learned them, quite a bit of time had passed.
The puppet strings had already sensed that someone was approaching. Ren sighed. He had originally planned to use the twins to directly approach the Sea of Quanta's headquarters. It seemed that wasn't going to happen now.
Rozaliya, in the room, was still practicing hard. She was very focused. Although she usually had an energetic and unfocused personality, she was incredibly calm and focused when learning.
"Okay, your Onee-chan will be back soon. It's time for me to leave. Remember, don't tell them about me."
After performing the final move, Rozaliya looked at Ren with some surprise. "You don't live inside the seashell? I thought you couldn't turn back into a human, so you were living in the seashell."
"Even if we've fused with Honkai genes, we are still human. Why would we be living in a seashell? You also have a huge tail, and you still live in a house, right?"
"That's right! Even if everyone doesn't like us, with Mama Cocolia here, we can still live in a pretty house." Rozaliya had a sudden look of realization.
Although the little girl didn't seem to care, everyone clearly understood how much prejudice the two would face because of their obviously inhuman traits.
It was only because of Cocolia's power and authority that many people didn't dare say anything. However, humans naturally rejected those who were different from them, especially Anti-Entropy, which was the main force against the Honkai. Many people had suffered greatly because of the Honkai, and had lost their friends and family.
Their tails, which belonged to a Honkai beast, naturally created a divide between them and ordinary people.
Since Rozaliya had said so, Ren naturally wouldn't mention those things. He earnestly told her, "Rozaliya, the tail on your body is a protective force, a power that allows you to save your friends and family when they're in danger. If you're willing to learn, I can help you understand this power. I'll be staying here for one more day. If you've thought about it, then use that seashell to call me."
Rozaliya didn't say anything, but blankly stared at the unfamiliar boy. Although it was only their first time meeting, he was like a long-time friend, not impatient and annoyed like the other adults. Instead, he was just like the friends she had at the orphanage. He would seriously play games with her.
And the other party also possessed inhuman traits, which made Rozaliya subconsciously think of him as one of her own. She felt a sense of belonging that she hadn't felt for a very long time. She had always only had Liliya. This was completely different from Cocolia's approval.
He wasn't an elder, but… a friend.
"…Thank you."
Ren, whose entire body had turned into threads, smiled, before, under the girl's gaze, completely disappearing.