"She's what?"
I stared at Anathasia, then at Roselia, lounging beneath the beach umbrella near the portable grill like none of this concerned her.
"She's a former politician," Anathasia replied. "Back in the late '90s. Local, at least. Something like a governor."
She paused.
"Actually? She did make it to the senate once."
I slowly looked back at Roselia.
"Though," Anathasia added casually, "I'm pretty sure she altered history so her name would never be remembered."
"…She can do that?"
She met my eyes, rested one hand on her hip, the other settling on my shoulder as she leaned against me. Then she glanced back at Roselia, who was already slipping on a pair of sunglasses like none of this mattered.
"Technically, it doesn't affect her," Anathasia said. "Nor does it define her authority. An individual's history gets cut off the moment they become an Outer God."
She shrugged.
"And since she is Causality itself, rewriting history isn't really an issue. Though… she probably had her own reasons."
Her other arm slid around me, and she buried her face against my shoulder.
"That's just how things are," she murmured. "Yours is different, though."
I stiffened slightly.
"The Stillness negates how your past affects you now," she continued softly, "while still allowing you to be the person you became."
A beat passed.
She gently lifted her face from my shoulder.
"Anyways," she said, straightening, "research defense, was it? I like that. Finally putting those two to good use."
Her demeanor shifted.
A smile crept onto her lips, sharp, and calculating as she glanced back at them.
"…You were just talking about existential stuff a second ago," I muttered.
"Well, yeah," she replied casually. "But we still have our research defense, don't we? Gotta use everything we have to pass, and worry about Valentine's later."
I tugged on her cheek.
She immediately started grumbling.
"Valentine's is still a month away. You're way too early." I gently let go of her cheek.
She just huffed.
"Also," I added, "now we're on the same page."
—
By the time the sun dipped toward the horizon, all five of us were seated around the table.
Rania, Roselia, and Anathasia were busy typing away on their laptops. Courtesy of Anathasia while I worked through the conceptual and theoretical framework for Chapter Two.
Kagariel sat nearby, casually sipping tea.
The faint clicking of keys filled the air, carried along by the cool breeze of dusk.
As for the internet connection—
"Ah, that?" Anathasia had said earlier. "No worries. I have my own methods."
"Miss Veridielle… why are we working on a—"
"Shut. You're experienced with this anyway. Just type," Anathasia cut her off without missing a beat.
Rania, on the other hand, continued working, diligent, silent and unfazed.
Kagariel simply sipped his tea.
The same brew Anathasia always used back home.
"This," he murmured, "is truly bliss…"
The silence stretched on after that.
By the time everything had gone dark, Roselia was slumped over her laptop.
"I thought becoming an Outer God meant I wouldn't be dealing with paperwork… so why…" she grumbled, before staring out at the sea.
Rania gently closed her own laptop and turned to Anathasia.
"I've already sent the file, Miss Anathasia. It should be on Sir Kyle's laptop by now."
Anathasia glanced up, then nodded.
"Thanks… I'll pay you back later for the help…"
Not long after, three notifications appeared on my screen.
All titled Research 101, for some reason.
And with that, Roselia and Anathasia slumped forward.
Only Rania remained unfazed.
She rose from her seat, posture straight, that same ethereal poise clinging to her as if exhaustion simply couldn't touch her.
Still…
"Finally safe…" I muttered under my breath as I leaned back and checked our group chat.
I pulled out my phone and snapped a quick picture, Anathasia and Roselia slumped near the edge of the table, closed laptops in front of them, completely spent.
Leaning against my chair, I started typing.
"Research paper finished. Here's the file, please study it for our future defense."
I attached the document. Then the photo.
All three of them saw the message immediately.
Heart reactions popped up on the file.
A second later, a laughing emoji appeared, reacting to the picture of Anathasia.
And not even a second after—
PING
A reply from Arianne came in.
"You two could've asked us to help, you know. But we appreciate the effort."
"Also, have fun on your beach vacation!"
I put my phone away and glanced up as night slowly seeped in, the sun already slipping beneath the horizon.
Rania, who had been standing near the water earlier, now stood in the clearing where we'd greeted the knights that morning.
She raised her hand slightly.
The soil shifted.
In moments, it molded itself into a complete house. Walls, roof, structure forming seamlessly.
It looked… familiar.
A little too familiar.
Before I could comment, the world lurched.
The next thing I knew, I was sitting on a couch inside the house. Anathasia lay beside me, using my lap as a pillow, already half-asleep. Roselia occupied the other side, completely drained.
Only Kagariel, Rania, and I seemed unaffected.
I glanced around.
The interior layout.
The paint.
Even the minimal paintings we'd hung back home.
It was almost a perfect replica of the house Anathasia and I lived in back on Earth.
"I designed it after the house you and Miss Anathasia lived in," Rania said calmly, emerging from the kitchen with a tray of pastries.
She set it down on the table in front of us, then promptly swatted Roselia's legs off the couch.
"?! What're you doing—"
"I needed a place to sit," Rania said flatly, taking the space. "Please don't claim the entire couch."
Roselia clicked her tongue, defeated.
For some reason… it felt like there was unresolved business between those two.
…Or Rania just genuinely hated Roselia.
Anathasia shifted slightly in my lap, burying her face against my stomach. My hand moved on its own, gently tousling a strand of her hair, white locks slipping easily between my fingers.
I was just about to lift the strand closer when—
"Ah yes…" a voice spoke calmly.
"Youth indeed."
I stiffened and slowly looked up.
Kagariel approached, carrying a teapot on a tray. He set it down beside the snacks Rania had prepared, movements unhurried, deliberate.
When I glanced at the two women on the other couch, they merely nodded in agreement.
"Of course," Roselia said idly, inspecting her nails. "Continuity could only ever be stabilized by Stillness alone."
Kagariel settled onto the seat between the couches, a small, almost fond smile forming.
"It is… quite refreshing," he said softly. "To see the Daughter of Absence at ease."
He looked at Anathasia.
"She was never one to allow others to see her vulnerable. And yet…" his gaze shifted to me.
"She nuzzles against you without hesitation."
Rania sat straight on the left couch, deliberately maintaining distance from Roselia.
"She was reserved when I first met her," Rania said, meeting my eyes.
"Miss Anathasia always appeared carefree, dismissive of most things, but even then, it felt like a façade. As though she used levity to conceal herself."
She smiled gently.
"Now I understand why she chose to tie herself to someone like you."
A brief beat passed.
"I think it's safe to say," Roselia cut in, her tone measured, "that Stillness is most likely the strongest Fragment among all five."
She paused.
"Not in raw power. Nor in authority."
Rania and Kagariel nodded in quiet agreement, their gazes drifting back to Anathasia as she slept soundly on my lap.
After a moment of silence, Roselia spoke again.
"Also… Miss Veridielle does look rather—how should I put this…"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Adorable. Almost cat-like, when she sleeps."
Anathasia's eyes snapped open.
She slowly sat up, then turned toward Roselia with a small, knowing smile.
"That's bold," she said calmly, "calling me adorable while assuming I'm not listening."
Her hair began to lift, strands floating unnaturally—
—but before anything could escalate, I pulled out my phone and checked for updates regarding our research defense schedule.
Somewhere behind me, things clattered.
We stayed for a few more days after that.
Aside from various rulers across the continent visiting our residence, and a handful of churches being erected in Rania's name. Nothing particularly eventful occurred. Most of the attention was focused on her anyway.
A few began whispering about establishing a religion centered around Anathasia after word spread that she was Rania's mentor.
She made it abundantly clear she couldn't care less.
Roselia, as expected, was treated like a Duchess at first.
That courtesy vanished the moment they learned she was also an Outer God.
And that was about everything that happened during our four-day stay in Aegea.
Back on Earth, I dealt with Rose quickly, my older sibling, regarding the small issue of me not informing her that Anathasia and I were already dating.
January 3rd slipped by without me even noticing.
Before I knew it, the research defense was only a day away.
How we handled it was entirely up to us.
And then, while we were on campus.
A small issue came up.
"Abe…" Arianne's voice wavered.
All five of us were present. Robert. Joseph. Me.
And unironically, Anathasia acting as the group leader.
Arianne swallowed.
"Our group…"
She hesitated.
"…is the first one to present."