Chapter 133: Locked Together with Carlotta!?
The tower was left with only the sound of quiet wind.
Aeron shook his head, confirming this wasn't a hallucination from exhaustion, then stepped forward and stubbornly grasped the brass handle of the door.
[Instant Mastery, activate]
[Imagine Breaker, activate]
Twist, push, pull—the door didn't budge an inch!
"Fuck me, let me out! The project payment hasn't been settled yet, I don't want to work for free!"
"Alright, calm down. You'll get your money."
Carlotta said somewhat helplessly, feeling equally at a loss about the current situation.
Everything was fine just moments ago, so why did it suddenly lock up? What's with this cliché scenario straight out of a shoujo manga?
Wait, that means...
A man and a woman, alone together, in a dimly lit environment.
No, no, no, what am I thinking...
The moment she realized this fact, an inexplicable irritation welled up in Carlotta's heart.
"Step back."
"Huh? What are you—"
Before Aeron could finish, Carlotta had already condensed several ice-crystal guns formed from Resonance Power in her hands—and quite a few of them at that.
"...Isn't that a bit excessive?"
"Witness the new wave!"
Bang!
With a loud noise, Carlotta's ice bullets struck the door leading outside—the door remained completely unscathed!
"...It's no use."
"I think you two need to change your habit of resorting to violence to solve problems."
"You talk too much."
After further attempts, the conclusion was clear: the two of them were now trapped inside the main tower.
...Just the two of them.
(Why do I even care about that!)
The tower fell silent, with only the faint sound of each other's breathing. Carlotta turned her face away, deliberately avoiding looking at Aeron, while Aeron found a relatively less spacious and flat spot to sit down.
...He doesn't look too bad.
The thought made Carlotta's ears flush with heat. She quickly averted her gaze, pretending to develop a sudden intense interest in the ceiling.
Though he was anxious, there was no use in panicking. He might as well treat this as forced rest, a chance to recover from his earlier exhaustion.
By the way, what exactly is going on? Isn't Avinoleum currently under Fleurdelys's control? Why would this happen?
Come to think of it, she used the platform to mess with me before. Could this situation be her doing too? But she wouldn't have a reason to do this.
Even if it were some lingering resentment from the trapped fish, Fleurdelys would have warned me.
According to the information obtained from [Instant Mastery] earlier, the situation here remains unchanged, just like before.
Imagine Breaker showed no reaction either, so it probably isn't something like a barrier or Resonance Power.
Arsène is currently left with Phoebe and the others, but it likely wouldn't be of much use anyway, considering the door just took a full-powered attack from Carlotta without a scratch.
As for Satanael... no need, no need.
Although Aeron could probably just kill himself to escape, that would leave Carlotta alone here... Even though he didn't consider himself a good person, this...
He still couldn't bring himself to do the kind of thing CS majors would do.
"?"
No choice—for the sake of his project funds, he'd just have to endure a bit longer.
Speaking of which, there was something he'd been wanting to say since earlier.
"...Hey, Second Young Lady."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Don't you think it's a bit cold?"
Ever since Carlotta unleashed her ultimate move earlier, a chill had lingered in the hall of the sacred tower, making this already confined room even more freezing.
If this kept up, Aeron would catch a cold before they were even rescued.
However, to Carlotta beside him, these words took on an entirely different meaning.
Her thoughts were still stuck on the chain reaction triggered earlier by the phrase "a man and a woman alone together." Through some strange mental conversion, Aeron's question morphed into something else entirely.
Cold cold cold cold cold?! Why is he bringing this up now?!
Well, in a confined space like this, it would be warmer if two people huddled closer... Is that what he meant?
Wait, doesn't this scenario feel familiar??? She'd read something like this in one of the books Ciaccona gave her, where a man and a woman were alone together like this...
At this thought, Carlotta's face—
"I-I'm fine! D-Don't get any weird ideas! E-Even if it's just the two of us now, you better sit still! Don't come any closer!"
Her words came out in a rapid-fire burst, her face flushed, her eyes darting away, and her tone noticeably higher than usual.
But due to the dim lighting, Aeron didn't notice any of this. He simply glanced at the Frozen Princess, who was exhaling visible breaths, shivered slightly from the surrounding cold, and slowly let out a—
He'd originally thought about teasing her a bit, but judging by Carlotta's tone, he decided to drop it this time.
So, just as Carlotta had said, he obediently shut his mouth and even scooted his butt a little farther away—
Snap.
Then he was tugged back.
"?"
"D-Don't go too far either..."
Seriously, lady, what exactly do you want?
The tower fell quiet again. But the inexplicable tension from earlier, along with the chill, had mostly dissipated, leaving only the distance between them—neither too close nor too far.
"..."
Just as Aeron was closing his eyes to rest and nearly dozed off, it was Carlotta who broke the silence again.
"Hm?"
"You... plan on just waiting like this?"
"What else...? We've already tried everything we could earlier..."
"I just feel like you might suddenly pull out some incredible trick to escape."
"What do you take me for, huh...?"
Listening to Carlotta, it sounded like she thought he was some kind of blue robotic cat that could pull miraculous gadgets out of its pocket.
"Because... that's exactly how it was when we first met."
"Ah, you mean back then."
Back then, Aeron had just unlocked the System, and the first person he ran into was Carlotta. The situation at the time was far from friendly.
"Back then, I was just focused on running away, so I went all out."
"Later, when you brought Cartethyia and Phoebe to Montelli, you really gave me a scare."
"And I didn't say anything even when someone held a gun to my head."
"You threatened me back then too..."
"If I hadn't done that, it wouldn't be Phrolova locked up now—it would be me."
"So that's why you offered to help me deal with Uncle Capollo."
"After all these years in Ragunna, I certainly know gaining the trust of Montelli's Second Young Lady is no easy task."
Though Aeron had initially only wanted to settle Phoebe and Little Carte, his plans changed once he learned Capollo and Fenrico were the ones who had plotted against him.
"And then there was the matter of Ciaccona. Though I only heard bits from Rover, you did something quite extraordinary."
"Well, the situation back then was indeed more troublesome than I anticipated..."
Truthfully, Aeron had simply wanted to overthrow the Order at the time, using the Ciaccona incident as a way to get close to Rover.
"And then you wrote a letter reporting yourself. When I heard you were exiled, do you know how I..."
At this point, Carlotta suddenly stopped.
How had she felt back then?
Worry, certainly, but more than that, perhaps it was the way this guy had unilaterally thrown himself into the fire.
...And now, speaking with Aeron like this—what was her state of mind?
"Second Young Lady?"
"Huh?! What is it?"
"I just said, 'Sorry... By the way, why are you so distracted today? Are you tired?'"
"Not at all! Besides, what's the use of saying sorry now?!"
"Seems you're right... But looking at the outcome, it wasn't so bad, was it? After all, we managed to drag the head of the family into this mess."
Being sent to Fisalia had indeed been unexpected for Aeron. Meeting Cantarella was an honor, but thinking it was all part of Fenrico's scheme still made him angry.
"Outcome? The outcome is that someone came back wearing the title of 'son-in-law.'"
"Alright, let's leave it at that."
With Aeron cutting it off, the topic of Fisalia ended there.
"And then came Carnevale... Looking back, so much happened, yet it hasn't been that long."
"Could it be that my planning was just too successful?"
"Like wearing strange clothes on stage, scaring people, and making a complete mess of everything?"
"Whether others were scared or not, if I managed to scare you, then my acting must have been good."
"Urgh... Forget about that, you idiot."
Even now, thinking about her loss of composure during Carnevale, Carlotta still felt her cheeks flush.
Partly out of anger—anger that Aeron would even exploit others' emotions.
And partly because she had exposed her true feelings in such a setting.
"So... finally, it's—"
"It's here."
Aeron took over Carlotta's words, and together they looked up at the place above them—the Holy Spire of Confluence.
That was where Fleurdelys had fought the Dark Tide alone for twenty years, sealing away the Threnodian.
Though Carlotta hadn't been present at the time, she had witnessed it with her own eyes.
She had witnessed, and was now conversing with, the man who had achieved what kind of miracle in Avinoleum.
The scene of the Six-Winged Demon raising its gun toward the deity remained vividly etched in her mind.
With this thought, Carlotta once again glanced around the empty tower. Aside from the platform leading to the Holy Spire of Confluence, there were no other passages to elsewhere.
"Hey," she suddenly spoke up, patting her skirt, "up there... we should be able to see outside, right? Maybe there's another exit?"
After hearing Carlotta's words, Aeron paused for two seconds.
"That makes sense. It's definitely better than just sitting here doing nothing."
Whether there was an exit or not, Aeron didn't know, but at least it was better than waiting here and catching a cold.
Moreover, the way to the Holy Spire of Confluence was a noble elevator platform, not some foolish spiral staircase, so it wouldn't cost much energy.
Thus, the two stepped onto the platform leading to the Holy Spire of Confluence. Lifted slowly by the platform, they finally arrived inside the Holy Spire.
The interior of the Holy Spire was much brighter than the tower below. The towering dome, the flowing light from stained glass windows, and the reversed-flowing clear spring around the central platform played a gentle, tinkling melody. The air was warm and clean, carrying the comforting scent of moisture and old stone.
It was completely different from the place where Fleurdelys and Rover had fought together, tainted by the rampaging Dark Tide.
"Whew~ It's warm now..."
Perhaps because of the direct sunlight, the temperature up here was indeed much higher than below. Aeron let out a sound like an office worker soaking in a hot spring.
"Even though we're still trapped here."
Carlotta didn't respond. She stood at the edge of the platform, pretending to look at the scenery inside the Holy Spire, but her peripheral vision kept drifting to the side.
Aeron was leaning against a cool pillar, casually scrolling through the terminal in his hand, then sighed because there was no signal.
The light from the stained glass windows slowly moved across his face, outlining a slightly tired but relaxed profile.
There was none of the usual infuriating scheming, nor any deliberately feigned cynicism.
...When he's quiet like this, he's not that annoying after all.
Carlotta had already marveled at this many times, but she still had to admit that since Aeron decided to become a producer, he had truly changed.
There was light in his eyes, his actions no longer felt forced, and even his attitude toward them had shifted.
...But Carlotta still couldn't figure him out.
Rover—Carlotta had heard about her deeds in Jinzhou long ago, understanding her formidable strength and her determination to save civilization.
But Aeron was completely different.
It was said that during his time in the Order, he was solitary, not good at communication, but diligent and earnest in his work.
Yet when interacting with them, he seemed more talkative, sharp-minded, and appeared to be an impeccable good person—willing to sacrifice his own life for the benefit of others.
Doing things that were hard to understand, saying things that made people angry, yet always appearing at the most critical moments, in the most important places.
A warm current quietly welled up in her chest, mixed with a hint of bitterness, but mostly a flutter of emotion she couldn't quite put into words.
Carlotta looked at Aeron's calm profile and suddenly wanted to ask—ask him what he was really thinking, why he did these things, ask him…
Ask him… about me…
Just as Carlotta's thoughts were swirling, her piercing gaze was finally noticed by Aeron.
"Is there something on my face?"
"N-no, nothing! I was just thinking… you seem really happy today, haha…"
"Huh?"
Faced with such an abrupt remark, Aeron was momentarily taken aback.
"B-because someone's eyes were shining so brightly earlier! Honestly, you never look like that when you're with us!"
In her fluster, Carlotta ended up speaking a bit too honestly, though thankfully nothing too embarrassing slipped out.
"Because being with you, Second Young Lady, makes me that happy."
"Ugh… you're just dodging the question again!"
Carlotta knew this was Aeron's usual tactic to avoid answering, but she couldn't help admitting to herself that it still worked on her.
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Watching a rundown place slowly get better—that kind of thing is really stress-relieving, you know."
Facing Carlotta, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, Aeron shared his perspective.
"…Stubborn. You've been taking losses all along, and you still are."
"There are some things people do even when they know they'll lose out. Besides, aren't you the same, Second Young Lady?"
"Well… who knows?"
Carlotta deflected Aeron's question with one of her own, though deep down, she already had the answer.
The idol project, the renovation of Avinoleum, Ciaccona's concert… all of these were filled with risks from a business perspective—high investment, long return cycles, and uncertain market reactions.
From a rational standpoint, she shouldn't have agreed so easily, much less invested so many resources.
But she still agreed.
Not just because of Aeron's seemingly well-reasoned analyses, nor solely because of the potential benefits the project might bring.
But because—while listening to him talk about these things, while he described those scenes that "could make many people happy," she too felt a faint glimmer of anticipation growing in her heart.
She wanted to see the future he painted.
She wanted to see just how far this always-unpredictable guy could go.
She wanted to see—where she and he could go together.
"…Idiot."
Carlotta muttered softly.
"Why are you suddenly insulting yourself?"
"I really shouldn't give you even an ounce of face."
"Being thick-skinned is one of my few virtues."
"How is that a virtue?!"
In the end, their conversation returned to its familiar, comfortable rhythm.
…This isn't bad either.
In a place Aeron couldn't see, Carlotta secretly smiled.
As long as you're alive, good things will happen. No matter what kind of two people they are, it's through the trials of time that their bond begins to shine.
As for what comes later, let's leave that for later.
Just like Avinoleum, and just like this Holy Spire of Confluence, everything will have its day to shine.
Though she didn't know why such an accident had occurred today… Carlotta had to admit.
The time spent with Aeron had truly been joyful.
Holding such thoughts in her mind, Carlotta happily turned around, ready to take a closer look at the entire Holy Spire of Confluence, quietly treasuring this feeling.
Then, when Carlotta opened her eyes again—
A crimson light filled her entire field of vision.
"Huh?"