Chapter 115: Luna takes Aria’s dessert.
Aria smiled slightly when she heard that Luna had spoken with her manager.
"Harmless?"
"Yes."
"Did she think the same?"
Luna didn’t answer, so Noah looked at her.
"Luna."
"It’s fine."
"What did you do?"
"I asked where you were, nothing more."
"How did you ask her?"
"I did it... several times."
Aria let out a small laugh.
"How civilized."
Luna looked at her.
"I wasn’t the one who kidnapped Noah!"
"I didn’t kidnap him."
Noah intervened.
"Actually, it was pretty close to a kidnapping."
Aria looked at him.
"You got in on your own."
"After you blocked my path."
"You could have refused."
"And at first I did."
Luna held out a hand toward Noah.
"Let’s go."
Aria spoke.
"We’re not finished yet."
Noah checked the time.
"I am for today."
Aria didn’t look satisfied, but Luna took another step.
"You heard him."
Aria looked at Luna, and Luna held her gaze; neither of them smiled, but Noah decided to end it before another argument started.
"Aria."
She looked at him.
"Thanks for dinner."
"You’re welcome."
"And remember what I said."
Aria smiled.
"That you accepted."
"No, not that!"
Noah pointed slightly toward her.
"That you have to wait."
"Fine, I’ll remember both things."
Noah preferred not to argue, but Luna reacted instead.
"You accepted what?"
Noah froze, and Aria smiled a little more.
"My proposal, what else?"
Luna turned slowly toward Noah.
"What?"
Noah raised a hand.
"I’ll explain on the way, okay?"
Luna didn’t look away.
"You’d better."
Noah said goodbye to Aria before things got worse, so Luna took his arm and started walking, and he followed her.
As soon as they left the restaurant, he felt immediate relief; he hadn’t realized how much the place had been overwhelming him until he was outside.
They walked in silence for several meters before Noah spoke.
"Thanks."
Luna looked at him.
"For what?"
"For getting me out."
"I thought you had accepted."
"Not exactly."
"Aria said you did."
"I told her I might accept the engagement, but that she has to wait."
Luna stopped, so Noah did too.
"Why?"
"I need time."
"That’s not what I meant."
Noah sighed.
"Because I can’t solve everything by rejecting her."
Luna frowned.
"Yes, you can."
"It’s not that simple."
"Yes, it is."
"I also have to turn her into a magical girl."
Luna fell silent, and Noah continued.
"And I need her to join the team."
"That doesn’t require marriage."
"I know."
"Then I still don’t understand."
Noah looked ahead.
"There are too many things mixed together."
Luna didn’t look satisfied, but she didn’t push it at that moment either.
They started walking again, and after a few minutes Luna spoke.
"I talked to Yume."
Noah looked at her.
"About what?"
Luna took a moment to answer.
"About sharing you."
Noah almost tripped.
"What!?"
"I asked her if she would ever accept sharing the relationship."
Noah just stared at her.
"That direct?"
"Yes."
"And what did she say?"
"That she wouldn’t."
Noah sighed.
"Figures."
"I tried to explain it to her."
"About us?"
Luna shook her head.
"No."
Noah stopped.
"You didn’t tell her, did you?"
"No, I didn’t say anything."
"Why?"
"Because you weren’t there."
Noah stayed quiet, and Luna continued.
"I didn’t want to confess something the two of us did without you being present."
Noah nodded slowly; that made sense, but it also meant the problem was still exactly the same.
"What did you tell her?"
"That I could help her protect you."
Noah looked at her.
"That sounds more like an excuse."
"Yume said the same thing."
Luna kept a serious expression.
"She told me it’s not about protection."
"Then what?"
"She wants to keep being the only one for you."
Noah stayed silent, and Luna continued.
"She’s not going to listen to me."
"Maybe not right now."
"I don’t think she’ll change her mind easily."
"Probably not."
Luna looked at him.
"So we have a problem."
Noah couldn’t argue with that.
They reached a corner, and the café was still several blocks away, so Noah thought for a few seconds before making the decision.
"We’re going to talk to her."
Luna raised her eyebrows slightly.
"When?"
"After we deal with Aria."
"The engagement?"
"No."
Noah shook his head.
"Her powers."
Luna understood.
"When she becomes a magical girl."
"Exactly."
Noah kept walking.
"I have to give her the object."
"That star from last time?"
"Yes."
"I thought you carried it with you."
Noah closed his eyes.
"I left it at home today."
Luna stayed quiet, then spoke.
"That was clumsy of you."
"Thanks for the words of support."
"It’s the truth."
"I know."
Luna almost smiled, and Noah continued.
"Once Aria has her powers and joins the group, we stop putting it off."
Luna looked at him.
"Talking to Yume?"
"That’s right."
"Both of us?"
"Both of us."
Luna was silent for a few seconds.
"It could end badly."
"I know that very well."
"She might hate me."
"She could also get mad at me."
"She should."
Noah looked at her, and Luna kept the serious expression.
"We lied to her."
Noah lowered his gaze.
"Yeah, that’s true."
There was no comfortable way to describe it.
They had started a relationship behind Yume’s back, kept it secret, and the longer it went on, the worse the conversation would be.
Noah breathed slowly.
"That’s exactly why we have to do it."
Luna nodded.
"I won’t try to convince her alone again."
"Thanks."
"But if she tries to hit you..."
"I don’t think she will."
"I do."
"Luna."
"I’m considering possibilities."
Noah shook his head.
They started walking again, and after a few seconds Noah remembered something.
"How harmless was that interrogation?"
Luna avoided looking at him.
"Luna?"
"Your manager is fine."
"That doesn’t answer anything."
"She wasn’t hurt."
"That wasn’t my question."
"Then you don’t need to worry."
Noah sighed.
’She definitely did something.’
Even so, he was grateful.
If Luna hadn’t shown up, Aria probably would have kept pressuring him all night or tried to take him to a hotel again.
Noah looked up at the sky.
First he had to get the star back, then give it to Aria, get her to accept becoming a magical girl, integrate her into the group, and only then would he have to face, together with Luna, a conversation he had been avoiding for far too long: the integration of Luna into the relationship he had with Yume.
Noah lowered his gaze.
"One thing at a time."
Luna heard him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She watched him for a second, then looked forward again, and Noah kept walking beside her.
For now they would head back to the café.
Tomorrow he would bring the star, and this time, no matter what happened, he wouldn’t let anyone interrupt him again before he gave it to Aria.