PHASE 27 - THE LOVE STORY ACCORDING TO KRISTOFF

Tiara’s eyes are so shiny, being wet with her own tears. She’s like a heartbroken dog who has no idea why her owner left her at the animal shelter. To lighten the mood, I caressed her head and encouraged her with a smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be your temporary family. I’ll help you find your twin brother and also your father.”

Tiara sniffed and tried hard not to cry. When she’s about to burst out, she immediately gave me a warm tight hug. Every hug is like the first time. She’s really soft and squishy, and I had the urge to squeeze her until she suffocates. She’s a living stuffed toy.

“Thank you, Rikkun…” Tiara softly whispered in my ear.

That hug should help me calm my nerves. But I know my blood pressure would be sky-high again once we stepped out of this bar.

Because I have to meet the man I hated the most.

<>

We were on our way to the infirmary when my attention was grabbed by a middle-aged woman with long hair. She was wearing an apron and seemed to be going out until she realized my face.

“You’re Alaric, right? It’s been years!” The woman said.

“I-I’m sorry ma’am, who are you again?”

“I’m Kristoff’s mother.” The woman said. “I’m glad that you’re here to visit!”

The middle-aged woman guided us until we reached room number 15 of the dialysis sector. When Kristoff’s mother opened the room, I was dumbstruck.

Kristoff is comfortably lying on his adjustable bed, in a 30-degree tilt. He is still tall and dark, but he’s no longer handsome. There are scars all over his face and his left eye is covered with bandages. What’s more is that his right feet look lifeless. He seems to have finished his dialysis a few minutes ago.

Everything was wrapped in an awkward long silence.

“I’ll leave him to you now.” Kristoff’s mother went out of the room to buy for snacks.

And Tiara… Has been drooling over the basket of fruits laid on the desk beside us.

“You can have it, miss.” Kristoff broke the silence as he talked to Tiara. Tiara replied with a swift “Thanks!” and then proceeded to eat the fruits, bananas first.

“I didn’t imagine that we will meet again under this circumstances.” Kristoff then said to me.

“Yeah,” I smirked a little. “Looks like you got too salty in your breakup that your kidney failed to handle it.”

“Rikkun! Stop being so rude!” Tiara glared as if she's telling that she’s going to smack me with a fruit basket.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I got carried away.” I scratched my head.

“That’s okay. I don’t expect you to understand me anyway.” Kristoff made a sorry smile. “I know that after all these years, you felt betrayed by me and Amy. But now that you are a Gate Guardian, it’s time for you to know the whole truth.”

“I already know.” I curled my eyebrows and crossed my arms. “Stop washing Amy’s hands as if she didn’t do something so dirty. Look, Amy just rebuilt our friendship, and we’re okay as friends now. You don’t need to beat an issue that has been dead for two years.”

I turned my back and grabbed Tiara’s arm, signaling that we should go away. But Tiara shook her head, silently telling that I should hear the handicapped guy first before going. And also, she’s still chomping down the watermelon slices.

“Since you guys seem to be in a hurry, I’ll just drop you one sentence,” Kristoff muttered. “... Jeannette loves you.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Jeannette loves you more than me, and that is the whole truth.” Kristoff calmly proclaimed. “That’s a healthy pill for you to swallow.”

I clenched my fist and looked at him with an intent to kill. I want to choke this guy using my own hands! I want to push him off his bed and smack his face with the dialysis machine!

“What do you know about us, huh!? You’re just a snake who stole the girl I loved since everything! You don’t even know me! You only know something from that damn girl’s perspective! You guys are just toying romantic feelings as if it’s nothing! You two made me feel like I’m just a useless piece of shit that can be stopped by anyone! And I….”

I stopped momentarily when I noticed that tears have been running from my cheeks. My jaws are trembling that I could no longer mutter any word. But Kristoff… He talked calmly even after receiving my outburst.

“That is why I asked you to come here. I want to enlighten you. I don’t want Jeannette to cry anymore. Not you too.”

I wiped my tears and breathed to calm myself. “It seems to me that you still love her. I don’t want to hear something about from two years ago. I thought I have moved on, but you revived my hatred for both of you.”

“You can hate me all you want, but please try to listen first before putting all your hate to your precious friend.”

He’s so insistent. I made a final sigh. “Fine.”

Kristoff smiled and then started his long bedtime story.

<>

“Like what I’ve been saying, Jeannette lied about everything.

We first met when I rescued her from an Eidolon attack. She accidentally opened a Gate to the parallel dimension, got lost and was attacked by an Eidolon. I was a victim of love at first sight. After I saved her, I recruited her to become a Gate Guardian like me.

It was a double purpose act because I wanted to know more about her.

She seemed interested, so I taught her while going out together. I discovered that she had a crush on me so we became close and officially became a couple even at a young age.

But I was so dumb at that time. I cheated. I flirted with another Gate Guardian candidate so our relationship went sour. That’s when she came back to you for a couple of months.

After a few weeks, my new partner left me, so I wanted Jeannette to be back to my side as my girlfriend. But as time goes on, she realized that she has absolute feelings for you too. She rejected all my offers just to be with you, her true love.

But there was one time you got possessed by an Eidolon. That specific Eidolon converted your love into lust, and you attempted to sexually assault Jeannette. Luckily, I was there, killed the Eidolon and saved the day.

Yes, I know. Your love for her is genuine. But Eidolons are so powerful that they can corrupt any person’s mind.

When I managed to defeat the Eidolon that corrupted you, she used her to force you to forget everything about that assault. Even if you ask her in person, she wouldn’t answer.

That was the time when you confessed your love to her. Naturally, she rejected you because she was so scared at that time. From then on, she lost the courage to face you. And she came back to me, as a friend. We faked our relationship so that you will be forced to go away from her.

I would like that because I see you as my greatest rival. But Jeannette… She did it out of confusion. She just realized that she made a mistake when you transferred to another high school in Dradecim.

Fortunately for her, she inherited a Goddess Core, which is a special type of Quintessence used to obtain the power of the mythical gods. She would soar in the skies as Lord Freya and watch you from afar, killing Eidolons every time they try to possess you.

Every day, after her class, she would fly to Dradecim in a flash. Most of the time she would go home injured and exhausted. That happened every day, for the past two years.

Two months ago, she got badly injured so she asked the Kozukata Shrine Maidens to assign a Gate Guardian to watch over you.”

<>

Suddenly, the door opened, and the devil spoke. It was Amy, with her serious expression and crossed arms. I’ve seen her pissed so many times and this is the latest. She glared at me, then to Kristoff.

“Stop making stories, Kristoff,” Amy said with a serious tone.

PHASE 27 - THE LOVE STORY ACCORDING TO KRISTOFF

Tiara’s eyes are so shiny, being wet with her own tears. She’s like a heartbroken dog who has no idea why her owner left her at the animal shelter. To lighten the mood, I caressed her head and encouraged her with a smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be your temporary family. I’ll help you find your twin brother and also your father.”

Tiara sniffed and tried hard not to cry. When she’s about to burst out, she immediately gave me a warm tight hug. Every hug is like the first time. She’s really soft and squishy, and I had the urge to squeeze her until she suffocates. She’s a living stuffed toy.

“Thank you, Rikkun…” Tiara softly whispered in my ear.

That hug should help me calm my nerves. But I know my blood pressure would be sky-high again once we stepped out of this bar.

Because I have to meet the man I hated the most.

<>

We were on our way to the infirmary when my attention was grabbed by a middle-aged woman with long hair. She was wearing an apron and seemed to be going out until she realized my face.

“You’re Alaric, right? It’s been years!” The woman said.

“I-I’m sorry ma’am, who are you again?”

“I’m Kristoff’s mother.” The woman said. “I’m glad that you’re here to visit!”

The middle-aged woman guided us until we reached room number 15 of the dialysis sector. When Kristoff’s mother opened the room, I was dumbstruck.

Kristoff is comfortably lying on his adjustable bed, in a 30-degree tilt. He is still tall and dark, but he’s no longer handsome. There are scars all over his face and his left eye is covered with bandages. What’s more is that his right feet look lifeless. He seems to have finished his dialysis a few minutes ago.

Everything was wrapped in an awkward long silence.

“I’ll leave him to you now.” Kristoff’s mother went out of the room to buy for snacks.

And Tiara… Has been drooling over the basket of fruits laid on the desk beside us.

“You can have it, miss.” Kristoff broke the silence as he talked to Tiara. Tiara replied with a swift “Thanks!” and then proceeded to eat the fruits, bananas first.

“I didn’t imagine that we will meet again under this circumstances.” Kristoff then said to me.

“Yeah,” I smirked a little. “Looks like you got too salty in your breakup that your kidney failed to handle it.”

“Rikkun! Stop being so rude!” Tiara glared as if she's telling that she’s going to smack me with a fruit basket.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I got carried away.” I scratched my head.

“That’s okay. I don’t expect you to understand me anyway.” Kristoff made a sorry smile. “I know that after all these years, you felt betrayed by me and Amy. But now that you are a Gate Guardian, it’s time for you to know the whole truth.”

“I already know.” I curled my eyebrows and crossed my arms. “Stop washing Amy’s hands as if she didn’t do something so dirty. Look, Amy just rebuilt our friendship, and we’re okay as friends now. You don’t need to beat an issue that has been dead for two years.”

I turned my back and grabbed Tiara’s arm, signaling that we should go away. But Tiara shook her head, silently telling that I should hear the handicapped guy first before going. And also, she’s still chomping down the watermelon slices.

“Since you guys seem to be in a hurry, I’ll just drop you one sentence,” Kristoff muttered. “... Jeannette loves you.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Jeannette loves you more than me, and that is the whole truth.” Kristoff calmly proclaimed. “That’s a healthy pill for you to swallow.”

I clenched my fist and looked at him with an intent to kill. I want to choke this guy using my own hands! I want to push him off his bed and smack his face with the dialysis machine!

“What do you know about us, huh!? You’re just a snake who stole the girl I loved since everything! You don’t even know me! You only know something from that damn girl’s perspective! You guys are just toying romantic feelings as if it’s nothing! You two made me feel like I’m just a useless piece of shit that can be stopped by anyone! And I….”

I stopped momentarily when I noticed that tears have been running from my cheeks. My jaws are trembling that I could no longer mutter any word. But Kristoff… He talked calmly even after receiving my outburst.

“That is why I asked you to come here. I want to enlighten you. I don’t want Jeannette to cry anymore. Not you too.”

I wiped my tears and breathed to calm myself. “It seems to me that you still love her. I don’t want to hear something about from two years ago. I thought I have moved on, but you revived my hatred for both of you.”

“You can hate me all you want, but please try to listen first before putting all your hate to your precious friend.”

He’s so insistent. I made a final sigh. “Fine.”

Kristoff smiled and then started his long bedtime story.

<>

“Like what I’ve been saying, Jeannette lied about everything.

We first met when I rescued her from an Eidolon attack. She accidentally opened a Gate to the parallel dimension, got lost and was attacked by an Eidolon. I was a victim of love at first sight. After I saved her, I recruited her to become a Gate Guardian like me.

It was a double purpose act because I wanted to know more about her.

She seemed interested, so I taught her while going out together. I discovered that she had a crush on me so we became close and officially became a couple even at a young age.

But I was so dumb at that time. I cheated. I flirted with another Gate Guardian candidate so our relationship went sour. That’s when she came back to you for a couple of months.

After a few weeks, my new partner left me, so I wanted Jeannette to be back to my side as my girlfriend. But as time goes on, she realized that she has absolute feelings for you too. She rejected all my offers just to be with you, her true love.

But there was one time you got possessed by an Eidolon. That specific Eidolon converted your love into lust, and you attempted to sexually assault Jeannette. Luckily, I was there, killed the Eidolon and saved the day.

Yes, I know. Your love for her is genuine. But Eidolons are so powerful that they can corrupt any person’s mind.

When I managed to defeat the Eidolon that corrupted you, she used her to force you to forget everything about that assault. Even if you ask her in person, she wouldn’t answer.

That was the time when you confessed your love to her. Naturally, she rejected you because she was so scared at that time. From then on, she lost the courage to face you. And she came back to me, as a friend. We faked our relationship so that you will be forced to go away from her.

I would like that because I see you as my greatest rival. But Jeannette… She did it out of confusion. She just realized that she made a mistake when you transferred to another high school in Dradecim.

Fortunately for her, she inherited a Goddess Core, which is a special type of Quintessence used to obtain the power of the mythical gods. She would soar in the skies as Lord Freya and watch you from afar, killing Eidolons every time they try to possess you.

Every day, after her class, she would fly to Dradecim in a flash. Most of the time she would go home injured and exhausted. That happened every day, for the past two years.

Two months ago, she got badly injured so she asked the Kozukata Shrine Maidens to assign a Gate Guardian to watch over you.”

<>

Suddenly, the door opened, and the devil spoke. It was Amy, with her serious expression and crossed arms. I’ve seen her pissed so many times and this is the latest. She glared at me, then to Kristoff.

“Stop making stories, Kristoff,” Amy said with a serious tone.