Omake 25: Uncle Dio’s Wise Advice (1)

A few centuries after the Main Story…

The paperwork is still the same pain in the butt.

I could only huff as he kept on trying to brave the endless mess of paper and ink that just didn’t seem to give him any reprieve. One would think that, after so many years wasted trying to find a solution, something would have come out and… they would be correct. He delegated a fraction of the documents to several candidates, allowing Hannah to take on a large portion of the functions of leadership by installing her as the vice-director of Made in Heaven, and even using my own Stand to halve the remaining burden.

Something of it still remained despite his best efforts, and it wasn’t small enough to just ignore. I really loved to glare at the ‘harmless’ paper, hoping to just make it inconsequential and erasing it from existence from a mere glance. Technically, I could do something about it, but then something else similar-formed would come up to take its place. Erasing paperwork was like decapitating a hydra. More heads just seemed to come out from the cruel beast all administrators had to face on a daily basis and… this was getting fairly annoying.

Taking a tiny break from the tiresome task, I took a moment to stare around the office, thinking of a possible excuse to just skip work altogether. It wasn’t even like I was going to risk it if I took a day off from work.

I have the power to fucking stop time at my whim, I don’t believe I have to worry about running late about something like that.

Despite that, Hannah still wanted me to keep my own promises of not relying too much on my powers on something so insignificant. Which was honestly right since I was doing my best to keep a connection with my workers and those that believed in my words but… the temptation was always there, and it never lost any of its alluring effects.

Regardless of that, I paused a moment as I heard a familiar beeping noise coming from the only phone on the table. I tapped at the blinking button, intrigued by the unusual call from my secretary. It was way too early for lunchtime and I couldn’t remember setting up an appointment with anyone for today.

“Yes, Helena?”

“Lord Dio, there is Mr. Aryoko here that wishes to speak with you. He said that it was urgent.”

A chance to get a proper break from work? And from my favorite nephew at that? That sounds like a blessing from the Heavens themselves.

“Yes please, allow him in the office.”

I removed my finger off the button and waited patiently for the young man to finally come inside. It’s been a while since I had the chance to speak with him, and the last time I saw him was when he started college way earlier than many other students. At fifteen, which was impressive considering how high the requirements for Prism Uni really were at the time. Perhaps one of the smartest kids I had the chance to speak to, he was also a kind and shy guy that would ask for my advice more than once. Not that he wouldn’t ask his parents when needed, but I would be lying if I said that we had bonded plenty of times now on numerous things we had in common.

I waited patiently as I heard soft footsteps approaching and then I saw the door open. A young blond peeked his head inside, nervous but curious green eyes quickly locking onto my smile as my nephew finally entered the office.

He was wearing a half-sleeved green shirt, a pair of black pants and some red shoes. His blond hair reached down a little below his shoulders, which prompted him to put some of it in a short ponytail to avoid any unflattering display of it. His fur was as white as Kate’s, but there were black stripes he inherited from his father.

“Uncle Dio.”

“Shin,” I greeted back warmly. “Please, join me. I am happy that you’re finally visiting after so long.”

A nod, he quickly paced towards one of the chairs in front of my desk, sitting down as he waited for me to speak up again.

“Would you like something? Coffee? Cola? Maybe chocolate milk?”

His interest perked at the last mention, but he swiftly shrugged off the minor interest in getting some of that sweet treat. If he was so quick to push away from his favorite drink, then it had to be something really important.

“Not right now, no. I… I actually need your help, uncle.”

That I had realized, but I was particularly surprised by the forwardness. Still, I nodded at him. “And what might be giving you trouble, Shin?”

…

“It’s… about a girl.”

Oh, that… that I need to hear about. I, Dio, needed to involve myself into the romantic life of my nephew! I had to, it was a duty I had into my life as a parent. I did this with Giorno, and I was going to do the same with Shin.

“A girl you like?”

“Yes.”

I nodded. “Then please, explain to me which is the problem.”

He took a while to loosen up his tongue, but the blond started to finally paint out the issue that had him seek assistance in me.

“W-Well, there is this girl that I know is interested in me, and I’m really into her too… but she is older than me.”

I nodded. “I suppose that’s quite unusual, still which is the problem?”

“...She is older than me, Uncle. By five years.”

…

…

“Shin, I want to try and summarize your current ‘problem’: you have problems with the fact the girl you want to date is… your senior by five years?”

“Y-Yes. I mean, I don’t have any problem with that but I’m worried that others might.”

“...And?”

He gave me a confused look. “And that could bring her problems.”

“Do you really think that is actually going to matter if love is behind this turn of events, silly nephew of Dio?”

He snorted at the over-pompous nickname, but the young man quickly hummed. “It’s just that I don’t want to hurt her by doing this.”

“I believe the other option would actually hurt her. Is she that frail within her emotions to be unable to take in that kind of silliness?” I inquired, frowning as I failed to think of anyone that could have gained his interest. I know of one that did try to get close to him, but then she ultimately dropped the ‘chase’ since she wasn’t getting any progress and she went through with her rising career in music.

“No, of course not-”

“Then please, elaborate on what logic you have in your worries?”

…

“Shin-”

“None. I… I know she would easily shrug these issues off but… I still can’t help but worry.”

“Which is quite normal considering that nowadays it’s not unusual for this kind of difference to be problematic,” I remarked. “But I can tell you that proved to be actually trouble when I had to marry your aunt.”

“You… wait, really? I didn’t know that Auntie was older than you.”

“By just a few years. At the time we had to seal the deal, we found some opposition by society, and… yeah, it was fairly frustrating. I was also worried that it would have ruined the event since many also advanced death threats.”

…

“But?” Shin asked and I smiled.

“But we still went through with these plans. As if we were going to allow some fools’ opinion to matter in something that was ours to enjoy as a big step in our life together,” I replied fiercely. “I was there when you were so concerned about your little sister being given the chance to go to elementary school, when you thought that she would have been lonely and made no friends. Yet your father and mother, despite sharing your worries, still sent her. How did it fare?”

“...She made some friends.”

“And she also was happy. Sure, it was a risk, and there were some bumps with some silly kids but… you really shouldn’t be reluctant to do anything out of a single worry,” I added without hesitation. “Boldness is what makes a person capable of achieving their truest potential, and right now your love for this young woman is threatened by some concerns that have no basis. Are you going to allow fear to dictate your steps from now on?”

“No,” He replied with a determined smile on his face.

“Then go out there, ask this girl out and be a proper gentleman. Don’t you dare come back here if you backed out from your own ambitions, all because you wanted to be overly-paranoid over such a silly topic, oh Nephew of Mine!”

…

He sighed, a small smile appearing on his face. “I suppose I’m just worrying too much about it. Maybe I should really go and ask Naerie out myself. Thank you, uncle.”

“You’re welcome and- wait, did you say Na… and you are gone.”

I felt immensely annoyed that he would bail the very moment he revealed the name of the girl he was fancying. I was well aware of who she was and… I could see them actually working well as a couple. But it wasn’t the chemistry that worried me that much, but the mother of the girl.

One blink and… I could already feel headaches coming my way at the giggles coming from that crazy woman. Her and her pervy ways, trying to corrupt my already unconventional wife.

Nonetheless, this was still a good distraction away from paperwork and… would you look at that? It’s lunch time.