"Get out of the room." I knocked on the door.

"Leave me be." Kevin replied just as before.

"I need to talk to you about something." I continued knocking at a fixed frequency.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Right. Well, I still feel like I should tell you this." I braced myself before stating, "Kiria and I have decided to start dating."

"You what?!" He opened the door within seconds, "Y-You gotta be...! A-Ah, I mean, I-I d-don't care. G-Good for you..."

Biting his lips as he just barely uttered the words, one was hard pressed to see even one particle in him that was fine with it. Kevin isn't one to give up so quickly, he's a diligent worker once he sets his mind on something, so I imagine that's where the dilemma started for him. As someone who always does his best earnestly, even going so far as to throw his life away just for the girl of his dreams to like him back, I can see why he would get as demotivated as he did once he realized things weren't looking good for the relationship.

"By the way, I was lying." I sighed as his Purple gaze pierced a hole through mine, "Kiria is out buying groceries right now, so I just used the opportunity to get you to open the door."

"Oh, I see... Huh?" His legs started to wobble uncontrollably, "What's going on?"

Folding to the ground, he was completely confused as to where all his strength went. Then again, I don't see what's so surprising about muscle atrophy. Isn't it obvious that if you do nothing but lay in bed all day everyday that you'll start to feel weak once you get up all of a sudden?

"Ah, I see. It must be relief." He started chuckling, tears welling up from his Eye sockets, "H-Hahaha, damn... What the hell have I been doing with my life, Meil? I was just some child who had a fucking crush on his best friend, was that so odd? I wanted to make her dreams a reality when she told me about this stupid fucking University, so I earnestly collected every byte I could. I worked every part time job our hometown had to offer, I cursed every day I would get too sick to work because it meant I couldn't provide for her that day... But it was all worth it, I thought. Once I saw her smile when I offered her the money, her sheepish and reserved demeanor when she realized I wasn't joking. Her confident Eyes as she gave me the best hug I could have ever hoped for as she promised me dumb shit like "Don't worry, I'll make my rounds there and come back with a fortune to repay you!" Fucking shit, that one moment made me do it all over again just so I could pay to join her..."

"Kevin..." I was at a completely loss of words, "Then why are you saying all this to me, and not her instead?"

"... Hah." He chuckled after looking up at me, his Eyes now fully dyed a bright amethyst Purple, "Yeah, you WOULD think it to be that simple..."

"But it is, though?" I sat down next to him, kicking away the carton of soy milk he had laying on the floor, "Forgive me for my harsh tone, but I believe this is not something you can afford to beat around the bush with. Be honest with her, tell her everything you told me, and if she truly sees the value in all that you have done for her, then I am certain she will reciprocate those feelings."

"Meil, that's called blackmail." He sighed.

"I do not see what my skin color has to do with anything."

"No, not you! I'm talking about the term blackmail!" He shouted before explaining in a defeated tone, "I don't know what life outside of Simpleton is like, but over here we don't usually tell the girl we like "Hey, I paid for your shit, now be mine". That's a shallow and loveless relationship that's only gonna serve to torment the both of us. She's gonna feel guilty the entire time, and I'll feel like crap for abusing that guilt. That isn't how a normal relationship is meant to be."

"Apologies, my father Joseph never had a girl he favored." I shook my head, "Only the occasional times he would oogle the neighbors' wives for artistic purposes, but that is about as far as it went. In other words, it seems I am not the best person to talk to about human relations."

"Cheh. Nah, you're fine." He huddled up in his seated position, hiding his face as he hugged his knees, "Just talking to someone like this and stretching my vocal cords is more than enough. It was getting tiring listening to my inner voice all the time..."

"Well, I may not be the best at mending interhuman relations, but I have studied a lot of self-help books for my job back home." I flashed him a grin, "Kevin, did you know the human brain is just like an exam? Get a cheat sheet and you will always be in control of your mental state!"

***

As these two promised to better Kevin's current life even if it meant putting his goal to get Kiria to look his way on the backburner, the girl in question was walking back home with the groceries she was tasked to buy. The scholars and students that knew of her good deeds as the student council vice president greeted her at every step, almost completely overshadowing the young president helping her carry the bags.

"Good day, mademoiselle!" A younger underclassman waved, "Sure is a nice day today, isn't it?"

"Ah, good day. It sure is!" She smiled and waved back.

"V-Vice president!" Another far braver underclassman called out, "W-Would you care to join me for a cup of coffee?"

"Ha-ha, t-that's not..." She winced at the sudden suggestion.

"Buzz off, kid." Lemmy berated the young man, beating all of the confidence out of him, "You ain't got a chance with my most prized colleague , so best be on your way."

"Haah? Who you calling a kid, kid!?" The young man got a bit too cocky after realizing he towers over Lemmy, "I'd just like to get to know the people here better, got a problem with that? Isn't that right, little lady?"

"Ahm, n-no, just please..." Kiria looked around nervously, unable to give out a clear answer.

"Actually, I do." Lemmy's Eyes flashed a golden Yellow, "She is quite busy with her work as the student council vice president, on top of being a promising student at this very University. Leave her alone, or you'll regret it."

"U..." The underclassman winced, "U-Understood, sir!"

Now that the dust has settled, it seems all Eyes were pointed at Lemmy and Kiria all of a sudden. Lemmy had quickly realized his mistake in only causing more trouble for the girl he was trying to impress by doing this, so he had already braced himself for a motherly yet stern telling off, as was the norm up until now. However, he could only afford to look at her with a puzzled bewilderment as she thanked him with a flushed expression.

"I-I don't like you overexerting yourself with Command all the time." She blushed, "But this was kind of a scary situation, so I'm happy you did it."

"Yeah?" He chuckled as they continued walking back to the house, "Usually, it's at times like these that I get a headpat or something childish like that from you."

"R-Right, I was thinking about that..." She seemed oddly puzzled herself as she muttered, "These days, its getting more and more difficult to pat you on the head. Hehe, must be your growth spurt!"

"Huh?" His voice cracked from the surprise, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and cover up his mouth in embarrassment, "T-That's not...!"

"Hehe, see?" She gave him the nostalgic motherly smile he's come to adore, "Little Lemmy might not be so little anymore."

These very words pierced his grumpy heart, and from the wound rose up a stunning light. This was it, the moment where Lemmy had fallen for Kiria all over again. He was already well aware of his one-sided crush on her, but even back then he felt there were hardly any chances he'd make it a reality, given their age difference. Simply put, she didn't even see him as a man, but now, things just might be looking good for him.

"I'm still the same old grump you all know and love." He shrugged with a quivering smile, "Confident, competent, cocky, or whatever word starts with a C, for that matter."

"Does that include cute as well?" She said offhandedly, unaware of the effect it had on him.

"No! I'm not cute! Cool would work, but never EVER call a guy cute!" Lemmy defended his newly-found pride as a man, "If anyone's cute, it should be you!"

Without even realizing the weight of the accidental pick-up line he had tossed at her, Lemmy proudly stated loud and clear exactly how he sees her. They were away from the main street, so thankfully there weren't any students around to witness this scene unfurl, however you really didn't need witnesses at this point, because this shit sells itself.

"S-Shut up..." She hid her face away from him, "Stupid Lemmy..."

"Come on now, Stupid doesn't start with a C." He joked.

"Ugh, then I'm just gonna stick to calling you cute." She sighed.

"That won't do!" He got angry again, opening the front door of their shared house, only to see a spectacle in front of his very Eyes, "Gah! Don't do that shit in the living room, dammit!"

"M-Meil..." Kiria's Eyes sparkled as a bit of drool fell from the side of her lips, "A-And Kevin?! What are you doing in the living room, a-and you're practically n-naked at that!"

"Hm? No, just topless." I let go of the dumbbells Kevin and I went out to buy, "Just a bit of home workout to get Kevin back to his old self. Healthy body, healthy mind."

"I think it's really working!" Kevin didn't stop pumping the weights at full throttle, only to drop them the second he saw Kiria was with Lemmy, "Y-You...? What are you doing with her!?"

"Maybe if you'd have gone outside of your room once in a while, you'd have known the two of us were out buying you your damned milk." Lemmy smirked as he tossed him a carton from his bags, "By the way, they only had almond milk today. Sorry about that."

"Huh? But they had normal milk, though?" Kiria foiled his plans with a naive head tilt.

"Grr...! Damned tyke!" Kevin got up, his muscles bulging from the sudden shock of weightlifting after a straight month of inactivity, "Why, I oughta...! Eh?"

Immediately dropping down to the floor from overexhaustion, it seems he couldn't bear moving even a tendon more. It was time for rest, and whilst Kiria almost dropped all of her groceries to tend to him, Lemmy stopped her and, with a smug smirk, dropped down to whisper something in the dead-tired Kevin's ears.

"Y'know, she called me cute today." Lemmy's horrible smile made Kevin's teeth grit, "Oh, that was after she began seeing me as a man finally. I don't really know what your little strongman display here is supposed to prove, but just know that it's only a matter of time before she falls under my spell! Mueheheheh...!"

"Y-You fuck!" Kevin gagged, almost throwing up from the fatigue, "Once my muscles recover, I'll snap your spine like a tree branch!"

"Kevin! Lemmy's just trying to help you get up!" Kiria reprimanded him, unaware of the true reason why Kevin was cussing Lemmy out, "Now apologize or I'm really gonna be mad at you!"

"K-Kiria, he...!" Kevin then bit his tongue, knowing full well just how tough of a situation he got placed in, "Grk! Lemmy, I'm... sorry..."

"Oh, what's this~? Strongman Kevin seems to have a soft spot after all~!" Lemmy ruthlessly teased as he helped Kevin up and took him to his bed.

Kevin was powerless to do anything about the situation, and Lemmy only used this fact as a way to torment him.

"Thanks for taking care of him, Lemmy." Kiria smiled at them, "Kevin might be a real pain to deal with, but I'm glad you're at least mature enough to help him out."

"N-No way..." Kevin's Eyes glew such a bright Purple that it had illuminated the floorboards in front of him.

"Not a problem, Kiria. Next time you need help, think of the ever dependable Lemmy~!" He sang as he finally left the room.

Dammit, just when I thought things were looking good finally! Lemmy, you've been a thorn in my side for the last time, maybe I should purge you as well... No, that's no good. He's Lee's son, so he's practically invincible in that regard. Plus, killing is bad, and I should avoid killing people unless it's absolutely necessary. I need to figure out another way to tilt the odds in Kevin's favor...