“Joke, it was a joke. Calm down,” the red robed Alnea said to the Purplebud woman, before turning towards the black robed Alnea. “And you too. We have had enough fun for the day, so let’s stop teasing her. After all, provoking a lady is not good manners.”

  “When did we start caring about manners?”

  “…I always cared about manners, alright?”

  “Not a while ago.”

  “…That was just a little punishment for trying to tamper with my Heart repeatedly.”

  “You did say something about that… Did she try to tamper with my Heart too?”

  “She did, but you do not have to worry. Her means are not strong enough to manipulate a Clear Heart.”

  “…Clear Heart?” the Purplebud woman mumbled, glancing at Alnea with wide eyes. “No wonder…”

  “…Is that why you brought me here?” Alnea said to the Purplebud woman. “To make me vulnerable by forcibly extracting a part of me, and then manipulate my Heart to control me?”

  “…No,” the Purplebud woman said after regaining her composure. “I never tried to control either of you. Not that I could, even if I wished to. Though I did try to peek into your Hearts. But you would not blame a lady for being too curious, would you?”

  “…And here I thought that you were a little sensible for not trying to peek into my secrets,” Alnea said in a grumble, glaring at the Purplebud woman. “I should have known better. What else could I have expected from a Wanderer of the Lotus clan?”

  “…Women do not like stingy men, you know?”

  “It’s alright. I already have three girls who like me. There is no place for any more girls in my Heart. So, I am fine being stingy.”

  “Three? The Serpia clan’s heiress, the white haired girl… and the Weina? Has the Weina made her choice already? Then again, given your talent, you are indeed a good choice. But are you sure about not wanting any more girls? I am sure that I can recommend a few more to you.”

  “…Give up, Purplebud! Your temptations are futile. My Heart is not so easy to tamper with.”

  “…But I did not do anything this time.”

  “…As if I will believe you!”

  “…You can be quite funny when you are not tensed,” the Purplebud woman said, letting out a light chuckle. “No wonder the three girls fell for you.”

  “…I prefer to think that it was my charm.”

  “Oh, that I have no doubt about. You certainly have a strange charm about you. Not to mention all the interesting stories that you have to share… If only you were a few years older, even I might have considered falling for you.”

  “…No thanks. Like I said, I am happy with the three girls that I have.”

  “…Rejecting a lady to her face is considered very rude, you know? You should at least try to be a bit more tactful…”

  “…If you want tactful answers, then talk to that stupid man over there.”

  “…You do know that by calling me stupid, in a way, you are also calling yourself stupid, right?”

  “…We will see about that,” Alnea said to his red robed self, before turning back to the Purplebud woman. “If you have had enough fun, then let’s get to the point.”

  “Are you going to discard me now that you have had your fun? How heartless of you…”

  “…Why did you bring me here?” Alnea said, ignoring the antics of the Purplebud woman, but the woman herself did not seem to have any intention of answering his question truthfully.

  “To talk with you, of course. Did I not tell you before?”

  “…I do not have time to play your games, Purplebud. I gave you the answer you were looking for, and I hope that you will do the same for me.”

  “…Technically, you did not answer my question.”

  “But you understood what we said.”

  “That is because of my own brilliance.”

  “And the hints we gave.”

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  “…Even if that is the case, I you answered my question only after I answered yours. Not to mention that you answered only one of my questions, while I answered most of yours. Still, just for your sake, I can consider writing the two favours off.”

  “…First of all, you answered my questions as a favour to my other self, not in exchange for me answering your questions. And more importantly, are you forgetting the information you gleaned from our conversation?”

  “…I gleaned all those information through my abilities. What does it have to do with you?”

  “…Do not test my patience, Purplebud.”

  “…You look quite handsome when you get serious,” the Purplebud woman said, nodding to herself, with her lips curved upwards ever so slightly, before restraining her smile. “Now that I think about it, you were just as solemn back then. As was your other self. What exactly was the choice that the two of you made?”

  “…You will know in a while,” the two Alnea said in unison, glancing at each other, before turning back to the Purplebud woman. “Stop trying to change the topic, Purplebud.”

  “I am not changing the topic. I am just trying to bring it back to what it was before I interrupted it. It is my fault that we diverged, after all. It is only right that I bring it back.”

  “No need. You just need to answer my question. And we will go back to what we were doing before.”

  “…Are you sure? This may take a while. And I thought that there were people waiting for you.”

  “I trust them to hold on for a little longer.”

  “…You are quite persistent.”

  “So, you better give up and just answer my question. Why did you bring me here?”

  “…Women do not like men who pester them too much.”

  “That’s alright. I do not like you either.”

  “…And they certainly do not like a man asking them a favour so rudely.”

  “Stop wasting everyone’s time, Purplebud. Your tricks are not going to work.”

  “…Fine,” the Purplebud woman said, withdrawing the feigned look of annoyance from her face for a more thoughtful and amused expression. “I will tell you what you want to know. But only if you ask politely. And with my name.”

  “That sounds like a reasonable request,” the red robed Alnea said, prompting the black robed Alnea to glare at him. “What? Do not look at me like that. She is right. If you are asking a favour from a lady, you should do it politely.”

  “…Traitor,” Alnea mumbled to his red robed self, before turning towards the Purplebud woman. “Why did you bring me here, Vaniya?”

  “Huh? Did someone say something?” the Purplebud woman said, glancing at the black robed Alnea with a feigned look of confusion on her face, and was met a shrug from the latter.

  “I did not hear anything. Maybe because he missed a word or two…”

  “…Please, tell me, why you brought me here, Vaniya,” Alnea said, glaring at the traitor, while emphasising each of his words. He did not want to give another excuse to the Purplebud woman. If she still refused to answer…

  “Well, since you asked so nicely, I do not mind fulfilling your curiosity,” the Purplebud woman said, flashing a satisfied smile, before putting on a solemn face. “There is only one reason I brought you here. To let you understand the twin nature of all things, and accept the twin nature within your Heart.”

  “…Why?” Alnea said after a few moments of silence, let completely baffled by the Purplebud woman’s revelation. “You spent all that effort… sacrificed so many Oren Beasts… even your own clansmen… All just to let me understand the twin nature of all things?”

  “And accept the twin nature within your Heart.”

  “…Why?”

  “I do not know,” the Purplebud woman said, shaking her head. “It was an order from the Great Elder. Everything was an order from the Great Elder. Even the attack on you by poor Amira…”

  “I don’t understand…”

  “Neither do I. Or any of my other clansmen, for that matter. After repeated failure that the alliance led by my clan suffered against you earlier this year, the Great Elder took it upon himself to plan everything out. Including forcing you to the Final Trial, and pitting the entire city against you to keep you occupied. Even the sacrifice was planned by him. We were just told to do our part.

  “I, for instance, am responsible for guiding you to comprehend the essence of Red and Black, and resolve your differences with your other self. That is the sole reason I was sent to the Lost City. And I will leave the Final Trial the moment I complete my purpose. As for what you would do after leaving this place, that is between you and the people responsible for the rest of the Great Elder’s plan.”

  “…Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because you asked me, silly. Remember?”

  “…Why are you telling me about the plans of your clan?”

  “Are you sure that what I am telling you is the truth? What if I am just making up some stories? What if—

  “You are telling the truth,” the red robed Alnea said, without a hint of doubt in his voice, causing the Purplebud woman to stiffen for a moment, and narrow her eyes at him.

  “…How can you tell?”

  “I have my means. But that is not the point. The real question is, why are you leaking the points of your clan?”

  “…It is not that I want to, but some things are beyond my control,” the Purplebud woman said, shrugging her shoulders, with a helpless smile on her face. “Why do you think I have to leave the Final Trial after I finish guiding you?”

  “…The side effect of reconciling your two sides?” Alnea said, staring solemnly at the Purplebud woman. “Did you forcibly merge with your other self?”

  “…You can think of it like that.”

  “…No wonder you were so curious when you heard that there are other ways to reconcile the Red with Black.”

  “And the choice we made.”

  “So, are you two gentlemen finally going to satiate my curiosity?”

  “…What do you think?” Alnea said to his red robed self, who answered him with a grin.

  “It will always be my honour to bring smile to a lady’s face.”

  In the next moment, before the Purplebud woman could react, the two Alnea, one in Red, one in Black, unsheathed their swords, as they flashed through the world of Red and Black, leaving behind just faint afterimages, that was soon overwhelmed by the shockwaves that came from their clash. Reconciliation? That was not possible. Never was. Their Fate was set from the moment they split apart.