He was obviously an angel sent by the Goddess of Yuri to fix the original Marianne route’s Bad End!
Allen gradually regained his confidence.
A powerful tune resounded in his mind—it seemed to be an old song: “Everything Goes According to Plan.”
Yes, everything was within Allen’s expectations, and everything would go according to Allen’s plan.
The morning’s disturbance soon subsided. In the afternoon, Allen and Marianne hurried to the meeting point near the Forgotten Madonna inn, joining up with Hugo and Finn, who had arrived in advance.
The moment Hugo saw Allen, he rushed over with boisterous enthusiasm, pounding him on the back and laughing as only an avid bystander could:
“Hey! Brother! I heard all about it! Your fiancée, Livia von Stern, went straight to His Majesty to request a Formal Duel Permit so she could challenge you! Hahahaha! No wonder I liked you— even your fiancée has such personality! Hahahahaha!”
His delight at the spectacle left Allen exasperated.
“Wait, this mess spread so fast? Even you’ve heard?”
“Of course!” Hugo grinned, “This gossip was all over the noble circles by lunchtime. At first, everyone said you were like ‘a flower stuck in manure’ when Livia wanted to marry you. But once they heard your fiancée challenged you to a duel as soon as she saw you, now everyone pities you instead, saying you two are a perfect match—birds of a feather! Hahaha!”
He gave another hefty slap, nearly making Allen cough blood: “But don’t worry! I believe in you! Beat her thoroughly during the day, and at night she’ll let you—hee hee hee…”
Allen could stand it no longer, and interrupted Hugo’s dirty joke with a sharp straight punch to that handsome face: “I hate you perverts! You smacked my back just now as payback for me punching you before, didn’t you?”
“Oi, you saw through it, huh?” Hugo rubbed his nose, still grinning, “You’re too sharp, brother!”
Clearly, he was enjoying his gossip feast.
“My old man once thought about currying favor with the Count of the Borderlands—maybe have me betrothed to that ‘young lady.’” Hugo lowered his voice, shrugging. “After this mess, my old man immediately decided you two are a match made in heaven. Honestly, she’s gorgeous, but the moment I looked at her I could tell she’s a handful—a real lunatic! If I married her, I’d probably get beaten to death!”
Indeed. Allen thought Hugo’s instincts were spot-on.
However, hearing the noble circles’ general reaction to Livia’s challenge, Allen’s suspicious “assassin’s instincts” were triggered once again.
Did Livia really need to make herself so passive and disgraced?
After this, her reputation in noble circles was ruined; she’d almost never find a suitable marriage, and her life at the academy would likely be one of isolation and exclusion.
In past cycles, she’d always played the role of the perfect noble lady, trying to fit in.
This sort of self-destructive move was a first.
What’s going on?
Allen sensed that Livia’s actions weren’t just about trying to kill him—this was more like “self-defilement,” deliberately isolating herself so she’d have no allies.
He keenly sensed that Livia had probably made some kind of unimaginable agreement with the King.
Was she planning to be a lonely minister, a loyal minister, a minister willing to die for her lord?
Was she really ready to turn against the entire nobility and side with the King, for something so important that it moved even her in her despair?
Things seemed to be getting more complicated, and Allen felt an invisible pressure.
“By the way, did you get that mask I asked for?” Allen shook off his thoughts and turned to business.
“Got it!”
Hugo instantly pulled out a finely crafted, almost eerily beautiful Clown Mask and put it on.
Rather than looking ridiculous, the mask added an air of mysterious oppression to him.
“Not bad.” Allen commented, “If you went a little crazier and dyed your hair green, you could go straight to playing the villain.”
“I don’t want to be the villain!” Hugo immediately retorted, and then, coincidentally, struck a classic pose reminiscent of the original Kamen Rider’s transformation, “I am a righteous Kamen Rider!”
That almost made Allen break character and laugh out loud.
Seriously…bro, you’re wearing a clown mask and claiming to be a Kamen Rider?
Isn’t your “righteous knight” path a bit too wild?!
Maybe you should just wear a hard-to-take bat mask and be Batman instead.
But since Hugo wanted to be a “Kamen Rider,” Allen thought that was fine—he’d design a custom cosplay costume for him later.
After all, they were both fifteen-year-old chuunibyou boys, and had a natural obsession with anything cool that could also conceal their identity.
So, Allen poured out the whole Kamen Rider backstory, costume traits, all the cool poses and classic lines to Hugo.
Hugo listened with sparkling eyes, deeply moved by his “kindred spirit”: “That’s so cool! Allen, you’re a genius! It’s amazing to have a brother like you in my life!”
Allen was fired up too: “Come on, let’s try out some lines together!”
Hugo immediately tried to mimic Allen’s taught poses while shouting dashing catchphrases: “Don’t ask me why—because I am Kamen Rider!”
“Oh oh oh! Now you’ve got it!” Allen applauded, “Remember to use your Sun Emblem for some extra blinding effects! Let’s have a few more!”
Hugo pretended to transform, raising his fist to the sky and shouting, “The heavens call! The earth calls! The people call! Calling on me to defeat evil! I am the warrior of justice—Kamen Rider!”
“Woohoo! Awesome! More, more!”
Hugo even activated his Engraved Mark, surrounding himself with a faint golden glow, then spread his arms in an embrace-the-sun pose: “I am the Son of the Sun!”
“My god! That’s perfect! This was made for you!”
The two went full chuunibyou, having so much fun that they almost started an on-the-spot “Kamen Rider Cosplay Contest.”
In the end, it was Marianne, unable to watch any longer, who coughed a few times to remind them: “Young Master, Mr. Hugo, we should get back to business.”
Only then did the two reluctantly stop.
“No battle, no survival! The future of humanity depends on you!” Allen gave Hugo’s shoulder a final pat, throwing out one last catchphrase.
“Ah! Leave it to me!” Hugo nodded vigorously, his eyes determined, “If fighting is a sin, then let that sin be mine alone!”
The two solemnly shook hands, completing a “Justice Partners” initiation full of nerdiness and chuunibyou spirit.
After finishing his chuunibyou act, Allen turned to Finn, who had been waiting quietly, and reminded him: “Your flower girl is still under the Thieves’ Guild’s control. In the days you’ve been away, anything could have happened, so be prepared.”
“And remember, you need to control your anger—but don’t forget it, either. If something comes up and you need to blow your cover, just leave it to this hot-blooded idiot beside me. Don’t worry about changes in the plan, because…”
He paused, a confident smile on his face, “Everything is within my calculations.”
“I understand.” Finn nodded, then quietly added, “Besides, she’s not my little girlfriend…”
“Come on, you like her, she likes you—if you save her, she’ll be your girlfriend. That’s how the hero-rescues-beauty plot goes, right?”
As a proper villain and “fun lover,” Allen was passionate about gossip, but would never let himself become the subject.
When faced with waves of affection, he’d perfected the art of deflection, batting away all ambiguous advances with ease.
Marianne knew this well and couldn’t help but tease him: “I like you, and you like me, so does that make me your little girlfriend?”
Allen immediately replied, dead serious: “You like Livia, and Livia likes you, so you’re Livia’s little girlfriend.”
“That’s not it at all!” Marianne stomped her foot in frustration. “Why do you keep trying to twist our pure friendship?!”
Being forcefully paired up—especially with her closest friend—was enough to make her faint from rage!
Finn didn’t argue further, but in his heart, he understood well. The Flower Girl he liked—her fate was not in his hands. If…the worst happened to her, Finn would avenge her without hesitation.
“All right, let’s move out.” Allen clapped his hands, then said to Hugo, “Hugo, though I always call you a ‘hot-blooded idiot,’ don’t take it the wrong way. We’re ‘justice partners,’ after all. I don’t have to tell you what that means, do I?”
“Of course not!” Hugo puffed out his chest, “I’ll protect everyone’s smiles! Allen, my life is yours to command!”
“Soar to the skies—no, let’s soar together, Hugo!”
“Oh oh oh oh oh—!”
Watching these two fired-up idiots, Finn’s eyes were full of longing, while Marianne could only hold her forehead helplessly.
Boys… Are they all like this?