Trisha was drinking juice through a paper straw. She was sitting at one of the shops which sold cold pressed fruit juice.

“Carbon credit taxes. Don’t they already charge it directly into the main supply line? Why did they add an additional tax for the consumers,” she griped.

“No idea,” Ivan said, leaning against the backrest of the chair.

“There must be some reason we’re unaware of. At least it serves as an indirect manner to help the environment,” Questria scrolled through the digital receipt.

[It’s due to the increase in plastic consumption of the people. The government requires the extra tax to offset the influx of waste that has been produced, and to also open new degradation plants throughout the country.]

“Can’t they just ship it offshore? There are countries out there that process waste as their main economic driver, right?”

[Alska government intend to go towards self sufficiency.]

“And we, the public, help fund the project. What are the chances of it being some corrupt scheme inside the senate?”

[...]

“Sorry. I’m joking please...”

As long as the politicians do their work well to manage the countries, taking a portion of the money doesn’t matter.

Or, would it be better said that money can be fabricated out of thin air? There’s no intrinsic value to the digital dollar. And because of it, the fluctuation of value makes it a crazy gambling pot for the daredevil investors.

“How’s the pineapple-king?” Trisha asked Ivan.

“They added a lot of sugar. I think I should go back to strawberry-banana next time.”

“You two sure don’t talk a lot do you?” Quetria titthered.

Saying that, Ivan and Questria looked at each other. They smiled.

Trisha felt a little jealous even though there wasn’t really a reason to because..

“It’s nice having someone to break the silence.” Questria said.

“You’re really open to these things aren’t you, Questria.”

“As long as Ivan is alright with it. After all, you do fit my taste when it comes to a woman,” the elf leaned forward and gazed into Trisha’s eyes. Xe licked hirs lips.

“Heeh..” Trisha felt a little chill.

“Xe said xe’s been eyeing you ever since I bumped into you that time on the train.”

“Wow, what a stalker.”

“Ivan..” Questria gripped.

“Whoops.. spilled my drink geh..”

“Ai.. wait, let me help you get a tissue.”

“No need. I’ll do it.”

Ivan used the few pieces he had in hand to wipe his mouth and soak up the juice on the table before getting up to the lavatory to clean himself.

With Ivan’s back turned to Trisha, she shifted her line of sight towards Questria.

“Thank you,” she lowered her head.

“No. No. It’s alright. I mean, we’ve been considering a third partner for quite some time now.”

“Thank you for giving him a second chance as a demon, and for clearing things up between us. I owe you one.”

Xe chuckled, a blush on hirs cheeks.

“Then if you're intent on returning the favor, you know what to do when we ask for your hand in marriage.”

This time, it was Trisha’s turn to blush.

The decision could be said as quite sudden.

Though, the truth was that the three of them have known each other long ago. One can simply say that they’ve gone through a period of separation before finally reuniting. In the past, they were related to each other as members of the same fleet.

Questria’s class operative is a craft carrier. Xe was the one who turned Ivan into a craft after his death.

It was also then that Ivan began piecing together the missing fragments of the memory he didn’t even know he had– the real reason why Trisha left him.

Honestly, who would want to marry a corpse?

Corpse..

Trisha thought.

After encountering Carlos and digesting his words, she realized that perhaps she was wrong.

Perhaps the soul does live on.

Damage to the soul may be inevitable, but the biggest complication to this assumed ‘death’ is the loss of memory.

Fact was, there is no exact proof that the soul disappears after death– that angels and demons become empty shells when their erosion value falls to zero. It's subjective information that has been passed from one generation to the next, something angels and demons alike just accepted as part of the natural order.

Proof of this is Avner’s mysterious condition.

“Do you think Avner will retain his skills if he turns into a craft?” Trisha asked.

“Ivan did, I’m sure he would too.”

“Really?”

Questria nodded.

“He had to practice a little for him to return to his usual skill level though.”

That was good news. Avner’s talent wouldn’t go to waste then.

“So what did he say about it? Will he become a craft?”

“Under consideration, he says.”

“Hey, it’s already dripping!” Ivan who returned with more tissue quickly caught the spillage at the edge of the table.

“Opps, thank you dear.”

“You should really pay more attention to these things.”

Questria merely chuckled.

Ivan mopped up the remaining spillage with more tissues. It was a big waste of paper.

“So, what did you two talk about?”

“Us,” Questria said.

“So she said yes?” Ivan asked, expectantly.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Trisha muttered.

“That’s.. quick.”

“I’m sorry about last time. I couldn’t explain it so..”

“It’s over now. Let’s not think about that.” Ivan smiled wryly.

“Yeah,” Trisha replied with a smile of her own.

[Trisha, Lucifer will be reaching in 5 minutes.]

“Oh. She’s going to get here in 5 minutes. Standby. You know what to say right?” Trisha turned to Ivan and Questria.

“Do you?” Ivan looked at Questria.

“Nope.”

“Me neither.”

“Good.”

The three of them looked at each other.

Then laughed.

Lucifer arrived wearing her work uniform.

“Afternoon.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Miss demon.”

“Trisha, that’s rude,” Ivan interjected.

“Eh..”

“Good afternoon. So will this be the place to discuss the matter?”

“Yes.”

“Go order a drink or.. do you want us to sponsor you one?”

“I’ll get one myself, it’s alright.”

The three of them shifted their seats and made way for her. Lucifer’s expression didn’t look too bright.

“I’m sorry but I’m curious so I thought to ask. How are you two related to Trisha?” Lucifer began.

“I’m her ex.”

“I’m her crush.”

“...”

“Really?” Ivan turned to Trisha.

Trisha cocked her head to one said, not knowing how to reply.

“Jokes aside, I’m his fiancé and we’re planning to have a third partner,” said Questria.

“I see..” It remains a mystery if Lucifer understood what they said.

“You got the avocado one?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

“I think it’s yicky.”

“I’ve actually tried it once, it’s not bad. It tastes good even if you tell them not to add any sugar, since the fruit itself holds the flavor well.”

“Never tried it, won’t ever.”

“Did you just finish work? I’m sorry for having called you here. You were working right?”

“I’m taking a half-day leave.”

“Wow.”

“Your boss is great, to approve your leave so easily. My boss didn’t approve of my leave, so I’m skipping work today, you know?”

“Your boss sure has a good worker.”

“He sure does.”

Lucifer and Trisha smiled at each other. It was quite eerie. Like they were having some sort of rivalry, though the object of context wasn’t well defined.

Lucifer broke into the topic first and sighed.

“I’ve gotten the explanation from him. Now I want to hear it from your side. What happened, and how did he get dragged into the war.”

Lucifer’s eyes swept across the table

Trisha shrugged.

“He did it on his own volition. Even so, I need to apologize because his decision may have been influenced by one of my teammates. He accepted the call because he thought someone was in trouble.”

“Then about the part where he faced a Seraph?”

“I can attest to that. He was able to go against it one to one,” Ivan raised his hand.

“Same here,” Questria supported.

“How did he face The Seraph. That’s what I want to know.”

“He used some kind of weapon.”

Trisha tried to recall the happenings that night.

Avner’s eyes that were originally red. But when she met his gaze for that brief moment, she saw that it was gold, a colour representing divinity.

“Maybe he’s a Seraph. He did exude a divine pressure,” Trisha muttered.

“I need facts, not assumptions.”

“I can’t give you the facts even if I wanted to. It just happened so fast. He came to save our arse and if not for that we would’ve died… well, I died in the end anyways. Got backup insurance.”

“So he risked his life to protect the three of you?”

“No quite,” Questria shook hirs head. “He said that The Seraph is suffering. Though I wasn’t sure what he meant, I think there’s some implication there we’re uncertain about.”

“Hm..”

Lucifer began typing something.

“We should probably gather questions to ask him instead of guessing our way to why he acted that way.”

“That person back then, Avner, you said he retained his memories, right?” Ivan interjected.

“Yes, but at the cost of his other soul, he says.”

“Other soul?”

“He has two souls. The reason why he’s so proficient in using weapons, is probably because of his second soul, the one with the memories of his past life.”

“Wait, that.. shouldn’t that be impossible? Then what exactly I’m I?”

“Dear, don’t worry about that,” Questria tried to soothe him.

“Right..”

“Sorry,” Trisha lowered her head. Her past actions were the one that informed his panic.

“No, it’s alright.”

“Two souls. So he’s now left with one soul? How does he know he has two souls?”

“That’s his hypothesis. Because that one soul was involved, though associated with either the angels or demons, he can remember what happened. The first soul is gone, so he’s now the second. Not sure what he means but I think it has to do with becoming a different person?”

“How about his flu? Was it the side effect of the death?”

“No. He says it’s a normal flu. He went to visit his friend in the hospital a few times, he guessed that-that’s where he got it.”

“Still, to take on a Seraph. Who the hell can do that?”

“Are any demons and angels involved in the war aware of him?”

“I think yes.”

“I don’t know.”

Trisha left early, so she didn’t watch the conclusion.

To most of the participants, it looked very much like a Leviathan class UAB had just joined the battlefield.

“Whatever it is. He can’t fall into the angel’s hands,” Trisha said resolutely.

“Huh? Come again?” Lucifer doubted her ears. To think Trisha would say something like this.

“He can’t fall into the angel’s hand.”

“If you’re alright with it, I can turn him into a demon craft. Of course, he’ll return to your fleet,” Questria proposed.

“I thank you for your offer. But, there’s no need for that,” Lucifer shook her head.

“Hm?”

“Our admiral will decide on it. She’s a craft carrier herself.”

“Is that so..”

“Yes.”

===

dotturndot: That’s a wrap for Volume 3! Thank you so much for accompanying me and I hope to see you in the next Volume (School arc; but it’s not going to be the typical lovey-dovey eroge (for Shin) & otome (for Rurita) you’re used to)!

Anyways, with so much mystery to uncover, I hope you’re on your feet guessing what’s to come next!