Clone Girls

These events happened while Ticia was on the way to CI 2005.

Rika woke up like any other day. She did some stretches as was her usual routine, woke up a sleepy Nicia as requested by Ticia, did some bit of healthcare on herself and Nicia, greeted the other clone girls and woke those who still slept, then went over to the kitchen, grabbed some breakfast and ate it in the company of Licia, Willia and Nillia while also reading some reports that popped up in the night.

After having her meal, she greeted Meiko, who happened to be there, before heading outside with the three clone girls for some morning laps around the campus.

But a problem appeared as she opened the door this time…

““Whoah!?””

A tsunami of flowers submerged them…

“What the-”

“What the fuck!?”

Willia actually finished her words as she emerged from the mass of flowers… She glanced at Willia with a frown as a result. 

Because the girl hung out with her male friends and her gang a bit too much, she began swearing a lot these days, adding to the list of things to correct which only grew as time passed…

“W-what’s with all these flowers?” A teary-eyed Vinia asked. Nicia and Atrax-ia had deemed her condition to now be stable enough to keep up with what Rika did dayly, so she had been looking forward to today’s morning exercise. 

Rika already had a perpetrator in mind… and it wasn’t Nia.

“Atrax-ia, are those coming from who I think it is?” She asked the AI that was now connected to their barracks.

“Y-yes. It’s from General David Fika…” The AI replied meekly.

To make Vinia teary eyed… How dare he!

Rika sighed, anger slowly rising as she looked at the now sneezing clone girls. She had expected this to some extent, but not THAT MUCH. After all, today was a special day…

“Good morning to you all! And good confession day to you, Rika!” A voice came from behind the flowers, half giggling, it was Riley.

“I see you’re quite well served today!” She exclaimed as she made her way through the flowers.

“Don’t even talk about it…” Rika sighed again, feeling already tired.

“But hey, he’s persistent, you gotta give him that.” Riley said.

“That’s what’s annoying…”' Rika glared at Riley, who was clearly enjoying the situation as the clone girls were busy removing the flowers that were now stuck to them…

“True. While there’s a charm to it, too much is just…” Riley ended up smiling bitterly. After joining Rika’s side and learning what David Fika’s objectives were, her opinion on the man made a complete U-turn.

“So? Why are you here so early?” Rika asked as she got rid of the last flowers stuck to her uniform.

“I’m here to deliver some mail, actually.” Riley said, raising a pack of envelopes with neat handwritings. Rika immediately knew what it was about.

“Love letters huh?”

“Yup! There’s more than one for every clone!” Riley said excitedly. It reminded Rika that back in her academy days, Riley was fangirling over relationships between students. While she would listen to it before, Rika only sighed now.

“How bothersome…”

Confession Day.

It was an old tradition that existed even before the Borkian Confederation in which people sent anonymous love letters to their loved ones, or someone they had a crush on for a later confession within the day. You would expect only a small number of people to do that, however, the event was always accompanied by a Borkian saying: ‘Even if there’s no chance, just do it!’ So this day always had a numerous amount of confessions, moreso at the academy, where the students were still young…

“Don’t say that. People have put their hearts into writing them, so the least you could do is at least answer them.” Riley chided.

“Miss Riley’s right.”

“Mother?” Rika turned after hearing the voice coming from behind her. Meiko was standing there, accompanied by Ticinia. 

“You might find it childish, but it’s something that everyone has to experience once in their life. I think it’ll benefit the girls in their personal growth.” Meiko said with a smile.

“Love letters…” Vinia muttered from the side, taking a keen interest on the subject. Rika suddenly felt a sense of danger.

““N-not you Vinia!””

“Fueh?”

““Eh?””

To her surprise, Rika was not the only one who reacted strongly to Vinia's interest. Licia also protested at the same time as her…

“...Well, for now, how about we discuss this over breakfast?” Riley suggested as Vinia looked confusedly between Rika and Licia.

“But we alre-”

“Sounds good! Let’s talk about it with all of us gathered!” Vinia accepted before Rika could refute, and the girl went back to the dining room full speed ahead, rendering both Rika and Licia speechless.

Defeated, they followed after her…

 

***

 

“So, everyone here has a letter?” Riley said with a smile.

“No!” Willia shook her head. “Instructor Riley and Miss Meiko don’t have one!”

“My…” Meiko put her right hand over her right cheek, sighing. “I’m a bit too old for this, besides I don’t think I’m ready for another relationship, I’d rather look at the youth.”

“What about you, Riley?” Rika asked, before noticing Riley’s cramped smile.

“I would normally receive dozens, but you know, some recent events made it so that my reputation isn’t so good right now…”

“Oh…” Rika understood what she was talking about. Apparently, her ‘official’ ban from the Weima family and early retirement from military service had affected her reputation…

Riley was not over it, apparently, as she took her revenge on Rika immediately.

“But let’s begin with you, Rika! You had a lot of letters, so please make sure to read one to us at least!”

“Y-yeah…” Feeling sorry, Rika accepted the suggestion. She randomly picked one letter out of the pack.

“...Oh…” Her mood immediately soured as she read the name written on it, which should not have been done: David Fika

She opened the letter and read it for herself. By the end of the letter, her face had changed to one of outright revulsion.

“...What on earth?” Meiko, who had glanced at the letter’s content from the side, also made a disgusted face, which forced Riley to hastily look at its content.

“‘My love for you is so strong that together, we shall conquer the whole world!’ The heck? Is it an invitation for world conquest or a letter of love made by a chuunibyou?” She too ended up making a weird face…

“Can I throw it away?” Rika asked, to which Riley silently nodded. Rika handed the letter to one of the ECG, who treated the letter as if it was a dirty piece of stinking laundry and put it in the incinerator.

“Uhm, what about the flowers?” Atrax-ia asked, reminding Rika of the flowers that were now blocking the entrance.

“Throw them away.” She said without mercy.

“H-how cruel… Poor flowers…” The AI could not help but mutter.

“That pity protocol of yours or whatever… why weren’t you using it when you put the twins in danger?” Rika replied back, frowning.

“Th-that… This is this and that is that!” The AI fumbled on her words before going quiet, making Rika sigh once again.

“Anyway, what do you all plan to do with this?” Rika asked the twelve clone girls sitting at the table. Each one of them had one letter carefully selected by Riley beforehand.

“Since instructor Riley asked us to give our answer, I guess I’ll at least hear that person’s confession in person.” Licia said, the others nodding along.

“I’m curious, what will you say to them?” Riley asked, eyes gleaming with interest. Her expectations would be betrayed though.

“I’ll refuse, of course.” Licia declared, huffing.

“Same here.” Ria declared soon after. Lidia, Miria, Tiria and Nia also shook their heads.

“W-what about the others?”  Riley looked at those who did not answer.

“... I might consider it.” Mia suddenly said, surprising those around her.

“Really!?” Riley was now fired up.

“Yes.” Mia made a beautiful, mature smile. “So long as they allow me to dissect them a bit!”

““...”” The atmosphere took a sudden, weird turn.

“I-is that so…” Riley’s mouth twitched as she answered with a smile. To say this wasn’t the answer she expected would be a great understatement, though Rika had a feeling it would turn this way…

The scientific curiosity of that girl knows no bounds after all…

“W-what about Ticinia then?” Riley turned towards Ticinia.

“Mmmmh…” Ticinia had a pensive look on her face. “I don’t know… I want to try it out, but I’ll probably understand what they want from me from the beginning, so…”

Ticinia was saying it would be difficult for her to naively experience love since she could see the emotions of people surrounding her. She didn’t seem to believe the person who sent her this letter truly had a crush on her either…

“Nillia then? You’ve been awfully silent.” Riley went over to her next target, who flinched at the unwanted attention.

“I… I don’t know…” Nillia fidgetted as she said this.

“You okay Nillia? You look kinda re-ouch!” Willia expressed some worry, only to be punched in the stomach by Nillia.

“Ho? Sounds promising, tell me how it went alright?” Riley said, a knowing smile on her face. Nillia blushed while trying to remain indifferent. Riley then turned towards Vinia.

“What about you Vinia?”

“I’ll say yes!”

““Pfffffffffftttt!?”” 

At Vinia’s bold declaration, Rika and Licia, who happened to be drinking some water, spat out their drinks while the remaining Null CGs looked at Vinia with big eyes.

“Ho? Aren’t you quite daring…” Riley smiled.

“I never received a letter like this before… I’m looking forward to it!” Vinia giggled, blushing innocently.

T-that won’t do at all! You’re too young and innocent for those kinds of things! Rika thought in her mind. 

She wanted to say those words out loud, but held herself back in fear of upsetting the last null CG.

“You sure Vinia? You shouldn’t rush those kinds of things…” A worried Ticinia asked, to which Vinia nodded.

“Why would you even go out with someone? It’s counterproductive with our duties.” Ria added with a frown. What she said was more out of worries rather than mistrust.

“Mom said we could do what we want, and I want to try this love letter and confession!” Vinia declared, looking back at Ria with a confident look.

“V-vinia, if you want such love letters, I can write one to you?” Licia interjected, trying to get Vinia to change her mind, this backfired however.

“No! You’re always hanging out with Evelyn these days and you’re forgetting about me! Just write a love letter to her!” Vinia pouted cutely.

“I-I’m sorry!?” Licia also felt heart and tried to apologize while in a confused state.

Not good, when Vinia’s in this mood she won’t listen! Rika thought to herself. Ngh, but pouting Vinia is also cute… I can’t win against her!

This feeling was shared by all the Null CGs, as despite some of them expressing their worries, Vinia remained steadfast in her choice.

“Okay! Don’t bother the girl over her choice anymore!” Riley intervened by clapping her hand. “Vinia is free to do what she wants, besides, older sisters that interfere with the affairs of their younger siblings are disliked, right Vinia?”

“Yeah.” Vinia nodded at those words, which made the other Null CGs flinch. None of them wanted to be hated by Vinia!

They reluctantly let Vinia do as she said…

“What about the ECGs?” Riley glanced towards the ECGs that were currently in the room,  only to see them putting the letters through the incinerator with looks of delight on their faces…

“That’s a very Ticia thing to do…” Rika commented silently out loud, remembering some moments passed with Ticia in the past with a wry smile.

“Guess I still have a lot of work to do…” Riley sighed, feeling defeated. The clone girls began getting up too, going around for their task. Only one remained.

“What is it, Willia?” Riley frowned as she looked at the girl.

“You didn’t ask what I’d do!” Willia pouted, which only made Riley sigh.

“Will you say that you'll ask for a fight with that person and only accept if he won?”

“H-how did you know?” Willia was baffled by Riley’s question, which made Rika chuckle in the background while Riley looked at the girl with a deadpan look.

“...Do you even know what this is all about?” she asked.

“Nope! No idea!” Willia replied with a full, innocent smile.

“Pfff!” Rika had a hard time holding her laughter.

“Oh Willia…” Riley smiled, putting her hand over Willia’s shoulder as she smiled. “You’re my biggest failure.”

“Why!?”

The cry of Willia resounded in the room at the same time as Rika's laughter…

 

***

 

Time passed.

The hour at which confessions were going to happen approached and Rika walked in circles, groaning here and then under the eyes of Meiko and Riley.

“What are you so worried about?” Riley frowned. “It’s not like they’re in danger.”

“What if they are?” Rika replied seriously. “They didn’t take their assigned ECGs with them.”

“But we’re at the academy, nothing wrong will happen to them.” Riley said back. “Besides, the AI or whatever said it reinforced security, right?”

“R-right! I doubled security everywhere! I’m useful right? Right?”

“Shut up Atrax-ia.”

“Hieek!?”

Atrax-ia shrieked at Rika's short and cold remark. The AI was actually very meek when facing Ticia and Rika, perhaps because of how they met…

“Hmm, if you’re so worried, why not go check on them?” Meiko suggested.

“Ho? Spying? I’m in!” Riley also got excited.

“Hmmm…” Rika seriously pondered on this option. 

On one hand, this’ll relieve me, but on the other, I’d risk my relationship with the girls by trespassing on their private life…

Rika continued to hesitate, making Riley sigh.

“Geez! You’re so hesitant! What are you worrying over? You’re not even their mother.”

“It’s their mother who asked me to take care of her daughters while she was away.” Rika defended her point of view.

“Then what are you worrying about? The girls will understand!” Riley tried to play around this trust, and it worked…

“B-but, what if they lose trust in me and refuse to listen to me after this?” Rika still hesitated.

“You’d rather want to be hated by them or have Vinia date someone?”

“I’d rather be hated to the roots!”

“That much!?”

Riley was surprised by Rika’s answer.

I can’t let my cute Vinia have someone! Even if it means losing my cuddling times with her!

The final blow was then delivered by Meiko.

“As the oldest here, I’ll convince the girls that you were just worried about them, don't worry.”

“...If mother says so, then I guess it’s okay…” Rika finally gave in.

Riley and Meiko shared a glance, a small smile on their faces. They’d won. 

“But what would Ticia think of all this though?” Rika frowned, making the other two freeze.

Ticia… would probably not be happy about this and act like an overprotective mother…

“...She’ll understand… Probably…” Meiko said vaguely, looking into the distance.

“Or else I can just push those guys…” Rika said as a dark aura surrounded her.

“T-then let’s get to the site of the first confession right now!” Riley declared, firing herself up and avoiding the slightly worrisome situation.

“Uhm, you know that I could just live stream it for you, right?” Atrax-ia interfered.

““Shut up, Atrax-ia.”” Both Meiko and Riley silenced the poor AI. Nothing would stop their plan to witness the clone girl getting confessed live!

 

***

 

And so, the three women went over to the place of the first confession, which was under one of the huge trees in one of the parts of the academy. They hid themselves behind another large tree, at a distance where they could still hear what would happen.

The first clone girl who will receive a confession was Licia. She arrived before time and waited under the tree.

Finally, a man approached her.

“Hi, I see you’re already there.” He said, somewhat embarrassed.

“Yes.” Licia nodded.

“Then I won’t make you wait longer.” The man said, closing his eyes before looking straight at her. “I have an interest in you, would you consider dating me?”

“Whoa, he’s giving good vibes!” Riley commented. “Say yes girl. He’s probably good.”

“...Sorry, but I’ll have to decline.” Licia said back, bowing her head a little and breaking Riley’s hope.

“I see.” The man nodded, as if already knowing he would be rejected. “Can you tell me why you declined?”

“Why huh?” Licia looked to the branches of the trees as she pondered on her answer.

“I never was interested in love in the first place, so I planned to refuse you from the beginning, but I don’t think that’s the real reason I refused now…”

““Eh?”” The surprise did not come from the man but rather from Riley and Rika. What was Licia saying now?

“I’ve thought about it all day, ‘what is love?’ ‘Can I see myself with someone?” I’ve asked myself those questions and… I think I came to a conclusion. It would appear I harbor a slight disgust towards males. I can’t see myself being in a relationship with one.” She concluded.

“Oh…” Rika realized something at that moment. Licia had stopped a rape attempt when she first arrived on Borkian Prime. It probably left in her a deeper impression than Rika and Ticia thought at first, which now came out as a result of her growing up. As such, her refusal made sense.

“...I understand.” The man said. “Does that mean you prefer women, or simply don’t want any love?”

“That… is a question I didn’t ask myself, actually.” Licia answered, her face changing from surprise to a pondering look, before looking back at the man with a smile. “But like I said, it’s for me to decide. Please don’t ask personal questions like that.”

“Ah, sorry, I-.”

“It’s okay, it's okay. Besides, even if I did love someone, do I have to say it?” Licia responded, still smiling. “Well, since we’re done here, I’ll be leaving now.”

And just like that, she left the place, leaving the man alone. He sighed sadly before leaving himself, shoulders low.

“Well, that wasn’t what I wanted, but she did say she would refuse in the first place…” Riley commented as the place was now empty.

“It wasn’t bad though, I feel like she’s matured a bit with this.” Meiko added, a mysterious smile on her face.

“Did she?” Rika asked, she felt like her mother knew something that still escaped her…

“Fufu, only time will tell now…” Meiko giggled, before turning. “Let’s go to the next spot.” 

Rika and Riley glanced at each other, before shrugging and following after Meiko. 

“The next one’s Ria, right?” Riley asked on the way, making Rika nod.

“Yes.“And don’t get your hopes up this time Riley. Ria’s wary of strangers.”

“Ugh, I know that well…” Riley said with a grimace, remembering the first exchanges she had had with the girl. While it was less now, Ria still looked at her with a frown.

They reached the site quickly after that. Ria was already there, waiting. The three women made sure to hide themselves so as not to get seen. 

Not soon after, a person came in. Rika knew that person.

“...Eh? Irvin?” She let out, surprised.

“Oh? Isn’t that one of your students? I see, I see…” Riley commented, a glint passing through her eyes as a smirk appeared on her face.

Rika wasn’t the only one surprised. Ria was too.

“Irvin? Were you the one that sent me this letter?” She asked with a frown.

“Yes.” Irvin said straightforwardly, before scratching the back of his head, embarrassed. “Honestly, I’m a bit baffled that I did so… Not long ago, you and your sisters were just little kids. All the class had agreed to consider you all as little sisters too, but…”

“We grew up.” Ria finished for him, making him nod.

“And quite fast at that, might I add…”

“And about this letter?” Ria asked, still frowning. Irvin took a long breath in, closing his eyes before looking straight in Ria's eyes.

“...As embarrassing as it is to say, I think I’ve fallen for your charms.”

“...Eh?” Ria was taken by surprise as Irvin continued on.

“The exchange we had over military tactics, the plans for battles… I enjoyed all our talks over those matters, or more like, I enjoy passing time with you. Before I knew it, I was also smitten by your cold yet cool demeanor towards everyone. That’s why… would you consider dating me?”

“...I’m sorry…”' Ria answered after a bit of silence, looking down. 

“Yeah, I guessed so.” Irvin accepted her answer just like this, a wry smile on his face. “Sorry, you made your mistrust towards humans quite obvious all this time and yet-”

“T-that’s not it!”

“Eh?”

Just as Irvin was excusing himself, Ria raised her face and said those words louder than you would expect from her.

Seemingly embarrassed herself about this outburst, Ria cleared her throat, slightly blushing.

“Erm, let me get one thing straight, Irvin. I also enjoyed our time together, as friends that is. Yes, I dislike strangers, but being in contact with you, Evlyn, Bianca and even that old woman and those two- I mean, our instructors and the Valkyrie’s mother. I began to see that not all humans are untrustful…” She declared, becoming more embarrassed as she searched for the right words to explain her feelings. “So yeah, if you permit it Irvin, I’d like to continue our relationship. As friends of course.” she extended her hand for a handshake towards Irvin, a wry yet radiant smile on her face.

Irvin also smiled wryly at her, shaking her extended hand.

“...Sure. Rather, I’m happy we can still be friends after this.”

“She friendzoned him huh?” Riley commented as she observed the scene.

“Seems so, but it still went well.” Rika added.

“Ria also matured…”

“Yeah.”

““Eh?””

“Eh?”

At Meiko’s comment, they heard a voice of agreement, which surprised them and made them turn towards the direction of the voice.

“L-Licia!?” Rika exclaimed. “S-since when have you been there Licia?”

“The beginning?” Licia tilted her head. “I followed you after you spied on me.”

“You knew!?”

“Would be stranger if I didn’t.” She added with a wry smile. “How do you expect me to ignore three heads that I know very well popping out from behind a tree in my line of sight?”

““Oh…”” The three women froze. 

“Well, it’s okay. I’m willing to forgive you all so long as you let me tag along for the next ones!” Licia said, fired up.

“Licia… I see you’re on my side!” Riley was moved by her words, but not for long though…

“So that I can punch any bastards who try to take advantage of my sisters!”

“N-nevermind… She’s on Rika’s side…”

“I didn’t say I would punch them…but Ticia would… Probably…” Rika said with a sigh, still thinking how Ticia would have handled this case…

 

***

 

And so the group spied on each confession, which all went as the clone girls said with some spices…

Mia held true to her words and asked the boy confessed to her if she could conduct experiments with a smile, which made the poor boy run away immediately. the twins… managed to refuse the confession despite their clear annoyance over the matter, which was proof to Rika that they were slowly healing from their trauma.

Ticinia refused the confession in the end. She managed to make the boy understand he was not in love with her, but was just searching to improve his social position. After which the student left, ashamed. Lidia and Nicia also refused the confession, giving for reason that they were too focused on work right now; which was true for Nicia, but Lidia? Rika had her doubts. the girl was always hanging around her when she had nothing else to do after all, which was quite often, actually.

The most positive outcome might have been Nia, who, while she refused the confession, managed to keep the mood high with her jokes and good mood.

“So we’ve seen the confessions for Licia, Ria, the twins, Nicia, Lidia, Mia, Nia and Ticinia, which means we’re left with…”

“Willia, Nillia and Vinia.” 

“Which one is next?”

“That would be Nillia.”

“Ah, ponytail girl… She did show some promises…”

“Shhhh, she’s here.” As Rika and Riley were engaging in small talks about the next confession, Meiko shushed them.

“...Weird… Nillia’s not acting like usual…” Licia remarked as she saw Nillia. The latter seemed to be fidgeting, looking left and right with a slight blush on her face. 

“She’s probably just shy~.”

“Nillia’s a maiden too.”

Riley and Meiko commented, knowing smiles on their faces. Licia was still confused though.

“But… why didn’t she act like this at-”

“Licia.”

“Yes?”

Rika looked at Licia with a serious face, making the latter also become serious.

“Everyone has their own secrets, even your sisters. Don’t try to pry into Nillia’s actions, or you might end up upsetting her.” Rika said, to which Licia’s eyes grew big, before she nodded.

“...Understood….”

Not soon after, a person appeared.

“...Eh? A girl?” Licia remarked, surprised.

“Y-you really came…” The girl said as she looked at Nillia with a delighted, blushing face.

“Excuse me, but I have to meet with someone here.” Nillia said back, acting stoic like usual.

“Y-yes, that would be me… I am the one who sent you a love letter…” The girl said while looking away, blushing.

“...Come again?” Nillia was unable to understand and tilted her head.

“You… You are my shining knight! Please go out with me!” The girl cried out loud.

““Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!”” Nillia shouted out, which was perfect to hide Riley's shout, since she also let out a surprised voice.

“I wasn’t expecting this turn of events!” she said, smiling even more.

““Shh!”” The others shushed her.

Meanwhile, Nillia regained her calm and gave her answer.

“...Sorry, but…”

“Yeah, I knew it. That's fine, I just wanted to let you know. I’m the only one who gathered enough courage out of all the members of the club so…” the girl said with a resigned, before turning and running away. Nillia remained there, silent.

“...So it’s still a no in the end?” Riley said bitterly.

“...Shall we go see the next confession?” Meiko said, to which Riley nodded, and the group began to move.

Apart from one person that is…

“Rika?” Licia asked as she noticed that Rika had stayed behind.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll join you up later.” Rika said. Licia nodded, a bit confused, but still left without asking questions.

Meanwhile, Rika approached Nillia. The girl now seemed to be trembling, fist clenched.

“Nillia.” Rika called out, causing Nillia’s dam to burst open.

“Rikaaaaaaaaa~!” The girl jumped into Rika's embrace, tears in her eyes.

“Why was it a girl?! Where’s my shiny knight!?” She whined.

“There, there…”  Rika patted her back gently, a warm smile on her face.

When she saw a girl appear, Rika had a hunch it would end up like this… Nillia had a lot of imagination and dreamed of a fairy tale-like future for herself and the others, which had only grown stronger since Nillia had become a bookworm. Due to the fact that Rika had also suggested some reads to Nillia, the girl had come to rely on her as much as she did of her own mother…

“Confessions are typical events in stories! Why did it have to be a girl!? Why does she think I’m her prince when I’m just a knight princess!?” Nillia complained as she cried.

“Oh Nillia… It seems like you haven't read enough stories yet…” Rika said with a sigh as she patted the girl’s head. She wasn’t sure about the idea, but maybe she should ‘introduce’ Nillia to another genre of stories…

“?” Nillia tilted her head innocently as she looked at Rika, making the latter clear her throat.

“Ahem. It’s okay Nillia. You’re a knight princess, not a prince.”

“Mh, if Rika says so…”

“Now go back home and take a rest.” Nillia nodded at Rika’s words.

Rika watched the girl leave the place, before sighing herself.

“...I’m not sure your mother would even let you date the knight you have in mind, let alone let you meet him, if he even exists that is…” She commented out loud. “Protagonists from invented stories don’t exist in real life after all…”

 

***

 

Not soon after, Rika rejoined with the group as they spied on Willia. She was the next one on the list.

The girl seemed happy, though all of them were sure the reason for that wasn’t because she was happy to receive a love letter, but just because she wanted to have a match with the person she’d met…

That said person finally arrived… and it was someone Willia knew.

“Oh? Sup Brooks?” She said with a smile, approaching the boy who had just arrived. 

“Ah, boss, you really came!” The boy was delighted to see her here, he smiled while blushing as he returned Willia’s greeting.

He was part of Willia’s gang.

Perhaps it was due to willia’s approachable personality, or just her beating the crap out of other gangs every now and then,  but her gang had grown tremendously in power and numbers. It could now be said to be one of the most powerful gangs within the academy.

Most of its members were Willia’s friends and for some reason, they began to call her boss…

“Of course I would come if someone asked me to!” Willia said happily before holding the man under her shoulder while laughing. This had the result of making the boy blush as he came to close proximity with Willia’s ‘assets’.

Willia did not do this because she thought of him as special though, she was just mimicking her male friend’s actions after seeing it. To her she understood those kinds of gestures as normal between friends, which was why Ticia and Riley were having so much headaches over her education…

“Now, what’s the problem? Why did you send me this letter and told me to come here?” Willia asked as she released the man from her hold.

“I-it’s just as the letter said boss… I-I like you!” The boy declared while blushing.

“Mhm? Yeah, me too man!” Willia said back, not understanding what he meant.

““Oh no…”” The four spectators suddenly had a bad premonition…

“R-really!?” The boy asked, not believing her words.

“Yeah.” Willia said back confidently.

“Nonono wait! If you tell him tha-” Riley began to panic, but she could not finish her words before something happened.

“Boss!”

“Wha-Mgh!?”

The boy, misunderstanding the meaning of Willia’s words, embraced Willia and… kissed her.

““!?!””

“Oh my!” Meiko exclaimed while Rika and Licia opened their eyes wide in surprise. 

“K-kissing! He kissed her!” Riley exclaimed, her voice a mix of surprise and delight.

Willia quickly pushed the boy away from her, but the damage was already done…

“Wha-? Eh? W-wha-!?...!?!”

“Willia short circuited!” Licia exclaimed as her little sister was unable to let out a comprehensible word. As Willia’s confusion grew, her face became more and more flushed too…

“B-boss?” Sensing that something was not right, the boy asked.

“Nooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Willia ended up running away while covering her face that had become as red as a tomato.

“B-boss!” The boy tried to follow her, but before he could…

““What have you done to boss, Brooks!?””

“Eh?”

A bunch of thugs looking like men and women appeared, showing hostility to Brooks.

““There’s a need to put you back in place…””

“N-no, wait!”

And just like that, Brooks was dragged away from the place…

““...”” The four women who had witnessed the scene on the other side remained silent, trying to understand what had just happened…

“That… was unexpected…” Riley said, sighing after the comical end…

“W-Willia…” Licia had a worried look on her face now, but Rika put her hand on her shoulder, shaking her head.

“It’s better to leave her alone for a while, else you want to embarrass her more, Licia.” The girl nodded at Rika’s words.

“I have a feeling Willia will grow up from this, and in a good way.” Meiko commented from the side. Throughout all the confessions, she kept repeating this. Rika was beginning to wonder if this mother of hers had not predicted the ending of all those confessions…

“The question remains… How are we gonna explain that to Ticia?” she asked herself out loud, a worried look on her face…

““...”” Meiko and Riley froze too at those words. How would Ticia react if Willia became a shut in because of this?

““...Let’s just move on.”” they decided to let Rika worry about it for them in the end…

 

***

 

The time for the last confession of the day had come.

“Vinia seems to be in a good mood.” Riley commented as she observed the fidgeting Vinia who was faintly blushing as she giggled while waiting.

“My, she really seems like a maiden in love~.” Meiko added, putting a hand over her mouth as she giggled.

““No no no! Vinia can’t fall in love!”” Two voices argued back at them. Those were Rika and Licia.

“Geez, calm down you two…”Riley sighed. “What are you? a siscon and a- Ah, looks like it’s about to begin.”

Just as she said, a handsome man approached Vinia.

“You came.” He said with a smile.

“Y-yes, I did.” Vinia replied while blushing. “U-uhm, about the content of the letter…”

“Do you accept?” The man asked straightforwardly.

“Yes!” Vinia said excitedly.

““No!”” Two voices cried out in opposition from the shadows, though no one but the two other next to them heard them…

“I’m happy to hear that.” The man said, a prideful haughty smile appearing on his face. “Then, from this point forward, you’re mine… Licia.”

“...Eh?”

““Eh?””

The atmosphere broke as soon as he mentioned Licia’s name instead of Vinia’s…

“U-uhm, my name’s not Licia…” Vinia said with a confused look.

“Ah, did I get it wrong? Can’t be helped, you all look the same after all. Welp, not like it would matter if I got the wrong one in the end~.” The man replied back. He did not seem to care much about Vinia’s feelings…

“No, we’re all different, you know?” Vinia tried to make her point clear, but the man did not listen to her.

“As if. You all look the same to me. Honestly, if the adult ones weren’t so difficult to approach, I'd have gone for one of them.” He then looked attentively at Vinia’s face.  “Mmmmh… You seem rather meek… Tch, it’s not my favorite type. Oh well, guess you’ll do for now.”

“T-this guy…” Riley was fuming. She sighed, controlling her anger. “My bad, seems like I picked the wrong kind of person…”

This person was the least of her worries right now though…

“To dare say this to Vinia…”

“Kill…”

Rika and Licia began to emit a murderous aura as their faces became void of emotions….

“Whoah!? C-calm down both of you!”

“Yah!”

“Bufu!?”

““Eh?””

As Riley focused on Rika and Licia, the situation evolved on the other side… 

Vinia… punched the man in the stomach… She now had a serious expression.

“Nice one Vinia!”

“That’s my girl~! I raised her well!”

“Nonono! That’s not what you should be saying right now!”

Both Rika and Licia praised Vinia’s actions as Riley rebutted them. 

“What the heck!? You… Who do you think you are!?” The man, who was holding his stomach, glared at Vinia.

“I’m Vinia! And I’m a clone girl and youngest of the Null class clones! That’s who I am!”  Vinia declared proudly while looking down on the man, before kicking him on the chin.

“Buf!?” The man flew as a result.

“I was wrong, I can’t date someone like you!” Vinia declared, venting her anger. “You’re a horrible person! How can you just confuse me with one of my sisters and then say it’s fine!? It’s not!” She grabbed the man by the collar. “Mom told me to punch people like you back to their place! I’m a good girl, so I’ll listen to what my mother says!”

“N-no, wai-guah!?” Vinia mercilessly delivered slaps to the man’s handsome face until it could not be called handsome anymore…

“What did Ticia tell her daughter exactly?!” Riley exclaimed, half in horror at Vinia’s sudden actions.

“To punch those who were annoying.” Licia answered.

“That’s not what you should teach to kids!”

“Mh, Ticia taught her daughters well.” 

“Not you too Rika!?”

“...Where did I go wrong when I educated this girl… I don’t remember her being so violent before…” Meiko sighed as she saw Rika nodding in agreement.

“Phu…” After a while, Vinia sighed, feeling satisfied.

“Good job Vinia!”

“Fueh? R-Rika and eldest sister!?”

Licia hugged Vinia from behind, surprising Vinia as she turned and saw both Rika and Licia.

“You did well. I’m sure Ticia would be proud.” Rika added with a smile.

“W-will she? Hehehe~.” Vinia seemed happy at the mention of her mother’s possible praise, before sighing sadly. “But… it’s sad that I couldn’t experience ‘dating’...”

“Oh, you don’t need to experience that Vinia, you’re perfect the way you are!” Licia said, but this backfired.

“Hmph! You’re mean eldest sister, I wanna date!” Vinia said with a pout, before turning away from Licia, refusing to face her.

“Why!?” Licia was heartbroken. “...Is this her rebellious phase?”

“No, what are you even saying… Neither of you are even a year old…” Rika commented from the side, just happy she did not get on Vinia’s bad side by agreeing with Licia this time… 

But then…  she found the perfect excuse…

“I think this should have been obvious, but none of you are allowed to date without your mother’s permission first.”

““Ah…”” Both Vinia and Licia froze for a few seconds. They had completely forgotten about their mother in this whole ordeal!

“Promise to never talk about what just happened to mom?” Vinia asked Licia, the latter nodded in tacit agreement.

“Naughty girls…” Rika commented with a smile. Sure the girls would not talk about it, but she had an obligation to report it to Ticia anyway. If it wasn’t her, Atrax-ia would do so, which might just bring Ticia’s anger over her instead. she’ll just say this was all planned by Meiko and Riley.

“Now then, if you allow me, I have a person to beat up.” She declared as she grabbed the man on the ground with a smile before leaving.

“Ah! Let me join in!” Licia also followed after her.

Later on, that student would be forced to leave the academy due to ‘health failures’… But that is a story for another time…

“...Rest in peace, student I don’t know the name of. You’ve attracted the ire of fearful demons…” Riley commented from the side. Was she feeling any sympathy for the man? No. She just felt sorry Vinia had to live through that. She was feeling a bit depressed though.

“...Nothing went as we expected, but the girls seem to have gained some things out of this, so don’t be so depressed, Riley.” Meio offered consoling words.

“I guess, you’re right.” Riley sighed. “Well, who knows, maybe next time? I feel like Nillia and Vinia have soùe big chances of-”

“Don’t jinx it by saying it. some things are better left unsaid after all.” Meiko cutted her off.

“Right…” Riley nodded. “Also, it feels like Willia finally ‘awakened’, to think all it would take would be a kiss… What am I even paid for…”

Meiko had no words to offer this time… She could only give her sympathy.

As for the clone girl in question… She was currently covered up in a blanket in her own bedroom, blushing all over.

It took a week for Rika to manage to make her leave her room with the help of the others… but Willia changed a bit as a result of this event…