Chapter 7: Rulue & Schezo Appear!
“So, where shall we travel to next?” When Ally, who’d finally calmed down, asked us that, I looked at Arle.
“Hmm… Arle, does anyone come to mind?”
“Me?” Arle’s eyes widened as she pointed at herself.
“Yeah!” I nodded. “Like, someone who seems like they’d know something about love!”
We asked people I knew, and people Ringo knew, so now…it was Arle’s turn, right?
“Uhm…”
“Can’t think of anyone?”
“…No, I’ve got someone in mind, but…” Arle muttered.
Huuuh? It kinda seems like it’s hard for her to say.
“You have someone in mind, you say?!” Ally exclaimed.
“I do, but…how do I put it? Just imagining how this is gonna go makes me reeaaally not want to ask her, of all people…”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“…You get what I mean, right, Carby?”
“Gugu~gu!”
What did Arle mean? …It looked like Carbuncle already knew.
“Arle, if you really have someone in mind, we’d better go collect data from them,” Ringo said.
Arle let out a resigned laugh. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“Okay, then, let’s try to find her. This way, everyone!” In a flash, Arle perked up again and headed off with a smile, sending her cape fluttering behind her.
The rest of us followed her lead.
…
“O~hohoho…how naive! WIND KICK!”
“Right back at you! …NIGHT BLADE!”
Puyo, Puyo, Puyoyoyoyo!
By the roadside, a young lady with blue, wavy hair and a handsome man with silver hair were having a flashy Puyo battle.
Arle took one look at them and said, “Over there—found her!”
“The pair that are engaged in a Puyo battle, you mean?” Ally asked.
“Yeah, you see that girl over there? I’m pretty sure she’ll be willing to talk all about love.”
“Is that so?! It sounds like she will be very helpful!”
“Y-yeah… I’ll bet she’ll talk our ears off about the person she likes…right, Carby?”
“Guguuu…”
…Ah. I think now I kinda get what Arle means…
“Well anyway, Rulue and Schezo look like they’re in high spirits, huh. There they go, bickering and battling again.”
“Gu-gu!”
The blue-haired lady’s name is Rulue. She’s got that sexy, mature, and beautiful vibe to her! …But she can be a little scary when she gets mad. Even while looking that pretty, she’s got a lot of dynamic hand-to-hand fighting moves and calls herself the “Fighting Queen”!
And the silver-haired man holding his own firmly against that Fighting Queen is Schezo. He dresses like a swordsman with armor and his trusty sword always at his waist. His handsome face and his sharp and focused eyes make him look real dignified, not to mention the cool, confident way he carries himself. But he also has some habits that are a little weird…
Puyo! Puyo! Puyo! Puyoyoyoyo!
“Not bad…but this is the end! FIGHTING QUEEN!”
“Hmph! For once, I concur. Roar, Dark Sword! SHOCKWAVE!”
The two didn’t seem to notice that we were watching. They just kept on Puyo battling like normal.
Whoa—both of them set off some really huge chains! How can they keep on throwing so many Nuisance Puyo at each other like that?! Just watching them had me on the edge of my seat!
“I had no idea Puyo Battles could become this intense…” It looked like Ally was just as captivated.
“Just what in the world transpired between them to warrant such a volatile battle?” Ringo mumbled.
Arle answered, “Hmmm… They’re probably just fighting over something pointless again.”
Ally covered her mouth with both hands in surprise. “EHH?! How terrible—we must stop them!”
But Arle’s tone stayed casual. “No need to worry, Ally. Fighting is basically how they express their friendship.”
“Th…they’re friends, even though they fight?” Ally asked nervously.
Arle didn’t take her eyes off of Rulue and Schezo. From the side, we saw her smiling.
“Yeah, they are. Even if they look angry, I think it’s their way of bonding. Trust me, even when it looks like they’re fighting to the death, they’re actually having the time of their life.”
“So they’re just having fun?”
“Fighting gives them a chance to grow stronger, I guess. And growing stronger is something they’re both very serious about.”
“What a peculiar sort of friendship…”
“Gu~gugu!”
Ally folded her hands together and let out a deep sigh as she turned back toward Rulue and Schezo’s ongoing battle.
“I see, they are not fighting in bad faith, but challenging each other in earnest, as friends… This is… This is…”
“Ally?”
“This is LOVE, right?!”
“WAH!”
In a burst of emotion, Ally let out a loud cry, surprising us all! And, of course, the two in battle also heard her.
“Hm…? What’s that?”
“Is there someone else present besides us, I wonder?”
Still locked in battle, Rulue and Schezo briefly glanced our way. At that moment, Ally threw her arms open toward them—and she started running.
…Hang on, Ally! What are you doing—?!
“Oh, Noble Rulue and Noble Schezo, these are your names, no? Your passionate, love-filled Puyo battle has moved me so deeply! I ask of you, please show me more of your love—!”
“WHAT?!”
…And here we go again. Ally’s just coming on way too strong!!
Rulue and Schezo had both screamed and frozen in place at her shocking remark. In their distraction, the huge chains they had been building were left interrupted and started to teeter… And since the oncoming Nuisance Puyo had nowhere to go…
THUMP THUMP THUMP, WHAM—!!
“EEEEEEEEEEK!”
“Guh… UWAAAAH!”
The Nuisance Puyo rained down from above their heads and crushed Rulue and Schezo flat!
Oh no no no, are they okay?!
“Geez…I’ll be over there in a sec,” Arle called.
“Gu-guguuu…?”
“Are you two all right?!” Ringo said, rushing over with her.
I hurriedly joined them in digging Rulue and Schezo free from the Puyo.
“All right, you ask…? How, pray tell, could we be ‘all right’ after this?!” yelled Rulue.
“What in the world was that—that speech! I’ve never been greeted in a more disturbing way!” Schezo complained.
The two crawling out from underneath the Puyo were, as you’d expect, really mad.
“Ah… Th-this is my fault, isn’t it? My exclamation has disturbed your expressions of love… I’m so sorry!” Ally apologized, panicking all the while.
Uhm, well, I think she’s probably missed the point…?
“WHO are you suggesting to be in love with THAT fiend?!” Rulue snapped, thrusting a finger at Schezo. “Don’t make me laugh!”
“Me, in love with that banshee?! What a tasteless insult. I don’t know who you are, but do you really want to taste my blade that badly?” Schezo, too, flung his finger out towards Rulue.
…See? That’s what I meant.
“Hey now, hold your horses. Ally doesn’t mean any harm.” Arle came to Ally’s rescue, waving down the two pointing at each other with a “whoa there” motion.
Rulue dropped her finger and folded her arms. “Ally? Do you mean this girl?”
“Ah… Yes,” Ally answered, “I am called Ally! I am Arle’s friend, and currently, I am fully invested in my quest for love!” Looking flustered under Rulue’s haughty glare, she quickly bent over into a bow.
Schezo scoffed. “Love? Hmph. How worthless.”
Ally’s eyes widened. Then, with her fists clenched tightly, she insisted, “It— It is not worthless in the slightest! If the world was filled with love, everyone would be able to live happily ever after. That is the incredible power of love!!”
“You can think whatever you like. Your delusions are no concern of mine,” Schezo said bluntly.
“How cold!” Ally cried.
Schezo turned aside, looking annoyed. Meanwhile, Rulue had placed a hand on the dejected Ally’s shoulder.
“Ally, was it? Listen now, there’s no need for you to hear the boring words of a boring man.”
“What did you just say?!”
Paying no attention to Schezo’s offended glare, Rulue flipped open her handheld fan with a fwip.
“More importantly…if you wish to know about love, then you should lend your ear to the one who lives for love and fights for love—the Fighting Queen Rulue! O~HOHOHO!”
“…Yep, that’s Rulue for you,” Arle said under her breath. “Ask her about love, and she’ll be all over it in an instant.”
“Guu…” Carbuncle agreed.
Ally tilted her head to the side. “You live and fight…for love?”
“Yes! And my love is…no other than the Dark Prince himself, my Darling Satan!!”
“Darling Satan?!”
…Ah, the conversation’s going just the way I thought it would.
“I knew it was going to end up like this…” Arle muttered.
You see, Rulue’s way of speaking, her dynamic personality, and her hand-to-hand techniques are all unbelievable. But to me, the most unbelievable thing is how she’s always chasing after that Satan guy at full force!
Rulue continued her loud speech, fanning herself. “My Darling Satan himself is the apotheosis of love! To speak about love without mentioning his name is a sheer impossibility. He is handsome beyond compare, strong and kind, and proud…and then there is I, who cannot exist without loving him, the embodiment of his love—Rulue!”
“I’m afraid I do not quite understand, but I can feel the strength of your love!” Ally said enthusiastically, drawn in by Rulue’s energy.
“O~hohoho! Oh…Darling Satan! Your Rulue recalls your lovely form each and every second, deepening her love with each and every breath she takes!”
“What an incredible frequency!”
“No matter how much I love and adore him, it is never enough love for him; Darling Satan is a black hole that absorbs the infinity of love…”
“What an impressive scale!”
“But I will not relent! My love shall continue to pour out for him, equally infinitely!”
“What an amazing power!”
“I am telling you, there has never been a love stronger than ours!”
“Yes, it would appear so!”
…Ally was fascinated and wowed by Rulue’s every word. Wow, Rulue sure is just as unbelievable as ever! I jumped the first time I heard Rulue talk about “Darling Satan,” and it still amazes me even now. Although it’s got nothing to do with me personally, listening to her always somehow makes me feel super embarrassed. That’s just how super intense her feelings are, and they never seem to let up!
Hmm… Why is it that even though I don’t really get the whole romance thing, just hearing about it always makes me so excited I wanna squeal?
By my side, Ringo seemed pretty calm as she commented, “This lady never is thrown off her equilibrium, is she…”
As for Arle and Schezo, it looked like they were already all too used to Rulue’s behavior. Arle gave a dry laugh, while Schezo looked like he had just given up.
Ally then exclaimed enthusiastically, “I too wish to experience love with this Darling Satan!”
…That very second, Rulue’s smile disappeared.
“Ack! Ally, that’s a little—!” Arle called out in a bit of a panic, “Uhm, telling Rulue that you want to ‘experience love’ with Satan is probably not something you wanna do…”
“Huh? Pardon me? Would there be a problem if Noble Darling Satan and I fell in love with one another…?” Ally asked, looking back at Arle.
Ally, behind you—behind you!! Rulue’s face is getting scarier by the second!!
“Ally, was it? …Would you mind saying that again one more time?” Rulue growled.
“Uhm… EEP?!”
Once Ally got a glance of Rulue’s face, she leapt back.
“Who did you say wants to experience love with Darling Satan…? You are aware that in this entire world, there is only one person who is allowed to engage in love with Darling Satan, yes? That being me, the Fighting Queen Rulue…!”
“I-I-I-I see, I understand now!”
“So, the next time I hear such an insolent remark…”
“There will not be one! I will not say anything else of the sort, so erm… Please, you’re scaring me—!”
Unable to watch Ally tremble in fear any longer, Arle threw her a lifeline.
“Rulue, calm down. For Ally, ‘love’ is, uhm…kinda like a catchphrase? She won’t actually fall in love with Satan, so you have nothing to worry about!”
“Hmph!” Rulue turned aside in a huff.
“Come on, Rulueee…” Arle pleaded with a strained smile.
Hiding behind her back, Ally muttered, “I had no idea love could take such a form as well… Noble Rulue, you and the Noble Darling Satan must pass each day in deep love with each other.”
“Huh?”
I feel like I saw Rulue’s ear twitch at that.
“…I-I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that. Ally, did you say something just now?”
“Yes, I said that you and Noble Darling Satan must be so deeply in love…”
“Speak up, would you? Once more!”
“Noble Rulue and Noble Darling Satan are in love…?”
“One more time!”
“Noble Rulue and Noble Darling Satan are in love with each other—!!”
The scary face Rulue had been wearing up until now transformed into a bright smile in the blink of an eye.
“Arle! What an extraordinarily lovely child this friend of yours is!”
“Uh, yeah… Nice save, Ally.”
Ally stared at them blankly, like she didn’t really get what had just happened. A-anyway, catastrophe averted!
“That a single word catalyzes that kind of incredible reaction within her…” Ringo said, and as she did, Schezo, who was standing next to her, started muttering to no one in particular.
“Rulue may always be clamoring about ‘Satan this, Satan that,’ but the subject of her desires himself continues to elude her in the waking world. It only makes sense that she would be overjoyed to hear her pathetic fantasy validated by someone else.” He snorted. “From where I stand, you can rightfully call Rulue’s and Satan’s relationship many things, but ‘in love’ is not one of them, least of all if we are speaking of mutual love.”
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” This time Rulue exploded at Schezo.
Her anger didn’t faze him at all. He continued while waving his hand dismissively, “No matter how much time passes, Satan continues to avoid you. In what universe can that be called ‘being in love’?”
“My darling is just a bit shy!”
“Shy? That idiotic old man? That’s hilarious.”
“Of course, I have yet to hone my qualities sufficiently! When I have done so, I am confident that he will graciously accept his Rulue’s love!”
“Oh? And when will that be?” Schezo taunted coolly.
“What is that supposed to mean?!”
Schezo just wouldn’t stop mocking Rulue, and now it looked like he’d made her blow up again.
“I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s always, constantly pursuing Arle, despite her attempts to avoid him!”
“Wha—?!”
Now it was Rulue who got Schezo worked up. …And then there was someone else who was getting worked up about those words, but in a different way.
“Pursuing Arle…? So the one known as Schezo is in love with Arle?”
“Oh no, now you got her started again!” Arle was halfway shrieking, “Ally, you’ve got it all wrong! This is not what you think!!” She waved her hands with all her might, denying everything.
“But, she said that Schezo is chasing after you…”
“Don’t you dare misunderstand!” Now Schezo was shouting too. “All I desire is…Arle!”
“What a wonderfully bold confession!” Ally was so thrilled, she almost started hopping up and down.
“Gah?! I-I must have slipped up again…!”
“Another textbook creeper line today. Full marks for that one,” Ringo said with a weak smile.
…There we go. Schezo’s got this tic where he makes super-shocking speaking mistakes when he gets excited, and then he gets called a “pervert” or a “creeper” for it. Even he’s aware that it’s a problem, but…
“Th-that’s not what I meant… I wanted to say, ‘All I desire is Arle’s power alone’… Why does this always happen to me…?!” Schezo held his head in his hands, shuddering.
“S-so you are not in love with Arle…?” Ally kept pressing.
“I’m not! I feel nothing of the sort toward her!”
“Is that so…”
“I simply have no interest in anything other than Arle…!”
“Then, you do love her?!”
“Gah… I meant to say, ‘I simply have no interest in anything other than Arle’s power’…!”
“Hey, I hate to cut in,” Arle interrupted with a dazed expression. She clearly hated having been made the subject of their mismatched conversation. “But what can I do to make you two stop before I hit my limit…?”
“Gu-guguu…?”
“We’re caught in a feedback loop here. This’ll continue ad infinitum at this rate,” Ringo spoke up, “so how about we just get going?”
“Understood!” said Ally. She faced Rulue and Schezo and quickly dropped into a bow. “We will be on our way, but your experiences will be a great reference! Thank you! Both of you are truly overflowing with love!”
“N-no, I am NOT ‘overflowing with love’!” Schezo protested, “Don’t you dare leave without allowing me to correct this glaring misunderstanding!”
“Huh?”
“I just…want Arle!”
“Ah, how passionate you are in conveying your love!”
“GAAAAH! NO, WAIT, THAT’S WRONG—!”
“And you keep saying it over and over, too! Your persistence is so wonderful!
“C’mon, we’re leaving, Ally.”
“Gu-gugu!”
The more he tried to fix his mistake, the more agitated Schezo got and the more mistakes he kept making.
Rulue, who stood next to him, spoke with disgust in her voice, “What a truly incorrigible pervert…”
As for us, we left them behind and headed off.
