Edward, Ivan, and Lemi were currently in a tomb.
It was a creepy place, but this was here Jared dropped them off. Once he explained the reasons for his action, and what their mission was, he vanished.
The three had the simple goal of collecting the Arcana that could be located here.
'What did he say the rationale was again? Stuff about an ancient story with the goddess of luck and the devil of probability?'
Jared told them a story about how a certain Goddess who represented Luck, made a bet with the Demon of Uncertainty.
They argued which was more powerful. Was it good fortune, or was it unpredictable scenarios.
Eventually, after arguing for an infinite number of times, they realized the obvious truth.
They were one and the same.
Luck and Probability. Fortune and Uncertainty. One could not exist without the other. Realizing they had found themselves in each other, the Goddess and Demon became one and sunk to the depths of the world to create a foundation of their love... and a tomb for their rivalry.
It was a pretty wacky story, and had a lot of plot holes in it.
Ivan could not understand how Jared was able to make sense of anything from the tale--or how he was sure of an Arcana being in this place because of something so random.
However, according to the blond boy, he cross-referenced the origins and date of the story. It overlapped with the other findings of the Arcanas.
It could have been simple coincidence, but Jared seemed so convinced.
He also said a bunch of other things Ivan did not understand--stuff about causality and anthropological coherence.
In the end, Ivan simply decided to explore the tomb and leave the analysis to the obvious genius among them.
'How did he even get this exact location? Haa... it's best not to even think about that, at this point.'
With the way Jared sounded at times, it was as though he had spent his whole life researching Arcanas.
Ivan could not comprehend it, and he decided not to bother.
Improving himself and becoming a pillar strong enough to live with pride were all that occupied his thoughts.
Well, at the moment, something else continuously bugged him.
"Would you two stop it already!!!" After being unable to hold back his anger, Ivan finally erupted.
Both of them instantly ceased their giggling upon hearing the annoyed boy's roar of dissatisfaction.
"We're on a serious mission, you know? Can't you guys wait till we get the heck out of here before doing stuff like this? Jeez!"
Lemi, who was now on top of Edward for some unexplainable reason, frowned at Ivan's attitude.
"Hey! That's no way to address someone older than you are." Even as she said this, she kept dragging and pinching Edward's cheeks.
Apparently, even those amazed her.
"Then act older! You're behaving like a child right now! It pisses me off!"
"W-wha--?!" Lemi was at a loss of words, quickly looking at Edward from backup.
The muscular boy caught her drift. He understood how affected she must have been due to Ivan's harsh statement.
Truthfully, he understood where his friend was coming from. The redhead wasn't wrong, after all.
Still...
"Maybe you should relax a bit, Iva--"
"Shut it, Edward! You're basically the same as her!" Ivan's words were enough to forcefully silence him in an instant.
Despite the weight, height, and power difference between the two, it was clear who won the contest of words.
Edward melted, unable to fight against Ivan's words, or protect the Half Elf sitting on his shoulders.
"So mean..." Lemi gasped, leaking a tear as she shook her head.
"Indeed..." Edward sniffed.
Suddenly, the tables shifted and the red-haired boy was painted to be the villain. It was two opinions against one, and frankly, Ivan was outmatched.
However--
"Zip it! You think I care? When you were up to your shenanigans, didn't you consider how that made me feel? Bunch of idiots..." He growled.
Just because Ivan had been tame lately didn't mean that was his personality. Anyone who was remotely close to him would have realized it by now.
Ivan Smith's default setting was that of a wild man.
Lemi was weak against harsh words since she never recieved any when she was younger, and Edward had too pure a heart to handle something so heavy.
Plus, despite how things looked, Ivan was older than the buff boy.
These factors combined, it was pretty obvious who would win if they were to go at it in the manner of speech.
"Now that you've both mellowed down, let's focus on the mission... and Lemi get off Edward now!" Ivan growled, returning his gaze ahead.
"No!"
The Half Elf's resistance made more veins appear on the red-haired boy's face. He returned his face in her direction, glaring like a demon.
"I said... get down." A wide smile was plastered on his face, and one of his eyebrows was raised.
However, neither his smile nor his raised eyebrows diminished the obviously threatening reaction he gave.
In fact, it was the opposite.
"EEEEKKK!!" Lemi hugged Edward tighter than before.
It was obvious she was being a big baby. Ivan realized he couldn't deal with her, so he chose the next best thing.
"Isn't that Ana's riding spot? I guess I'll have to tell her that Lemi decided to take her place. I wonder how she's going to take that..."
Edward shuddered once Ivan began speaking. He looked at his dear friend with horror--wondering how someone could be so cruel.
"... Don't you wonder the same thing... Ed?" Ivan's grin grew wider, becoming more threatening than ever.
Edward's muscular body grew rigid, and just like magic, perspiration flowed from the boy's face.
"Ivan... y-you wouldn't."
"Of course not. What are friends for?"
"Whew..."
Edward felt relief wash over him. He was safe.
"Indeed. So, can you do me a solid, you know... as a friend?" Ivan interrupted his sigh with a friendly proposal.
"Oh? What's that?"
Ivan's agreeable face suddenly warped into the most twisted expression. Both eyebrows curled up and his eyes gave the most disdainful and condescending expression. His lips melted downward, hardened in the most threatening manner.
"Get Lemi off your back... NOW!"
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[A/N]
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