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Sometimes, La+ Darknesss wondered if she was not, in fact, the fulcrum the universe turned around. Shocking, of course, but some events sparked the barest kindlings of doubt in her mind.
Today’s trigger was fairly straightforward: she’d crashed head-first into Noel-senpai’s chest while turning a corner, slipped on the rain-slick sidewalk, and smacked her left horn against a nearby building.
Of course, Noel’s reaction made it impossible to be mad at her. “Lap-chan! Are you alright?!”
“I’m fine,” she grumbled, graciously allowing the knight to help her to her feet. “Why are you out in this weather?”
“Oh, I just needed a few things for dinner… Well, I would have, but I forgot that Flare won’t be home tonight, so I didn’t need to get so much.”
La+ could see what she meant now that she’d recovered: several bags filled to the brim with meat, meat, and some stuff that made meat taste better (maybe even, horror of horrors, some “vegetables”). Her stomach growled. “That looks like it’ll be delicious.”
“Aww, thank you~ …Say.” A dangerous light flickered behind Noel’s eyes. “Are you busy tonight, Lap-chan?”
“Nah, I couldn’t find the figure I wanted to buy, so I’m just on my way home.”
The knight hid her mouth with her free hand. “Then would you like me to make you some gyuudon to share at my place?”
“Noel-san’s gyuudon…” A meal spoken of in hushed whispers by the meat-lovers of Hololive. Legends held it had been the template for Persona 4’s Mega Beef Bowl Challenge; legends also said that Noel had completed said challenge in-person when she was yet a child. “I’ll let you cook for me tonight, Noel-san.”
“Great! Then there’s no time to lose!” She knelt down.
La+ stared at her. “What?”
“We can get there faster if you get on my back~” Noel’s eyes sparkled. “Won’t you let me be your chariot, My Dark?”
“Alright, alright, g-geez…” Her gently pleading voice hit the little overlord like a truck. It felt like the knight might be getting ahead of herself, though, wanting to carry her like this-
The moment after she’d settled onto Noel’s shoulders, her chariot had launched forward; La+ felt like she’d agreed to be a horse-girl’s jockey. They flung themselves through the streets, the knight laughing, her passenger clinging to her for dear life, until they arrived at the last intersection before arriving at Noel’s home.
She stooped to let La+ off, flashing her a delirious smile. “Wasn’t that fun, Lap-chan?”
“Y-yeah…” She had to admit, it had been. “Maybe a little slower next time-”
“‘Next time?’” La+ didn’t know if the knight even heard the first part.
Before she could clarify, however, a brightly-painted closed-top jeep raced past them, catching a single deep puddle and spraying the sidewalk they were standing on. The overlord didn’t feel any water hit her, though, except at the edges of her horns… Looking at Noel, it wasn’t hard to see why. “Noel-san?”
“I’m okay!” She couldn’t have seemed wetter if she’d tried. “Do you mind if I dry off before making dinner?”
“Of course not!” La+ scoffed at the thought. She was a benevolent tyrant, not some heartless monster! A little wait wouldn’t hurt.
Noel giggled. “Great~ Follow me, Lap-chan~”
The knight’s apartment, thankfully, was on the first floor. As the lights came on, La+ was struck by how much more inviting it felt than HoloX’s basement: wood floors instead of concrete, warm incandescent lights instead of cold fluorescence, furniture that probably hadn’t been pulled out of a warehouse’s dumping ground… Any lingering hesitation left the overlord as she reclined on a plush couch.
“I’m gonna take a quick shower to help me dry off, Lap-chan,” Noel said as she walked out of the kitchen sans groceries. “Make yourself at home~”
“I am,” she muttered as she flashed her a thumbs-up, fighting not to melt into the wondrous upholstery. Seriously, was this how a couch was supposed to be? If she wasn’t careful, she might fall through it and into another world… again…
La+ closed her eyes in spite of herself. She didn’t fall asleep, but maybe it’d look like that to someone who walked by quietly enough.
A few minutes later, apparently Noel got that impression, as the overlord heard her walking down the hall. “Lap-cha- oh? Did she fall asleep?... That’s so cute~”
‘Cute?’ What was cute about her being tired, exactly?
“Maybe if I’m careful…” The knight approached the couch, looming over her guest. La+ did her best to remain calm and still. “How do I do this without waking her up, though…”
Do what?
Noel’s soft hands and strong arms lifted La+ off of the couch in a single smooth motion; the overlord held back a gasp as her horn grazed against Noel’s chest. She’d heard Kanata gush about it before going back to Heaven, but as the knight relaxed onto the couch herself, La+ discovered the truth face-first. “Hehehe~ This is probably too much… but it’ll be fine~”
The overlord struggled with the otaku inside her. An onee-san of the highest caliber had enticed her with a free meal only to pounce on the first opportunity available, fully deceived by La+’s expert acting skills. Still, with her face buried against Cover’s most ample chest, there was only so much she could do to…
“Lap-chan, that tickles~” All she’d done was breathe. Apparently, that’s all it took. “I know you can’t help it, though. Your tiny lungs can only hold so much air at a time~”
‘My lungs aren’t tiny,’ La+ grumbled in her head. She wouldn’t dream about complaining aloud in this moment, though - what if saying something meant Noel would toss her off?
The knight stroked her captive’s hair. “I told your playmates you were at my house. They know you’re eating dinner here.”
Oh, good. They’d know not to worry about her-
“Lui was worried about what you’d do.”
Shit.
“I don’t know what she was talking about, though.” Noel’s hand walked along La+’s spine, veering off to slip under her overcoat. “Mama knows what to do with spoiled brats~”
…Did she hit her horn that hard earlier? Was she imagining all of this, unconscious on a street corner? What other explanation was there?
“Mwehehehe… I could hold you like this all night~ I should start on dinner, though. We want you to have plenty of energy for later.”
“Ehehehe.” Noel’s evil laugh was infectious aaaand there goes her cover. She faked a yawn to look up at the knight’s face. “Um.”
Noel simply smiled back at her. “You were so cute pretending to be asleep~”
“I- I wasn’t pretending! This couch is so soft and-”
“It’s okay, Lap-chan~” The knight patted her head. “I’m glad you like them~”
The overlord had never felt more like an underling. “Mm.”
“Are you hungry, Lap-chan?”
“Y-yeah,” she admitted. Her stomach growled in agreement. “But-”
Noel kissed her forehead, and she felt like she might die right then and there. “Don’t worry, Mama will take care of you after dinner, too~”
“A- mm.”
“Very good~” She picked them both up from the couch before setting La+ back down on it. “I’ll be back when it’s done, okay?”
She couldn’t stop herself. La+ grabbed her sleeve; the knight’s face somehow lit up further. “Um, c-can I come with you?”
“Do you want to cook together?”
“Ah, I um.” Not exactly what the overlord wanted. “I…”
Noel giggled. “It’s fine if you don’t want to. As long as you behave yourself, okay, Lap-chan?”
“H-hai!” She could behave! That was definitely something La+ Darknesss, Supreme Overlord of Earth, was good at!
…And even if she didn’t, she had the feeling Noel wouldn’t mind…