Nia Honjo: Eek! Being the Comic Relief Is Terrifying

Heavy rain began to fall outside.

Qian Huanyue pressed her face against the windowpane, looking a little dejected.

Ever since she had been stabbed and caught off guard that day, her back had felt horribly exposed. Her Astral Dress had even grown armored panels over her skirt.

Wait, Astral Dresses could change!?

Qian Huanyue realized it only now.

"So, Qian Huanyue..." Nia Honjo sidled up to her ingratiatingly and tickled her shoulder with a fingertip.

"...Eek!"

With her back now so sensitive, the touch nearly sent Qian Huanyue into a reflexive backflip. Luckily, she stopped herself in time.

"Naughty Little Nia-Nia." Qian Huanyue raised her eyelids halfway, uttered a pet name that was almost too much, and pinched Nia's nose as she leaned closer.

Nia Honjo watched Qian Huanyue perk up from her listless state. Ratziel had worked.

Ratziel possessed omniscience. Its all-knowing information search could uncover anything except the future.

Since DEM had captured her, Nia had hardly used that ability.

The book hovered before her, its old, weighty cover giving off a faint glow.

She had only recently regained her freedom and had used it once for Kurumi, but it had turned up no trace of the First Spirit. That really was strange.

That day, Nia had watched Qian Huanyue tear the door to her cell off its hinges and fold it up, blast the people who regularly tortured her with an Angel until the result could never pass a content review, then haul her out in a rather undignified grip.

After regaining her freedom, she had secretly looked up Qian Huanyue in Ratziel. Tearing through Wizards with her bare hands, beating Ellen Mira Mathers with her fists—that power, that presence...

Nia Honjo suddenly felt that going back to drawing manga, catching up on deadlines, and continuing Silver Bullet, the series she had been forced to leave on hiatus for five years, might not be quite so urgent after all.

She grew remarkably obedient, and her face turned downright fawning.

At the very least, she should stay here for now and repay her rescuer.

It absolutely was not because Qian Huanyue had asked nothing of her, she had done nothing useful, and she was too afraid to leave! Absolutely not.

"Qian Huanyue, don't look so down! I might be no good in a fight, but maybe I can help with Ratziel!"

Qian Huanyue blinked at Nia's sudden, almost fawning enthusiasm. She seemed unable to keep up with that leap in thought.

"Come to think of it, Dog's litter box could use cleaning."

"...Huh?" Nia Honjo blinked, baffled.

Dog? Litter box? Cleaning?

What were those words supposed to mean together?

Did Qian Huanyue have a dog? Why would a dog use a litter box? And why call it a "litter box" instead of a "dog toilet"?

Wait, wasn't the real question why she had brought this up out of nowhere?!

"Pfft—" Qian Huanyue finally burst out laughing, the corners of her mouth curling in a tiny, triumphant grin.

"My cat is named Dog."

She tossed out that simple yet utterly ridiculous explanation as if it were nothing.

Feeling awful was one thing. Having a laugh was another, Qian Huanyue thought. Watching Nia's expression grow even more interesting, she felt much of her gloom lift with that absurd joke.

Nia: "..." Sometimes she really felt helpless.

She was Nia Honjo, a Spirit who had once known all things through Ratziel and uncovered hidden information.

She had also been a manga artist who created a hit series and had countless fans.

Even after years of imprisonment by DEM Industries, she still had her dignity as a Spirit and a creator. Or so she believed.

Now she felt herself sliding helplessly toward an abyss: the familiar light-novel or manga role of the comic-relief character everyone picked on.

It was as if, once a character had enjoyed her big moment saving the world or revealing a crucial truth, the author had no idea what to do with her next and simply turned her into a joke for the protagonist to torment whenever she pleased.

Was this where my life... no, my life as a Spirit ended up after all that drawn-out suffering and one brief heroic rescue? As a comedian?!

No! I still want to look at least a little mysterious and cool as a Spirit! At least... I looked pretty cool when Qian Huanyue rescued me, right? Maybe?

The little Nia in her head was clutching her head and screaming. On her face, bewilderment, grievance, and resignation mingled.

Of course, Qian Huanyue had no idea what was going through Nia's head. How could someone with 111 intelligence understand the thoughts of someone with 245?

"Help me, Nia-Nia." To make herself look cuter, Qian Huanyue clasped her hands and leaned forward slightly. "I mean... could you change it for me? The cat litter."

Normally, one of Kurumi's clones changed the litter.

But Kurumi seemed to have shut the "Four Heavenly Kings" in her shadow lately to reflect on their behavior.

First-Meeting Kurumi had gone out to buy ingredients.

When it came to everyday chores, Qian Huanyue was the type who could not be bothered unless someone made her do them. That was why she had once considered being sealed away and spending the rest of her life as a carefree freeloader.

The earlier details did not matter. Neither did the middle.

In short, Little Nia-Nia was the only one she could ask. She had come up with the nickname after being called Qian Huanyue.

A little while later, Qian Huanyue looked at the litter box, now spotless, dry, and fresh, then at Nia Honjo beside it. Nia stood ramrod straight as though she had accomplished something great, despite her somewhat complicated expression.

Qian Huanyue's eyes sparkled as she gave Nia Honjo a thumbs-up.

"You did amazing! Little Nia-Nia, you're a litter-box genius!"

"...How am I supposed to be happy about praise like that?" Nia complained, though the corners of her mouth rose slightly against her will.

She dusted off her hands, though there was nothing on them, and tossed her hair with practiced flair. "But since you asked so sincerely, Qian Huanyue, a little thing like this was no trouble for me!"

"Mm-hmm!" Qian Huanyue nodded vigorously, keeping her eyes bright. "I knew I could count on you, Nia-Nia!" A woman's intuition told her that, at times like this, all she had to do was keep praising her.