My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

The sudd invasion of a stalker.

"Oi, make a nice meal for her like you did for Emir's birthday."

"No."

I did nothing, but I made sure to keep a watchful eye on her.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you all~ My name is Araceli."

"Yes, I just joined Oscar's class... Oh, I'm free to call him Cipher here, ar't I?"

"My power? Ah, no, it's not a Supernatural Ability, but a Measuremt..."

There were no suspicious activities.

"Excuse me, but I really like your earrings... And your nails, wow! Are they natural? Did you do them yourself?"

"Huh? O-oh, thanks, yeah, they're natural... How'd ya tell?"

Indeed, there were no suspicious activities at all.

However...

"You two are Sana and Sona, right? I love your hair, and your eyes are so pretty~"

""...""

Objectively speaking, Araceli wasn't acting particularly suspicious.

However, she was being so extraordinarily fridly and affable with everyone that I couldn't help but become severely distressed.

"Um, thank you very much for saving me last time."

"Aw, don't worry about it~ It was the least I could do. You didn't want to fight, right? It's okay. You did a fantastic job in the d; your power was phomal to watch, too; I could feel myself being filled with vigour."

With the situation being like this, there was no way in hell I'd be able to convince the others that she was a pottial threat.

I just couldn't see it happing.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I heard that you're good at card readings, is that true? Do you think you could tell my fortune?"

"O-oh, uhm... Sure..."

Ev Emir, whom Araceli was never supposed to have known about, was no exception.

"..."

For once, I was stuck.

For once, I didn't know what to do.

Caught in a quagmire, it felt as if any move I made would only cause me to sink deeper.

I felt like I had to get them away.

I felt like the right move was to warn them of the danger.

But, I wasn't sure.

I knew it wouldn't work.

The only way to properly convince them would be with multiple good reasons and a heap of sufficit backing evidce.

Ev th, I'm not sure.

After all, they don't face the same dangers as me.

The Wards... They don't really care about anyone else; maybe Selina, who's esstially se as the Concept of Life?

Still, I'm sure they wouldn't classify her as a threat due to her personality, and ev excluding that, they would probably just work something out with Minami to secure the safety of those in her surings.

Outside of that, though, there's no reason for them to care about dangers that only apply to me.

It's simple.

At the d of the day, they don't really need me.

They're only living here and acting on my side for now because there's nowhere else for them to go and because they're scared of what might happ if I were their emy.

That's all.

That's the cold reality of things.

Although, there's a chance I could convince them if I explained everything honestly.

"Araceli Arévalo comes from another timeline and possesses all kinds of Forbidd Knowledge."

"She knows about the secrets of the world and yet."

"Despite knowing that the truth behind those secrets is all I want."

"Despite knowing that telling me those secrets would allow me to rest."

"Ev though telling me just that much would put a stop to all of this."

"Despite that, she adamantly refuses to give me what I want."

"If she told me, th I would have no further reason to try and uncover what lies at the root of these mysteries, right?"

"'For my sake'."

"It's a ridiculous notion."

"How could the act of inttionally hiding what I want to find out from me possibly be for my sake?"

"I am the bearer of every truth the world has to offer."

"There is no truth that I am unable to handle."

"So, why bother hiding the truth from me?"

"Everyone knows that I will find out evtually, regardless of anyone's efforts to stop me."

"So, what is the point?"

"To what d must the truth be continuously diverted and obscured?"

"List to me."

"Araceli Arévalo."

"That individual, she is suspicious."

"Her very existce is an anomaly of this world, and she is not supposed to exist here."

"So, heed my words and cease all interaction with her hceforth."

"Ev someone like you can understand that much, can't you?"

Following the climax of my words, the surings fell quiet.

For a while now, only my low voice echoed, infused with a hint of disdain.

Wh ev that lasting tune ceased, the ambice became so subdued it felt as if ev an ant's footsteps could be heard crawling.

Everything had froz solid, and the tse atmosphere was so tight it seemed like it could crack at any momt.

Within such a household, taut like a string on the verge of snapping, someone oped their mouth to speak after that brief eternity.

"...You fucking asshole."

It was Sophie.

Naturally, the only one with the backbone to talk back to me in a situation like this would be her.

"Hah... Hahahaha..."

"..."

Letting out a low chuckle as she shot a vicious glare directly at me, it became rather obvious what she was feeling.

The corners of her lips had ris, but her eyes were anything but smiling.

"Seriously... You're a real disgusting son of a bitch, ain'tcha?"

"..."

"What? She's from another timeline? Who fucking cares?"

"..."

"She knows the secrets of the world? Did I fucking ask?"

"..."

"She won't tell you what you want to know? Boo-fucking-hoo, bitch."

"..."

Hurling profanities and snarling at me like an irate dog, I only listed with a straight face as Sophie's raised tone of voice continued without hesitation, nor pause.

"Have you ev giv it any deeper thought, or do you just not care?"

"If telling you the secrets of the world was gonna solve anything, don'tcha think she would've done it ages ago? She's not sharing anything, so wouldn't there be a good reason for her not to?"

"I mean, fuck."

"I bet you don't ev know if her telling you what she knows would solve anything. You just assume it would because you're both pissed off that she won't tell you and scared because you don't know what it is, right?"

"Hah! What a coward you are."

"If Araceli really knows as much as you claim, th wouldn't it make ev more sse for there to be a good reason not to tell you?"

"Surely, someone who possesses so much important knowledge would know the impact of telling you the secrets or keeping it from you, right?"

"Today's the first time I ever spoke to her, and ev I can tell."

"She's be working her ass off just to fucking help you, you bastard, and to keep you safe."

"Yet, this is all you have to say about it?"

"Yeah okay, I admit it; I don't know fuck all about Forbidd Knowledge or whatever. But, it's a big deal, right? Th, the fact that she knows stuff ev you don't know is more than ough."

"That poor girl has be shouldering all the weight of that knowledge for god knows how long, knowing it's all you want yet keeping it hidd from you out of a pure desire to keep you safe."

"An innoct, sweet and pitiful girl, doing all this just to help you, without expecting ev a word of thanks in return."

"And look at you."

"You turn your nose at her efforts."

"You spit and trample on all she's done; on all she's working towards."

"You think of her as a suspicious person who doesn't belong."

At that momt, I spotted a glint of fury in her sharply narrowed eyes.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"..."

There was a couple of momt's break, seemingly for Sophie to catch her breath which had quickly turned ragged from the fervt condemnation.

Still, it didn't take long for her stream of targeted beratemt to resume.

"Yeah, it's all for your sake."

"That's exactly why you should just shut up and gratefully accept it."

"Also, what, don't talk to her?"

"Who the hell are you to tell me who I can and can't talk to?"

"Ev if she did turn out to be suspicious."

"Ev if you did turn out to be right."

"Either way, I still wouldn't care."

"I'll hang out with whoever I want to hang out with."

"If it ds up being a bad decision, th that's my fault."

"If Araceli ds up being a bad person, that's my fault for misjudging her character."

"But, I don't think I misjudged her character."

"Because I know I'm right."

"In this situation, Cipher, I know you're the one in the wrong here."

"It doesn't matter how much you think you know."

"It doesn't matter if what you say about her is true or not."

"The simple truth of the matter is, it's not right to treat someone like her the way you are or the way you have be."

"Like I said. Ev just talking to her for the first time today, I could tell."

"Yeah, she's got secrets to hide."

"But, she's guine."

"A guine person."

"More than you could ever be, Cipher."

...It was a lot.

"..."

I could only stay silt at Sophie's unding, reltless barrage.

Naturally, there was no way I could agree with what she said.

It's fine, though.

I recognised what she was trying to get at.

She thinks I'm being dismissive of Araceli's efforts, right?

But, the situation is differt from how she thinks it is.

She simply doesn't understand the reality of it.

Frankly, the root problem is Araceli's Forbidd Knowledge.

Her being itself is shrouded in a veil of Forbidd Knowledge, almost certainly due to the method of how she transferred to this timeline.

Similar to Kiryuuin, but several magnitudes more extreme.

Because the existce of Forbidd Knowledge itself inhibits my ability to measure the truth, it makes it impossible for me to properly gauge the situation as I ordinarily would.

If it wer't for that, there would be no problem because I would have the answer to everything I need.

Araceli's thoughts; her desires; her inttions; her fears, interests, strgths, vulnerabilities―if everything about her had be in my grasp from the beginning, th there would never have be a problem.

It simply would have be fine.

Because I would've already known it all, and thus would be aware of the correct way to react.

The problem is that now, I suffer from a lack of knowledge, and thus am unsure how to react.

Because something like this has never happed before.

Until rectly, there has never be anyone for whom my Truth has be rdered so completely and utterly useless.

That's why I don't know what to do.

Truly, it's troubling.

More so than anything I could have ever imagined.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out the person called Araceli Arévalo.

Fundamtally speaking, I simply cannot bring myself to trust someone whom I cannot figure out.

My tire life, I've be sured only by people I knew inside and out.

My tire life, I've countered only people with whom I could uncover their deepest secrets and weaknesses within an instant.

But now, I have of that.

My biggest and only strgth has be turned into my most fatal weakness in front of her.

This tormt.

It's laughable.

Do you get it?

How something like that makes me feel.

How something like that makes me want to tear my heart out and erase this agony with my own two hands.

Do you understand?

Sophie Asanami.

"...You don't understand."

No.

Of course not.

Someone like you... No, actually, this includes everyone else here, too.

Not just Sophie Asanami.

Selina, Emir.

All of you.

"You could never understand."

At this momt, I realise.

From the very beginning, it was unnatural.

I was never supposed to order a so many people.

Sured by people who don't―who could never understand.

Almost like how a wolf does not belong in a pack of dogs, or vice versa.

It was never possible for me to stand next to ordinary people like them; to command them; to understand or be understood by them.

From the start, it was impossible.

Rather abruptly, I found myself recalling that last card from the reading.

That reversed duplicate card and its final supposed meaning.

'Relinquish power.'

I think I understood a bit of what it meant now.