Hannya lifted the lid and a red light climbed her face. She reached in, holding her breath, and pinched the gift between two fingers. A thin veil, soft as air, fell against her palm. The glow from the box faded. Her skin prickled in the leftover hush of magic as the box closed. She listened for the hum of power within the artifact… and heard nothing.

She frowned, then looked back at the box. The box still radiated like a small shrine, as if it still held an item of devastating force. The veil in her hand felt like good silk, but nothing else. And the box contained only that item, it was empty when it closed back. She inhaled slowly, hoping the vein on her forehead wouldn't pop out.

She turned to Left and squinted. He blinked, feigning ignorance, his polite smile steady.

"What? Something wrong?"

"...It's nothing." She turned the veil over and examined it. Elizabeth stood beside him, her posture still proper. But Hannya didn't need her abilities to read the small hitch in her shoulders. Amusement, carefully caged. Very strange. The maid lowered her lashes as if to hide it. The red box then breathed power again as if it still defended an ancestral relic.

Hannya breathed out slowly again, trying her best to stay calm. The empty box was pretending to be more than it was. The maid, 'Elizabeth', seemed to have spawned a loot chest that made even a rock from the side of the road feel more lofty than it actually was.

'Was the grand box spilling legendary aura necessary?' Hannya thought resentfully, then gave the veil the attention it had earned. Threads fine as hair, a black sheen across the mesh when tilted, Gold along the edge and embroidery like a thin signature. It weighed almost nothing, and when she brushed it, it cooled her fingertips a degree.

"It's pretty at least…" she whispered, and let her boon focus on appraisal behind her eyes.

DING

[

Item: Porcelain God's Veil+ (Reforged)(Observer mix - Bass boosted) Class: Hybrid Relic(Focus/Armor)

Function: Face veil that suppresses the wearer's ambient charm to safe thresholds. Suppression does not prevent intentional casting.

Note: Observer reforged series. 'Defects' removed. Less bait and more bass!

Origin: In the past, a beast-kin mortal named Sada traveled through the planes of Neel as an entertainer. Admired, petitioned, worshiped, she drew crowds to the point a platform offered her a contract to godhood. She accepted. However, during ascension her understanding of charm crossed a threshold mortals couldn't carry. With charm she couldn't tame, the crowds that followed lost their will and thoughts alike. They only followed her, waiting for her next wish. She sought relief from the curse and crafted a veil from mythical beasts and rare materials provided by a helpful entity titled as Meddler. The veil saved audiences from drowning in love…

But it did not save Sada. The fox-kin died a pitiful, horrible death.

]

Hannya blinked at the end of the flavor text. "Huh, that escalated." She lifted the veil higher. No aura came from it at all, just a strange chill that jolted her skin every now and then when she focused her senses on it.

'Meddler huh?...' She shrugged, brushing the thought aside. "Welp, mine now." Thinking less of that creature was always better. Hannya knew, less thoughts, less influence.

Left exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Buddy rage quelled. He smiled wide. "An excellent decision!"

Elizabeth glanced at Left, hoping he'd notice her plea to curb his enthusiasm and to remind him her name was not currently Emily. Hannya ignored the two entities' strange behavior. She held the veil to her cheek. The fabric cooled her face, and her ambient laws pressed inward a hair, neat and firm. The sensation was subtle and clean, not at all punitive.

"So I wear it at all times?"

"That is the recommendation," Left said. "Your affinity is pretty singular. After evolution it will crest. The veil will keep things sane while you learn to control its influence. It is a stopgap, not a solution."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Hannya stayed seated and lifted the veil. The mesh slid over her cheeks and nose, drifting lightly. Only her pink, flower petal eyes showed, bright and rotating. The fabric settled with a cool press that felt like a boundary drawn by a careful hand.

DING

Notifications cascaded across her vision.

[

Status Update: Ambient Charm Aura reduced by 50%

Effect: Passive charm checks on observers decreased!

Notice: The Platform of Chaos is displeased. It demands to see your face. It pouts and turns away, losing interest. It peeks back at you, and loses interest again.

The Platform of Chaos' gaze is no longer on you. Ability [Devilish Pose](EX) is currently regressed to [Devilish Smile](SS) subsuming [Charming Smile](A).

]

She frowned. 'Nerfed…' Devilish Pose had been a good knife for soft rooms. The frown eased a step later. She didn't trust Left, but she trusted the Observer's hand. A high god. One of four the book spoke about with reluctance, but it oddly glazed the Observer when it did. He never moved to ruin people for sport. If he moved at all, something important needed action. Balance for Neel, not for her. And that was fine, she could live with that.

Plus it was bass boosted, that made everything better than the original. And it seemed the Observer knew that. Her confidence in the item equalized. She was curious about the extent to the Observers' knowledge outside of Neels planes.

Has he seen many worlds like hers? Did he know she was not originally from this world? And if he did, why hasn't he done anything about it? Did he know who brought her here? Did he bring her here? If he did, why? Did she have a purpose outside of making her most perfect story with her most perfect honey?

The questions swirled in her mind until they came to an abrupt stop. Why ask questions that would most likely bring answers that would annoy her rather than please?

'Damn, this silk is actually pretty easy to breathe underneath.'

She turned to Left and the maid and grinned under the new silk. "How do I look?"

Left studied her like a tailor checking seams. "The same," he said. "Maybe a little less aggressive."

The maid nodded once in agreement, gold eyes steady.

Hannya hummed. "Mirror?"

Left lifted his palm and a tall oval of glass formed in the air with a soft chime. She stood, the veil against her black sleepwear and made a face. White on black felt like a nurse at a funeral.

'Unfortunate mismatch…' maybe she could try wearing white more often?

She thought of a different shade. And to her surprise, the veil obeyed. Color ran through the mesh in a slow tide until it matched her clothes. She raised a brow, pleased despite herself.

"Wow," she said. "Useful."

Left chuckled. "It was reforged by the Master. Of course it would offer more than before."

"Then thank him for me," she said, meaning it. "I like it a lot."

Both of them smiled back…. Then silence followed like an awkward guest.

After a beat, she stretched, the veil swaying at her mouth. "Well, Imma head out."

She turned and walked as if the room owned doors. It did not. The maid tilted her head, curious what route the stubborn little devil would invent.

But Left popped up from the love seat, alarm flickering across his features. "W-wait! Why don't we chat for a bit? I just watched an adventurer slay a colossus solo. Quite the feat, right?"

Hannya pivoted and scoffed. "Chat? You said you brought me here for a gift from your master. The transaction is done. I'm going back to sleep."

Left's outstretched arm withered slightly.

Hannya's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me… you really kidnapped me to this realm to chat? Without a buddy's consent?"

Left blinked. "Consent?"

"That's right. Consent. A buddy who forces a buddy to talk without consent… is not really a buddy."

He trembled, as if the word itself had legal weight in here. The maid rolled her eyes and hid a laugh behind perfect posture.

"N-no, I am a true buddy! I would never-"

"Good," Hannya said, cutting clean. "Then open the door and show your sincerity… buddy."

Left froze. The fork in front of him lead only to two mountains. Let her free and be a good buddy, or keep her here and get the chat he wanted. His shoulders fell. He sank back into the love seat looking very old despite his new young face.

He lifted a hand and drew a line. A black gate opened where the wall had been pretending to be just a wall. "Of course, buddy…" he said, defeated, but trying his hardest to make defeat sound generous. "I will send an invitation for our next chat."

"Good," Hannya said. "Don't velvet room me again. I'm not a buddy who likes that sort of thing."

She walked through the gate without a second thought.

Left sat very still after it closed. The room went back to its careful quiet. He exhaled through his nose and rubbed his brow with thumb and forefinger.

"Do you think I was too overbearing again, elder sister?"

The maid turned at last and shook her head. "I said that in the beginning. People don't like waking in a place different from where they laid their head."

"...'Zat so." he muttered, slumping further.

"But she sees you as a useful buddy," the maid added. "She will be back. Worry not, little Left."

He brightened. "Really?"

She smiled with the kind of patience that had raised generations. "When has your elder sister lied to you?"

She blinked twice. The red box on the table lost its aura and vanished. The table looked honest again.

Left eyed the empty surface, then her. "Erm, sister. Thanks for doing this again, Right doesn't think it's cool anymore… But umm… Why did you use that box to present the gift? Was it not a little too lofty to hold an auraless veil? Young Hannya felt scammed pulling it out. It was written all over her face."

The maid snorted, nose tilting skyward. "The present is no more important than what it is presented on. Presentation is key, little brother. Even Father doesn't deny that."

Left stared, swallowed the reply he had wanted to risk, and nodded instead. "Oh. Thank you for the clarity… Sister Upwards."

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