"Alex's reaction to pudding?" Asked Noire, who was rather taken aback with the unexpected question.
"That's right." Answered Nepgear while nodding. "When he was offered one a few days ago, he had an extremely negative reaction towards it, almost like he becomes very depressed. I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about it."
"Well, I didn't spend too much time with him during his first two weeks here nor did he eat any pudding during his stay, so I didn't really have a chance to check on this." Said Vert while remembering the time Alex spent on Leanbox
"Same here. We don't eat pudding around here, and I was too busy to check on him daily." Said Blanc.
"I guess that makes three of us." Added Noire while sighing.
"Eh? If you weren't with him, then what were you doing?" Asked Nepgear.
"I was playing games." Answered Vert with a smile.
"My novel's deadline was too close to take a break."
"Vert, Blanc…"
Nepgear sweat dropped while looking at the two of them through the video chat on her PC.
"Seriously, you two. Did you even try?" Said Noire while looking at the other two CPUs and sweat dropping.
"At least we didn't scare him away like you did." Responded Blanc with her eyes closed.
"T-That wasn't my fault! I just miscalculated!"
"That usually means it's your fault..."
"At least I tried doing something!"
"Now, now. Blanc, what really matters is the intention. Doing nothing is rather unproductive too."
"You didn't do shit either!" Snarled Lowee's CPU, feeling angered by Vert's comment.
"Erm…excuse me…" Said Nepgear while sweat dropping with a weak smile.
It seemed the CPUs were getting so absorbed in their own conversation that they forgot about Nepgear's question.
"Oh my, sorry for that Nepgear." Said Leanbox's CPU while looking at Nepgear again. "Regarding the issue with Alex, I don't think you should concern yourself about it for now."
"Eh? Why not?"
"Why do you want to know about his past, anyway?" Asked Noire, feeling curious about the motives behind Nepgear's curiosity
"Well..."
The CPU Candidate was unsure what to answer. The only thing she could come up with at that moment was the she simply felt curiosity, but that would sound like a selfish and childish reason.
"Mystery and power breed curiosity, but it doesn't mean satisfying it is right either..."
"Eh?"
It seemed as Lowee's CPU was able to tell what Nepgear was thinking, since she spoke out of the blue with a calm tone, but she wasn't too sure if she understood what Blanc tried to say.
"Nepgear, what Blanc is trying to say is that feeling curious about something or someone isn't a bad thing, but inquiring into someone else's past without their consent is not good either."
"But...Don't you want to know?"
"Of course we do, but everyone has the right to keep their own secrets." Replied Noire with one hand on her hip and both eyes closed.
"I see…" Said the CPU Candidate while lowering her head with a somewhat dissapointed expression.
"Well if you excuse me, I still have a lot of work to do." Said Noire before disappearing from the screen.
"Me too." Added Blanc before her image disappeared as well.
"And with all that being said and done, I shall be taking my leave as well."
"Oh, okay then..."
Vert looked at her for a moment. She could tell the CPU Candidate still felt troubled about this issue circling through her mind.
"Nepgear..." She said with a kind and understanding tone.
When listening to Leanbox's CPU calling her name, Nepgear raised her head and looked at her.
"Yes?"
"He may not be very cheerful or expressive, but Alex is a good kid."
After saying those last words, Vert's image disappeared, leaving Nepgear by herself for a moment to think about what they said.
Her mind wasn't sure where to start thinking, which was why she decided to go to the kitchen and clean the leftover dishes from today's lunch to clear her mind and allow her thoughts to go by more freely.
Unlike Neptune, Nepgear was polite, calm, and smart. She was pretty much the usual "next door's perfect girl" type, but this opposite personality also had her flaws.
Mostly that she was timid, lacked self-confidence, and the outgoing personality her elder sister had.
"Just how am I supposed to approach him?" She muttered to herself after sighing.
The matter that worried Nepgear was that while the other CPUs and even the CPU Candidates began to get along with Alex, she was the only one remaining more or less a stranger with him and this made her feel like she was being left out.
"Maybe it's my fault for not being more outgoing like Neptune…"
"Really? Why?"
"I mean, Neptune has an easier time getting along with people, but me on the other hand-" Explained the Candidate CPU to the voice that asked her, until she realized the voice asking was not within her mind, but rather next to her. "Eh?"
Nepgear turned her head and saw Alex standing next to her.
"Ah! A-Alex!? didn't I ask you to not sneak up on me like that!?"
"My bad." Said the young boy while taking a step away from her. "Anyway, what's wrong? You look down."
"I do?" Asked Nepgear with widened eyes as she didn't expect Alex to appear all of a sudden.
"It's written all over your face, to be honest."
"Written!?"
The CPU Candidate quickly took out a small mirror from her pocket and checked out her face for any ink writings on her face.
"Not THAT kind of writing…" Said Alex.
"Oh...You scared me there for a moment." Said Nepgear with relief.
The young boy looked at her for a moment and wondered if, despite her intelligence, the CPU Candidate was actually a naïve girl.
"By the way, what are you doing here?"
"I came to pick up a snack."
"I see…" Said Nepgear.
"I was gonna go out to eat initially but then I remembered that Neptune would tag along with me like she always does and that annoys me because she eats like a pig and is as loud as a siren."
"S-Sorry about that..." Said the CPU Candidate as she saw the young boy make an angry expression.
It wasn't rare for people to get offended or angered by Neptune's behavior most of the time, causing Nepgear to have to apologize in her stead.
With time, the CPU Candidate became so used to apologizing that it almost became a second nature. Seeing that at least someone was willing to give him an honest apology, or at least a proper one, the young boy took a deep breath and calmed down.
"It's fine Nepgear. Don't worry about it." Said the young boy while scratching the back of his head with his eyes closed.
"Erm…Alex?" Called the CPU Candidate, making the young man open his eyes and look at her. "If you don't like being with Neptune, then why do you always take her with you?"
The question was a simple yet logical one if you thought about it. Normally when you don't like being somewhere with someone else, you usually either stop going out or make the other person stop going, but Alex didn't do either. He simply kept taking Neptune with him and even paid every time.
"Well, if I don't take her, she keeps whining until I say yes and even if I try walking away she just follows me."
"I-I see…" She said while sweat dropping.
It seemed like Alex simply put up with it because he didn't want to deal with Neptune throwing a tantrum.
"Besides…" Said Alex, calling Nepgear's attention again "The food would taste like crap if I didn't."
A moment of silence fell on the kitchen while Nepgear looked at him with a surprised expression. At first the CPU candidate was confused by the last thing Alex said, but she soon managed to understand it.
The young boy probably didn't want Neptune to follow him at first, but if he simply ignored her and ate while she could only succumb to hunger, he wouldn't be able to enjoy the food because he would feel bad for her.
In essence, Alex had just subliminally admitted that he was getting a little attached to Neptune always being by his side whenever he went out.
"Anyway, maybe I should get going." He said before turning around and heading out.
"Erm...Alex!?"
The young boy turned around to look at Nepgear after she called her name, just in time to see her lowering her head again.
"I'm sorry..."
"I already told you it's okay. I'm not even angry anymore anyway."
"It's not about Neptune..."
"Then what?" Asked Alex with a raised eyebrow.
"I-I'm sorry for not really approaching you at all. I, must've been a little cold and distant wasn't I?" Said the CPU Candidate while looking down at her index fingers poking the tips of each other.
The young boy looked at the CPU Candidate, understanding where she was coming from because as far as she knew, he was still a total stranger to her.
"It's fine. You don't need to worry about that." He said.
"Eh?" She said while raising her head and looking at him.
"I don't blame you for bring distant. I'm basically a stranger to you. In all honesty, I wouldn't trust myself either."
Nepgear kept looking at him for a moment but before she could say anything, the sound of Histoire's voice calling out to her took the CPU Candidate's attention.
"Nepgear, Nepgear! Where are you!?"
Alex turned his head around, just in time to see Histoire flying by the door, turning her head to look into the kitchen and see the CPU Candidate.
"Nepgear! There you are!"
"Histoire? What's wrong?"
"Have you seen Neptune? I can't seem to find her." Asked the tome while flying closer to her, making Alex move aside a bit to let her through
"Neptune?" Asked the CPU Vandidate while taking a moment to think about it. "I think she left after eating..."
The tome placed her hand on her head and sighed.
"Seriously now. Why is she always like this!? Especially in such a crucial time!?"
"What happened?"
"A sudden rise of energy took place in the Gamindustri Graveyard yesterday, and I was going to ask her to check it out."
"If that's the case, maybe I should go."
"Nepgear, I know you have potential as a CPU Candidate, but the Gamindustri Graveyard is no mere dungeon." Replied the tome. "Sending you alone would be too dangerous."
"But you said it was an emergency..."
Alex looked at Nepgear looking down at the floor and decided to step in.
"I'm here too, you know?" Said the young boy, catching their attention. "I could go check it out while she looks for Neptune."
"I appreciate the thought, but this is Planeptune's problem and as such, the CPUs should be the ones to handle it."
"If that problem of yours is as severe as you say, then you can't really waste time." He replied while looking at her. "Besides, it's not like you have much of a choice right now."
The tome thought about what the young man said and sighed as she was forced to admit he was right.
"Certainly, choice isn't a luxury we can have right now." She said with both eyes closed before opening them to look at him. "I'm sorry to burden you with his request."
"Don't sweat it."
With that, the decision was made as Nepgear went out to search for Neptune, and Alex headed to the Gamindustri Graveyard.
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Chapter 33: Complete