Part 26: Ophiuchus and Aries (Part 1)

Bonding Update IX: Ophiuchus and Aries – Classmating 3 and Bonding Events Part 1

Now that we’ve enjoyed a break from Bonding Updates and had a chance to check out one of the “Japan Events”, it’s about time we return to the bonding events.



We’ve got a new selection of Focus Maidens starting with this set of updates. Well, new might be stretching it a little. As we saw with the Festival Update, we still have four of the same Maidens. They’re just ordered a little differently. The only true change to our Focus Maidens are the inclusions of Alfie and Femiruna, and the loss of Reone and Mahiru.

Alfie came in 1st, so we start with her. However, because of the way that Alfie’s events work, she’ll only technically have two, as opposed to the other Focus Maidens’ three. The event we’ll take a look at now is her Classmating Ritual 3 event as well as her first Level 3 Bond Event.


~Granvania Shopping Center~



…I picked the right event, right? What are we doing with Mirei? Also, yes. That really is all there was to that scene.


~Mirei’s Laboratory~

So, did you manage to find out anything about that Impurity?

Of course I did. Who do you think I am?

That’s great. Thanks a lot, Mirei. I knew you’d come through.



Just like what Alfie said, it must be the same one that attacked a Star Maiden 30 years ago.

You got all of that just from our description of it?

There was an upstanding citizen who managed to photograph it. They offered up the photograph to me.

Oh yeah… We did hear someone screaming in the forest that day.

What the hell was he doing out there?

By comparing the photo with previously retrieved data, I’ve figured it all out. The Bond Eater is a rare type of Impurity that feeds on Bond Energy.

Wait, what’s Bond Energy?

Bond Energy is a special power that Star Maidens possess.



That produces stronger Star Children created from the Classmating ritual.

So that’s how it works. Well, partially anyway.

The Bond Eater feeds on Bond Energy to grow stronger. It was gravely wounded 30 years ago, and likely laid in hiding in a secluded place ever since.

So why did it decide to come back now?

One theory is that this is the right time for it to regain its strength.

Huh?

It’s the Star Chaos, where 13 Star Maidens all appeared at once. If it manages to devour all the Star Maidens, it will gain enough strength to fully revive. According to my calculations…



What, you mean like Collette and Tarua?

When I say small, I speak of their power.

Then say “weakest”. Why refer to it as “smallest”? Unless you’re deliberately trying to be misleading so that Itsuki says something wrong and gives you an opportunity to sound smarter than he is…

I could see Mirei doing that actually.

In other words… Having the power of the Star Maidens artificially implanted, Alfie was the first target.

This doesn’t make sense by the way. The Bond Eater supposedly feeds on Bond Energy, which comes from the strength of God’s Gift’s bond with a Star Maiden. That means it should be targeting Maidens that Itsuki doesn’t spend much time with. In our case, that would be Maidens like Lillith/Lillie or Tarua, you know, since the entire thread hates them.

Dammit… So it’s gunning specifically for her then.

The people will panic if they find out a dangerous Impurity has appeared on the surface. We must find where it is and destroy it. Also…



Excuse me? Why the fuck would you not tell them? That Impurity is after Star Maidens. Sure, it might be trying to get to Alfie first, but what’s it going to do when it can’t? Tarua seems to routinely run around the forest by herself during deliveries and Sue is separated from the others because she stays at her ranch. Arie is also fairly vulnerable because she seems to live and work at the Church, which isn’t exactly in the middle of the city from what the background CG indicates.

Okay. I’ll leave that to you then.

I didn’t think I would have to spend so much on that photo…

He made you buy it from him?

It’s fine. I’ll have the invoice sent to the kingdom.

Oh, okay. I’m fine with billing the kingdom, especially considering the recent… discoveries we’ve made and how they are probably being funded by Granvania through some means.

Okay. Oh, it’s time. Sorry, I have thing to get to.

You mean with Alfie? If it’s all right with you, tell me how she’s doing next time.

You mean the two of you still haven’t made up?

B-Be quiet… That has nothing to do with you.



Let’s try and make sure that it remains a rare moment, okay? We’ve got enough of that crap with Mahiru/Ruka/Femiruna.

Hmph… If you’re done here, just go.


~Church Spirit Chamber~



Hey! It’s Alfie! Finally showing up halfway through her own bonding event!

Wh-What’s going on here?!

Uhh… Alfie?

Oh… God’s Gift!

…Why were you screaming?

I’m sorry! It was nothing!

Is that a book in your hand?

Th-This is, um… It’s really nothing!

Wait… I’ve seen that magazine before… Where was it?

Huh?

Where did you get it from?



Wow, nice of the game to show us that interaction between Alfie and the other Maidens. “No, it’s okay! Alfie is totally part of the story and friends with the other Maidens! You just can’t see it… because… Yeah.”

She told me the bookmarked parts are useful for the Classmating ritual… A-And when I read it… It mentioned what happens between a man and a woman that goes beyond what I’ve seen in the dramas…

Your mistake was taking any form of advice from Lillie.

Yeah, the stuff in there is a little more than you’re used to.

Huh? You too? Wh-Why did you read it?! Was it to study and learn?!

Uhhhhh… S-Sure… let’s call it that.

I-I’m sorry. But this is way too much for me…

You really don’t have to read that kind of stuff, Alfie. Lillie is just messing with you. It’s her ‘thing’.

So then, this book won’t teach me anything useful?



…That’s not important. H-Hey! We still haven’t done Classmating yet! Let’s do that. Now.

Yes, please!

*Distracalicious Classmating happens*

To be honest… From the day I lost my power to fight Impurities… I’ve felt a little down. But when I talked to Lillie, she cheered me up… She told me to just do what I can. She was very lively.

That’s one way to put it.

Kind of surprised to hear about Lillie being supportive like that… It would have been pretty admirable if she hadn’t tricked you into reading that magazine.

But I found my resolve after hearing that. Even if I can’t fight Impurities directly, I can work hard as a Star Maiden!



And I can still teach the Star Children how to fight!

That’s the spirit. You’ll do a great job, Alfie.

I will! There’s no need to be reserved. Please come to me more often.

I will. And I’ll also defeat that Bond Eater. I promise.

Oh… Is that the name of that Impurity?

Oh, uh, yeah. It’s the same one that you saw back then.

I knew it…

Don’t worry, though. You might not be able to fight it, but I’ll make sure to protect you.

Thank you…

By the way, you didn’t tell Lillie about that whole thing, did you?

No, I haven’t told her any details…



Mirei said the same thing…

Huh?

It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.

And that’s it for this event for Alfie. We’ll check in with her later for her other event.


~Church Spirit Chamber~

Are you ready, Arie?

Oh, of course…

Really? You don’t sound ready. Is everything okay?

Huh?

I asked if you were okay. You look kind of pale.



My Lord, have mercy on me… …Phew. Thank you for waiting, Itsuki. I’m all right now. Let’s proceed with the Classmating ritual.

Well… actually… Arie, this has been bugging me for a while. I think we should stop Classmating.

Huh…?

You always seem really bothered by this. I thought you were just nervous at first. Everyone was when this first started, especially me. But now I’m not so sure that’s it… I think I should just stick to asking the others.

I-It’s not that I don’t want to… This is my duty as a Star Maiden.

But that’s kind of why I feel bad for you.

You feel bad… for me?

Yeah. I don’t like making you feel bad just because you have “a duty”.

No, Itsuki. I must assist you as a Star Maiden. There’s no need for you to feel bad about that.

But you always look really sad when we have to do this.



Listen, Arie. I’ll be blunt. I want to get me and Mahiru back home to our world. In order to do that, I need to work with you and everyone in order to make stronger and stronger Star Children.

Oh…

But we can’t do that if you’re forcing yourself into this. Doing things that way isn’t going to help anyone.

That’s not it, Itsuki…

What do you mean? Arie, you definitely look sad every time we get ready to do this.

That’s not true… …Very well, Itsuki. This time… will you hear me out during the ritual?

Are you going to tell us what’s in the room?

I’m happy to hear your honest thoughts about this matter. So I, too, will…



I… well…

Please, don’t say anything, just this once.

*Soul-baring Classmating then happens*

Huff… Huff… Huff…

Are you okay, Arie?

Y-Yes, I’m fine…

So, will you tell me everything now?

I thought she said she was going to do that during the ritual, but I guess that was more of a metaphorical “show you my true feelings” deal. Whatever, as long as we get some answers.

…Yes. The Classmating ritual is a duty given to me by the Star God.



But during our first ritual, I… I felt very…

Very what?

Itsuki… must I really say it?

You did say that you would tell me everything.

That’s true, but… *sigh*…

Arie, we can’t keep doing this unless you tell me. Seeing you like that makes me really uncomfortable with this… We won’t be able to build a stronger bond that way and that means that we can’t make strong Star Children.

…All right.

We’re not about get dumped with a tragic backstory, are we? I’m still sort of put off from Alfie’s.

When we first did the ritual, I felt… I… felt really good.

Arie, that’s… Wait… You felt good?

Y-Yes. A great feeling of fulfillment spread throughout my entire body.



It made me feel like I was doing something sinful.

…Um, Arie… It’s a sacred ritual. There’s nothing sinful about it.

Is that so…?

I still become very nervous during the ritual. But you say you accept it because it’s your duty as a Star Maiden.

I left Official Itsuki’s line in here because I honestly have no idea what the line of thinking is here. I couldn’t think of a way to rephrase this part to have it make sense. It’s very strange. The only way I can think of right now to fix this would be to remove “There’s nothing sinful about it” from Itsuki and replace it with “It’s fine” or something to that effect, then chain Arie’s next line together with the above to read “Is that so…? But, I shouldn’t be tempted by sin in my duty…”

I shouldn’t be tempted by sin in my duty…

It beats feeling bad about it all the time. Maybe Star God made it feel good so that it would be easier on you?

That’s not how gods typically roll, Itsuki. They usually like to make things as much of a pain in the ass as possible.

No… That would only make me a failure as a Star Maiden. Please, Itsuki… Don’t tell anyone this.

Don’t worry, what happens here stays here.

It’s a promise then. I trust your word, Itsuki. This is how I really feel… What should I do now?

Do you really need to agonize over it?



You’re always so serious about this stuff, Arie. Well, at the very least I’m glad that you don’t hate the ritual itself. Are you really going to keep punishing yourself over it, though?

I can’t help it if I continue helping you as a Star Maiden.

Christ, Arie. You’re allowed to enjoy things. Just relax a little.

Then how about we change things up a little?

Huh?

Let’s forget about Classmating and bonding and all that duty stuff and just go out and have fun. If that can help you relax a little and feel better, then I’ll be happy.

Itsuki, you’re too kind… …All right. Then let’s go out the next time we meet. We should have a picnic if the weather is nice.

That sounds great. Food is always good.

I’ll finish my church services early and make some lunch for us. I’ll be looking forward to our date.

That was a weird conversation, but the gist of it is that Arie constantly feels like she has to self flagellate whenever Classmating happens because she’s secretly excited by it and thinks that makes her a failure of a Star Maiden. Arie thinks that feeling pleasure makes her unworthy of Star God’s blessings, despite the fact that Star God basically created a ritual where God’s Gift and a Star Maiden have mind sex in order to summon the spirit warrior children needed to stop the world from being destroyed. Granted, he did also apparently make it so that sex produces monster energy…

The point I’m trying to make is that Granvania Star God is a gigantic asshole and Arie shouldn’t be depriving herself of happiness or pleasure or whatever the hell good feeling you can think of just for His sake. Let’s see if we can chip away at Star God’s influence and free “fun Arie” from His grasp.


~Outskirts Lake~



Oh, man. This place looks gorgeous. …The developers didn’t trace this from a Bob Ross painting, did they?

Yeah, it’s an amazing spot. Have you been here before?

I’ve come here previously to hike with the children from church. But on one occasion, two children got lost, and it took all day to find them.

I see. Must be hard trying to wrangle a bunch of kids on a trip like that.

Kids suck.

It’s a very nice place, so I regret being unable to relax here.



Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve really been able to relax like this as well.

Itsuki, you’re always in the labyrinths and never have time to rest.

Actually, I’d be interested to see how much time I’ve actually spent running around dungeons compared to watching bonding events and shopping and Star Child creating and etc.

We’ll be alone together today, so you can relax now.

As long as you can too. Remember, we’re here to get away from it all and help you feel better.

Haha… You’re too kind, Itsuki. I made lunch. Would you like some?

Oh yeah, you said you were going to make lunch for us.

Yes. I always make lunch for the children.



I feel somewhat nervous… If someone sees me doing such a thing…

Arie, you’re not doing anything that you should be ashamed of.

That’s true… But it’s still quite embarrassing. Here you go. I made sandwiches. There’s plenty to go around.



WHOA! Scale it back, Possible Reality Itsuki. This game, man. This is actually the second instance of "I'd like to eat you." so far. I can't remember when the other instance was. Might have been in a Collette event, or an earlier Arie event.

Um… Could you maybe feed one to me?

Huh? You want me to feed you?

It’s kind of become a thing with me, for some reason.

Oh, hehe… You can be such a baby. Which one would you like?

Why don’t you pick? I’m sure they’re all good. I wouldn’t be able to pick.

Then how about this one? It’s been cut perfectly… Say ah… What do you think, Itsuki?

Ish good.

Haha, that’s good. It’s strange… I feel so happy when you compliment me.



I like Arie when she’s not constantly fretting about what Star God thinks. I was going to mention it earlier, but honestly I was just happy at the time that it looked like she wasn’t going to be a pushy religious fanatic. I didn’t want to push my luck.

I’m not that great with giving compliments though. Oh! That reminds me. I heard someone in town say that there’s nobody in Granvania as gentle or as good a cook as you.

Is that so…?

I think he was right, personally.

So far, from what we’ve seen, that’s a low bar to clear. As good a baker as Collette is supposed to be, I got a feeling that her idea of cooking involves heavy use of bread and not much else.

And even though I think you get a little carried away with what Star God thinks, I admire how devoted you are to your faith. I can see why everyone likes you so much.

But I haven’t done anything to deserve that. I am quite a sinful person…

You’re not still talking about Classmating, are you?

Oh! Y-Yes… I didn’t think I would ever become like that.



I feel so pitiful…

Everyone has different sides to them that they didn’t know they had.

Hm?

They might be hidden, but they’re still part of us.

…

Arie. Believing in the Star God and keeping the faith is important, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep hiding who you really are. You like the Classmating ritual and anticipate it. That’s part of who you are.

Gettin’ real sappy, Itsuki. But I’ll allow it if it means that Arie will start having fun.

I-I never said I anticipated it…

It was heavily implied.

Um, well… I suppose there’s no need to hide it now… I’ve hidden my feelings in the shadows of my faith to the Star God.



Haha… You’re like the Star God himself.

I, uh… I think you’re really exaggerating it.

I’m certainly not. You listened to my confession and absolved me. You are exactly like the Star God, Itsuki.

Does God’s Gift have that religious authority? Because I can think of a few people in Granvania who could use the opposite of absolution.

Come on, Arie. I’m really not that great of a person.

There’s no need to hide your true feelings… I understand now. I will be more honest with myself from here on. Though it may still take some time…

I’m fine with that. At least you’re making progress on it.

That’s okay. I just want to know what your real feelings are.

Yes… You did tell me to show my true feelings after all. Ahem… No, Itsuki…

What’s up?

I…

Hm?

…I-I mean, it’s nothing…

What were you trying to say?

Sorry, Itsuki. Contract stipulates that you can’t have a big confession until the last or penultimate event.

It really was nothing… Oh! There’s a bread crumb on your face, Itsuki.



Something about Arie’s eyes are bugging me in this CG… I don’t know why. I think it’s because the colour is deeper or glossier than usual? Maybe it’s because it’s reminding me of Enzea or something? I dunno.

Hah… The same thing always happens to the children during lunch.

So what, I’m like a kid?

Please don’t move. I’ll remove it for you. There we go…

It kind of feels like you’re just trying to change the subject.

Oh, um… I’m sorry, Itsuki… For me to tell you my true feelings…



Like, see? Her eyes are normally a bit more dull. Is it just me? Her last CG matched with how we’re seeing her eyes right now.

Well, I can’t force it out of you. I’ll wait until you feel you’re ready to tell me.

Yes…

That’s all for Arie’s event. That went on for a while, not going to lie. Not that I have a problem with that. It’s a hell of a lot better than some of the other events we’re going to see. You know which ones I’m talking about.