Chapter Text
"Eudial-sama!" Tellu poked her head around the lab door. Eudial looked up from her computer, giving her a small smile.
"Tellu-san. Do come in." She span to face her in her chair. "Are you well?"
Tellu nodded with a smile, adjusting her glasses nervously.
"I-I'm quite well, thank you... Um, I finished the paperwork on daimon eggs for you."
"Y-You did..? Tellu-san, you didn't have to-!" Eudial stood up quickly. "That was my work! I-I shouldn't have let myself slack off!"
Tellu laughed shyly, tucking her hair behind one ear.
"I... Really had no work for my plants this week. I'm more than happy to help, Eudial-sama..!"
Eudial sighed, taking the papers from her hands. They were fully annotated with paragraphs of research alongside her own findings.
"I suppose I owe you one... "
"No no, not at all!" Tellu giggled, "I don't want you to worry!"
Eudial sat back down, slipping the papers into a file.
"You don't need any help with your plants, do you? Any busywork?"
"Not that I can think of."
"You're not making this easy!" Eudial huffed, and leant over, her glasses slipping down her nose.
"Forgive me, Eudial-sama..!"
Eudial sighed, glancing over. Tellu was smiling at her sweetly, she couldn't stay mad at her even for a moment.
"Tellu-chan! Tellu-chan!" A voice called from the hallway.
"Ah, Mimete-chan!" Tellu turned, hurrying out.
"There you are, geez! Hurry up, we're creating the new daimon!"
Eudial winced at the sound of Mimete's voice.
"F-Forgive me, Mimete-chan..!" Tellu bowed quickly.
"You don’t have to apologise to her-!" Eudial snapped, standing up so abruptly her chair tumbled over. She stormed out into the hallway, standing between the two of them. "You should have more respect for her, Tellu-san is far above you in this laboratory!"
"You're not even in this conversation!" Mimete grumbled, "And you're not smart enough to work on daimons with us!"
"Shut it!" Eudial yelled, shoving Mimete back. "I have no interest in your stupid daimons anyway!"
"E-Eudial-sama! Please calm down!" Tellu grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "It's okay..!"
Eudial growled and shook her head, trying to regain her composure.
"Sorry, Tellu-san... " She muttered. "Good luck on the daimon experiment... " Keeping her eyes down, she returned to her room.
"She's such a jerk... " Mimete grumbled, wiping down her coat as if Eudial's touch had tainted her.
"Mimete-chan... Eudial-sama is nice... I promise you that..!" Tellu sighed, following Mimete down the hallway.
"Huh, if she is then she specifically chooses to not share that with me!"
"Perhaps you just need to restart things together... "
"I'll only do it if she does too!" Mimete snapped.
"I... I see... " Tellu muttered. It seemed it'd be a struggle to get them on good terms again.
"There you are. Are you ready?" Kaolinite turned as the two entered.
"Yes, Kaolinite-sama!" Tellu bowed quickly with a determined smile. Mimete simply huffed, still thinking about Eudial.
"The egg is ready. Did you finalise on the item, Tellu-san?"
"Y-Yes! Here!" Tellu pulled a packet from her labcoat, placing it on a nearby table. Everyone gathered around as Tellu began to open it up. "I chose a dead stag beetle. These are usually used for taxidermy pieces, you see? It was easy to acquire at the university."
"Ah, I see... " Kaolinite nodded with a sly smile, "I feel the outcome will be most excellent!"
"Mimete-chan, what do you think?" Tellu turned to Mimete and was surprised to see her about a metre away. "M-Mimete-chan?"
"P-Put that thing away! It's disgusting! Vile!" Mimete whimpered, her body shaking.
"You're scared of a little bug? It's not even moving... " Kaolinite sneered, eyes narrowing. "You call yourself a scientist?"
"You're the one making me do all this!"
"We don't even need you, go back to work, Mimete." Kaolinite snapped, thrusting her finger towards the door.
"N-No! It's okay, Kaolinite-sama..! L-Let's use something else!" Tellu quickly shoved the insect back in her pocket. "Mimete-chan! Do you have a suggestion?"
Mimete glanced over her and Kaolinite slowly. Their gazes were a stark contrast. Kaolinite's of malice and Tellu's of understanding.
"Oh! I have a great idea!" Mimete shot her arm into the air with a grin. "One moment! One moment!" She hurried out of the lab, her heels clacking in the distance.
"Don't go soft on her..." Kaolinite muttered. "Weakness causes loss here... "
"Forgive me Kaolinite-sama... " Tellu whispered, "I... I just want everyone to get along... "
"Well yes... Keeping the peace does help... Thank you, Tellu-san... "
Tellu smiled, happy things were finally calming down.
"Let's try the insect another time, okay?"
"Yes! Thank you, Kaolinite-sama!"
"Here! Here! Take a look!" Mimete rushed back in, waving something in the air.
"I can't see it if you're waving it about!" Kaolinite snapped, trying to grab at her arm. Mimete stopped and pulled it tight in her grip. A glossy magazine was thrust into Kaolinite's face. One side was a juicy block of paragraphs, the other a photograph of a scantily clad man.
"W-What is this..?!" Kaolinite grimaced, pushing it away with one finger as if it was contaminated. Tellu blushed at the sight, looking away quickly.
"If we combine the Boys4Girls magazine with a daimon egg, we can surely make a super hot man!" Mimete grinned. The others stared at her in shock and awe.
"Mimete... " Kaolinite growled, her teeth clenched. "Is this a joke to you?!"
"O-Oh but Kaolinite-sama! Don't you see! All the best girls swoon for handsome men! If we create the most handsome man then we'll surely find a pure heart-!"
Kaolinite's grimace disappeared as she ran over her words in her head.
"I see... " She crossed her arms and nodded slowly. "Forgive me for being too abrupt.. I just thought you were... " Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Only thinking of yourself..."
Tellu grinned at her, pleased she apologised.
"Let's give it a shot, Mimete-chan!" She piped up. "I have trust in your idea!"
"Y-Yeah!" Mimete's eyes lit up, "Let's do it!" She scrambled over to the workbench where an egg was sat in a container.
"I know it's exciting, but make sure to be careful, Mimete-chan!" Tellu reached out nervously as Mimete was hurrying with the equipment. "I'm sure a more gentle set-up will create an even more successful result!"
Mimete stopped in place and narrowed her eyes as if the cogs were whirring in her brain.
"You're right... Let's take it slow..."
"And, the magazine might not survive the process, are you okay with us using this one?"
"Ah... " Mimete looked down and bit her lip. "It... It'll be worth it..! A-And I can always get another!"
"Of course!" Tellu nodded with a smile. She certainly didn't see the appeal but was more than happy to show interest in someone else's likes. Mimete passed her the magazine nervously and Tellu placed it in the part of the contraption where the ingredient sat.
"Is everything all set?" Kaolinite asked, glancing over the set up.
"Yes! We're ready!" Tellu nodded with a smile and pulled her protective goggles from her pocket. Everyone else followed and stepped back a few paces. Kaolinite headed to the end of the machine and pulled the lever that begun the process. There was a flash of light from the egg inside its container then the box that held the item began to whir. Mimete swallowed hard with nerves, her mind racing with thoughts of the outcome. She quickly grabbed onto Tellu's arm for reassurance.
A flash of light burst from the egg, engulfing the room. Mimete yelped, burying her head into Tellu's shoulder.
"K-Kaolinite-sama-! Is it meant to be lasting this long?!" Tellu shouted, glancing over to Kaolinite who had an equally worried expression on her face. Light continued to pour out of the egg, the machine growing louder as if something was wrong.
"No! I'm pulling the emergency switch!"
"No! Don't stop it!" Mimete pleaded but before Kaolinite even moved the contraption exploded sending all three woman flying backwards.
"My! What an entrance!" A male voice called out.
Mimete sat herself upright quickly. Though she was a little sore from landing against the hard floor, her excitement got the better of her and she couldn't even feel it. The smoke began to clear revealing a tall handsome man atop the workbench. He had long lilac hair and a tunic that mimicked a fish tail. His eyes were glimmering and his smile charming. Mimete gasped, cupping her face in her hands.
"He's perfect..!" She whispered, her hands shaking with excitement. Slowly, she staggered to her feet and began towards her dream man.
Her plan was half true. Yes, he would be a perfect lure for pure hearts but more importantly, it was a perfect man all for her.
"O-Oh! You're even more handsome up close!" Mimete cooed.
"And who are you? Hmm?" The daimon glanced down at her, planting his hands on his hips.
"M-My name's Mimete! Y-You can call me Mimi though!" She giggled, striking the cutest pose she could think of in that moment.
"Hmm.. I see... " The daimon frowned as if unimpressed. Mimete noticed, her eyebrow twitching.
"A-And I'm the one who bought you into this world s-so..! You've got to listen to my every command, you hear me?!" She blurted out but the daimon seemed transfixed on something else.
"Ah, I see! I was bought into this world for my one purpose, to find my true love!"
"Y-Yes!" Mimete quickly added, "And that would be m-"
"And there she is! My sleeping beauty!" The daimon glided past Mimete and fell to his knees to an unconscious Tellu's side.
"No! NO WAY!" Mimete snapped, "It's me! I'm your true love!"
"Nonsense! I have seen her, she is right here! That delicate physique, that soft hair, that beautiful face!" The daimon sung out, picking Tellu up into his arms, "I am forever grateful you have found my true love for me!"
"NO!" Mimete wailed, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "I made you! I made you to be my boyfriend!" She fell to her knees, rubbing at her eyes. The daimon continued to completely ignore her, muttering things to himself.
"This is truly true love! We shall be wed and live together forever! Farewell, my creator!" He turned back to Mimete with a wide grin and saluted before hurrying off out of the lab entrance. Mimete wanted to run after him but after everything he said, she couldn't bear hearing any more insults. She instinctively dabbed at her face and hair, no, she wasn't as beautiful as Tellu. She wasn't slim and didn't have well kept hair, she truly had no chance with even the most dim witted men.
An alarm began to ring out in the labatory but it was simply white noise to her at this point.
"What's going on?!" Cyprine ran in, darting her eyes around. "What on earth happened? Mimete-san?!"
"Mimete!" Viluy pushed past her at the call of Mimete's name. "Mimete!" She fell to her knees beside her, grabbing her shoulders. "What happened?!" Mimete continued to cry, sniffing loudly as dollops of tears ran down her cheeks. "Are you hurt? Tell me!"
Cyprine ran over to Kaolinite who was also knocked out by the explosion. "Mimete! Tell me, it's not your fault! Just tell me!" Viluy muttered, gripping at one of her hands.
"I-I'm not... " Mimete hiccupped as she tried to speak through her tears. Viluy unbuttoned her lab coat, lifting up one side to wipe at her face. "I'm not pretty like T-Tellu-chan... "
"Don't you dare say that!" Viluy snapped, "You're beautiful Mimete-! B-But tell me what happened!"
"H-He... HE DIDN'T LOVE ME!" Mimete wailed, bursting into tears all over again.