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"You know… I could treat you better than the IPC ever could," said Asta one day, as the two young women are hanging out in the same room in the Herta Space Station, each working on their own work. Topaz was invited by the researcher to stay here for a bit longer after Topaz's errand at the Station.
"What?" Topaz raised her head from the shiny smartphone she was busy typing on. After processing those words, she chuckled at the sweet-voiced girl before her. "Aren't your parents major shareholders of the IPC, Lady Asta? What do you mean?"
Seeing her confusion, Lady Asta made a face. "I mean, yes, but… You know this, right? Part of why I'm working hard here is because I don't want to have to go back home and inherit the family fortune. If I can, I would like to continue my research here forever and keep a good distance from… all of that." She gestured around herself. "Not that that's ever stopped any of my relatives from finding their ways to me on their own, but still…"
To be honest, Lady Asta sometimes made Topaz think of those awesome red pandas she once saw on display at the centre spot of the biggest and most expensive zoo in the Epsilon-XII system. They were imported from Xianzhou Zhuming—if she remembered correctly—and were then held on exhibition, beloved by crowds of visitors for their cuteness and value… and they were very correct to appreciate them so much, because just like those red pandas, the pout on Asta's face right now was adorable. No matter how ginormous the young heiress' networth might be, Topaz was sure that her 'added value' most certainly would push it up to at least ten times— no, a hundred times that entire fortune. In that vein, Asta could be the most valuable—or maybe most people would say 'invaluable' here?—person in the cosmos, just by existing as herself. A single smile from her should be worth 100,000 credits at minimum…
"Aw, I see," Topaz replied, flashing her a bright smile of understanding. "I don't like to go home either, you know? Work makes me much happier."
Asta gave her a look that seemed to convey mixed feelings. Is she not convinced by something I said? Topaz pondered, observing her. She didn't mean to brag, but through years of experience and hardwork in the IPC, she had obtained rather capable skills at reading people's thoughts and discerning their emotions just by looking at them—though she made a point of remembering that such simple guaging never guaranteed accuracy.
"Hey, Topaz," said Asta when she spoke again.
"Hmm?" By habit, Topaz gave her her usual client-friendly attentive smile. "Yes?"
"Hey, Topaz… Jelena," Asta's voice was quieter and audibly more hesitant as she said Topaz's real name. (Maybe she wasn't quite sure if it was proper for her to use it here, or if Topaz would like to hear it from her. Well, really, it doesn't matter at all. Whether you addressed her as 'Topaz' or 'Jelena', she was the same person, wasn't she? Being a friend, it was well within Asta's right to call her by her birth name. It made no real difference, anyway. A lot of workers in the IPC deemed it highly inappropriate to address any of the Ten Stonehearts by their birth names, but if that was considered as an unspoken rule, then Topaz would call it a useless unspoken rule that need not be obeyed… Except when it's Madam Jade, but anyway! She had always quite hated formalism.) "Do you still remember the thing we agreed on that time?"
"Oh? Which thing?"
"You don't remember it?" Asta stared at her. She paused momentarily, then explained, "That time we spoke on the phone three years ago, we agreed to take a holiday together. Remember? We were going to charter a ship, go star-seeing, and catch up on all the IPC gossip…"
"Oh, that!" exclaimed Topaz. "Of course, I haven't forgotten. I'd still love to go, Lady Asta. It'll be so much fun!"
"Yeah," Asta nodded, "but we still haven't had the chance..."
"…Man, it's almost been four years since then, hasn't it?" Topaz's eyes widened in realization. "Three years and approximately 10.7 months," she said, having quickly calculated in her head. "I thought we could go in just a few months from then, but time sure flies!"
Asta frowned. "You're always busy, Topaz. Whenever I have free vacation time and can take a break from work, I contact you to ask about our holiday plan, but your Smart-Reply function always immediately tells me you're still busy working on yet another new project for the IPC and you won't reply until you're off the hours."
"Oh, oops, sorry about that," Topaz gave her an apologetic smile. "I do always try to reply as soon as possible to those messages after work, though? So…"
"I know, you do reply… and that's when you tell me: While you would love to go, unfortunately, you again have 17 important business appointments and three separate business trips already planned on each and every one of my free days, and really can't find the space to slot a holiday into your schedule, until at least six months later. But then, when I message you again six months later…"
"… you just get the exact same response from me as you did six months prior," Topaz finished her sentence, as the horror of realization dawn on her face. Actually, yes… When you put it like that…
"That's right…" Asta looked like she was sulking a little. To be honest, she was also super cute when she did that (and Lady Asta never openly acted like this in public unless she was very emotional, Topaz noticed, which meant she did consider Topaz a good friend) but here, Topaz felt quite sorry for her own neglience.
"I apologize, Lady Asta," she said with a sincere look. "That was my bad. I do have a lot of work all year round, but I should have remembered to keep my promise with you and made time for our holiday."
"No, it's fine," Asta shook her head and sighed. "I understand… It's busy working in the IPC…"
"Well, to be honest, I don't need to take on all the projects that I take on," Topaz admitted. "It's just…"
"I know, Topaz… You like doing your work." Asta turned away and stood up from her chair to grab her cup for water. "You enjoy it and believe in it. That's fine! I get it. I think it's very cool, honestly!"
Even though her voice had brightened once more, Topaz had the feeling that Asta was still feeling a bit grumpy or hurt, but she wasn't going to press her about it right now. She waited for the young lady to sit down in her chair again, then spoke.
"Actually, I've been hoping to hang out with you more too, Lady Asta," said Topaz with a cheerful smile. That was the truth. "Hmm, how about this? I'll make sure to make room for our arrangement whenever I'm considering taking on new duties and projects. That way, I guarantee we will have our holiday together before the end of this year at latest."
"Oh!" Asta gasped lightly in surprise. "Really?"
"Text me whenever you know when you will be free, and I'll note it down in my schedule as a high priority objective that will take precedence over all the less important projects." Topaz beamed at her confidently. "What do you say, Lady Asta?"
"Thank you, Topaz!" cried Asta, her face glowing in joy. "I would love that!"
This may just be an optical illusion of sorts, observed Topaz curious, but the light of happiness sparkling in her pale-blue eyes almost really looked like little stars, or the shines of a precious jewel. Perhaps Asta, being an astronomer, would prefer the former analogy… but personally, Topaz thought the latter was quite fitting.
Despite Asta's initial glee, her smile waned a little after a minute. "…Jelena," she said softly, "Can I— Can I ask for your help on something?"
"Oh?" Topaz's eyebrows quirked up. "What is it? Lay it on me!"
"To be frank with you, I'm actually in a bit of trouble," Asta confessed. "Erm, it's about my father. While we were on the call the other day, he finally brought up the topic that I'd been dreading for… some years by now." She paused for a second before continuing gloomily, "He says that it's about time that I find a partner for marriage."
"Oh, no," gasped Topaz, astonished. "But you don't want to get married right now, right? So—"
"Yeah," sighed Asta. "If I enter a marriage now, it'll interfere horribly with my work and my own pursuits. And anyway, I'm pretty sure they are just trying to use this to keep me at home and push me into inheriting the family business. Which will not only give me a much trickier workload, take away my free time, but also… I also just don't want to do that, you know."
Topaz nodded in understanding.
Asta shrugged. She went on, "And besides, I would rather not be married to some smarmy rich man selected by my father and grandparents to produce the perfect little heir with me, or something like that… I mean, ew." She winced and stuck her tongue out, then exchanged a look with Topaz, giving her a small giggle as she did so. But her expression quickly became solemn again.
"Well, that's where my request for you comes in, Topaz. Technically, they're not outright forcing me to get married… but they're pretty much getting there, if you know what I mean," the redhead said with a deep grimace. Topaz offered her a sympathetic glance. "You know, I told him—I told all of them, many times, I didn't want to get married at all, it made no sense to push for it, it's frankly ridiculous to make me do it at this day and age (I mean, arranged marriage?! What Amber Era do they think we're in?!), but he wouldn't listen at all, he just kept calling me stubborn and impudent… especially because I'm not actually dating anyone right now, so I didn't even have an 'excuse' to refuse… That was why I came up with something on the spot. I told him I was actually already in a relationship, I've actually been dating a girl all this time, I just hadn't told them about it! But… because it was so sudden, I don't think they were fully convinced, so— Long story short, my dad is actually coming to visit me here in a few days, to check on my girlfriend."
"Ohh," said Topaz. "So you'll have to either tell the truth, or find a way to fool him. Okay," she eagerly nodded, "Where do I come in?"
"Well, I think he'll know I was lying if I tell him my girlfriend is away and busy when he comes here, so…" Asta turned her head a little bit so she was looking her in the eyes. "Jelena," she said with a surprisingly grave tone, "Can you come here on that day and pretend to be my girlfriend for the entire duration of his visit?"
"Oh!" Topaz stared, taken aback. After a second of thinking, she grinned. "Sure, I guess I can manage that… Why me? Is it because I'm rich? I'm an IPC executive?"
Asta chuckled. "No, Topaz. I just think you're the most suitable person for this job."
"Why?" Topaz raised her eyebrow in sincere confusion. "Because… As a Stoneheart and a Senior Manager of the Strategic Investment Department, I have a high likelihood of receiving your dad's approval, or—?"
Asta beamed fondly, but she shook her head. "Try again."
"All right. I'm a professional. I have— capable interpersonal skills!" Topaz guessed. But Asta shook her head. "Tricks for dealing with people?" Asta shook her head again. "No? Is it about my degrees? High GPA? Good resume?" Another headshake. "Okay— I've a background in marketing, I can sell a story to your father convincingly." She observed the redhead's reaction, but it was still the same as before. "Aw, still wrong?" She laughed. "I give up! What is it, Lady Asta? Your dad likes math people?"
Asta gave her a wide, mysterious smile, but completely neglected to answer her question. Her face fell after a moment. "…There is a problem, though. He's actually coming here next Wednesday, and will not be gone until the following Monday."
"Wait, hang on," Topaz gave a start. "Next Wednesday through Monday?" Her brows furrowed in difficulty. "But— I actually have an extremely crucial business trip lining up in that exact period of time. I can't—"
"I knew that," Asta said glumly. "You told me about it earlier."
"That's right. Which is why I thought the request was for another day just now, but if—"
"Can you ditch that business trip, Jelena?" the redheaded girl interrupted her unexpectedly.
"What?" Topaz stared at her. "Oh. Unfortunately, that would be extremely difficult…"
"But is it possible?" pressed Asta.
"…Actually, I don't think it is," Topaz said with a deep frown after a moment of consideration. "It involves an important meeting between the Ten Stonehearts that I just can't be absent for. Of course, I can contact the others to try to ask for an adjustment in date, but I'm almost sure they won't permit such a—"
"What will happen if you don't go?"
"Huh?" Topaz raised a brow. "Er, probably nothing good." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know if they would actually sack me, but I'd probably at least get into some serious trouble this time."
"Ugh," Asta glanced from left to right. "Still, though…"
"Is there any chance you can ask your dad to come at a different time?" suggested Topaz. "If we can move it to a day where I'm free—"
"I wish that was the case," Asta sounded dejected, "but I'm pretty sure it would make him suspicious."
"Aw, man. Seriously, I'd love to help," sighed Topaz. "Honestly, I would've considered skipping if this weren't such an important meeting, but in this case—"
"Hmm," Asta's round eyes now held a curious look to them. "But maybe it'll be fine to skip it even if it were an important meeting, don't you think… I mean, have you forgotten, Topaz? My parents are the IPC's major shareholders. If you skipped that meeting, and they wanted to give you trouble— Heck, even if they would actually try to sack you for this… If I made them put in a word for you, maybe—"
Topaz's eyes grew slightly rounder in surprise. Seeing her expression, Asta sighed and shook her head in dismissal. "Never mind, I know you don't want that kind of thing from me. Just forget it, Topaz."
Topaz look at her friend with piqued curiosity. "… Lady Asta, is it really that important for me be your fake partner before your father instead of anyone else? Would another woman not suffice?"
"Nope," replied Asta, strangely determined. "It has to be you, Topaz."
"Really?" Topaz was unconvinced. "Wait… Let me see. What qualities are you looking for?" she said in a bright tone, "I might be able to introduce you to just the right person based on your description!"
"…All right!" Asta nodded. A small grin returned on his face. "Okay. What I'm looking for is a cute girl between 22 and 26 years of ag—"
"Cuteness can be subjective, so you might have to be a bit more specific," said Topaz with a short chuckle. "Hold on, let me jot it down so I don't miss anything." She quickly swiped her phone open and began to type on her app. "Alright. Go on?"
"What I'm looking for is a cute girl between 22 and 26 years of age," Asta began one more time. "She has pretty eyes that are sharp around the corner, and hold within them sparkling gems that shone like the Rainbow Nebula—which her beautiful long lashes really bring out~"
Topaz's eyebrows rose and fell. As her fingers typed speedily on her phone, she shot the pink-haired woman a questioning glance from over the device. But before she could ask her why those were necessary traits to the profile of that lucky girl (Highly descriptive. Was Lady Asta's father so suspicious about the whole matter that he even demanded her to describe her partner's eyes in detail during the call? What an overbearing man! His paranoia must rival that former Oak Family head—Topaz thought, remembering the guy Aventurine had the misfortune to deal with in Penacony—then again, that guy also had to deal with Aventurine, so maybe it evened out.), Asta had continued speaking.
"She is only taller than me by very little, and has short hair that reaches her neck. With really nice, silvery colours," the young researcher said. "And she's a professional, too. She is really clever and sharp, and super competent in all kinds of things~ Though, it seems she can also be a little oblivious sometimes. Hehe."
Topaz was a fast typer, so she was already completely done by the time Asta finished her sentence. "I see!" she smiled brightly at Asta. "Anything else?"
"Yes. This girl also needs to have a truly adorable personality. She's so cool~ She's very kind and believes in doing what's right. She also has a really sweet smile, and she loves cute critters!"
"She does sound cool," agreed Topaz. After all, she also loved cute critters. Just a bit earlier, Asta took her to see her dog on the Space Station, Peppy, who was super cute and every bit as fluffy as she thought he would be, she found, as she patted him on the head, watching the little dog's tail wag happily as she did so.
"I know, right?" Asta nodded with enthusiasm.
"…Well! Are those all your requirements?" Topaz asked, her eyes scanning the list from top to bottom, "Anything else I'll need to consider while choosing? Hmm… I can't name anyone who fits all this off the top of my head, but give me a bit and I'll think of someone."
Looking at all those options, she could see why Lady Asta wanted her for the job. Topaz herself fit several ones of the criteria (She fell under the age range, her hair was the right length, and she was definitely a professional). Had it not been for the crucial meeting on her schedule, she would've been very glad to help her out.
"Ah, one last thing!" said Asta, raising a finger. Topaz raised her head. "She also needs to have two different names. One of the names will be 'Topaz', and the other one 'Jelena'."
Topaz's fingers paused on the phone. "Wait, wait," she lifted her head to look at Asta, "So you already told them it was me? Why didn't you tell me that?"
"Well, um… Let's assume I did tell them it was you," said Asta, her eyes shifting to the left. "Will you be willing to do this for me, in that case?"
"C'mon, Miss Asta, you know I'm always willing to help you," Topaz chuckled good-humouredly. "It's just—"
"Always," repeated Asta, interrupting her. She folded her arms. "Except when it conflicts with the interests of the IPC, you mean?"
Topaz stared, dumbfounded. "Where did this come from, Lady Asta?" She paused for a second before she went on. "Alright, I know what people like to say about me and the IPC. But I'm sure you know—"
"I know!" said Asta, before she could even finish that sentence. "Topaz, will you be willing to do this for me if I hire you?"
"What?" Topaz furrowed her brows. She was feeling increasingly confounded by Asta's attitude today. "Frankly, I'm long past working for money, but—"
"I know," Asta said, again, with an increased amount of exasperation in her voice. She almost looked… kind of sad.
"But... I mean, hey, Miss Asta," Topaz beamed at her. "If you really need this that much…" She pursed her lips, unsure how much she could promise her on this matter. After a quick second of indecision, she grabbed her phone and opened her email application. "I'll do my absolute best to convince them to postpone the meeting."
To her relief, Asta seemed to be a little less upset after hearing that, but she remained worried. "But what if they can't be convinced?"
Topaz continued typing. "Well…"
"Please," begged Asta, "I can treat you better than the IPC ever could, I promise…"
(…No, 100,000 credits were definitely too low of an estimate. It should at least be worth 1 million, if not triple that amount…)
There was a small pause before Topaz responded.
"I know," she said, with an energetic or sad smile on her face, "but I still have to follow the guidelines."
Asta didn't reply to that. Topaz could feel her gaze on her as she quickly finish the email. She hit 'Send' with her thumb, and put down her phone. "I don't think they are all at work right now, so we might have to wait and see. If they refuse, I'll just have to try a few more ways."
"Hmm… What will you do if it's genuinely impossible to convince them?"
"Then you'll have my apologies, Lady Asta. I probably won't be able to make it to the Space Station on that day, in that case."
"… I mean, that's fair," said Asta after a pause. "This is not something you have to be concerned about… it's my own issue to begin with."
"Actually— Oh, I got it!" Topaz exclaimed. "I'll just go to visit your father myself on a different date, how about that? Don't worry, I'll handle it. But if there is anything you want me to do or say when I meet him, you can also tell me now."
Surprisingly, Asta shook her head. "It's okay, Topaz. I'm sorry for pushing all of that onto you, Topaz. You—you don't really have to do any of this, actually."
"No, it's completely alright; I'm happy to help," Topaz assured her. "Just let me know what I should do, and I'll take care of it for you."
"It's fine," insisted Asta. "Really, I can just find another girl suited for the job. It wouldn't make much of a difference to my father, anyway."
"Really? Even though you already told him it was me?"
"I never really said that," admitted Asta, her voice growing quiet. "I was being unreasonable. I just… wanted it to be you."
Topaz froze for a very long second. It might be the way Asta said the last sentence or the look on her face right now, but the dots were finally connecting in her head. Frankly, Topaz was surprised it took herself so long to realize this… if her understanding of the situation right now was on the money, that was. She wasn't entirely sure.
"Sorry, Topaz," Asta's eyes fell. "You know, I've never really known anyone else who is as enthusiastic about work as you are (Not counting scientific research and such, of course; I mean clocking in everyday and going on business trips and attending meetings, that kind of thing)…" She paused for breath. "Actually, I've always thought you were really cool for it, but at this point I get kind of jealous of your work… Sometimes I'd get the urge to say 'if you love the IPC so much, why don't you marry it', but I know that's ridiculous, right?" She gave a small giggle. "But I still hoped you could choose me over your work… Like I said, I was just being unreasonable. So don't worry. It's not fair to expect you to do that when I know what you are passionate about."
Topaz, who generally considered herself to be good with words, was not entirely sure how to respond in this situation. Sure, there were several things she could say here, but…
"Lady Asta…" she managed.
"Oh, yeah… I've been meaning to tell you this for a long time now, but just 'Asta' is okay if it's you. No need for that kind of honorifics."
"Alright… That's fine with me!" said Topaz in a bright tone, attempting to break the awkwardness.
"Hey, Jelena," murmured Asta.
"Yes, Asta?" Topaz grinned at her.
For a second, she almost expected her to ask her which one she liked more between Asta and the IPC.
Asta's voice was barely audible. "Do you think I'm cute?"
…Huh? Topaz smiled. That's not even a question...
"Of course I do, Asta!" she answered with wholehearted sincerity. "You're definitely cute! Positively adorable."
Asta broke into a bright, starry smile. She was really beautiful. "…How cute?" she asked, softly.
Topaz thought for a brief second before looking her in the eye earnestly. "Well, um… This might be a bit of a weird analogy, but I think, if you're a small animal, you would certainly be one of the loveliest critters I've ever seen in the cosmos. The kind that people would love to put at the center of the most highly-priced zoo exhibition and charge about 100,000 credits per person just for each individual entry, and maybe that could be a fair evaluation for its 'intrinsic value' plus the profit margin, but if you asked me, I would say that its 'overall value' completely surpasses that amount by at least eight times due to the additional value provided by its immense, incomparable cuteness." She paused there, and chuckled. "Does that answer your question, Asta?"
Slowly, Asta's smile grew wider and wider.
But, for some reason, it actually looked… sadder. In fact, Topaz was shocked to realize Asta kind of looked like she wanted to cry, and not quite out of joy. She shut her eyes. Her lips were trembling.
Then, Asta suddenly stood up from her chair and began heading towards the door.
"…Asta?" Topaz stared at her with large eyes.
"I'm sorry, I have to go," said Asta on her way out.
Topaz got on her feet. "Asta, wait!" She didn't have time to think about it deeply at the moment, but by this point her gut could tell that she had said the wrong thing completely.
Numby, who had probably been listening in from right outside the room, squealed as the door was pushed open.
"See you later, Topaz!" shouted Asta. And she disappeared into the corridors.