Chapter 77: Strategically Planned

’This is so uncomfortable...’ Nio thinks it for Nioh to hear. As things have "calmed down," Nio is now discouraged, knowing her plan failed all because the opportunity was lost.

Since the opportunity was lost, Nio simply accepted the current situation. So the three of them are sitting at the table, Nioh seated on the opposite side, while Nio sits on Typhon’s lap.

’At least we have proof that we really can make Typhon lose her composure! She could barely hold back her actions...’ Nio looks into Nioh’s eyes, but Nioh only looks up at Typhon’s eyes.

"W-When are we going to wake up?" Nioh asks uncomfortably.

"I don’t know. Time in the dream world is strange. You should know that better than I do," Typhon says as she sets the new cup on the table.

"...Are you always like this?" Nio looks up, asking her.

"Like what?"

"...I don’t know... you seem more... calm than I expected after everything settled down." Nio is stuck in a very simple paradigm. Typhon is a crazy wife, and in Nio’s view, she would either be a perverse, perverted woman, or a crazed torturer who would hurt her for no reason.

But despite having those traits, Typhon just stays silent every moment, observing with a smile as if that were enough.

An attitude that ends up being worse than if she were a crazed torturer, because Typhon’s behavior makes it impossible to know what’s really going on in her head and what she’ll do in the next seconds, minutes, or days.

After all, the only times she showed a deliberate attitude of torturing them was when something "wrong" happened — meaning there was a concrete reason.

"Everything settled down. Would I need to do something?"

"T-That’s not what I meant... just... no fighting at all? I-I expected you to be more possessive..." Nio was just placed on her lap and nothing more.

"No, I won’t do anything."

"Why?"

"..." Typhon only smiles, but that smile makes Nioh shrink in her chair.

’Don’t trust her. She’s deceiving you!’ Nioh says to Nio, who looks at her confused. Since both can know what the other thinks, Nio doesn’t need to speak and neither does Nioh, so Typhon doesn’t know what they’re saying — although Typhon’s gaze is attentive, as if she suspects something.

’Typhon uses intermittent reinforcement, controlled unpredictability, emotional ambiguity, with a hypervigilance/captive attention effect!!’ Nioh says seriously.

’Okay, and that would be?’ Nio obviously doesn’t understand any of that. She’s not someone who studied psychology to understand what all those things would be.

’It means it’s entirely on purpose!! Typhon is absurdly casual, calm, and kind — all as a way to keep the focus on her. Like everything revolves around her, and both fear and uncertainty collide with the kindness, making you crave more of the kindness to deal with the uncertainty, but the kindness only increases the uncertainty.’

’Wait... so it’s like... the kindness only increases the uncertainty, and the uncertainty makes the person crave the kindness even more?’ Nio asks with chills, realizing how Machiavellian such manipulation is.

’Yes, exactly!! If we behave, she’s kind — but kind until when? There’s no way to know. And because there’s no way to know, we try to seek out more kindness. But she’s dangerous, and the uncertainty of never knowing when that kindness will die is what ends up keeping our focus locked!! But that kindness doesn’t last forever!!’

’I already tried obeying!! After just giving up, I was obedient, but I was still punished for ridiculous things out of nowhere, with no pattern of time or reason. Her kindness is pure falsehood, and the moment something displeases her, she shows her true face!! She can’t be trusted!’ Nioh explains what she learned in a way Nio can understand.

’...But doesn’t that mean we’re forced to constantly think about her?’ Nio asks, looking at Typhon’s face.

’Exactly. She forces us to think about her, and that’s what makes everything worse. You can never know when something really won’t happen. She forces our minds to revolve around her, as if she were the center of everything in our lives.’

’Don’t forget, Typhon is not and never was human. She’s a deity older than me, with a mind that’s complicated to understand and a monstrous intelligence!’

"What are you two doing?" Typhon asks, picking up her cup and drinking the liquid in it casually.

"...Nothing—"

"Nioh, what are you doing?"

"...W-We’re talking..." Nio looks at Nioh with anger, realizing there’s no point in her being good at lying if Typhon will always ask Nioh when she really wants to know something — and a traumatized Nioh will always tell the truth.

"...You don’t trust me?" Nio says to Typhon, who turns her focus back to her. Nio tries to prevent her from asking the content of the conversation, though at this point it doesn’t matter. Without realizing it, Nio and Nioh were literally talking about the person who is the cause of everything, strengthening exactly what Typhon wants — the two of them thinking about her and only her.

"...Of course I trust you, but I know you relatively well, and I know Nioh very well. You’re thinking about me, aren’t you? Something like ’Don’t trust her’ while Nio explains why not to trust."

"..." Nio says nothing and doesn’t react, trying to see if it’s a bluff.

"It’s not a bluff. You knowing how it works doesn’t stop it from happening. A marionette that sees its own strings still needs them to move, silly girl."

"While you waste time thinking about me, you forget that you’re in an unknown world, with unknown threats, with a palace for you to protect." When Typhon says this, Nio’s expression breaks.

Instead of planning how to protect her palace, she spent almost all her time thinking about how to deal with her natural enemy, without noticing how much Typhon had become a shadow over her life.

"...Y-You’re being very arrogant if you think I think about you all the time..."

"You don’t need to think about me all the time. Just enough to never forget that I’m also here." Nio stands up from Typhon’s lap and points at her with an expression of disgust.

"Very bold of you to say that to my face as if you knew what I think. Know that I have far more things to think about than you."

’Idiot, stop fighting with her!! That’s exactly what she expects!! You’re doing exactly what she knew you would do. She’s deceiving you so you won’t forget this conversation after you leave here!! And then you’ll lose more hours or days thinking about this!!’

"..." Hearing this, Nio is uncertain whether to continue and say what she was going to say, or stay quiet. She feels that either way, Typhon would come out ahead — and Typhon’s smile frustrates her deeply.

It’s like playing on a chessboard, but the enemy moves both her own pieces and yours without you noticing she touched your pieces. Typhon, regardless of her "kind" attitude, is an enemy — Nio’s greatest enemy — and Nio must never forget that fact.