Atem realizes that despite being in a quantum marriage, he has never actually been proposed to.
He constructs an operation to induce one, with a 67 percent projected success rate.
Seto is waiting at the door with his coat already in hand.
The operation is destroyed. What replaces it is the inside of a ring, engraved with a cipher that mathematicians cannot crack, because it requires the other ring — and Atem, in the end, decides not to look.
This is a translation of an original work on Pixiv.
Original Title: 愛と理論 25 愛と理論
Original Author: 葉人(@Hathor_yuki)
Personal site: https://prideshipping.sakura.ne.jp
The terrace of the Kaiba mansion.
The stars were glittering as though connecting the boundary of the afterlife and the mortal world.
While tilting fruit wine, Atem's eye suddenly came to rest on a magazine's feature page.
On the pink cover, in gold lettering, this is written:
Feature: The Most Romantic Proposal in the World
"...A proposal, is it."
He had said it aloud in spite of himself.
The finger turning the page stops.
Bouquets, rings, night views, words of vow.
And then, the decisive sentence.
Whatever the relationship, it is important to give the vow of love a form.
In that instant, Atem went and realised it.
"...Seto, we're a quantum marriage, aren't we?"
"That's right. Legally, socially, and theoretically, it's already perfect."
"But... you haven't proposed to me."
Silence.
The ice made a small sound in the glass.
"......At this stage?"
"I went and realised it."
Seto pressed at his temple.
Exactly the same face as when he receives a report that the AI has run out of control.
"You... you arrived at that reasoning at this late stage."
"Mm. As a king, the result of studying the theory of love."
"...The result, is it."
Atem, serious-faced still, drank a mouthful of fruit wine.
"Seto, I think that as the Founder of Love Theory I ought to be proposed to."
"You're being bound by a theory you founded yourself."
Even at Seto's composed retort, Atem is seriousness itself.
"Which is to say, for the sake of the future development of the theory of love as well, an experiment is necessary."
"...An experiment again. I did propose, didn't I."
"No, that was aimed at the resolution of the Attempted Proposal Incident."
"Don't get serious in strange places."
Atem is fundamentally serious. It is merely that the manifestation of it is somewhat askew.
And he declared, straight-faced:
"I shall devise a strategy for being proposed to."
"Wait. Who is the test subject."
"Who else is there but you."
Seto looked up at the heavens. He did propose (in a manner of speaking), and he made the rings and handed them over.
The Founder of Love Theory today as well is truly at his own pace.
Before the communication terminal connecting the afterlife and the mortal world, Atem wore a serious expression.
What appears at the end of his scrolling fingertip is the feature in that magazine with the pink cover (Z — xy).
Make Him Say It ♡ Ten Ways to Draw a Proposal Out of Him
"Mm... make him say it — which is to say, respecting the other party's spontaneity while intentionally guiding him."
Atem nodded to himself.
Those eyes are already completely in strategy-conference mode.
At his side, the AI LOVE-OS made a startup sound.
Lord Atem, shall I construct a proposal-induction strategy?
"Begin construction. First, theory. Emotion can come later."
The Founder of Love Theory prioritized theory for the sake of the operation.
Target: Lord Seto. Personality data: theory-focused, rationalist, restrained in emotional expression — however, strong in possessiveness. To raise the success rate, "compatibility of theory and emotion" is necessary.
"Which is to say, it must be theoretically romantic. ...A difficult problem."
Atem folded his arms and thinks a little.
And he compared the magazine spread on the desk and the AI's display, back and forth.
Recommended proposal ①: Stimulate Lord Seto's curiosity and logically debate the definition of a proposal.
Recommended proposal ②: Bring out an ancient king's rite and demand a "modern version of the vow."
Recommended proposal ③: Intentionally generate a romantic situation (e.g., dusk, flowers, light).
"③ is environmental manipulation. Leaving it to the AI is too facile. Seto is a man who loves theory. First, from ①."
Theory-induction type, approved. ...The target for commencement?
"The next time we meet. Feigning a natural flow, I shall ask what a vow of love is."
Approved. Remarks: if you speak first, there is a danger it ends with the other party "analysing the answer theoretically."
"...Which is to say, as usual."
The King let out a small sigh.
But in that expression, fighting spirit clearly dwells.
Supplement: according to Lord Seto's psychological model, there is a tendency toward weakness against "surprise attacks." Accordingly, it is effective to stimulate the emotional domain by means of "sudden action."
"A surprise attack... which is to say, an ambush."
Atem's eyes shone golden.
That is by now the face from when he hit upon a new strategy in a Duel.
Conclusion: operation name, "Project Proposal Trigger."
Lord Atem, the success rate at the present time is 67 percent.
"Excellent. Neither theory nor love evolves without practice."
When Atem stood up, he looked up at the stars flowing behind him.
"Seto... look forward to the next experiment."
※ Warning: there are cases in which the other party performs a "theoretical rebuttal" first.
※ Proposal: please use "nonverbal interference" by gaze and smile in combination.
"Mm. Gaze and smile. ...I see, the wordless strategy is also included in the theory of love."
Yes. Colloquially it is called "speaking with the eyes."
"A good phrase."
And Atem slowly closed his eyes.
The whole picture of the strategy assembles itself perfectly inside his head.
The next time they meet, the theory of love will surely evolve into proposal theory. Atem, laughing inwardly at that, wore a smile a little like a villain's.
Standing before the door of Seto's room, Atem clenched a fist in front of his chest.
The ideal proposal operation the AI worked up is perfect.
Lighting, music, lines, expression.
All of it calculated out theoretically at a success rate of 100 percent.
All that remained was to execute it.
But the instant he opened the door, Atem stops.
There, as though he had foreseen it, was the figure of Seto waiting with his arms folded.
Not a smile.
But that gaze clearly announced I know.
"Atem... you were egged on by the AI, weren't you."
Before Atem could answer back, Seto took up his coat.
"We're going out."
The destination was the lounge on the top floor of the highest-class hotel Kaiba Corporation boasts of, visited on their first date.
The glittering night view of the city.
A floor reserved exclusively.
A sea of light, as though the stars had come down to their feet.
The instant Atem, having taken his seat, started to open his mouth, Seto set down his glass and said, low and calm:
"Theoretically, love is an undefinable phenomenon. But I met you, and I chose to accept that margin of error. It was the first time I thought a contradiction beautiful. ...Quantum fluctuations and all, live together with me from here on, Atem."
That voice was quiet, and an endlessly certain reality.
Atem, for an instant, could say nothing, and only gazed.
Settled crisply, the operation of making him formally propose was smashed to pieces. But no result better than this exists.
The happiness level of an Atem letting his cheeks loosen lightly overflows the AI's recording range.
The observing AIs left logs reading "incomprehensible emotional reaction" all at once, and fell silent.
Seto pours wine with a wry smile and
"What is it? Do you have some theoretical rebuttal?"
provokes him.
Atem shook his head faintly.
"...None. Only, the definition of happiness has changed."
The theory of the two was updated once again.
The thin, sharp platinum ring shining on Atem's finger.
From paired rings, to wedding rings.
That was not mere ornament; it gave off a presence such that the world sensed it in an instant as the proof of quantum marriage.
Flickeringly, Atem's eyes are drawn to the ring.
Within the company, at interview venues, at diplomatic seats, gazes are drawn there.
Everyone understood.
That something had happened.
Of course, the first to sniff it out was the magazine with the pink cover.
The Z — xy editorial department, with which they are on familiar terms, went so far as to carry out a direct interview with the man himself.
Atem is not used to being interviewed.
Still less in a state of still being steeped in the afterglow of a proposal.
Information was carried off, washed clean out of him.
"O King, what happened?"
"A proposal..."
"A proposal!?"
Persons of quantum marriage, and a proposal at this late stage.
But there was no chance of their letting information like this escape.
"What were the words of the proposal?"
"Er... let me see... ...Seto said something, well... theoretical..."
"What sort of theoretical?"
"Mm... that is the thing I don't remember."
He doesn't remember. And nevertheless, the Z — xy editorial department was immediately roused.
The King Who Forgot the Words of the Proposal Because the Love Was Too Strong
There was the sound of a catchphrase flashing into being.
But what excited them most was the mysterious cipher engraved on the inside of the ring.
The one Atem innocently showed them had a syntax no one could decode, and would end up dragging in mathematicians and cryptographers as well.
In a place Atem does not know of, a project called "Crack the Cipher of the King's Ring!" is launched, but what was finally understood was one thing alone.
Insufficient hints.
And the hypothesis that was raised: "It cannot be solved without the other ring."
Which is to say, it becomes one key for two people.
A complete formation, very like Seto, proving the theory of love physically.
Atem, not knowing of that, does nothing but say "Seto was far too cool."
"...I remember it, though."
At Seto's voice, laughing a little, the AIs and the editorial department, and the world too, fell silent for an instant.
The theory of love goes on being updated, steadily.
After it was pointed out to him about the engraving, Atem too had realised that there was something in the meaningless string of characters.
And his too-good intuition told him: the missing hints must be hidden in Seto's ring.
The mysterious cipher Z — xy found, according to the assertion of quantum physicists, by any reckoning forms a pair of two.
Which is to say, the other key is in Seto's ring.
Within Atem, the blood of a king — or of a gamer — stirred.
I must decode it.
Of course, Seto had seen through that it would come to this too.
"Don't try to peer at my ring."
"Why?"
"If you know, the world will come to know. The world cannot yet endure that theory."
For the world to handle love and theory, it is still too early.
But the public does not stop.
Decoding teams, AI analysis units, and in the end even children became absorbed in "the cipher of the ring."
On social media the hashtags dance.
#LOVELOGICCODE
#KAIBA_RING_THEORY
Scholars try to set up a formula for love, and lovers began encrypting the insides of their own rings.
The words of a proposal, marriage certificates, all of it — a boom in leaving everything behind in cipher was born.
In time, it is understood that the origin of this worldwide cipher fever lies in Kaiba Corporation.
Atem had been moving the world with love. And this time Seto moved the world with theory.
After some months had passed, everyone knew.
That whatever hypothesis one sets up to try to crack the cipher, it cannot be solved without hints. But that the words that finally appear are presumably the same.
Atem wanted to know, no matter what.
The inside of Seto's ring. The answer to that cipher.
The whole world is making a fuss, and he himself, the party concerned, does not know.
Such a situation is unsettling both as a king and as a spouse.
"Seto, that cipher..."
The instant he started to extend a hand, Seto said quietly:
"Do you think a time will come when you take off this proof?"
At those words, Atem's hand stops.
Deep in his chest, it ached faintly.
To take off the ring. That signifies an ending.
An ending — he did not even want to imagine it.
Seto calmly held out his left hand.
"If you want to see it, see it."
Not a provocation, merely a permission.
But Atem could not even touch that ring.
Silence.
Between the two, a quiet happiness fills.
"...I'll leave it."
Atem murmured it softly.
"This riddle may remain unsolved."
The love and theory of the two is enough. Atem smiles.
Seto let a smile surface as well.
"That is the correct answer."
That night, the two, nestled together at the window, gazed at each other's figures reflected in the rings.
As though an unsolvable cipher were promising eternity.
The AI quietly stopped its recording, and increased its unsolvable data by one more.
Answer = Love and Theory
