So good news and bad news. Good news is that I've started working on this story again. Wooo! Bad news, I don't know how much longer I'll be updating it.

Now let me elaborate on that a little. You see, when I first started this story I intended it to be some fun little diversion that I could just slap anything into while practicing lemon scenes. This was never intended to have any kind of coherent story and so I never planned anything out ahead of writing. However, the more I wrote the more I wanted to write an actual story. This lead to a slight problem in that I had no stable foundation to build upon. So I came to the conclusion a while ago that I wanted to start over using the same characters and loosely following the same story but rather than focusing on lemons with some fluff thrown in between to pad things out I wanted to focus on the story while still having plenty of lemons.

That said I also didn't want to just drop this story in the middle of this story arc. So before I start on a new version I'll be finishing this arc, and before anyone gets worried that it'll all be pointless since I'm just going to be making a new story I do plan on this arc being, for the most part, cannon in the new story as well. So unless stated otherwise just assume that the events in this arc happened the same way in the future version of this story.

Now that that's out of the way I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Monster Girl Encyclopedia)

"How dare that idiot ignore me! ME of all people! His adorable bride and daughter of the Demon Lord herself!" Aria ranted with a pout as she stormed through the vast hallways of the castle, not caring for the direction she went. "If he thinks his punishment was so bad then I'll just make the next the next one dwarf it. HA! What do you say to that you dumb... dummy... GHAU Naruto you stupid dummy-face!" Aria plotted with a devious expression before her face scrunched up as she worked her brain for an appropriate insult, before finally settling with what she blurted out, her hands being thrown into the air as she did so.

Coming to a stop in front of a small window coated in so much snow that barely any light filtered through Aria's small body slowly relaxed as her angry expression faltered into a saddened expression. "Naruto... You idiot..." Aria softly spoke as her arms moved to wrap around herself. Despite all the warmth provided by the magic in her clothes the young princess felt cold as she stood all alone in that empty hallway.

Above her, sitting with in a sizable crack in the old stone wall was a rat with its pitch black eyes watching her every move. As it sat there the flesh hidden beneath the dark grey fur of its back started to shift and bubble before forcing the creature to hunch over as a blob of flesh burst out. Slowly shifting and forming itself the mass grew limbs, claws, and teeth as it finally split off from the main body as a nearly fully formed duplicate. After a minuscule moment longer the clone had completely formed before taking off into the inky blackness of the hole in the wall, leaving the main body behind to keep an eye on the girl.

Within the negotiation chamber both side sat in uneasy silence. For an hour now they had been left to sit by themselves. The king of Vaiphate had yet to present himself before them and so they had little choice but to wait, and wait, and wait.

"Unbelievable..." Sheryl huffed out as she sat in her cold, iron chair with her eyes never leaving the enemy before her for a moment. The lilim was composed, the baphomet had started fidgeting around in her seat soon after the silence fell over the room with the fox sitting next to her being the only thing keeping the child like fiend from getting out of her seat and running around, and the man accompanying the monster princess was just as composed as the lilim. "The man calls for us at HIS castle, on HIS schedule, and HE has the gal to keep US waiting. It's insulting!" the green haired knight spat as her armored hands folded over her chest.

"It's precisely because it's HIS castle and HIS schedule that we can't do anything but wait" her fellow knight reminded her as he turned his head to the side to look at her. "Imagine if we weren't here when he finally arrives? It would come across as an insult" the hero proposed.

"An it's not an insult to keep your guests waiting?" Sheryl argued through grit teeth as she glared at Dottye who sat across from her with her cool and composed expression still plastered over her face. "It's pathetic" the woman hissed.

As the make knight pondered over what he could say to quell the growing temper of his companion Rae's father spoke up, the entire hour they'd been sitting there he had simply chose to sit in silence with his arms cross and his eyes held shut. "Is it?" his question finally got Sheryl to turn her gaze away from the monsters sitting across from them.

"I don't need your bullshit Normun!" the woman snapped at the man.

"Then you can choose not to listen" Normun spoke as he opened his eyes. "But for arguments sake, assume that we haven't been siting here for nothing, that there is a purpose behind it."

"You're over thinking things" Sheryl said as she waved him off.

"And it's that 'over thinking' of his that has kept me safe on more than one occasion" the heroic knight sitting beside her said with a stern look directed at her before it softened and his gaze moved past Sheryl to look at Normun. "Please, brother, do tell us what you're thinking" the man requested.

"Yes, do tell. it would certainty be more entertaining then continuing to sit here in silence" the holly man of the church responded as he too turned his attention to Normun.

"If you insist then I shall" Normun began. "We were all called here as representatives for our respective factions. So that would lead one to assume that we are the best suited for this role. If we, who are meant to be the best, fail to impress then what would that say about the rest of our forces? And if we aren't the best then that would bring into question why we were sent in the best's place" Normun put forth.

"Yeah, yeah. That's why we cam all the way out to this frozen wasteland to dance around for some old geezer with a crown" Sheryl aid in an annoyed tone. "Unfortunately we can't prance around for a king who wont show up" Sheryl added, her annoyance growing with the second.

"Yes. We are indeed here to put on a good show. But that is just as it sounds, a 'show'. A show can be fabricated from half truths and lies. So the question is how to tell truth from lies. It's a problem with many potential solutions but one answer would be to put us all into a room to see and see how we behave. Am I correct, your majesty" Normun finished as he turned his gaze to the thrown, an act that the rest of the room soon followed.

Before the eyes of all gathered the space around the chair shifted and bent before the image of the king sitting upon his throne came into view like a mirage flickering in and out of existence. His long, full white hair flowed out of the bottom of his decadent crown made of solid gold and embedded with only the finest of rare jewels. His eyebrows were thick and unkempt as they hung over grey orbs. His facial hair was thick and hid his neck and lower face from view leaving only the skin of his upper face visible in all of its deeply wrinkled and leathery glory. The many layer of clothing he garbed himself in was rich in deep violets and lined with the finest of white furs and made discerning his build a near impossibility.

"Quicker then I expected of children" his voice was heavy with age but despite that it held a sense of absolute authority. His eyes passed over them like he was disinterested in this whole affair and yet even his uninterested gaze pierced through those present. With just a simply glance it was easy for the king to tell that Normun was the only one unsurprised by his presence. With a 'Humph' the king rested his cheek on his gloved hand, thoroughly unimpressed with those in front of him. "Very well, you may begin."

"Ghah! Every hallway looks the same!" Naruto groaned in frustration and he and Rae passed by the same crooked torch holder that they'd seen two times before.

"I'm sure it's easy for those living here" Rae said with a reassuring smile. For the past hour she and Naruto had been wandering the castle, in circles as it would seem.

"That doesn't help us at all!" Naruto blurted out as he spun around to look up at the older girl. They had run across a handfull of castle workers while wandering about but all of them had been skitish and chose to duck out of sight or acted like they weren't there when talked too. So in short they weren't going to get any help out of the localls.

"Nothing to be done about it" Rae said with a smallest of sighs. "We'll just have to keep pushing forward, K?" the teen told the young blond as she leaned over and patted his head. It was something she kept doing when ever Naruto got frustrated and the first couple of times Naruto just swatted her hand away and continued to barrel forward with pure determination. Now he just expected that this was something she'd do and didn't bother pushing the gesture away.

"Right!" Naruto cheered as he pumped his fist into the air. "I don't care how long it takes I'm gonna find Aria!" the blond declared as he turned and took off down the hall. As he did so he failed to notice the small creature moving around on Rae's shoulder, partially hidden by her purple locks. The rat that pocked its head out soon demilitarized into mana and slipped into its master's body.

As she walked after the energetic blond Rae's soft, caring expression morphed into one that was cold and analytical as she brought up the hand that she had on Naruto's head. "It's too soon to find your companion. There's so much to be learned before then" Rae muttered to herself as she stared at the magical seal in the palm of her hand that shifted and wavered in response to the boy directly ahead of her.