Tamamo briskly made her way to the entrance of the healing ward, breathing nervously as her sandals clacked on the stone ground while she kept nervously looking around her. When she arrived in front of the large door that made for her destination, she called out to the darkness around her.

"Hiruko? Please come out, we need to talk."

The small form of the scylla appeared from a dark corner. Tamamo could see her tentacles nervously twinning around her legs even as she stepped out of the shadows with a smile on her face.

"What is it, sister?"

"I… Wanted to thank you for rescuing Luka earlier. If you didn't show up, I would have been responsible for a disaster."

"Awww… It's all natural… But may I ask for a few favors as a reward?"

"I already know what you're going to ask for, and the answer is yes to both, for as long as you keep your appetites in check. I just need to see a few more details with the Monster Lord and her husband, but everything should be good within a few days… In the meantime, if you and Saja would make sure that Minagi remains in her room and don't wreck havoc in the castle while we discuss, I would appreciate that."

Hiruko curtsied. "Very well… But I don't think Saja will accept that order from me."

"Tell her it's from the Monster Lord then. Even if Alice didn't say it, she thinks just as much."

Hiruko disappeared in a shadow, and Tamamo shivered briefly. Her own inability to sense the scylla rattled her, and it was fortunate that the latter did accept to settle down so spontaneously, even if she had her own desires and wants.

"She still creeps me out."

Tamamo saw Alice and Luka come out of the ward. The hero was still slightly pale, but he looked finer than when he…

She attempted to clear her mind from this memory again. She would need more time before forgetting that she nearly killed him.

"Well, she keeps behaving herself so far… I think she'll be fine once outside of the castle though."

"I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about what people will think of us when they see that we let her roam freely."

"We'll keep an eye on her, she won't be released in the wild like that, don't worry… But first, can we go into my room? There's a lot we need to talk about, and I think it will be the best place to discuss."

Picking on the cues, the duo nodded. The ambiance remained heavy, even as they started moving rapidly toward Tamamo's room. The kitsune's eyes narrowed when she saw Salamander and Undine waiting in front of her door.

"Do you need something?"

"I…" Salamander apologetically looked at the ground. "I wanted to say sorry for treating you badly those last months. You're not the same monster that you were millennia ago."

Tamamo recoiled twice: At first, in surprise because of Salamander's apologies, then again when a powerful scent reached her nostrils. She sighed.

"Look… As much as I appreciate your apologies, I first and foremost want everybody to move on from the past. I'm sorry because I needed hundreds of years and having to deal with the single worst queen Yamatai ever saw to understand and care about just how much people can suffer from the consequences of the actions from someone a whole continent apart. So I also apologize as well: we should have met and discussed much, much earlier than that."

"I… thank you for recognizing that, but even then, I'm afraid I let my fire get the better of me a little too often those last weeks. Can I make up for it?"

"Just keep helping Luka loyally and guiding the future generations." While Tamamo's words were conciliatory, her tone was surprisingly cold. "And please keep your fire under control."

Alice raised an eyebrow while Luka's mouth remained hanged open as the hero connected the dots.

"Now if we're done, I'm sorry, but I have to discuss with the hero and the Monster Lord to get my dear sisters in line once and for all. I wouldn't want Luka and your own effort to get to waste."

Salamander humbly bowed and left, accompanied by Undine.

"Mandy looked so sad… Why did she look sad?"

"I…" When Luka saw both monsters staring at him, he realized that the two spirits should definitively be kept out of the upcoming conversation. "I think she will appreciate your company. We'll discuss boring stuff anyway."

"Hey! Mandy!"

Sylph left Luka's body in a hurry as she chased after Salamander, soon followed by Gnome who waved briefly at the hero before following her fellow spirit. Tamamo checked the hallway one last time, and the trio finally entered her room. Right after the ribbon at the tip of Alice's tail crossed the entrance, Tamamo closed the door and placed a few seals to soundproof the room.

"Now we're finally clear to discuss."

"Good, it took you longer than I expected." Luka felt his heart warm when he saw Micaela enter from another room.

"Sorry, I had a small discussion with Salamander, and I learned something that changed my perspectives a bit. Anyway, let's make ourselves comfortable, we have a lot to talk about, and I want to start directly with the most important if you don't mind."

Luka was surprised to see everyone follow Tamamo to the letter as each of them positioned around a small table with a tea set. Micaela was the first to talk.

"You recovered well Luka? With those two fights back to back and the wounds you accumulated, I'm surprised that you're able to stand so soon."

Luka answered with a radiating smile. "Thank you auntie… And you? I heard that Saja nearly killed you…"

Micaela grimaced. "Tamamo and Mariel healed me. I'm doing fine and in fact… I might be faring even better than after our battle with Ilias."

"I'm happy to hear that. I was worried for you."

"I was worried for you as well… In fact, I can safely say that we all were. Fighting two Ancestors in a row is a challenge even I never successfully faced."

"Well… Luka awkwardly scratched his neck. "I did beat Saja after a tough fight where I fully exploited my angelic powers, but I don't remember much of my fight against Tamamo. I only remembered exchanging a few blows, and then… We ended in a draw and I apparently got slightly wounded."

Tamamo gulped loudly as she decided to let the cat out of the bag. "Actually, I did nearly kill you back then."

"What?!"

That exclamation came from a completely dumbfounded Alice who was staring at Tamamo, wide-eyed. The kitsune ignored her as she was too busy gauging Luka's reaction.

"I did cut you across the throat and the chest. Do you remember that?"

Luka simply shook his head negatively. "I don't remember at all."

"Please tell me this is a joke…"

"I was surprised that such a basic, weak attack pierced through your guard as you didn't have any sort of defense up. So much in fact that I stopped our fight immediately to try tending to your wounds… Even if Hiruko ended up being even more efficient in that regard."

Alice sighed in relief.

"Please Tamamo, don't scare me like that… Luka was already exhausted after his fight with Saja. Fighting him right afterward, was particularly harsh even if it was for a good reason."

"And once again, I apologize to both of you, but this is something we briefly discussed with Micaela, and it is bringing up an important matter. With some hindsight, I think Salamander played a role and might have pushed him to attack him unreasonably recklessly, and it's clear I underestimated how tired he already was, but even then… I'm afraid Luka is still unconcerned for his life."

Alice frowned again, irked by her mentor's conclusion. "Are you saying that because he didn't raise his guard back then when you attacked?"

"No. I am saying that because Luka didn't move an eyelid when I told him that I nearly killed him."

Everybody stared inquisitively at Luka. The hero looked back at each of them, confused.

"I… Don't quite understand what you mean."

"What Tamamo meant is that you kept showing an alarming lack of self-preservation these days."

"Thank you Micaela. And before you ask, yes, we know that we relied on you to face the Six Ancestors and I really hope that you will finally be able to rest. But even then, you seemed a little too eager to fight monsters that had killed so many and are so powerful, even if it meant risking your life."

"It's… what I always did."

Tamamo frowned. "Maybe in the past, but now, you have other responsibilities than just risking your life by playing hero. There are still monsters that have it out for your life, but you have people who care about you!"

"I know, and it's always been the case. I mean, I think that Micaela is the only one in the castle who didn't try to kill or rape me."

The two monsters grimaced as they awkwardly looked at each other. Luka had a point on this one…

"Even so, you shouldn't think it's normal to keep throwing your life away so recklessly. I mean, it's as if you've been raised for-"

Micaela loudly sneezed, interrupting Tamamo. "Sorry about that."

The kitsune slowly exhaled as she noticed the huge blunder she almost committed: Both of Luka's parents had died during his childhood, and both had been warriors. His mother had even died in front of his eyes from an illness, courtesy of Ilias. The boy had always been familiar with death.

"We'll follow you more closely from now on. You should never consider wasting your life like that an option, and even moreso now that you have a family to take care of."

Luka silently nodded, not knowing what to make of it. Alice slithered to his side, and slowly wrapped herself around him before hugging him.

"Come on Luka… Do it for me and them please… I need you. We all need you."

The two ancient beings gently smiled as Luka returned the display of affection. Alice soon released him and smiled back.

"Well, I guess at least something good came from your faked researches in Remina."

Tamamo's ears perked up. "I really did some researches in the ruins of the city. I needed to take my mind from my dear sisters, and I was concerned I would bring the wrong kind of attention if I took my usual vacations in Yamatai. So I did some exploration, and… I will show you what I found.

The kitsune got up and fetched a few boxes, using her tails to help her grab all of them.

"It is interesting, but is it really the time? We still have to talk about your sisters…"

"I indeed do think it's the best moment."

She pulled out a few parchments that looked like they could crumble at any time, a few books, and, something which attracted everyone's attention, a golden crowd which still seemed to shine even if she was heavily damaged.

"These are the most noteworthy properties that remain from the royal bloodline of Remina, before our little scuffle in the castle…" Tamamo grimaced briefly as she took one book and opened it. "I made some inquiries as I wanted to confirm if the royal bloodline of Remina was indeed dead and buried, or if there was a survivor like an estranged cousin who traveled a lot. And after a long investigation, I found out an anomaly in the record..."

"Someone altered them in hope of getting recognized as a royal heir?" Alice sneered. "That's completely ridiculous."

"It's the opposite. Someone erased a name which made a whole branch of the family disappear."

"Who would do that? And why? They just deprived someone of the access to the throne for the sake of some politics?"

"It was me, and as to why I did it… I thought it was the best decision at that time. I will make it short, I did that in the absolute chaos that followed the death of Black Alice. The church gained back a lot of traction then, they tried to make a call to crusade against Remina, and, at the same time, the most fanatical followers of Black Alice wanted to kill Heinrich. I wanted to make sure that both families at that time would be safe from assassinations or other troubles. Keeping track of the royal family at that time was simple, as the princess married with a wealthy man and they had two children, including one who didn't had descendant themselves, and the other's bloodline died during the tragic Slaughter of Remina thirty years ago."

"But you found out another one."

"The princess at that time, Edina had a child out of wedlock with a travelling hero named Joan Joantarj, and said child followed in his father's footsteps and became a hero. This is the record I destroyed because I thought simply altering his name might not be enough back then… I spent a little too much time searching for the name of the descendants of a man who didn't actually exist, and I had been too busy taking care of the Monster Lord's Castle afterward as I stepped out of the shadow to actually start advising the Monster Lord herself. It's only recently that I remembered that the man was the one I was also trying to hide from the followers of Black Alice, the legendary Heinrich Hein himself."

Micaela almost choked on her tea. "Wait, so Heinrich had a child with the princess of Remina which then got estranged for his own safety, and then said child founded his own family of heroes… It isn't the same one Marcellus comes from, is it?"

"It actually is."

"This means that… Luka is the current heir of Remina?"

"And he is the only one." Tamamo pushed the papers and the crown toward Luka. "The proof is here. They still had a paper stored with the info writtend down, something that I had advised against, but… Today, it is the proof that any descendant of Heinrich Hein can claim the crown."

Both Alice and Luka were in shock. The Monster Lord, in particular, kept repeating the same words again and again. "My cute little idiot is a lost heir of the crown of Remina…"

As the realization of his lineage fully sank in, Luka started hyperventilating. "But I can't be a king! I never received any training, I don't know much about politics or anything related to reigning, the most I did was swinging my sword to end wars!"

Alice sighed. "Calm down, you idiot, first, kings have minister to guide them for these very reasons, since nobody can know everything, and second, you're still not officially king. There's a whole ceremony to make it official, and we'll certainly discuss it with the human leaders first. You won't find yourself leading a nation tomorrow, if only because it's currently in ruin."

"Right… Sorry for… Sorry."

"Don't apologize, that was quite a bomb to drop." Alice gently smiled. "But I guess it also meant co-existence was always in your blood."

"Yeah… I guess too." Luka took a sip of tea as he started calming down.

Micaela cleared her throat. "My apologies for interrupting you, but since we're on the matter of reigning, I wanted to talk about the current situation with Mariel and the angels."

The ambiance became more solemn as everyone focused their attention toward Micaela.

"I'll be blunt. She's losing it. Even if she's an archangel and showed adept leading skills, she feels she's overwhelmed by her fellows' demands, which is entirely true: the older and more powerful angels are still looking for the guidance of Ilias. Even if she was a genocidal maniac in the end, her sudden disappearance has left them at a loss for guidance, which Mariel was forcibly asked to provide. Even if she received a lot of help from Tamamo, myself, the San Ilia King and even Chrome, she simply can't provide the one some of her fellows want. And as I said, it isn't because she's lacking in leading skills…"

Everybody was hanging onto every words coming from Micaela's mouth.

"…It is because she still remains far from being Ilias. For everyone else, it's a good thing, but for the more classical angels, she's a youngling upstart criminal who's too soft. Proving flexible during that crisis with the Ancestors was seen as weakness by some of her peers."

"It's sad, considering that Ilias would have instead likely led them in a pointless war that would have gotten all of them slaughtered."

"You're entirely right, but they still want someone that would have done that. This is why I intend to offer them the closest they'll ever be able to get again to Ilias. Namely me. I should have stepped up earlier to take leadership of angels and…" Micaela looked at Tamamo. "I understand what you felt when you stepped up after Black Alice's reign, even if you remained behind the throne."

"But in your case, most angels still see you as a criminal who left her light."

"And this is why I'm asking for your help again. I need to spin this story to make it look like all of that was part of the goddess' plan. Afterward, I'll lead angels for a time as they would expect Ilias to, which means as totalitarian as it can be, and only then we'll be able to properly gradually change their mindset."

"So you intend to lie to everyone and act as a tyrant to be able to lead angels?"

Micaela nodded, clearly uncomfortable with the idea herself.

"I know it's… More than ethically questionable. But I heard about their assault on Ilias Village. Saja stepped in back then and they teleported away, but she could have very well slaughtered them all to the last. My point is that if nobody steps in, those dogmatic idiots will get themselves killed. I'll take the more extreme ones under my wing. Mariel can deal with the more reasonable ones. And Minagi will be free to deal with those that want her service."

After a few minutes of silence, Alice finally spoke out.

"I wouldn't even consider doing that with monsters… But angels look like another breed entirely."

"Exactly. And I need your support. I plan to have them create their Haven city they want so much in the Navel of the World, and make sure that they actually feel safe here. I'll have to put draconian rules in place first, and, most of all, until every single one of them is comfortable with the idea, I need to keep monsters at bay."

"And Minagi certainly will try to get in there. Just so you know, we didn't tell you yet, but she did capture several angels and isolated them in a pocket dimension of her own." Tamamo's expression contorted in a rage-filled frown. "It's safe to assume that she had used them for the power tattoos, which is why she wanted to keep that a secret. And she manipulated me like a fiddle to make sure that I wouldn't notice."

"She needs to be punished. Sorry Tamamo, she might be one of your beloved sister, but I won't let anyone who's doing so many effort to ignore and disregard my word for their own pleasure go free. Alma was already too close to cross that line. Minagi has simply gone too far."

"I agree. I completely and fully agree. However I want to make sure she knows that she's cornered and alone. Our first time dealing with her went absolutely nowhere because she managed to abuse every single law put into place to reach her goal. I used to be like that, and I promised myself that this world shall never live anything like my old self ever again. The main issue is that… I hate to say this, but the only one who really managed to make her obey any order was the Dark Goddess herself."

Alice gasped. "I refuse that Luka fights the Dark Goddess. I'll try to see if I can bring her to reason myself. I will try appealing to her, even if I doubt she will care much."

"I… have a good new and a bad new about that. The good news is that I've seen her again recently, and she seemed slightly more concerned with the state of the world and the damage her daughters did. The bad news is that I told her off, since she suddenly decided to grow a conscience as I was in the middle of my plan, and I hoped that she would understand I didn't appreciate being treated differently from my sisters only when it served her."

"…Wow, that was harsh."

"However, she did project herself directly into the throne room in Remina, and she was free to assist to what happened afterwards. But she didn't show up at all since then so… I would check on her myself, but I'm afraid that she would tear my head off after I tricked her. I considered sending Saja since she was even closer to her, but I'd prefer keeping her in the dark to make sure that she wouldn't accidentally blab our plan to Minagi out of a misplaced sense of honor."

"I'll go check on her myself then. I kept hearing that she wanted me to live no matter what. She shouldn't attack me."

Alice's announcement shocked everyone.

"That's… Bold of you. I guess I can't oppose myself to that idea, but what if a monster attacks you?"

Alice smiled. "I will have my cute little hero to accompany me."

"And what if she snapped?"

Her expression became more serious. "Then we would send down another goddess to hell." She calmed herself. "Sorry Tamamo, that was in poor form."

"Let's forget about that and move on. If everybody agrees you'll go see her tomorrow, it's almost dinner time, and while I can explain my absence with my work, they'll be suspicious if you're not there either. Officially, we discussed what we should do with Kanon. Enjoy this night. This has been a long day."

"Right… Take some rest too. We all need to have our mind clear to take care of your dear sister. Good evening and good night."

"Good night Tamamo. Good night auntie."

After Alice and Luka left, Micaela grunted in a mix of pain and exhaustion as she almost collapsed on the table in front of her.

"Are you sure that the Dark Goddess hasn't snapped after your payback? I don't doubt what you said, but I really, really hope that we just didn't agree to send Luka and Alice to their death."

"I'm sure. It might be a little optimistic from me, but after Saja swore loyalty to her I'm sure that the Dark Goddess wouldn't harm her daughter and her main source of happiness in this world."

"If you say so… Since everybody is apologizing today, I should offer you my own."

"Mmh? I don't know why you'd have to apologize for anything. If you're talking about our past fights, it's been water under the bridge for a long time."

"I wanted to talk instead about our conversation a few months ago in Enrika when I… Pretty much challenged your relation to the Dark Goddess and the question of the legacy you would leave behind. You remembered that one?"

"What of it?"

"You saved my life when I was about to die just earlier today and are keeping my presence hidden from your sisters for starter."

"No offense, but I don't see how it is relevant right now."

"Because I told you that I felt that I was ready to die back then and because I was happy with the legacy I would leave behind me… Then the last two weeks happened and I realized that the reason I was is because I always made the effort to hide myself and avoid every responsibility I owed this world."

"What are you talking about? You welcomed and protected monsters in your haven in Enrika, you stepped in to save Ilias Village during the invasion, you even did help us in our final fight against Ilias! It's more than what most people could accomplish in a lifetime!"

"That doesn't compensate for the fact that I kept turning a blind eye to what Ilias did for millennia while still following her orders before deciding that the single most rational decision I could take after she slaughtered Remina was keeping to myself. If I had only even passed the message to you or one of your helpers at that time, we could have avoided a whole world of problems. Instead I hid because I was still afraid of her and let everything worsen."

"It's in the past! I mean, we both did things that we're not proud of!"

"Yes. She's even dead. Except now there are a whole lot of angels out there who would gladly wreck this world for daring to rise up to the goddess, and others that are too lost to do anything. We agreed that their survival depends on me and you could have just let me die and let the remainder die off… Instead, you looked for and found, -although it's apparently Minagi, but we already talked about that- a way to make sure that angels get to keep what they want with as little inconveniences as possible, and you are fine with letting me guide the race again to something like its former glory!" Micaela shook her head. "Just… Why?"

"For the same reason you decided to step up. I think that if we want this world to improve we should drop the old enmities and work forward. I'm not talking about simply co-existing. I'm talking about working together."

Micaela stared at Tamamo for a long moment before eventually looking down in shame. "Sorry. I don't even know why I doubt you. You always acted in everyone's interest during this crisis."

Tamamo smirked. "Mmh… I'd rather say I was following my own reasons and everything happened to fit along nicely. I would still have enjoyed your cute little nephew for myself for a few days if he had lost against me."

Micaela chuckled. "You didn't change that much in the end. But you did for the better though."

A knock echoed at the door, and while Micaela jumped up in a fighting position, startled, Tamamo slowly got up, unconcerned.

"Don't worry. It's Yao bringing us our meal. I hope you like Yamatai food."

"I can't say that I've tried."

And indeed, the door opened to reveal the large orange kitsune who gave a large platter of different oriental plates like tofu, fried noodles and takoyakis before leaving like a shadow.

The duo started eating in silence, Micaela carefully tasting the different items at first before fully enjoying the meal, indifferent to the fact that Tamamo was not-so-unsubtly observing the seraph as she ate. As the kitsune started eating her food methodically, what should have been a relaxed meal became a study for the kitsune.

"Micaela?"

"Mmh?" The seraph had her cheeks filled with a dumpling and stopped as soon as Tamamo addressed her.

"I think I should tell you something that will forever change the face of the world as well as your perspective of it. But before I tell you that, I want to make sure that you're ready to hear it."

The seraph swallowed her bite. "Whatever it is, I'm ready."

Tamamo dramatically cleared her throat. She then looked at Micaela straight in the eyes as she made her declaration.

"You are allowed to be selfish."

Micaela barely raised an eyebrow after what the kitsune announced what she sold as a world-wrecking truth but instead sounded like barely more than the philosophy a tavern drunkard would offer.

"Where does that one even come from?"

"From our discussion… And from the fact that I observed you during our meal. You told me that you never tasted Yamatai food, and anyone would have at least tried one of each item available. Instead you didn't eat a single block of tofu which I can attribute to the fact that you know that it is my favorite food and that you didn't want to inconvenience me."

"Have you considered that I could have thought that it looked unappetizing?"

"And I consider that is a lie to save face. You also always took the dumplings that were looking slightly off because you didn't want to offend me, you also only took the food that was in your part even if the plate wasn't symmetrical, you took less tea from the pot and only served yourself after me."

"Tamamo? With all my respect, I simply want to be polite and a gracious guest. You're reading into details that don't mean anything."

Tamamo smiled. "You're entirely right. All those little details don't mean anything, and all this talking was to distract you as you're exhausted and to force you to unconsciously show what you really want."

"What is it?"

The kitsune answered with a giggle. It's only then that Micaela noticed that she was petting Tamamo's tails. She reluctantly removed her hand.

"When was the last time you made a personal request? That you asked for something that benefitted you, and only you, and more particularly for recreation."

Micaela sighed. "You know the answer. I never did. Everything I did, I did it for the goddess and for the other angels to further her own plan, nothing else… Even in Enrika afterward, I only thought about improving the community. I only have that stuffed toy because you offered me... And yes, I like it."

"Awwww, how cute! But more seriously, you should consider enjoying some measure of leisure or you will end up snapping like Mariel."

"I wish I could. Even the old hag used to, but everybody worshipped her naturally while I will have to fight tooth and nail to get respected. I won't be able to afford the same relaxation as Ilias did."

"You're right. You will be able to afford me."

Micaela stared at Tamamo, horrified.

"That… sounded better in my mind. But you know what I mean. I can help you by disguising you or someone as yourself, erase lingering traces of monster presence around you, and my babies can offer you some measure of comfort as well." She showed off her tails with her hand.

"Thank you, I will definitively need it." Micaela stood up and sat by Tamamo's side. The kitsune's tails gently wrapped behind the seraph's back, and the latter shivered slightly at their contact before relaxing.

"Oooh, that feels even better than I remembered…"

Tamamo giggled. "I'm glad that you appreciate it."

"Yes… Let's not forget about those dogmatic nostalgic angels though. I need to find the best approach to make sure all of them submit to me as the new figure of Ilias… Do you have any advice?"

"Well, a good show of force always works at first…"

"It didn't do wonder for them, or they would have followed Luka. However, if I give them the same love Ilias did, I think I can sway them afterward."

"Except that you are not Ilias. You are Micaela. You won't be able to give them Ilias back."

"You're right. I need to adapt my leadership style, but I can't end up as a copy of her."

"On that matter, how much do you trust Mariel?"

"Enough to keep any secret."

"Good, in that case you will have a confident. For the others, I think what you can do is…"

Eventually, the two ancient enemies spent the whole night working together on their design.

"Mmmh… Tamamo's right, I wonder if Kanon can make some edible fruits? And I wonder what they would taste like."

Luka shivered. "I think she'll be more interested in turning people into fertilizer than making some food herself."

"You're right… I'd hope that Saja would pull something out of her, but I'm not making myself any illusion. She might just remain imprisoned for a long time. It's a shame, but if the first thing she does when we let her out is trying to munch on someone, I won't forgive myself."

The duo reached the dining room and was instantly greeted by an enthusiastic Saja who bowed.

"Monster Lord. Hero. I wish to report."

"Speak."

"Kanon expressed her wish to conform to your laws and behave herself in exchange for her freedom."

Alice and Luka looked at each other in surprise. That was quite a coincidence.

"Do you think that she will follow through? I do not want another disaster like Grangold. I do not want to hear about humans disappearing."

"I will personally keep an eye on her shall you ask."

"In that case… I will see her myself and might consider giving her a second chance. Have her ready in the throne room for tomorrow afternoon."

"Your wish will be done."

Saja teleported away in a heartbeat, leaving behind a still stumped royal couple.

"I don't think I will ever get used to order someone more powerful than me around, and yet… Nevermind, I will just ask for more lessons from Tamamo. Maybe I can even ask Saja and Hiruko themselves as well…" She shivered reflexively. "Okay, maybe not Hiruko."

Luka shrugged, and when they arrived at the dining room, the table was decently covered with different plates, but not as much as usual, which didn't escape Alice.

"What's happening? The last time there was so little, it was because of a risk of food shortage."

A scylla maid showed up and bowed. "We're having difficulties covering the demands of the four additional Ancestors currently residing in the castle."

"They're not that demanding, are they?"

"They do eat as much as most of the servants of the castle combined."

Alice looked at the table. She would be able to eat correctly this evening, but if this indeed kept up… An identical incident during her teenage years had happened and her hands started shaking in fear as she remembered going to bed with only an half-filled stomach.

"Remind me to absolutely have Kanon grow enough food around the castle. This won't be negotiable."

Luka and Alice ate almost alone, as none of the Ancestor ended showing up: Kanon was still imprisoned, Saja was likely already working to unseal her, Hiruko was still working on the castle's few chimeras to perfect her craft, Kanade was so focused on cleaning the region around that servants directly brought her food, and Minagi was supposedly sulking in her room -although now, Luka and Alice both knew that she was more than likely violating the angels she captured in her sanctum.-

Even then, they found the tranquility convenient, as everyone's absence would reduce the risk of accidentally revealing the truth to one of them.

After an uneventful evening, both of them were relaxing in bed before sleeping. While Alice was reading a novel, the hero started getting nervous in anticipation.

"Do you think she is as tough as Ilias was in her transformed form?"

"If what I felt in her presence was any indication, yes." She smirked devilishly. "So you're going to be disappointed, because we won't fight her."

"I know… But what if we have to?"

"We won't. I'm her descendant. Everything she did was to make sure her bloodline would live and thrive. And don't even think about giving her a good reason."

"Unfortunately, I don't need to give a good reason to monsters to attack me…" Luka looked down in shame.

"Yes." Alice closed her book and put it aside before turning toward Luka, caressing his chest with one of her hands. "You are a cute little, extremely tasty morsel asking to be gobbled."

"And each time, I have to fight and resist. I always held and turned monsters away, no matter what happened. You'd think they'd learn after a while…"

"Except doing this only makes you more desirable in the end. All this fighting spirit and your skills are so many factors that make you the perfect catch."

"I'm afraid she won't see me differently in that regard. I mean, the Ancestors didn't."

"Mmmh… I guess you make for a good point." Alice raised a finger to her mouth, then smiled devilishly. The next instant, her tail split open into sucker-covered tentacles that grabbed a surprised Luka.

"Gah! Alice! What are you doing?"

"I guess I have to suck your fighting spirit out of you if we want this meeting to go smoothly. Consider it a punishment for scaring me so often those last weeks."