The Monado.

The sword of the Bionis.

The third Aegis.

But...

Wait, how the hell did they get the sparking thing?!

(Queen's room, Keves Castle)

Nighttime.

When people finally return home, and spend the alone-time they longed for during the daytime.

And it wasn't an exception for the great Queen of Keves, Melia Antiqua.

In her modest room at the top of the Keves Castle, she was in her casual clothes, not the heavy, stuffy clothes of the Queen. Finally freed from the long dress and the suffocating corset, she sat on a chair, getting the relaxation she desperately wanted.

However, she wasn't just mindlessly resting.

In front of her, there was a frame with a picture in it. But it wasn't the one she focused on. If she pressed a button she hid well somewhere in her cabinet, the picture would slide down, revealing a certain object.

It was a sword. A bulky, red, mechanical sword with a big hole near its handle.

Its name was the Monado R: EX. As known as the sword he used. It was her little hobby to gaze at the sword in the night, with a young smile on her face. This night wasn't an exception to that. Sipping some evening tea, she crossed her legs on the small chair, gazing at the red sword. Whenever she did that, a certain warm sensation emerged from her heart, engulfing her entire body. She felt like home. And the calm atmosphere helped her experience, too. Quiet, private, comfortable, with no one to disturb her. It was a moment she could be herself.

But today was different.

Since… A certain group of visitors was coming.

Without informing her.

Rude, isn't it?

But they were the gang who didn't care. It was the gang that refused the law of the world.

The Ouroboros.

The silence Melia was enjoying…

Soon broke by a familiar girl's voice.

"Meliaa! We're here!" Eunie, the girl with wings, also the No.1 Melia fan of the party, walked inside the room, chirping with a cheerful tone.

"…?" Melia almost choked on her tea at the sudden visit.

"Eunie… Don't go busting in like that…" A calm voice came from behind. It was Noah, one of the brains of the party.

"Hehe… Sorry…" Eunie giggled, scratching her wings. The rest of the party slowly followed Eunie into the room.

But Melia wasn't prepared for this sudden visit.

She wasn't in her official outfit, and most importantly…

The secret, the Monado. The sword was still on full display, and it was too late to press the button.

Oh well, time for her spontaneity to shine.

"Oh? Uh… Hello…? What makes you come here?" Melia said with a fixed smile.

"Oh, yeah, that? We…happened to go past the castle, and…we were just curious of what were you doing." Eunie said, like it was nothing.

"O…oh… I see…? Then it seems like this is not your primary destination?" Melia asked, her hand slightly trembling.

"Yeah, we were actually trying to visit Colony 11 to see Ashera. Do you know her?" Said Eunie.

"Hmm… Yes, I certainly know her. She's the one with the iconic personality, isn't it?"

"Yeah, iconic… Hmm… Yeah, that could be the word."

"Mmhm, okay, then… How did you come here? It would have been pretty hard to reach here, you know."

"Oh, that? Heh, skip travel." Eunie snorted.

"…I see…" Melia said, with her mouth slightly agape.

'Skip travel… Skip travel!? Why didn't I think of that!?' Melia internally screamed, remembering the time when she was the one that used the ultimate power.

"By the way… What's that thing on the wall? Is that… A sword…?" Asked Eunie. In this moment, Eunie was the one who led the conversation between the Ouroboros and the Queen.

"Oh, this…? No! No! That's nothing…! Uh… you don't have to…" Melia said, shaking her hands.

But little did she know.

That she was holding a teacup in her hands.

"Ack!" Melia screamed, as the hot tea spilled on her dress.

"Whoa! You okay?" Eunie exclaimed, running to Melia. The party followed her, so the distance between the party and her decreased.

"I'm… Okay… The tea wasn't that hot, so…"

"Well, that's a relief, but it's not a relief for your pretty dress," Eunie shrugged. Melia let out a slight chuckle. But her face soon turned pale as she saw the party's eyes being fixed on the red sword.

'Oh no…. Dammit, why didn't I…'

"Hey! That looks like Noah's sword!" Sena's high voice entered Melia's ears, making her mind blast.

"Yo, that's cool, man! I've never seen a blade like that!" Lanz said in awe.

"It is indeed fascinating… And it doesn't have a flame clock…" Taion said, analyzing the weapon.

"Yeah, I wonder how it works…?" Said Noah.

'Noah…? Come on, you can't betray me like that…?' Melia's eyes trembled.

"Well… Melia? Care to explain?" Eunie asked.

'Oh my god… Kids these days are so scary… Hah… Okay, guess I'll do it like this…' Melia sighed, and made up her mind. There was a way to handle kids, a traditional way, to be exact. Giving them some treats, and returning them home.

Melia internally sighed, but went into action.

"Oh… About that sword…? There's a… long story behind that sword." Melia started to talk, with her brain constantly working to think of strategies to satisfy the curious kids.

"Ooh…" The kids' eyes started to sparkle with interest. She originally found that cute, but this time, she felt a bit pushed.

"To make a long story short… That sword belongs to a certain man. A man… I adore the most."

"Oooh…!" The kids' reactions got even bigger. Like a group of students in a lecture.

"Question! Question!" Sena raised her hand.

'What am I, a nursery teacher…?'

"Uh…yes…?"

"Who is that person?" Sena chirped, her eyes glowing with gall.

'And how should I even explain this….?'

"Oh…yeah… Uh…I can't really explain that here, since the story is very complicated and long. But there is one thing that I can tell you. That person is not here at the moment."

"Oh…." Sena's head dropped.

"Uh…me! I have a question too!" Eunie's hand rose.

'Okay…okay… Calm down, Melia. They are probably more than a thousand years younger than me…'

"What is it, Eunie?" Melia said, with a soothing smile.

"Did you… Love that person…?"

'Oh my god…' Melia wanted to hide somewhere as she felt her heart break.

"Uh…ah…eh… It's…also pretty complicated. Since you've learned the term 'love' pretty recently, so… It could be hard for you to understand. But if I say it with one word… Hah…yeah, I did." Melia said, her face scarlet red. And her face even got even redder as she saw the party's eyes fixed on her face. Their fascination was just overwhelming.

'Someone…please…save me…?'

"Guys, calm down. It's rude to delve into someone's love story like this." Said Mio.

'Miooo! Oh my god, Mio…! My sweet Mio… Thank you…'

"But the story seems pretty interesting…" Lanz shrugged.

"Well… I do agree but…"

'Mio!?'

"We don't have to ask it right now. We could do it another time!"

'What!? Why another time!? Why is the talk flowing like I'll tell eventually tell everything!?'

"Mio's right, guys. I think we should stop here." Noah added.

'Finally, Noah's back to his senses… Now, time for the second step.'

"Ah…hahaha… Uh…yeah, yeah! We should talk about that… Later…! Haha… Um…anyway, I can't let you return empty-handed! I have a gift for you!" Melia quickly changed the topic. Hearing the word gift, the kids' eyes started to sparkle again.

'Pffft… They're too easy to control…'

"Ooh, a gift?" Sena said.

"Yes, Uh…wait a minute…" Melia said, turning around to open her cabinet. She started to search around the cabinet for the object she was looking for, and…

She found it.

And her face flustered.

'Wait…is this…a good idea…? Uh… Hah… God… Guess this is the only way…?'

She took a deep breath and eventually took out the small object. The object was a miniature figurine of a man. A man with blonde hair, red clothes, and a red sword. Melia half-regretted this decision.

"Whoa, what's that? A doll?" Eunie said, her eyes focused on the little figurine.

"Well…similar to a doll."

"Did you make that? If you did make that, that's impressive! I've never seen something that detailed before! Even Joran couldn't do that!" Lanz gasped in awe.

"Uh…yeah… I made that in my spare time…" Said Melia. She was now covering her warm cheek with one hand.

"Cool! Wait, he has the red sword in his hand!" Sena said.

"Indeed! So is he the one Queen Melia loved…?" Taion said.

Melia's face was now literally burning.

"So, why are you showing this to us, Melia? Are you going to give us this?" Asked Noah.

"Uh…no. But this plays an important role. Noah, would you activate your iris?"

"My…iris?"

"Yeah, your iris."

"O…kay…?" Noah followed the Queen's orders.

"And, look at this figurine. See a symbol appearing?"

"A…symbol…? Oh yeah! There is! A symbol that looks like 'a'!" Noah said, gasping at the new symbol.

"You can interact with that symbol. Try it, will you?"

Noah nodded, and followed the imperial orders.

And something happened.

In his hands, a red sword appeared. It looked similar to the sword on Melia's wall, but it was truly different. It looked simpler, and the hole was bigger and completely empty, unlike the sword on the wall.

"Whoa! A new blade!" Lanz exclaimed.

"Dang! Cool! Can I do that, too?" Eunie asked.

"Yes, you can. Try it if you want." As soon as Melia's words dropped, the party started to take turns scanning the figurine. After that, the party all had the sword.

"This is so cooool! I love it! How did you do that, Melia?" Sena asked, looking at the sword in excitement.

"Oh, that? Imperial secret, Sena." Melia smiled, putting her fingers in front of her lips.

"So… Is this the gift?" Asked Noah.

"Yes, it is."

"What's the sword's name?"

"Hmmm… It indeed has a name, but you can name it. I heard that you were really good at naming things?"

"Pffft…." Mio held her laugh.

"M…Mio…?"

"Anyway, that's that. Do you like the gift, kids?"

"Yeah!" The party exclaimed. Even Taion did with a small voice.

"Wait, guys, I'm receiving a transmission," Eunie said, with her hand on her temples.

'Finally…?'

"Hey, Eunie, where are you? You were supposed to arrive here ten minutes ago?" Ashera said across the transmission.

"Ooh… Yeah… Sorry, love, we just…happened to visit the Queen, you know."

"The Queen? Damn, why didn't you call me then?"

'If Ashera was here too… No, no, let's don't think of that.'

"It was a spontaneous trip, love. But hey, we got a new weapon as a present!"

"A new weapon!? Then you should come here as soon as possible. Let's see if that weapon can kill m…"

"No, nope, not gonna do that, thank you. But we're gonna be there soon, so don't worry."

"Then you gotta be quick! Man…a new weapon…! Should I call Teach, too?"

"No! You just…stay right there! Don't move an inch!"

"Hehe… Catch me if you can!"

"Dammit, Ashera! Guys, we gotta hurry. Before she does anything crazy." Said Eunie, drawing back her new blade.

"Certainly… I don't want to imagine the aftermath…" Taion sighed.

"Well then, thanks for the gift, Melia! I loved it! Innit, Noah?"

"Yeah, it really feels pretty familiar to my grip." Noah nodded.

"Melia, sorry for interrupting a minute ago." Said Mio.

"No no no, you don't need to apologize. I had a fun time with you people." Melia said, giving a smile.

"Then, Melia, we gotta go now. See you later! Oh, yeah, you have to tell us the story when we meet later!" Eunie said, as she started walking away.

'Do I really have to do that!?' Melia flinched, as she saw the rest of the party exiting the room after Eunie.

And…after a minute…

She was alone.

Letting out a deep sigh, she collapsed on the bed in relief.

'That…was…hah…something….'

(Omake)

After the party left, she relaxed on the bed for like five minutes. She almost drifted into sleep, but she managed to open her eyes.

Because there was something more to do.

"Nnnngh…. Ugh…the dress started to get icky… Guess it's…shower time…?" Melia stretched her limbs, rising from her Queen-sized bed.

She then walked towards the cabinet, took the figurine, and started to gaze at it.

"Heh….." A pure smile appeared on her face.

And later, she started another action.

She stepped on the small chair she sat on, and took the Monado R: EX from the wall.

After that…

A smile appeared on her face.

She then tossed the sword on the bed, and threw herself onto the bed too.

She seemed to have forgotten about her shower.

"Ah…. R: EX….. I missed you so much… Weren't you so lonely while I was gone? Hmm?" Melia said, patting the sword as if it was her baby.

"Sorry about that a minute ago… I should've been more careful… The time between should not get disturbed, doesn't it? Sorry…."

The sword let out a low, mechanic hum.

"Hehe, I get it, I get it. But I have to take a bath now. You can wait for that, don't you?"

The sword stayed silent.

"Or… I could take you with me today! I can get you a nice polish! You must've accumulated some dust during the time I was absent. How does that sound?"

The sword slightly glowed.

"Great. Then, should we get going? By the way, is it okay if some water got on you?"

The sword let out a low hum.

"Great! Hehe! You're my only friend in this lonely world, R: EX…. Let's go to the showers then!"

So like that, Melia stood up from the bed, hugging the sword like she was a little girl with her birthday present. She took some jolly steps to the bathroom.

And…fell down, stepping on the hem of her dress.

"Ow…! You okay…?"

Of course it was sparking okay.

"Sorry, clumsy me… Let's go."

The Queen got up from the floor and started to walk away.

It was one peaceful night of Keves.

It truly was.

Nia has Rex.

Melia has...

R: EX.