The tall and wiry girl stood next to the light switch, brown eyes glaring at Fujiko.

"The hell are you doing down here this late at night, Fujiko?" she huffed. "You better head back to bed before Ms. Tanegawa finds out you're breaking curfew."

Fujiko scowled. "Don't act like you're the superior one when you're doing that yourself, Aiko."

Aiko grinned, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Don't be ridiculous, I was just investigating a strange noise I heard coming down the stairs. And from the looks of it, someone's been getting up to some late-night activities all by herself."

"I just got hungry, I didn't eat enough of dinner earlier."

Aiko raised a brow. "Oh really? Then why are you standing next to the knife holder? The pantry's over there."

Fujiko followed Aiko's finger: the pantry, indeed, was the opposite of Fujiko's position.

"Guess you caught me in the middle of the act," she lied again, hoping Aiko would buy it.

"I'd believe that. But Ms. Tanegawa's been complaining of dull knives lately and it's weird because she always sharpens them. You know how she is with those things. But, every morning, it seems like no matter what she did yesterday, the blade comes out dull, as if someone had been using it really intensely. And now I find you next to the knife holder even though you said you were just going to raid the pantry."

Fujiko shrugged. "Dude, don't read into it too much, you just caught me as I was heading to the pantry."

"Uh, except I was following you downstairs when I heard someone trying their hardest to remain quiet. I saw someone standing over the knife holder and putting something inside it, so I thought it was weird and I turned on the lights to see who it was. Surprise, surprise, you're the one who was standing over the knife holder! Don't lie to me Fujiko, I know you're the one who's been taking those knives."

Aiko's grew even wider as she chuckled to herself, shaking her head at Fujiko.

Fujiko froze as her heart raced. Oh shit, she's been had. Now what? Think, think! She can't find out the real reason why she's been taking the knife! Otherwise, that bastard's going to tell everyone!

"T-Tell you what," Fujiko stuttered as she forced herself to look into Aiko's eyes. "If you keep this between us, I'll, um, I'll do one thing of whatever you want for the month. Like, chores, homework, shopping, I don't know, whatever you want. Just as long as you don't go blabbing this to anyone else—and especially Ms. Tanegawa."

Aiko smirked. "Anything I want, huh?"

"Within reason, of course."

"Of course, I'm not gonna make you do weird shit. I'm not that kind of girl," Aiko huffed.

Fujiko nodded. "Good. Do we have a deal?"

"I haven't even told you what I wanted you to do for me yet, Fujiko," Aiko chuckled. "You'll do all my homework and assignments for me for this month. Do we have a deal?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess."

Aiko sneered. "Aw, don't feel too bad Fujiko, you're just doing all of my homework for me for the month. Surely you can do my geometry and chemistry homework well, no problem, right?"

Fujiko couldn't even look at her now. "R-Right."

Aiko's sneer turned into a smile. "There we go! Now friend, let's go back upstairs before Ms. Tanegawa catches the both of us breaking curfew. Then we'll never hear the end of it."

Fujiko, turning off the kitchen lights last, followed Aiko back upstairs and returned to her cluttered bedroom. Then she threw herself onto its plush covers and stared into the ceiling.

Frustration coursed through her clenching hand and scowling face. Damn it, damn it, damn it, she let Aiko get the best of her! At least she doesn't know why she's taking the knife, but no one else needed to know that—least of all that asshole! This is bad, this is very bad, Aiko now knew that Fujiko was the one who was behind the dull knife! If she tells Ms. Tanegawa about this…

Fujiko knew Aiko hated her guts as much as she hated hers. Out of everyone in the group home, both of them had it out for each other: Fujiko because she hates the way she talks to and treats her peers, Aiko because she hates Fujiko for getting in the way. If Fujiko was calculating this right, it was only a matter of time before either of them goes back on her word. After all, Aiko would love nothing more than to see Fujiko having to squirm and shrink away—especially if Ms. Tanegawa was the cause of that.

Still, Aiko may be a bitch, but she keeps her word—Fujiko had seen her kept to her promises to the people she extorts at school. So as long as you remained on her good side, she won't go out of her way to make your life a living hell. But Aiko's no fool: she definitely suspects Fujiko was doing something dangerous with the kitchen knife and she wasn't wrong—just not in the way she thinks. She's no goody-two-shoes, but as long as Fujiko keeps her end of the bargain and plays nice with Aiko then she won't renege the agreement.

Maybe.

The ceiling grew more distinct in the darkness of her bedroom. It was quiet and still, with only the moonlight that peeked between the bedroom blinds providing company.

Fujiko checked her phone, the soft glow of the black screensaver, which contrasted with the white digital clock, glinting off of her silver eyes. 12:16 AM. She turned the screen off, put it on her dresser, and threw on her covers.

Just keep your word for now.


The Thirteen Crowns' Dinner was currently taken up by a screaming match between two of the Crowns, both offended over the other's apparent disrespect and arrogance.

"You younger demons need to learn some respect!" Four Corners Lord Amaymon growled, glowing with rage. "Back in my day, we beat the disrespect out of you brats!"

Thunder Lord Baal rolled his eyes. "Old-timer, that's still a thing today! The difference is that anyone, old and young, will get their ass beat!"

"Order! Order!" Lord Belzebuth yelled at them both. "Honestly, if you two focus your energies on fighting each other as much as on your realms, then the Netherworld would be in less of a problematic state!"

Amaymon scowled. "Apologies, Belzebuth. I just can't stand upstarts who think they know everything there is to know about the world."

"And I can't stand demons who think whatever crap they're thinking up is something worth saying," Baal scoffed as he returned to his seat. "If you ask me, I'm more of a take action type of demon."

"You will do well to learn how to speak to your betters, Thunder Lord." Amaymon sat back in his seat and resumed eating his dinner. "Be glad that not only the Old Days are far behind us, but we are also meeting among colleagues."

Demon Border Control Director Henri Azazel had been scrolling on his hellphone the entire time when he looked up and glanced around. "Hmm, it seems like we still don't have everyone here yet.

"You're right," Amaymon said. "Seems that we're missing the Supreme Commander today. Belzebuth, is she going to attend the dinner? She never misses any of the Crown meetings."

Belzebuth frowned. "I know not why she's absent either—she is somewhat late, which isn't typical of her."

All-Seer Astaroh, who had remained quiet amidst the commotion, nodded. "Yes, she's always on time. Perhaps something happened?"

Fairy Lord Paimon shrugged. "She's prolly doin' one of them 'exercise' things she likes to have her generals doin'."

"Nonsense," Amaymon huffed. "If she were conducting one of her army exercises today, she would've long let us know of it. Belzebuth, she didn't schedule for one, did she?"

Belzebuth shrugged. "If she did, she had yet to inform me."

"Maybe something happened," Glutton Lord Behemolt said between bites of his huge braise. "I say, she's missing out on this wonderful dinner the Babel staff prepared for us this morning!"

Amaymon glared at the Glutton Lord. "You always think about food and food only, don't you Behemolt?"

"Food is one of the greatest pleasures in life, Lord Amaymon!" Behemolt laughed. "A good meal is not only good for the body, it's nourishing for the soul!"

Then the doors slammed open and the clanks of brimsteel plate and mail filled the ornate hall.

Freya bent down as she panted, her retinue flanking behind her with their halberds high. God, she flew all the way up here to this damn floor through the stairs, couldn't take the elevator since it would have been too slow. "S-Sorry I'm late everyone, got attacked by pirates. Did I miss anything important?"

"Morning Freya," Henri said with a smile. "No, nothing much. Just the usual spat between you-know-whos."

"I heard that!" Amaymon growled.

Belzebuth also smiled. "We're glad you could make it, Supreme Commander. You had us worried there for a second."

Freya sighed in relief. Alright, good, she didn't miss anything that important. Just Lord Baal and Lord Amaymon at it again, as usual. She grinned as she took a seat. "Ah, my bad. Well, all that matters is that I'm here. Damn, I need to eat!"

"Oh, it's still the early afternoon, Supreme Commander Skalid!" Behemolt laughed. "The Babel staff outdid themselves for this Crowns' Dinner!"

"Ooh, even better." Freya stuffed a bib around her neck as the Babel staff fetched her dinner. "You know, this is kinda early for dinner honestly. Couldn't we call this a lunch or something?"

Belzebuth shrugged. "I was trying to change up the scheduling from the usual evenings. I think having it start around just before noon would've been better for everyone involved."

"So, Supreme Commander, you said pirates were the reason why you're late?" Lord Amaymon chuckled. "By the Devil, you must be losing your skills already if you let a bunch of low-lives delay you like that. Surely the rumors about the Skalid Clan losing their prowess aren't true now, are they?"

"Ha ha, good one old-timer," Baal laughed as he scrolled on his hellphone. "The pirates of today aren't a joke compared to the last two centuries. Ain't that right, Director Azazel?"

Henri frowned at Baal. "No, they're not. Pirates and bandits are getting more and more organized these days, and they're starting to resemble more like crime syndicates more than anything now. Freya's been generous enough to lend us some naval support for the more troublesome groups when we need it."

"Of course, anytime," Freya said, cracking a grin at Henri before she scoffed at Amaymon. "Oh Devil, those rumors are bullshit Lord Amaymon, you shouldn't listen to them. The Netherworld would be in a lot worse state if that were true."

Paimon nodded. "Freya has a point there, now." She turned to her. "Besides, why would pirates be attackin' ya' outta the blue like that, anyway? Even them dirty scoundrels ought'a know that tryin' against a Crown—and you of all people—would be certain death."

Freya shrugged as the Babel staff returned with a stew dish. "Beats me, but this isn't the first time a pirate band dared to attack a Throne Navy ship. There's been more of that going on these days, but thankfully to date, there hasn't been a successful pirate victory. At least they seem smart enough to realize that even twenty sloops against a Throne Navy destroyer isn't going to go well for them.

"So anyway," Freya said as she glanced around with wide eyes. "Looks like everyone besides Glasya made it this time! Amaryllis, do you really only come when it's a dinner party?"

"Of course, Freya!" Amaryllis giggled. "I love dinner parties! Now if only I could bring over dear Alice to mingle, then this would be even more fun!"

"This isn't some feast or bachelor party, Lord Asmodeus!" Amaymon growled. "At least pretend to take it seriously for a lord of your stature!"

Amaryllis pouted. "Don't be so rude, Lord Amaymon! How else can we sit through these dry and boring policy meetings?"

"Ugh, if this wasn't a meeting between colleagues…!"

"Oh, how dare you raise a hand against me, Amaryllis Asmodeus!"

Astaroh sighed. "Now now, let us not argue again. We need to begin the meeting."

"Thank you, Lord Astaroh," Belzebuth said with a bow. "Now, since all of us who can be present have gathered here today, let us begin by first discussing the most pressing issues facing the Netherworld today. Those who wish to speak may rise; I, of course, will be the moderator, as usual."

Amaymon rose up. "Let us discuss the uprisings in the far east, Lord Belzebuth."

"Oh yes, the uprisings, that would be the most pressing of our concerns. How goes the military operations there?"

"Well, Supreme Commander Skalid had sent over an expeditionary force to reinforce my troops," Lord Amaymon said. "Which is much appreciated: my own retinue and their forces, as skilled as they are, are having a difficult time dealing with the rebels even though we've destroyed their main army—and not only that we've heard rumors that they're supporting the Six Fingers."

Paimon raised a brow. "The Six Fingers? You mean them strange terrorists that everyone seems to have heard of but can never really find any definite proof of? If ya' ask me, they seem to be just some boogeydemons that the rebels conjured up to scare us."

Freya shook her head. "No Lord Paimon, the Six Fingers are most assuredly real. Our intelligence in the far east confirms their existence—they have safehouses and hidden supply depots built specifically for them—but that's all we have on them, I'm afraid: they are an extremely elusive bunch, even for our spies and informants."

Amaymon huffed. "Even if they are real, I have yet to see them make any move in the past ten years. I will not be intimidated by mere rumors."

"I wouldn't underestimate the threat," Freya said. "Just watch yourself out there in the far east."

Belzebuth hummed. "I see. If the rebels are supporting the Six Fingers, then that would mean their existence is all but confirmed. We ought to take this threat seriously as the Supreme Commander said."

"You hear that, old-timer?" Baal chuckled. "The Six Fingers are a threat. And here I thought you were taking the threat seriously."

Amaymon growled. "Watch what you say, Thunder Lord."

"Now now, let's get back to the topic," Belzebuth sighed. "Lord Amaymon, do you find Supreme Commander Skalid's expeditionary force sufficient for against the rebels and their Primordial movement?"

Amaymon grinned. "More than sufficient, actually: the whole of the 2nd Fleet, 1st Army, and 3rd Air Wing occupying the far east? We have far more than enough firepower to destroy those rebel holdouts!"

"Do not forget about your people caught in the uprisings, Lord Amaymon," Freya said, narrowing her gaze at him. "These operations require a delicate hand to minimize civilian casualties; indiscriminately bombing towns and villages suspected of sheltering rebels would not eliminate the Primordial movement and, on the contrary, prove its false premises and arguments."

"As long as those rebels and their damned Primordial ideology is wiped off the face of this earth, I care not for the means," Amaymon growled. "The chaos they brought to the far east—and in defiance of the Demon King and His Throne, no less—cannot be tolerated! This movement must not spread beyond the far east, we must contain it there! Otherwise, the stability and order of the Netherworld that our King had worked to create and uphold for so long will be at risk!"

"I think the Netherworld's order and stability's already kinda teeterin' when the Demon King disappeared, Lord Amaymon," Paimon said, shaking her head. "As much as the state apparatus is strong, it's kinda hard to manage an entire state when we's got no King or central figure of sort."

Astaroh nodded. "I agree. Perhaps it is the time to elect one of the Greats as the new Demon King."

Belzebuth also nodded. "That may be so. I will have to consult the Greats to see if they agree. Next we meet, if they are in agreement, we shall hold an election to determine who of the Three Great Demons will become King."

Freya nodded herself. Without a central authority figure spearheading the government, as it currently stands it will struggle to function. The Three Greats were effectively regents ruling in the absence of the Demon King—no one knows where King Delkira went when he disappeared over a thousand years ago—and it's a wonder that the Throne and the state had been functioning this well for this long. But with the rebel uprisings in the far east, as well as the rise of organized crime, this may be the time for the election of a new Demon King to return order and stability to the Netherworld.

"Now that we have the matter settled for the time being," Belzebuth said, looking around. "What shall we discuss next?"

Freya rose up. "Let us discuss the rise of piracy and organized crime groups in the Netherworld."

"Ah yes, another important matter, one that particularly affected you, Supreme Commander."

"Yes. To cut it short, I'm tired of these pirates. For the past several years, they've become increasingly daring in raiding local shipping, even on well-protected trade routes. We've had to spread our fleets thin and construct new warships to keep with the demand, and honestly, some of the more daring pirate bands attack Throne Navy ships and even ports. What has gotten into these pirates lately?"

Baal grinned. "Perhaps they believe all the rumors that the Skalid Clan had grown soft in the last thousand years. Not that I believe them, mind you, but the Armed Forces of the Throne hadn't been the same since King Delkira's disappearance."

Freya shook her head. "No, but we've adapted and restructured His military in the past century. We are far more of an effective fighting force than we were in the last 900 years combined. That is an impressive feat and one of the Skalid Clan's greatest achievements."

"I suppose the Skalid way of fighting is somewhat different from how warfare was conducted then and even now to a degree," Astaroh said. "They do not fight like the demons of old."

"No, and it's better that way, Lord Astaroh." Freya crossed her arms. "Improving our ways of war was necessary in ensuring the stability and order of the Demon King's realm and His government."

Behemolt was already downing his seventh meal. "It's just a shame that we've lost a brilliant mind that is your brother in the last hundred years, Supreme Commander. He was truly a genius in the field of military science."

Freya nodded, though she frowned. Einar the Exiled he was known as, and the crime he committed was crossing over to the human world multiple times for reasons he told no one. He had been the architect behind the restructure and rewriting of the Demon King's military and its doctrines in the last hundred years and it had been his greatest achievement, but his foolishness in entering the human world was what cost him his honor—and his life.

An honor that should not have been stripped by the Elders, knowing what she knew now.

"Yes, he is," Freya muttered.

"Was he not one of those who disappeared during the Ronove's Pride incident?" Behemolt said. "I must say, it's tragic the way the prison ship crashed when it went down near the mountains."

Freya shook her head; just stop talking already. "We're getting off-topic. Lord Belzebuth, do we have any information on why piracy has been on the rise despite the efforts of the Throne Navy? My intelligence services have been focused on the action in the far east, so they haven't exactly focused too much on the pirates and criminal syndicates that are running around now."

Belzebuth sighed. "Most likely because they know the Demon King is gone. Even if His Armed Forces of the Throne are more formidable than they have been in all their centuries of existence, they are willing to flaunt His rule of law if He is not around to enforce it. That is most likely why, though it doesn't help that the chaos caused by the uprising in the far east is attracting illegal trading and contraband as well as emboldening pirate bands and criminal syndicates to move into areas where government control is contested."

Freya nodded. Guess she'll have to make sure her forces cut the uprising off at its source to starve the pirates and syndicates. "Well, I guess we'll just have to step up air and naval patrols all over the Netherworld, and especially in the far east. At least until I can get some of our agents to infiltrate the big syndicates and pirate bands."

Belzebuth and the others nodded. "Agreed."

Freya grinned. Well, at least this was going to be a productive dinner this time around.