Micaela was cruising through the castle with her younger counterpart. She took a look once again at her reincarnated self with a lot of mixed feelings. She still had some sort of maternal attraction toward, mixed with the grief that she was still blindly following Ilias. She also wondered what and how pushed her to recreate another copy of her, and what lead to this result. Didn't she realize she was weakened when she did it? What impulse even lead her to recreate her in the first place?

After a while, the group entered the library where Amira was sitting. Even if she knew what to expect by now, Micaela was surprised by the appearance of the unfortunate monster, as her lower body was that of a human while her head was one of a snake. She was the living proof that the Dark Goddess had not fully panned out the possible genetic deviations in her children.

"Greetings Amira. Do you have a moment to talk?"

The reverse lamia jumped from her chair, startled. "I told you it wasn't me! I am innocent!" It took her a minute to calm down. "Ah, it's you."

"I apologize, Micaela-chan told me you were one of the best beings when it comes to counting me Luka's past adventures. Is it a wrong time?"

"Mph. No it isn't. As you may know, I was recently unjustly accused of messing with the Pocket Castle's weather system. Mephisto said she would lead the investigation on the matter. But it should have been me! I was set up by a conspiracy that wants me gone, and I need to prove my innocence! Even today, everybody glares at me and I hear whispers in my back!"

Witch popped up from behind a book shelf. The succubus soothsayer was flicking through a book that looked like a manual about pocket dimensions while making her way to a table near the duo. "Nobody ever suspected you for more than 5 seconds. Even Morrigan held back and realized that it was a dumb setup from the get go."

Amira huffed. "Oh, then how do you explain the silent accusations? The gossiping that fall silent when I get closer? The loops I am kept locked out of?"

"That would be because you scammed seven hundred fifty eight thousand four hundred and twenty three gold from the different inhabitants of the castle." Amira stared at Witch with bewildered eyes. "I learned it when I asked Mephisto why she was so always so antsy around you. My point is: Stop wasting money in crazy schemes. We have children that are better at managing their funds than you."

"Tch! They're perfectly responsible, sustainable investments! I either just got unlucky or was sabotaged by someone else!"

"You tried to IMPORT potatoes in Succubus Village. We're literally suffocating under them."

"A small communication error! Besides, when it comes to bad decision, you shouldn't be one to talk! Aren't you one of those who tried to participate in the Magical Girl tournament? What would you have gained if you succeeded?"

Witch twirled on herself. "I would have become a cute magical girl."

"But look at you! There's nothing cute about you! You're way past your prime, and way too old to pretend to be a magical girl."

Micaela was having difficulty following the conversation, as the succubus soothsayer frowned at the reverse lamia. "Well, at least contrary to your harebrained plans, that would have brought me somewhere!"

"Where?"

"I don't know! I would have found out!"

Promestein's head appeared behind a bookshelf. "Actually, the only place it would have landed you in is hot water, if you allow me the expression. You'd have been a priority target by the Monster Lord's forces, which would have resulted in Granberia killing you on the spot. Should you have somehow survived, you'd have to go out in hiding, while dealing with the power of the grudges. While you are strong willed, those would have taken a toll on your sanity and your lifespan, and with what I mentioned earlier, you would have died within a few months."

Witch sarcastically spat her next words. "And how do you know that, you omniscientist?"

"I've interrogated a drunk Magical Mari-chan on the history of magical girls to know more about the possibilities offered by this power. I just summarized what happened to most of them. Don't tell me you thought there always was only one around?"

The succubus soothsayer had her mouth hanging open silently for a moment. "Ok, so I might have missed some information, but…" She pointed at Amira. "At least my plan would have lead me somewhere."

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the issue at hand." Promestein looked at both monsters. "You both fail when it comes to thinking out a plan. You have the first step, the result, and nothing in the between. And after seeing Chrome experiment so much, I wonder if this trait is inherent to monsterkind."

Both of the interlocutors fell silent for a minute. Micaela eventually facepalmed.

"This is really the end of the world when Promestein is the one who acts as the voice of reason…"

The small angel scientist repositioned her glasses. "Do you imply that I am irrational?"

"You admire the Cirque du Croix and the various chimeras, as well as the apoptosis for the scientific possibilities they open. You completely disregard the life of everyone who doesn't bring any scientific interest on the table. You created a way to transcend races that is probably making the Dark Goddess spin in her grave."

Promestein smirked. "You know she's only merely sealed in another dimension? Of all the people in the castle, I didn't expect you to be the one to make such a trivial mistake on the matter."

Micaela shuddered. "It was a figure of speech. I do know that she's still out there, yes, and that makes it even worse. I don't want to be anywhere near you when that seal decides to break. I might end up dead before soon if that happens, but you… you don't want to know what she does to those that insulted her legacy."

Promestein inhaled as she prepared a scathing response to the land dweller, but she gave up when she saw Micaela-chan whispering something to her older self before leaving. Telling there wasn't anything that could break the seal would sound hollow when your auditory included a recreated seraph that strolled between dimensions and her older self.

"You're right. I better make sure we're correctly prepared. I must extend the scope of my work."

"Wait! That's not what I meant!"

Promestein left, soon followed by Witch who was shouting her concern as the duo left. Amira haughtily clicked her tongue. "With that out of the way, we can finally get started. I have a lot of epic, thrilling adventures about yours truly."

"I'm all ears."

I have the feeling this is going to be interesting.

My very first involvement with the hero before I became a key element in his team was in Iliasburg. He even chased for me, as I was travelling the world, gathering information on the latest events happening. Some badmouthers would say that I ended up in a trash can after losing all my money in gambling, but don't listen to those storytellers! I was only doing my work at the time. Anyway, he came to me to ask for information on the White Rabbit. However, at that time, I couldn't give out said information freely to someone who wasn't part of the information guild, and he couldn't come up with the fee. Fortunately, he could be accepted in the guild himself if he supported me in dismantling a phoenix tail dismantling ring which found its source in slums beyond the mountains.

He diligently made way, guided from afar by my words and reached those infect slums. I learned later that he managed to use the skills I taught him and found out that it was the work of Don Dahlia, the local crime boss. Once again, he managed to use the skills he acquired to deceive her and freed the young imprisoned phoenix girl that was the Don's source of revenue. Cowardly, Don Dahlia fled in front of this heroic action.

After I welcomed Luka back back and tutored him fittingly, I gave him the information he desired so adamantly. The bunny girl was seen going south east, toward the small village of Pornof. A detestable hamlet filled with nothing but perverts. However, it appeared whoever reported me the whereabout of the White Rabbit had made a mistake, and the beast monster present located there was only one of the bunny girl usually roaming the region. I was made a fool of, and I had to suffer degradations from Luka's partners. However, I resolved myself to atone for this mistake, and decided to join him to let him have access to my network of informants. And this is how I joined this group and started sharing my skills.

"Sooo… Luka chased for you around, when he found you, you basically tried to suck his money dry, and then had him do your dirty job and risk himself in your place when he couldn't, to eventually send him in a wild goose chase because of faulty intelligence, before joining him because his companions threatened to break your knees. Did I get any of that wrong?"

"Tch!" Amira recoiled, wounded. "Are you here to listen to my stories, or to judge them? I only tell you what happened!"

Micaela closed her eyes and raised her hands defensively. "I apologize, but barring for those last 30 years, I lived in a place where future tragic accidents was used to designate every places where monsters lived. I learnt to be sharp a little too well. That was rude of me and I'd like you to continue."

Amira clicked her tongue. Micaela could notice at this moment her younger counterpart tensing up as the reverse lamia did that. While the action was irritating, it didn't warrant such a reaction…

…Unless she kept doing it every time she talked, of course.

The moment the hero realized my true importance only arrived way later. As we left the Tartarus located north of Sabasa, we were once again without a clear goal. Fortunately, an informant from my network informed me that the cave north leading to Port Marle had been cleared. As such, we made Grand Noah our next destination as we needed to explore the Tartarus located there. Unfortunately, our travelling kept meeting obstacle after obstacle. The way to Grand Noah was blocked by the Navy to prevent spies from the Gold region to enter, and no boat would take civilians, no matter how heroic their reputation.

As the hero started falling into despair, I used my information gathering skills to learn about rumors. We managed to learn more about the possible involvement of the navy in town, and I personally succeeded in convincing the viceroy to bring us to the Navy's headquarters. However, as soon as we arrived, the place was under siege by an army of thousands of pirates lead by Bonnie, the descendant of the fearsome captain Roza, and Ashel, her trusty aid. I lead the hero's party heroically through the endless horde. After epic fights, we finally reached Leviathan, terrified as she was about to smitten down by Roza. She begged for her life and fell in awe in front of our power as we arrived, and as Luka cleared the way in front of me I heroically stood up to those wretched pirate lords. Fear was gripping my heart, but I knew deep down that I could deal with them. And as they realized I was the greatest threat they ever faced, they cowardly started bombarding the navy's headquarters. And as we started fighting, Ashel loudly exclaimed her intention to betray her lord and make the pirates her...

Micaela closed her eyes and place a hand on her forehead. "Okay, stop here, I call bullshit on most of what you said. Both Luka and Leviathan are completely out of character in your story. I saw Bonnie, and she struck me as a well meaning incompetent while Ashel is her loyal supporter. Also the duo would still get wrecked in a minute if they tried going at the outer sea regions. And if the pirates had an army that size, they would be a threat worse than Grangold."

"Jeh! What do you know of it?! You weren't there!"

"Keeping an eye on monsters above queen class was an important part of my old job. Now, while the enhancements you brought to your story make it all the more entertaining, I would like it if it remained closer to the reality."

"Tch!" Amira clicked her tongue again. Micaela started understanding the issue with the lamia. "You have no appreciation for the arts of narration."

"I do appreciate fine art, but if you start taking artistic liberties in retelling Luka's adventures while trying to sell it to me as the unaltered truth, I'm pretty sure I could reasily find support to get you removed from the castle's premises for your bullshitery!"

"Fine! Luka wanted to go to Grand Noah, he needed a boat, the navy initially refused but said that if he took care of the Fishy Pirates, he'd be made an official navy member and be allowed to go to Grand Noah, which he all did without much trouble. Happy now?"

Micaela got up and sarcastically bowed. "Thank you. In that case… What?"

A loud whistling noise echoed through the castle. Micaela looked around her as everybody dropped down on the floor, their hands on their head. Barely a second later, an explosion from upstairs flung the seraph into a wall behind her. She tried to look around, but couldn't see the potential signs of attackers. Barely a minute later, Mephisto stepped in, followed closely by Alrauna, Laura, and a few monsters who were carrying medical equipment.

"Good grief… Again?" The yoma took notice of the wounded seraph. "Of course, you had to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." Laura instantly made her way to the victim while Mephisto ground her teeth in frustration. "We sincerely apologize for not informing you to stay away of the library when Promestein get enthusiastic. We considered creating her her own pocket dimension to experiment freely, but we're worried she would come up with another way to end the world." She looked at the hurt seraph, worried. "We sincerely hope that those wounds won't break our chance at building a relation."

"I've suffered worse way too many times. Don't worry about it." Micaela let the mermaid queen heal her. She herself would have no problem fixing these, but a part of her was happy to see that Laura left her self-imposed exile to be helpful. She thanked the monster and got up. The other monsters were already getting taken care of, and it was clear that all of them would be able to get up by the end of the day.

Eventually, she got up from her spot and looked at her already torn clothes. She made her way back to her room to change herself and sighed. The shenanigans from Luka's partner had taken a bigger toll than what she expected. Soon, her analytical mind was focused on what she experienced inside this place.

Her experience so far had been mixed. On the one hand, between Luka having an opportunity to reboot time the skills he had and the power of the various people he had surrounded himself with, there was no doubt that if there was a single person that could save the world, it would be him. Furthermore, the stories she heard demonstrated that he definitively had a heroic side and tried to rescue as many people as he could. On the other hand… she was surprised when she saw some of the monsters he recruited. Was he getting himself pushed over? Was it done in the heat of the moment? Or was it for THAT reason? Questioning him in the future would likely be necessary. And if Amira's stories were anything to go by, several of his allies were seriously unreliable. After all, the reverse lamia might have helped Luka, but she also had put him in danger for selfish reasons. Who know what else his more dangerous partners inflicted on him…

She realized it was only the middle of the afternoon. Even if she felt a bit tired because of the incident, she still felt a buildup of energy that required physical activity to properly evacuate. For a brief moment, but all too long to the seraph's taste, her mind drifted toward Morrigan. The succubus's presence was concerning: Even amongst the enemies she faced, the youngest of the Lilith Sister had shown a terrifying cruelty on the battlefield, and only displayed care for her sisters and the Ancestors. Even other monsters were fair games. And yet… She apparently made herself a somewhat reasonable and appreciated member of Luka's army. The seraph couldn't even tell herself if she was just putting up a good façade or if there was something genuine in the relationships they had built.

Eventually, she decided to go train in the barracks. Staying here to mop was fruitless, and she definitively needed to evacuate the growing frustration. Maybe she could teach or learn some things from the other warriors there.