Zeta's ears twitched.
On the first day, they simply cleaned up the house.
On the second day, Master Shadow shown his abilities in magic, making Shades worried in the process.
On the third day, he ran away in order to develop something really dangerous, making even usually indifferent Eta panic and collected Alpha faint. In the end, he agreed to put a hold on magic research, though everyone could see how reluctant he was to do so.
On the fourth day, he bonded with Delta (that dog…), listened to Epsilon's piano performance (and something else that Epsilon was very secretive about), and allowed Beta to take photos of him (these goods… let's just say that she was admiring for a long time).
Today was the fifth, and the last, day of their little vacation (why is it called "vacation week" if it's only five days?), and it was Zeta's turn to attend their Lord. To be fair, it should've been Eta's, but researcher calmly declined, saying that she already got her share earlier (and Zeta could actually sense Lord's scent on scientist, so it wasn't a lie). Next in line would, obviously, be Gamma, but businesswoman wanted to prepare as much material to impress their Lord as possible, so she pleaded someone to take the turn earlier.
Alpha? Well, the leader said she would be the last to spend time with the Lord, so it only left Zeta.
And now she was peeking through the door at her Lord's magnificent visage as he was contemplating something with a cup of tea in his hands.
"So…" her Lord spoke with his eyes closed, "how long are going to spend in hiding, Zeta?"
"You've noticed me," cat-kin confirmed her presence, pushing the door open.
"Your stealth skills are not that bad," he nodded at her and took a sip, "however, it's very hard not to notice a sudden breeze from opening door, even if slightly."
Such a rookie mistake. She loosened up upon realizing it was going to be a vacation with her Lord and let her guard down…
"Relax, Zeta," Lord sighed and opened his eyes, "I am more than confident that you would easily fool most of the world's population."
"I could not contend against you, however," she pointed out, dejected.
"I simply am on a different level, Zeta," he calmly spoke.
"I cannot be of use to you if I am to remain stagnant."
Shadow eyed her and nodded in approval.
"That's a good mindset to have, Zeta. Remember: there is no peak. Each time you think you have reached perfection, the world will not hesitate to remind you that there's a mountain behind the mountain, a sky above the sky."
Zeta's breath halted for a moment upon receiving such wisdom. Indeed, she once thought that she was strong and could dispose of anything that might sour her Lord's day, then they met Mist Dragon. Seven Shades' combined effort could barely leave a scratch of it, yet their Lord forced it into submission with two moves.
However…
"Not even you, my Lord?"
"Especially not me, Zeta. If I thought I reached perfection, I would no longer pursue magic," he took another sip and leaned back in his chair.
She contemplated his words.
"Say, Zeta."
"What is it, Lord Shadow?"
"You're the head of espionage, correct?"
"It is as you say, my Lord," she tilted her head.
"Then how come…" his gaze locked on her chest, "how come your front is exposed so much?"
"Ah…?"
Indeed, it was as he said. Her cleavage was completely exposed, as her jacket was opened up under her sternum, giving a look at her well-shaped breasts.
"I wear my suit according to my current occupation. If I were in a jungle area, I would dress to blend in with the trees. If I were to pose as an ordinary citizen, I would dress up as one."
"And the reason you dress up like that now…?" Shadow lifted cup to his face.
"It is to seduce you, my Lord," Zeta spoke unashamedly.
He stopped his movements. After a moment of consideration, he placed it back on the table, rubbed his chin, and coughed.
"Repeat that again, please."
"Upon realization that you might be attracted to well-defined breast areas as any male of your current age, I carefully selected my clothes to reveal enough to draw the most attention from you but not too much so your imagination will fill in the blanks and you will be drawn towards them even further," cat-kin elaborated.
"That's… kinda overkill, isn't it?" she should admit, his baffled face was very cute. It almost awakened some of her more… primordial instincts.
"If I am to leave the best lasting impression upon you, my Lord, then I will do everything in my power to accomplish this task," she stated and leaned in.
"…Hm, well, come here, then."
Zeta immediately jumped on her Lord, her knees on her lap. She straightened her posture and pressed her breasts against his face, rubbing nose in his hair affectionately.
"Right, I should've expected that… you all love squishing my face for some reason…" cat-kin could feel him sigh against her chest as he wrapped her in a hug, gently caressing her back.
"We are just showing our affection to you, my Lord," she inhaled his scent deeply, enjoying the feeling of his strong yet tender hands.
"M-m-m, if you say so…"
Zeta only purred in his ear. Shadow gradually relaxed, listening to the soothing sound of her heartbeat.
"Lord Shadow?"
"Yeah…"
"Can you please tell me what, exactly, were you researching that day?"
"Oh… Nothing special, actually, just found out how can I prolong my lifespan through magic and some other minor things."
"You wish to become immortal?" she tensed a bit.
"That… would be nice. However…" Shadow rubbed his face deeper into her cleavage, "I don't wanna use some kind of a drug for that, so I kinda figured my own way out."
"So you already found a way to become immortal?" 'If that's the case, we will not have to use Diabolos and can completely wipe out anything related to it…' she mused with hidden hatred.
"Well, even if not Immortal, I already can live for thousands of years… In that time I will surely find a way to become one. Why ask, tho?"
"Well…"
"Is that because humans on average live shorter than elves and therianthropes?"
"…Mhm," Zeta inhaled his scent once more.
"Nah, it's fine, I am not planning on leaving you," Shadow scratched her neck, making her purr in pleasure.
Unable to contain herself any longer, she licked his ear.
"Zeta?"
"I am sorry, Lord Shadow… I am just marking you… so no other beast… could claim you…" she explained as she kept licking his head all over.
"Right, cats… Go on, then, it kinda feels good…" he relaxed even further.
Zeta's tail wrapped around her Lord's body as she embraced him even tighter, relaxed by his presence.
"…And that concludes Mitsugoshi's story," Gamma finished, placing the papers closer to her Lord.
"So it was its own company under a different name before you came and took over…" he rubbed his chin, still petting purring Zeta.
The audacity of that beast-kin! She knew that they all were… a bit over the head, and was accustomed to how Delta behaved, but Zeta always shown herself calm and collected, yet now…!
Ah, that's what she gets for trusting a cat.
Everything was quite simple. She finally collected everything and was ready to present it to her Lord, but once she opened the door, she found a horrific sight!
Her beloved magnanimous wonderful kind wise intelligent all-seeing… thirty pages of praising Shadow's character… Lord was sitting on his bed, his absolutely magnificent handsome all-encompassing… another thirty pages of praising Shadow's body… visage lighting up the whole room. Yet once you lower your gaze, you find out that his lap was occupied by a cat beast-kin!
Gamma was furious! Zeta's turn has already passed, yet she was still there! Preposterous!
However, her Lord was seemingly relaxed as he continued gently touching Zeta's ears, so Gamma couldn't find it in herself to separate them, lest her… sixty pages of simping over Shadow… Lord would become sad.
"As of right now, we have thirty seven billion Zeni at our immediate disposal," she added.
"Oh? Well, you continue to positively surprise me, Gamma," his eyes lit up.
"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Shadow!" Gamma beamed at his praise.
"You wouldn't mind giving, say, one hundred thousand Zeni?"
Um, what?
"Lord Shadow, didn't I already send ten million?" she blinked.
Shadow's hand stopped.
"…I forgot about them," he confessed. "I was too preoccupied with… well, you know what."
"Oh, right," Gamma received an enlightment.
Of course, how could she forget!
"The Cult of Diabolos is planning an attack on Academy, but of course!"
"Hmm?" his gaze filled with interest.
"Back then, when we received your message before the tournament, we wanted to attack the Cult hideouts. However, your message made it clear that it would be wiser to wait until they all come together so we could take them all in a single move! And that would be the moment when they attack the academy!"
Shadow paused for a moment.
"…Precisely. I am glad to see that you have managed to decode that much from a simple letter. Great work, Gamma."
"Hehe, thank you, Lord Shadow!" businesswoman nodded happily, "But… Can I receive my reward?"
"Ho-o? And what is it you wish for, Gamma?" Shadow encouraged her.
"Ehe, if you don't mind…" she blushed heavily, "can I please be the one to pamper you today?"
"…wut?" what was that sound?
"Lord Shadow?"
"Nevermind…" he sighed, "if that is what you wish, then you shall receive."
"Thank you, my Lord!" 'He-he, I waited long for this moment!' "Now please lie on your…"
Ah, right. Zeta.
"Don't mind me, I am already going," the cat-woman swiftly jumped up (Gamma is not jealous) and stretched her slim body.
"Right, bye, Zeta," Shadow nodded with a gentle smile on his face.
Beast-kin waved back at him and went to the exit.
"Everything is in your hands now," she whispered as she passed Gamma.
Gamma's already heated up face now became atomically red.
"Okay, Gamma, you can start. What, you said, I need to do?" Shadow urged her
"A-Ahem, right, please lie down on your back," 'Collect yourself, Gamma! You can't just shame yourself like that!'
"M'kay."
'That sight…! It's even better than I thought…!'
As he lied down, she was greeted by the sight of his body stretched out on the bed. As he blinked at her, she found herself even more charmed, because…
'My Lord is so cute when he's looking vulnerable!'
That's right. Usually Lord is either in his Shadow persona, which just speaks being an invincible existence that no one can hope to taint, or Cid Kagenou persona, just your average student, completely unremarkable for someone of her status… But now these two combined: she still could see her beloved Lord, however with a weakness that belongs to Cid Kagenou. Such a contrast overloaded her brain, as she was tempted to run up to him and tenderly cuddle his usually domineering visage!…
Wait, he allowed that. Which means no need to overthink that, just do it!
"H-He-he… That's right, my Lord… Let your Gamma treat you…" was she going insane? She might be going insane, but she wants to see which of the Shades would be able to resist such temptations!
'Ah, which part…? But of course!'
She sat down on the bed and placed his head on her lap.
"Hmm…" Shadow hummed approvingly.
Her hands found their way to his hair and started caressing it. Twist here, twist there… Yes, now everything is in order…
And that's how Cid's vacation week passed. He thought they would study magic, but then Shades freaked out and started… well, pampering him. And he could understand someone like Gamma and Zeta, like they're two years older than him, maybe their older sister instincts kicked in, but Beta? Sure, she looks even more mature than Gamma herself, but still! She's the same age as him!
Oh, Gamma also said something about terrorist attack on the academy (Cult doesn't exist, after all, it's just criminals that girls brand as Cult to play with him). He asked out Alpha about that and she confirmed the info, so Cid asked out to place some security if they can (like, terrorist attack is cool, he wants to experience that, but it would be better to have a back-up), to which girls readily agreed. They said they can dispatch about fifty people no problems… Yeah, he's jealous alright, but he's still thankful that they go along with him even after growing up.
Oh, Alpha also became really jealous upon hearing how everyone else got to treat him, so she kinda forced him to receive her pampering and cuddles, too. Now each Shade got to stuff their breasts into his face… Except Epsilon, but she promised to do the same once he fulfills her wish.
Well, at least they gathered together once again. He's grateful for that, really.
Now if only he knew what to do with realization that girls actually love him…