Chapter 17

Taylor stood in the middle of the stone-paved drill yard near the main gate of the Pandemonium castle, sweat tricked down her cheek as she nervously stared at the black-fur minotaur guard standing opposite of her just dozens of paces away in relaxed stance and eyes twinkling in a joyous mood.

After five years, the appeal of seeing eye candy like a minotaur's bare chest and muscular arms had long faded from Taylor's mind. And if the time spent here hadn't done that, then the past three weeks of spars, or more like being a punching bag on this drill yard, would have. Inside this drill yard, all genders can get their asses kicked equally when they ask for lessons or spars…

And the worst part of it? Taylor could blame no one but herself for this predicament.

Her thoughts ground to a halt as a sound of horn signaled the beginning of her spar. The minotaur sprang to action and charged her with a thunderous roar intended to run her over and end the match as soon as it began.

Not a bad strategy; considering that she had been knocked out in two seconds by this attack in the past, and the minotaur was so fast that he could cross the distance in the time it took her to blink. And she found out the hard way that taking the charge head-on was out of the question; The impact was so great that despite her barrier preventing any serious injury, she was sent flying out of the arena and thus forfeited the match anyway.

For Taylor to fall for the same tactic twice was not because she couldn't learn, but because of the restriction placed upon her, namely her attire;

'Your duty is a maid first and foremost. I will not allow you to attend your regular duty in any type of combat fatigue.'

That was what Yumeko insisted upon her second defeat at the minotaur's headbutt because her conservative maid outfit, especially the ankle-length skirt, tripped her. But at least her senior helped her regarding spells and enchantments that could remedy her clothing problem immediately afterward, so she wasn't that annoyed.

Taylor's feet began sidestepping as soon as the minotaur lowered his head to headbutt her. Her long skirt unnaturally stretched to match the wide steps she took. The frills, while still flowing, seems to adhere close to her legs as she gracefully dodged the coming charge by a hair's breadth.

The minotaur was well-trained however; he turned around just in time to avoid the ring-out, and charged at Taylor again, dodging Taylor's barrage of pain-inducing curse magic bolt in the process.

This was to be expected; Taylor doubted his boss would let him keep his job otherwise.

When Taylor dropped her ineffectual magical barrage dodged the charge the second time without much hassle, she found that her barrier flared up and felt the pain of impact around her stomach with her feet lifted off the ground from the force of it and her body thrown backward!

As she used her flight spell to try righting herself to prevent defeat by ring-out, she found a strong gust of wind blew at her courtesy to the minotaur's magic. This time, her magical strength couldn't resist anymore and she once again tasted defeat by ring-out for the third time since she started coming to this drill yard.

Taylor laid on the ground staring at the red sky while pondering about her recent defeat. But it wasn't for long before footsteps approached her. An outstretched hand entered her field of vision followed by the visage of the bull-man who defeated her earlier, eyes expressing concerns.

"Ha! you did better than the last time, lad. Even without many spars or practices."

Taylor accepted the offered hand and letting the minotaur pulled herself up while sighing; "It's not like I got a lot of time to practice after all."

The minotaur let out a laugh while patting at the maid's back which caused Taylor to almost stumble from the blow; "Of course, you can always apply for the guard duty instead of being a maid. You have your duty and I have mine. Don't take away our job, will you? Hahaha!"

Taylor didn't have the mind to snort at what she thought was a poor joke. Instead, she smiled at the minotaur; "Thank you for today's practice, Gaius, I appreciate it."

The minotaur scratched his beard while waving her off; "Nah, as I said before, this isn't a hassle for us at all. Change of pace is nice. Get to teach someone once in a while is good."

"You just want some stress relief after getting thrashed by Lady Haku for napping on duty all the time, pal."

The voice from the other guards prompted the black minotaur to turn around and retort back in what Taylor thought probably minotaur language which earned more laughter from the crowd. But despite the implication, she couldn't get mad at him, because in the end, it was her asking for it that landed her in this predicament, and he did try to dissuade her from going straight to sparring initially too.

'Hotheaded, impatient youth indeed.'

Dispensing that thought aside, Taylor thanked the minotaur and the other guards again before leaving the drill yard and heading for the main castle, but not before one of the town guards offered a suggestion for her to practice more before applying for a practical lesson like this.

It wasn't the first time that suggestion was brought up, but Taylor reasoned that she wanted to know her progress over time.

However, after thrice being defeated not even a minute into the fight, she was starting to feel demoralized. Despite the progress made today, she knew that Gaius was holding back for a beginner like her.

"...Taylor!"

The call snapped Taylor out of her thoughts and looked behind. She found that Yumeko had walked up to her without her noticing with golden eyes showing signs of worry. Taylor's response was immediate; "Wha… when did you come behind me?"

"You walked past me." The head maid calmly replied as she was inspecting her junior with her eyes; "How goes today's training?"

"Your magic worked." Taylor immediately replied, but her overall mood was still dejected as she whispered out the next sentence; "I still lost though."

Yumeko nodded in understanding and silently beckoned her to follow. For a time, the two walked side-by-side in silence, enjoying another peaceful day in Makai, or so Yumeko initially thought.

A glance at her junior when they walked past another open corridor and the senior couldn't help but ask; "Are the losses bothering you?"

Taylor's pace slowed down as she looked at her senior before sighing; "I'd be lying if I said they didn't." A pause; "After five years of living here, I still can't get rid of the feeling that I'm learning at a slower pace than others."

"By whose standard do you think that your progress is slow?"

That question got Taylor thinking, but she couldn't come up with the answer at all and instead started questioning herself.

Yumeko gave her junior a reassuring smile as they resume their walks; "You're only beginning to adapt what you've learned, while the one you put yourself up against has been doing it for years. That is not a fair comparison." she then adds; "And remember what I said before; Your current profession is not the one to seek violence nor require it. You have other duties to attend while those you seek 'Practical lessons' from do not."

Taylor understood the implication, but her face was still that of dissatisfactory as she sighed; "Time is our worst enemy it seems."

"As I said before, no one is omnipotent or good at everything. Even Milady. She may be a goddess, but she never claims to be omnipotent either." Answered her senior sincerely. "You may have the talent and drive for learning things you put your mind to. But to rise from common proficiency to become a master is not something that everyone can equally achieve."

Taylor pondered Yumeko's words as they walked, wondering how to allocate her time to any given subject.

'Magic is far from finished. Medical skill still needs practicing. Argh! This is frustrating!'

"Perhaps you should take a break instead of figuring a way to cram more things into your schedule, my child."

Taylor was surprised for the second time of the day when Shinki showed up out of nowhere and dropped in their conversation without her noticing the approach. But for Yumeko, she merely bowed at Shinki while greeting her, unfazed by this sudden appearance.

As it turns out; the only person Taylor couldn't sense coming despite the importance of situational awareness being drilled into her mind practically since her rebirth was her mistress, not Haku, and it was perplexing for her even after all these years.

Shinki glanced over to Taylor as if sensing her thought before asking; "So, how about we have a picnic the day after tomorrow? Just you, me, and Yumeko."

The mention of the last person seems to catch the blonde maid off-guarded judging by how she stammered with a blush on her face; "Milady, I'm your head maid. I have my duty to…"

Yumeko's excuse was brought to a halt when Shinki lightly flicked her forehead. The flick didn't hurt, but it got her to stop and let Shinki continued; "And you are also my precious daughter, Yumeko. The same goes to you, Taylor." she added. "What kind of a mother I will be if I worked you two to exhaustion and not giving you any breaks?"

"It's our choice to not take a break, Ma'am." Taylor quickly muttered; "It's not like I can get extra time to do more stuff am I?"

Taylor jolted when Shinki lightly flicked her forehead like she had just done to Yumeko before the ruler of Makai chided her with a smile; "My child, your diligence is good and all. But you are not a machine. And even a machine needs maintenance, what makes you think that you, a living being, will not need rest and relaxation?"

Although Taylor felt that Shinki would respect her choice, somehow, she couldn't bring herself to refuse her second mother's offer, but also struggling with agreeing to go.

And just like every time in the past five years, Shinki seems able to read her like a book with the next words coming from her lips; "We didn't have much bonding time lately, aren't we? Why not put all the works and training away for a day and relax with family? I'll even cook for you all."

The last addition elicited a surprise from both Taylor and Yumeko. But the smile on Shinki's face told them how serious she was about the offer. The two looked at each other as if urging one another to reply first before they settled with a nod.

Shinki clapped her hands together; "Marvelous! Let's go picnic in two days then."

Shinki spent another minute asking for their wellbeing and insisted that they take a break for the day before went back to work, much to the relief of the two maids who also went their separate ways.

'Picnic huh?'

Taylor couldn't help but think about what she promised for most of her shift before she could refocus and put it on the backburner for the time being.

The promised day arrived too quickly than Taylor would like, but it was probably because the two days leading to it were uneventful and there was no interesting thing to look forward to other than this picnic with the 'family'.

Mao's teasing and Yang's knowing smile and encouragement for her to go when they were told of this appointment didn't help either.

Taylor decided to get up early that morning while the sun had yet to leave the horizon. She looked at her wardrobe and frowned at the fact that she had nothing but maid uniforms as she didn't see the need to purchase casual clothes. Dressing up to look pretty was the furthest thing from her mind when there was work to do and many things to learn.

Not to mention the maid uniforms were well-made by the hand of an expert seamstress! Something that would be considered a luxury for her who grew up on bland, mass-produced goods from factories in her previous life.

'Not that I can magic up new clothing right now. My skill isn't that good yet.'

Resigned, Taylor dressed up in her maid uniform and went down to the kitchen, and despite what Shinki has told her, started making breakfast for herself, Yang, and Mao before moving on to that day's lunch.

The ingredients in the house were all nutritious and healthy for human consumption, as expected from the clinic's owner. That knowledge and influence also transferred to Taylor as she decided on dumplings filled with steamed herbs, vegetables, and meat filling instead of greasy burgers for the upcoming picnic lunch. She tried to estimate and make just enough that they wouldn't be wasted when combined with what Yumeko and Shinki will bring today…

…at least, what Yumeko will bring because Taylor wasn't sure of Shinki's culinary skill as she never saw the woman cook in the five years of knowing her. But then again, considered that eating is more of a pleasure for those who could achieve ageless status, cooking is probably something of an afterthought for someone like Shinki anyway.

Not that she didn't appreciate Shinki's goodwill, but she wanted to guarantee that they'd have a proper lunch. After all, what kind of a maid would she be if she did not cover her charge's domestic needs? And not just Yumeko would be disappointed, even her biological mother would for not taking any work seriously.

Everything was prepared just in time for Mao to groggily walk downstairs and stumble her way to the bath to wash her face, with the old man Yang following down not far behind. The old man greeted her warmly as always. Then he took one glance at the prepared food, both his and his daughter's, and Taylor's, before nodding in satisfaction and giving her an encouraging smile.

"So, a family bonding day with your mom, right?"

The old man wasn't asking but more of a statement, as he didn't wait for an answer before continued; "Go and have fun, Taylor. Leave this clinic to us and not worry, all right?"

Taylor reluctantly gave him a nod as she served the breakfast for all of them before sitting down and wait for Mao to clean her face and join them.

Soon, they finished the meal, and Taylor collected the dish to be washed while Yang helped Mao prepare for the day as per routine. There was no rush, as the appointed time still hours ahead and she'd be lazy to not help them to at least prepare for the day.

It was after the sky turned bright red from the sun that she left Yang's clinic and flew to the castle. At such a late hour, the airspace was clearer as there were not as many flying housewives as in the morning. She landed at the main gate for inspection as per usual before proceeding inward.

The guards and passerby paid her no mind as she headed straight for Shinki's office where the only interesting thing to happen was a group of fairies' attempts to drop a bucket of water on top of her. Taylor's sense and quick reaction let her dodge it, but regrettably, she wasn't quick enough to vaporize the water with magic, and thus necessitated to cleanup afterward instead of chasing those fairies down.

"I still have a long way to go," Taylor muttered before she brought the empty bucket to the servant and asked them to return it to the owner. If this was back on Earth Bet, such task would be futile courtesy to the incompetent government law enforcement organizations that she knew. But here on Makai, and especially Pandemonium with certain nine-tails fox, such incompetence will not be tolerated.

Having a more fantastical means to trace the history of an object was also quite handy in finding the owner too.

Anyway, thanks to that incident, Taylor was almost ten minutes late when she arrived at Shinki's office. Predictably, a disapproving glare from Yumeko's golden eyes was what greeted her as soon as she opened the door. However, the expected reprimand was preemptively stopped by Shinki's voice from behind her work desk;

"Relax, Yumeko. This's not a workday for you two. And we don't need to catch any rides to go where I'm planning, this is fine."

"I still wish to hear her reason though."

Although relented at Shinki's behest, Yumeko's force of habit still compelled her to find explanations, albeit without harsh words or threats.

For Taylor, there was no reason to refuse explanation, and thus quickly complied. And just like that, Yumeko accepted it with her ire directed at the mischievous fairies instead; "They never know when to quit."

Taylor's brow furrowed as she asked; "Do you think they know we're going out today and decided to deliberately target us?"

Yumeko brushed that idea aside with a shake of her head; "You should know by now, Taylor, that fairies aren't that bright or know to hold a grudge for long."

At this point Shinki decided to chime in; "But they're not a hive-mind, my dear Yumeko, some outliers exist too."

The blonde maid let out an exasperated sigh; "Milady, if such individual exists, I never saw them in the Pandemonium. But are we going to debate this right now?"

Shinki giggled softly at the question, despite the joyous tone she was using, her eyes told a different story; "You make it sound like our day off is another chore to be done, Yumeko. It's a day off! Family day!" She spread her arms wide "This's not your workday! We're going out to a relaxing picnic and sightseeing are we not? So, we should have fun together!"

Yumeko kept her silence at the exclamation with her arm crossed over her chest and a thoughtful look on her face. It made Taylor worry whether this vacation was going to be fine or not for a moment. But the blonde's nod of acceptance afterwards put her worry to rest.

Shinki smiled at the response before she snapped her fingers. Multiple glowing magic circles etched with hieroglyphs expanded outward from the woman, spinning around three of them before the bright light momentarily blind them.

As Taylor opened her eyes, darkness greeted her. It took another blink for her vision to adjust… and she was surprised at the sight of the vast sea of red sand with rocky hills and craters scattered about and stars twinkling on the cloudless black sky above her head. Taking a breath, she found that there was nothing wrong in the air, or at least nothing immediately toxic.

"Where are we, Milady?" Yumeko was the first one to ask the question that was on Taylor's mind, bringing her eyes back down to look at Shinki who was standing close by with a motherly smile on her lips.

However, instead of replying Shinki turned to the side and pointed toward the horizon; "Save your question for a moment, my dear children. All will be made clear when we reach our destination."

As Shinki spoke, six bat wing-like appendages with pulsating red lines in strange patterns sprouted from her back as she lifted off the ground. Although Taylor was not surprised as she saw Shinki unfold her wings before, it was still unsettling for her who grew up in a world threatened by a winged monster in angelic visage. Her predominantly red dress and bat-like wings made the comparison even more glaring;

'Like a devil and an angel decided to swap their alignment.'

Perishing that thought from her mind, Taylor lifted off with flight magic alongside Yumeko. She noticed that it was somehow easier and cost less power than back on Makai but didn't have time to ask as Shinki beckoned them to follow her with a vague and ominous warning;

"Please follow me closely. I don't want to ruin the surprise by having you brave the danger of this desolate landscape firsthand."

Even though there was nothing but said desolate landscape as far as she could see, Taylor had learned to take her advice to heart after several mishaps during magical practices in the past five years and thus flew alongside the woman without straying too far away. While Yumeko needed no such warning and silently kept up with them.

The terrain below them passed by in a blur as they all accelerated to the speed that Taylor never tried back in Makai. She was quite certain that they broke the sound barrier just a few seconds into the flight with only the barrier erected around them keeping the effect of traveling at such speed from being directly felt. Taylor's closest comparison would be inside a jet plane protected from the environment, but that's still a gross misidentification.

After what felt like an hour speeding through the desert landscape, Shinki slowed down her flight before approaching an unassuming rocky hill covered in red sand up ahead. Prompting Yumeko and Taylor to follow despite both of them still not sure where they were.

When the two maids set down on the sandy ground once more, Taylor looked around before she turned to ask Shinki who was in the process of setting up a mat for them to sit down together; "Ma'am, I don't think I can hold my question any longer, but where are we?"

As usual, Shinki didn't give her a straight answer. She finished setting the mat on the red sand and beckoned both maids to join her before abruptly asking; "Do you enjoy stargazing, Taylor?"

Memories of a time in her previous life stirred at the question. Taylor gazed up at the black sky dotted with twinkling stars and shook her head; "I can't say I enjoy it. The last time I stargazed, it was just after my mother's death."

Shinki lowered her head slightly as if to say 'I'm sorry.' but Taylor quickly said; "Ma'am. It's not as if you intentionally brought that up." she then added with a small, melancholic smile; "Besides, I'm sure my mom wouldn't want me to stick to the past. It won't bring her back from the afterlife, or new life anyway."

Silence reigned between the three until Yumeko awkwardly decided to bring them back to the original topic as she gazed upon the sky above; "So, what are you expecting us to see on the sky, Milady?"

Shinki looked at Taylor as if asking for the latter's approval, to which the latter nodded and adds; "I have to agree with Yumeko; there's a lot of stars out there, which one that you want me to see?"

Shinki wordlessly pointed in a certain direction, prompting Taylor's and Yumeko's gaze to follow to a blip of light in the sky that was larger than the others. The two of them promptly enhanced their eyesight with magic to zoom in…

While Yumeko looked impassive at what she saw, Taylor's eyes widened and her breath stuttered at the sight that greets her; for it looks like certain photograph during the space race of the 70s that she saw during a history class in school long ago; From the white streak of cloud over the vast swath of blue surface, or the shape of the landmass in brown, green, and yellow. They were all matched the view of planet Earth from space.

"Ma'am," Taylor whispered in awe, her eyes glued to the sight, "Are we on the Moon?"

Shinki laughed softly before answering; "We're on Mars, my child. Or to be more precise, this universe's Mars, not Earth Bet's Mars, for I am still unable to find that yet."

"It's still impressive." Taylor muttered, before asking in part curiosity and part awe; "But why did you choose this place for our day off? And how can we breathe?"

Shinki's smile graced her lips as she gestured to the desolating landscape and space above; "I thought you'd want a change in scenery for this occasion. After all, going on vacation sometimes has the purpose of broadening one's horizon has it not? As for how can we breathe here, remember that I told you to stick close to me?"

"This is a little… excessive…" Taylor struggled to respond to Shinki's nonchalant attitude as if the feats displayed so far were just taking a stroll through the neighborhood in the town.

Shinki seemingly didn't notice or didn't care about Taylor's reaction and continued joyously; "Admittedly, I'd rather chose the Moon so we can admire the beauty of the blue planet without you two having to 'squint', but the Lunarians weren't so keen on accommodating outsiders."

That casual statement caused Taylor to tore her gaze from the Earth and look inquisitively at Shinki, however, the latter deviate their topic with a smile; "Peace, Taylor, now it's almost lunchtime, let us discuss while eating. We wouldn't want our food to get cold, aren't we?"

With a snap of her fingers, a stack of metal lunch boxes materialized on the empty mat. The sight prompted both Yumeko and Taylor to took out their prepared meals to join in. With Taylor be the first to reveal the fruit of her labor in the basket she brought.

"Dumplings." Yumeko appraised Taylor's lunch with an approving nod, "Still warm. Your skill at preservation magic has improved." her nose sniffed; "And thoroughly cooked as well."

Taylor took a chance to look at what her senior brought to the table and found a box with six pairs of sandwiches. While the ingredients looked quite normal like what she'd expected from a sandwich like smoked ham, mayonnaise, and lettuce, Taylor knows that these ingredients were all hand-made by Yumeko. So, she couldn't judge them by their look either.

And lastly, Shinki's picnic lunch was met with curious gazes from the two maids. Shinki's lunch boxes contained tempura, miso soup, grilled eels, and sushi rolls, all neatly arranged as a professional chef in some Japanese restaurants would.

But looks nice and smells good doesn't guarantee the taste or any ill-effects. However, when Taylor hesitantly put tempura in her mouth, she found to her surprise that it tasted good as well.

"Well, how was it?"

That question from her mistress made Taylor coughed from swallowed too quickly. Yumeko silently offered her a bottle of water before answering in her stead in a rather bored tone; "She's surprised that you can cook."

Yumeko's eyes glanced at Taylor who glared back, prompting the former to smirks; "You're not the first person to be surprised that someone of her position can cook, you know." She puffed up with pride; "After all, she taught me when I decided to serve her as a maid."

Taylor cast a suspicious glance between Yumeko's sandwiches and Shinki's Japanese-style meal, which silently telling her senior what she was thinking. That prompted a snort from the maid; "No, I did not help her with this. I did mine, while she did hers."

The slight pang of disappointment in her voice was more than enough to convince Taylor that she spoke the truth; as she came to learn over the years that Yumeko seemed to think that she'd failed her duty as a maid if her charge had to step in and do things themselves.

And just like how she read Taylor like a book, Shinki also gave the same treatment to Yumeko's complaint with a smile and a clap of her hands to get their attention; "Nonsense, Yumeko dear. This's family bonding time. No master-servant thing here. I have to do my part too, isn't that right?"

Yumeko was struggling with her maid instinct that she could only mutter out "If you say so," in response. But Shinki seems to accept that it was the best she'd get out of her and let that pass with another clap of her hands and said; "Well, what are you waiting for? Dig in before they get cold!"

The lunch was a quiet affair. Taylor couldn't believe that she had the appetite to try everything out with a second serving. But to her excuse, everything was so delicious that she wondered how much of a killing they'd do by opening up a restaurant in some big city. But alas, that dream was not meant to be; Shinki loved the world she created and populated with life. Yumeko would follow Shinki. And Taylor still aspired to uphold Yang's legacy, if not his martial prowess, then his art of saving people.

Besides, after living in a small renaissance town untouched by the pollution brought by technologies and industrialization for five long years, Taylor doubted she'd want to go back to a pollution-filled modern city again.

'Hopefully, we will find a way to industrialize without destroying everything like Earth Bet.'

"So, do you two have any stories to tell between us?"

Shinki's question after they finished the meal brought Taylor back to reality. But as she glanced around the mat at the other two who were sipping tea from the cups, she wasn't sure how to begin. Yumeko also didn't have any better idea if her occasional questioning looks toward her junior while pretending to enjoy her tea was any indication.

A glance between her two maids was enough for Shinki to take the initiative first when she set down her cup; "Ah, well. Let's start with your overdue question first; You wished to ask about the people of the Moon, correct?"

It took Taylor a second to registered the question and nodded in reply, prompting Shinki to continue with the next question; "Have you ever heard of the conspiracy about ancient humans back on your original Earth?"

Realization dawned on Taylor's face as she asked; "So, the idea that the ancient humans were more advanced than the humans today was real?"

"In certain aspects;" Shinki confirmed as she gazed up toward the Earth in the distance; "While the current humanity is more advanced technologically than their ancestors, it came at the expense of their mastery of the arcane of the ancient time." She sighed as if she mourned the loss of wonders from the past; "While it may appear to you that the Makai has most population capable of magic and arcane arts, in reality, it's because many were descendants of the refugees from the many worlds across multiverses where the art of arcane declines and fade away."

There were many questions that Taylor wanted to ask, but she decided to focus on the subject of the Moon first and thus questioned; "Then the people of the Moon?"

Shinki laughed softly at Taylor's question; "Ah, sorry, I strayed from our original topic." She refilled her cup and took a sip before she continuing her tales; "It was the time when humanity settled down and civilizations emerged. The art of arcane was flourishing as civilizations grew. But with advancement also comes the ambition to live forever and escape the cycle of life and death."

Taylor's mind quickly realized the answer before it was given and promptly asked out sheer incredulity; "You're saying that the ancient humans moved to the Moon to escape death and become the Lunarians?" and with Shinki's affirmation nod a moment after, she asked again; "How does that even works?"

Shinki's grey eyes now held a spark of seriousness as she answers; "Remember the lesson of how the basic way to utilize magical energy is by shaping it to your will? Believing it hard enough that it come true, literally." She then elaborates; "The humans that would become the Lunarians believe that the cycle of life and death is the result of the Earth's impurities corrupting their purity. And hence by escaping to the place where life does not flourish naturally, they also escape the impurity that comes with the death of life."

"And it works?"

"And it works… for thousands of years since…" Shinki repeated and emphasized that despite the unbelievability of the tales, it did happen; "The Lunarian carved a new civilization on the dark side of the Moon, hidden from the Earth's sight. With violence strictly forbidden to keep the Moon free of death, they starve off mortality from befallen their citizens. With peace also came enlightenment and advancement, where technology progressed alongside mystical arts…"

Shinki paused a bit to moisten her throat with a sip of tea before continuing; "They were more than capable of creating an interstellar empire since the time Earth-bound humans still believed that the Earth was flat. But they didn't, for why should they when the ultimate prize, the secret of eternal life, is already theirs?"

Taylor looked toward the sky once more, disappointed that at this moment the Moon was blocked from her sight by the Blue Planet. But her action made Shinki giggle; "You wouldn't be able to see their metropolis even if the Moon was in your sight, Taylor dear. All you'd see is the false Moon. Lunarian's cities were hidden in another dimension with an anchor point to the real space on the dark side of it. Your true sight would need a lot more practices and improvements before you could pierce through their defense and see the truth."

"…"

Yumeko, who had been silent up to this time decided to speak up with disdain in her voice; "What I find it insulting is that they refuse dignitaries from everyone, even us. They look down on anyone who sets foot on the Moon and sees outsiders as insects unworthy of their glory. I have to wonder why they wouldn't just exterminate every species they came across yet. And Milady is too soft to teach them a lesson or two."

From the way Yumeko spoke, Taylor was quite certain that she had been said 'dignitary' in the past, but when that happened was what she'd rather not ask as the head maid never bring it up since she knows her.

Shinki however seemed to not take any offense from such event, as she asked her maids a question; "Tell me, my children, how can you define what is pure without the impure to measure against?" Seeing the realization on their faces, she continued; "To maintain their purity and eternity also means they must maintain what is impure and mortality as a contrast so that the Moon will remain a pure world free of death. Hence why they leave the Earthlings and other mortals be."

At that point, Taylor remembered a certain event that will come to pass in the coming decades and asked; "But If the human from Earth reached the Moon, then will it no longer be a pure land?"

Shinki nodded; "Correct, and that's why they must deny entry from the outsiders so that they may remain pure and eternal." she sighed; "But as time goes by, the true reason behind this practice faded, replaced with prejudice and racism. But in a way, their status quo is maintained."

Taylor gazed upon the stars with a cup of tea in hand, slowly sipping it and contemplating what she had learned, only to be brought back to reality by Shinki who giggled; "Well. If things go on like this, the Earthling will touch the Moon by the end of the coming decade."

Taylor wanted to tell her how scarily accurate her prediction was thanks to her future knowledge. But she chose to offer her a strained smile while voicing her opinion; "So, do you think their immortality will end when the humans colonize and populate the Moon? Then how is it immortality at all?"

"Who knows what the future holds, my child…" Shinki answered sagely; "…I'm certain that life will find a way, the Lunarians are no exception." Then she diverted the topic back to Taylor; "Speaking of finding the way, what about your quest for supremacy amongst men?"

The sudden shift caught Taylor off-guard, with her response being a single word; "What?"

That was the opening on which Shinki immediately pounced with a coy smirk and exaggerated gasp; "I heard some rumors from my town guards you know; about a fair, black-haired maiden walking into their drill yard asking them for a lesson on how to dominate men."

The tone and the way she worded the question made the girl's face turn red, and predictably, denial followed; "I'm asking them for advice in practical martial art! Nothing more than that!"

Unfortunately, that was the reaction Shinki was waiting for; "So, who's the lucky boy? I promise I'm not going to put him through an impossible task to prove his love to you."

"Can you just drop this already? I have no boyfriend and have no intention of getting one!" Taylor's response was almost shouting at the last part. She stole a pleading glance at Yumeko who was sitting on the sidelines giving her a sympathetic look, probably because she had to deal with this at some point in the past.

But Surprisingly, Shinki didn't press further and settled down to a more serious manner as she advised; "Your poker face needs some work, Taylor. If you still want to pursue martial wisdom. Experienced fighters don't even need mind-reading power to know what you're going to do or what you're thinking when they can read it from your face or your reactions."

Taylor took a chance to drink from her cup in one go before glaring at Shinki; "You could've done without a demonstration, Ma'am."

"True," Shinki admitted, her expression softer but her silver eyes shone with concern; "But you have to lighten up a bit, you know. I've said it before and I'll say it again; even the machine needs regular maintenance, and you're not a machine. Try to relax sometimes. You may find the solution to the problem you face that way." She then turned to look at Yumeko; "That goes for you too, Yumeko."

Yumeko blinked and then nodded as she drank her cup of tea in silence. While Taylor contemplated what she was told, and smiled a bit as she spoke to Shinki again. "Thanks… I never thought I'd need that, with all the studying and practices."

Shinki looked thoughtful at the show of gratitude and mused; "Maybe we should set aside time for a monthly family meeting like this don't you think?" She chuckled; "How ironic that Haku and I once passed a labor law so that denizens of my town can always have a weekend break. But look at us, never having one in years! Aren't we supposed to set an example for the law-abiding citizens?"

Taylor offered her an awkward smile as she muttered; "I think I should dial down things a bit, especially the sparring part." then she replied; "yeah, I'd love to do this with you and Yumeko again… just not on Mars or any lifeless rock of a planet."

"I have to agree with Taylor on this, Milady…" Yumeko said as her eyes glanced around the desolate landscape; "Aside from the view of the blue planet, the scenery is… barren and has nothing, not even breathable air or life on it."

"Oh, you noticed?"

"Milady, it's hard to not notice you projecting a barrier and air filtration magic when you've been using it for this long." Yumeko sighed, which prompted Taylor to nodded in agreement while collecting the empty tableware back into the dimension storage.

Shinki shrugged, but smiling; "Well, I'll think of a better place next month, or perhaps you want it to be weekly?" she added with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"It'd be nice to spend time like this again." Taylor hesitantly replied, but quickly followed up with elaboration; "But I think that monthly is fine for now. I need time to adjust, I think."

Yumeko also threw in her support behind Taylor's opinion with a nod. Facing such an answer, Shinki smile brightly and clapped her hands; "Well, so we have an appointment on the first week of every month, okay? I promise the next time will be a nicer place than this. But if you have suggestions, feel free to tell me, all right?"

After getting affirmative from both her maids, they cleaned up their picnic site and flew up once again. But as they were making their way back to the other side of Mars, Taylor realized one thing and asked; "Why should we fly to the back of the planet to teleport? Can't we just teleport now?"

Shinki's response was a sheepish laugh followed by what Taylor and Yumeko felt was quite a blatant excuse to feel the joy of flying with those she considered family. They didn't hold it against her, because after all, their family time was quite lacking for so long without them knowing it.

That, and Shinki's cooking was quite delicious and made for a sobering realization that even simple things like this still have a lot of details and finesses to learn and practice.

Author's Note: This will be lagging behind the SB posts. Sorry for the delay.