"Well, are you gonna tell me what is going on between you and princesses?"

"Sure."

"Then tell me!"

"Sure."

"You better speak out, now, or else don't blame me for being ruthless…"

"Sure."

This "interrogation" has been going for a good hour already. Oh, you're probably wondering how did he end up in this situation? Quite simple, actually. You see, after getting chained by Claire he was forced to walk with her back to the dorm (and he heard something like "It should've been me, not him!" on the way… probably his imagination), where she then shoved him into his room and sat right atop of him. Yes, you heard that right, she literally sat on him. And then started choking him. Just as he thought. But that didn't end here, oh no! She then started caressing his hair, saying something along the lines "why must you do this, don't you understand that I was really worried when I couldn't see you for so long…"

Oh, Cid for a moment felt guilty. Like, just for a bit. Then the spark died as she went back into her crazy mode and started interrogating him about his relationships with other girls, well, mainly princesses, but she also wanted to know if there's anyone else setting her sights on him. Now for the strangest parts: she strangled him for a total of five minutes. You know, normal humans usually die of this because they're killed (yeah, real shocker); lucky for her, for Cid getting killed wouldn't be enough to make him die, so he just let played along with his ultimate Mobfu Technique: Obedient Younger Brother! Oh, he said that it was a hour long, right? So where's the other 55 minutes? Well, about three of them were her being sad; other 52 were "interrogation". Yep, she was asking the same question in different words for a total of 52 minutes and didn't repeat herself once! He even picked up something to adapt and use in the future!

"Will you go out with me?"

"Hell no."

"Aha!" she pointed accusatory finger, "So you were listening!"

"C'mon, Claire-" her eyes sparked with anger, "I mean, onee-san," now her eyes sparked with happiness, "you do know how Alexia is treated here, don't you? Even though she is very talented, she's still often being compared to other people, especially her sister Iris."

"Oh, right, because some random hus- woman is feeling sad you decided to abandon everything else and go be her dog?" alright, that's a low blow, "You know, your amazing big sister is right there! You don't need to be a dog to earn my attention — thought I wouldn't mind you playing as one someday, — ahem, that's besides the point! What I am saying is, did you think about how I felt? How hard it was for me to keep myself together even though I knew you were rotting in that cell?! Honestly, I could understand you still keeping things with that silver-haired princess, because she was equally a victim here and didn't do anything to actually keep you imprisoned, and you seem to get along very well, and she actually seems to be a good influence on you!" she finally inhaled again after throwing all of this in a single breath, "But what would be the reason for you to stick up to that crimson bitch who decided that making a proper investigation on the case is too hard for her brain, I do not understand."

'Huh, now when you put it that way…' Cid never though about it from that perspective. Yeah, sure, he is nigh invincible, can ignore pain, able to quickly regenerate from any wound, has mastery over all possible weapons (and things that can't be even be called proper weapons), and essentially did all of this for his own amusement, just to cross something out from his roleplay bucket list. He kinda forgot, though, that for literally everyone else getting tortured for five days straight would be one of the most traumatic experiences to ever receive, especially considering that just few days prior these guys would be students going about on their daily life, with the only things to worry about being getting better grades and hoping that your crush would answer positively. 'No wonder, then, that Alexia breaks down the moment she thinks something is gonna happen to me again… Hmm, being a mob surely has its disadvantages… You have to think about other people worrying over your safety… I understand why they think that way but it doesn't make any of this less frustrating to deal with!'

He glanced over at her heated face.

'Well, it's not like I can't think of a way to deal with it, though.'

"Claire, listen," her face lit up with anger, but he's not playing around now, "I said. Claire. Listen," and she immediately ceases any signs of resistance. Works like a charm every time, "I know, you're worried about me, but I am very resilient, you of all people should know this. Yes, it pissed me off that I got locked up for 5 days," the only thing Cid was pissed about is the fact that he couldn't properly train during this time but that's something he can overlook, "but nothing that bad happened-"

"Nothing bad? Nothing bad?! When I saw you coming back, your chest was bleeding! Your arms had multiple cuts! Your back had not a single healthy patch of skin!-"

"But can you see any of them now?"

"…Yes, maybe you healed it over time, but-"

"It was literally few days ago, Claire-"

"Now don't try to divert the topic! It's not about how superficial your wounds were, it's the fact that they were! And that's what got me worried! That you got hurt! That I wasn't able to protect you! That I-"

Pat.

That was his hand caressing her hair.

"Don't you dare to think that this will soothe me…"

"Sure."

Pat.

She slowly fell down on his chest.

"Don't make me worried so much anymore…"

"I will try to."

Pat.

She slowly snuggled up against him.

"Today… I am sleeping with you… Not letting you go… anywhere…"

"You're welcome, onee-sama."

Pat.


Alpha was thinking.

She realized that some things were not what they seemed to be.

For example: her beloved Master Shadow turned out to be not so omniscient as she imagined him. Did it change anything? Of course not. However, that made her look back at some events in a different light.

Alpha fondly remembered the first time she ever saw him; as she was just cured of Curse of Diabolos, her master spoke about an impending calamity that threatens to destroy the world as they know it. As the time went on, she found more and more evidence that it's all, in fact, true, and they amassed a large amount of people that once were, how everyone else calls it, Possessed.

However, there were two strange things that she dismissed as her imagination. Up to this very moment.

1. Master Shadow spoke of Cult of Diabolos and Diabolos Curse as 'tales and myths'. It was like he himself did not believe that what he says is actually truth. Of course, that should not be possible.

2. The fact that when she first opened her eyes she managed to see him talking about 'taking a role' and trying to sit on the crate in the most imposing manner.

Of course, Alpha now had an explanation for a second one. That is, that their beloved Master was still a kid at that time (now would you believe it: he was actually the shortest among them back then) and wanted to look cool in front of her.

The first one, however, is way stranger. If he didn't think the Cult of Diabolos is real, why would he need to train so much? Why would he need to put himself in so much danger with his experiments if it's not to destroy a massive organization committing heinous acts like kidnapping children and torturing them? Why would he need to open up his own organization? Why would he share his power with them?…

As Alpha stared at papers detailing every single minute detail about Master Shadow, she could feel a headache. Things just did not make sense.

Master Shadow's power is real. That's a fact. Master Shadow is not an omniscient being that could prepare plans for plans in case his plans did not go as planned. He confessed so himself.

But there was no way he really just went with the flow all the time and always remained successful! Coincidences of that level just could not happen!

Yet here it was. The living proof of 'success by ignorance'.

She scrutinized every detail of the past as much as possible. Beta was correct in her choice to archive every single interaction between Shadow and the world, though her language could be more… official and not tale-like. Now, she remembered that each time she said something about Shadow Garden or Cult of Diabolos, there always was a second for him to think an answer. However, when they were talking about mundane life, there was no delay. Ideally, there shouldn't have been a delay in either situation because he already knows what they are talking about. This was disproven by him, so we can go lower and say that while there are things he doesn't know about, he still should be able to answer instantly to most of their questions. But that was not the case. He thought about every single answer.

It was as if he tried to create the most exciting story to live in.

Alpha could feel that she tapped on something. She had the key in her hands. Now she just needed to find the right door…

Crawl.

Alpha immediately turned her head in the sound direction only to see slime escaping through the door gap.

'Only Shadow Garden has the knowledge necessary to utilize the slimes properly… If the word about Master Shadow not being so perfect gets out, it could damage the whole organization's morale… I can't allow that to happen!'


Crawl. Crawl. Crawl.

Slime found its way into a white room filled with numerous devices, each more bizarre than the other. It slithery moved towards the brown-haired girl writing down research results. Once it made contact with her black coat, slime was immediately absorbed by extravagant clothing two sizes bigger than what should have been on a girl of such proportions. And then her hand stopped.

"…Fascinating."

Eta slowly lifted her head.

"Who would have thought… that Master Shadow was not so omniscient… as we all imagined him to be," her speech was somewhat lethargic, as if she still hasn't awoken fully. However, if anyone ever saw her face, they would never be able to recover.

Eta had a large, way too much for a human being, smile. Her eyes emitted a dangerous light as she contemplated the prospects this knowledge would bring her. She partially lost control over her slime, making her clothing slowly dissipate back into liquid state.

"Master Shadow… Gave so much Wisdom… Yet… He's not that wise himself?… Hi-hi-hi~"

She saw a new path opening up in front of her. And she was more than willing to walk it.

"I wonder… How would he react… If we swapped in roles… That would be… a pleasant experience… Right, Alpha-sama?"

The grinning Seventh Shade slowly turned around to face the fuming First Shade.

"Eta," blonde elf gritted her teeth, "how were you able to bypass my detection?"

"Mmm? That's… the first thing you ask?" amusement flashed through brown-haired elf eyes, "Then… let me humour you…"

Researcher slowly stood up and started walking towards de-facto organization leader.

"First… I tried to copy Shadow-sama concealment abilities… He calls them "Mobfu Techniques"… Very efficient… You can blend in with anything…"

Despite being a bit shorter, she seemed intimidating enough for Alpha to subconsciously step back. Eta's smile widened upon seeing that.

"Of course… You were also distracted… I understand that sentiment… I want to know more about him, too~"

Scientist briefly licked her lips.

"Now… You want to know more, don't you? Ask me, then… Alpha-sama," it was clear mocking.

"Eta, you do realize that you show disloyalty with your current behaviour?" Alpha tried to chide her, but…

"M?"

Eta slowly blinked as she processed what the First Shade told… and once fully realizing the meaning behind the words…

"Ha-ha… He-he-he…" Eta's expression slowly twisted, "Hi-hi-hi… Ah-hah-hah-hah!…"

Her laugh caught Alpha off guard.

"A-HA-HA-HA!… GHA-HA-HA-HA… Hi-hi… hi-hi-hi~"

As Eta's laugh slowly died out, her crazed eyes locked on still shocked blonde elf.

"What made you think?… I am loyal to Shadow Garden?… My loyalty lies… With Shadow-sama himself… Not with you, Alpha," her voice became louder with each passing second, "even though I do respect other Shades… and have warm feelings towards them…" Eta's slime suit slowly enlarged, creating liquid weapons around her, "I would not hesitate to put you all on dissecting table should my Lord order me to do so."

Researcher gently caressed her superior's cheeks, making her flinch.

"Now… don't tell me you're so different…" scientist's expression relaxed as she bit her lips, "We all are the same… Would do anything for the sake of our Lord…" her hands slowly moved towards her chest, "But what if…? He's not the smartest…? Not the wisest…? Struggles to lead us…? That's what you think, right? You think I am only attracted to his intelligence, which happened to be a fluke, right?" she moved her face closer to Alpha's one, "However… I became obsessed with him… If he is not smarter than me… I will take him under myself, then… If he suddenly lost his powers… I would lock him up until I can return them back… If he were to happen to be beaten to the point of not being able to move… I would become his caretaker… Hi-hi-hi~" Eta giggled at the mere thought of having Lord Shadow being so dependent on her~ "I barely have morals… Everyone knows that… Everyone thinks I would discard anything if it helps to pursuit my knowledge accumulation… Mostly, that's true… But not Lord Shadow", her lethargic speech was replaced with fervent one the moment she spoke about him, "I keep saying that I want to dissect and drug him, but that's because I know for sure I will not leave him damaged or, worse, dead. I have overprepared everything just in case he actually gets hurt. You hear me, Alpha? He's the most precious thing in the world for me. Before, it was because I thought of him as a specimen way too valuable to be lost. Now, it's because I am so much in love with him. You can say that these are mine… True feelings for him."

Eta retracted herself back.

"Now, don't tell me you are not the same. You would do anything just to be with him. Even if it means dropping all the Shadow Garden. And everyone else feels the same, too," she turned back to her devices, "In fact, I am pretty sure someone would plot making him an Immortal God ruling over the world behind your back… Or maybe not, hi-hi~"

Alpha gritted her teeth as she hatefully stared at researcher's back.

"No need to be hostile. As long as Shadow-sama views Shadow Garden important to him, I will continue to support it. And I will not tell about this matter anyone else, as I know for a fact that it would collapse the organization should it be revealed, which he would be upset with. Just do not be mistaken: no matter how wrong we were about his competence, I am still loyal to him, not to you."

The First Shade fell down on the chair, completely exhausted.

"Oh, right, your order… it's ready, Alpha-sama… Would you like… to receive cuffs now?"


Alternative titles: "My overprotective sister can't be this cute!", "My crazy obsessed scientist can't be this cute!"