"Master Shadow, could you please elaborate how comes it that you give me a letter with seven words written in it, run to Goddess knows where, and when we finally find you, a part of the forest is literally in ruins?" exasperated Alpha was doing what her Master calls "facepalm".

In the middle of noon, Shadow came up to her with the most serious expression on his face. She thought that he was going to reveal something that might shake her world. Then he looked around to make sure nobody else was there and took out some kind of a letter. 'It must be top-secret information!' she thought…

Then he just shoved this letter in her hands and by the time she realized what was happening he was nowhere to be seen. Confused, Alpha opened up the letter.

'Gonna test something, will return by evening.'

It was at this moment understanding dawned at her: he was once again experimenting, all by himself. Then she found his notes about magic. Which abruptly ended on his musings about using Curse of Diabolos as means to quickly increase magic reserve. Of course, she sent everyone on high alert; after all, if his earlier experiments were all closely related to Curse of Diabolos (or, as he calls it now, Magic Overload), who knows what, exactly, is he planning to do now?

But even with Delta's sense of smell and Eta's trackers they couldn't find anything out of ordinary. That is, until they heard a loud explosion. The place where it happened was completely, absolutely destroyed: once big and strong trees now were nothing more than chips, splinters scattered across the plains.

And here he stood. Master Shadow. With a smile on his face akin to a child that just got their favourite present. Upon seeing them, though, a look of acceptance appeared on his face. Yes, he allowed them to escort him back. And when she says escort, she means escort: they surrounded him to make sure he would not run away yet again… though something tells her that if he really wanted to they would not be able to stop him.

"Hmm, well, you gotta be more specific about your questions," and look of innocence on his face.

Seriosly, she respects Cid a lot. She respects his dedication, his kindness, his willingness to go down to their level — just look how he explains everything to Delta! — and the fact that he just gave away so knowledge about fighting and how to treat the Curse even though it was all his hard work.

But at times like this it's just unbearable! Is asking to be a bit more open to them and not take everything on himself too much? Their Master was literally the one who proposed the notes exchange before going on practical tests, yet not even a day after he runs away to do it alone!

"Well, we agreed to have a discussion about magic before going on with practice, right?" her smile did not have a single bit of smile.

"Oh, yeah, something like that happened…" now he takes on thinking expression.

"Ri-i-ight," she stretched her words, "so what about your notes?"

"Oh," he blinked, "well, I finished them and decided to go out."

"And it just so happens to end on your theory about increasing your magical capacity via Curse of Diabolos — or, by your words, Magic Overload, — and then we hear an explosion exactly at the place where you were training…" she pointed out what, she thought, was the biggest problem, "Master Shadow, do you take us for dumb?"

"Uh, no, you girls are pretty smart," he denied.

"Then why would you go out on your own and still test it out without consulting at least Eta and Epsilon?!" she exploded.

But…

"Who said I was experimenting with Magic Overload?" he looked at her, confused.

"…What?"

"I know it pretty well, and everything I wrote was not a theory, but a fact that is backed by a lot of cases. With treatment cases we have you, girls, and with "control-it-on-your-own" case, well, me," he pointed.

"Master…" Eta interjected, "are you saying… you caused it on yourself?…"

"Caused? I am doing it all the time," Cid blinked at researcher.

"…Lord Shadow?…" Beta covered her mouth.

"Yeah, I don't know why you girls are so concerned about that. I mean, I was doing it even before I saved Alpha… Hey, Alpha, you alright?… Alpha?"

Oh, don't mind her. She just feels somewhat uneasy… just need to take a quick rest…

'So now I am practically under house arrest.'

After Alpha regained consciousness, the first thing she did was ordering all Shades to take rotations on watching him. No, really, she was so hellbent on that she didn't even listen to him, and it looks like other Shades agreed with her on that matter. He could force his way on them if he wished to, but he didn't want to strain their relationship ever more, not after everything they have done for him…

In short, he agreed to just sit out and not do anything while they were compiling their notes… They are very slow on that if he's being honest; he finished everything in less than a day, yet they say barely managed to write half of their knowledge out! He starts to think what they actually want is him just sitting there and being pretty, not doing anything!

So much for his magic training… No, hold on, there is a way…

"Lord Shadow, I think I just sensed a spark of magic near you…" Epsilon frowned at him.

"Nah, must be your imagination. I mean, there's simply no way for anyone to use magic in these conditions, right?"

"That's true, but… that's you we are talking about…" she squinted.

Oh, right, he's also full of anti-magic things. Eta strapped cuffs on him, then remembered they do shit against him, and strapped another pair. Then another, and another, and so until it was tenth pair. Alpha thought it over and asked Eta to also add some to his legs, to which researcher happily obliged, staring at him like starving wolf at a meat. By that point he realized that unless he goes Nuclear there's practically no way for him to get out… Nah, just kidding, he still had access to Blood Magic, though mana was really hard to sense…

Well, all in all, he has to thank girls. This opportunity is quite hard to come by!

What does he mean? Oh, he thought his control was actually great and there was no sure way to improve it, but upon realizing anti-magic thingies exist in this world he realized he just needs to equip better ones and more of them each time he feels he can control magic just like without them! Then by the time all options are exhausted his magic control will be so precise that he would be able to feel every single magic particle and practically ignore any lesser magic disruption means!

Epsilon shuddered upon seeing her Lord suddenly grin.

"What do we even do with you, Master Shadow…" Alpha sighed and hugged a big plushie of Cid.

By that point she realized that her Master was… not right in the head. Nobody sane would willingly go on and experiment with their bodies, especially with something as lethal as Curse.

'I heard him saying genius and insanity often go hand in hand, but to think Cid went that far…'

At that point even their morally ambiguous scientist dropped her usual antics. Not even she would go as far as to inflict Curse in order to use it.

Nobody knew what to do. Their beloved Master was completely obsessed with magic, to the point of willing to abandon even his own words in pursuit of it. He never lies, he rarely makes any promises, but ones that he does? He always fulfills them. But now he didn't.

It wasn't always like this; back in time when they just formed Seven Shades he was very kind to them, even willing to go out of his manor at nights despite knowing he could get scolding from his relatives, all because he wanted to help them. She remembered how cheerful he was when he shared business ideas with Gamma, how he proudly looked at Epsilon each time she learned something from him, how he gently lulled Beta to sleep to help with her nightmares… When did it all go wrong?…

Alpha tightened her grip on the plush.

Eta jokingly proposed to just lock him up until they finish with their own work, but Alpha realized it is actually a sound suggestion. Thankfully, he seemed to understand they only wished good for him and willingly accepted it… for the time being. She had no doubt if they take too long he would just break out, and she wasn't sure she would be able to subdue him even with all the 'nerfs', as he calls it.

It was the first time in years when they finally went out together, all eight of them. It was supposed to be a moment of bliss, when she and everyone else would once again bask in his love. Blinded by her wishes, she did not notice — or rather, decided to ignore — a crucial detail: he did not take them out to reminisce about their childhood years. He wanted their help in magic research.

…First time in years…

…Years?

Could it be that because of their absence he went to the next thing he loved the most: researching magic? That… seemed plausible. He mentioned how Eta was the most similar to him in character, and Alpha knows that if it was not for other Shades being friendly to researcher, she would completely lose all her morals.

And same thing could happen to their Master: while he was with them and his sister, their mutual support held him back just as much as it helped them. Then his sister went to the capital. Then they left him, too. Yes, one of Shades was always with him, but it was seemingly not enough. And so he went all out.

By the time they assembled together again, Shadow was already deep down. He always seemed to be thinking about something, and he only talked with them about development of Shadow Garden. It was as if he was more interested in the organization itself than in people that were in it.

That means they simply should be with him again. Even if he shows his indifferent expression each time they pile up on him, she knows that deep down he's feeling happy about being with them. They just need to remind him that he's not the only one happy with it.

They will just relive their precious memories so he will remember that there are things other than finding the most insane ways to use magic. And if he really wants to do that, then at least they will be there to hold him down. She doesn't want one day to wake up and see him exploding like these trees.

'Now this is just ridiculous.'

It was not even an evening when Alpha decided that instead of a rotation Shades will all be in the same room with him. At all times. And that means no training, no polishing his Shadowbroker role, only interaction with girls! He honestly does not mind that, but they are here for a reason!

"Master Shadow, could you please answer one thing?" Alpha tapped on her cup.

"Yeah, sure, go on?"

"How much time do you give for your magic training usually?"

Oh? She is interested in his training regime?

"All the time," yeah, Alpha, while you train, I train! While you write documents, I train! While you eat, I train! And even while we both sleep, I still train!… Just not with magic.

"All the time?…" Gamma dropped her cookie. Pity for the food, Epsilon put a lot of love in it…

"Yeah, even when in academy I try to circulate my magic energy so I can feel it better."

"…But what about rest?" oh, that's our Beta, kind-hearted as always.

"Don't worry, I only need to sleep an hour a day at most in order to fully rest. Honestly, these sleep-overs were the first time when I actually slept like a normal human," and those were also very soft sleep-overs, but shhh.

"…I propose we use this week as a true vacation instead of magic research," 'wait, what?!'

"Our Lord needs proper rest, that's going too far!" "I will order everything necessary for comfortable stay." "Bossman, we will keep you safe!" "For once I agree with dog…" "Too much work… even for me…" "We will need guards around."

"Now hold on a minute, I said it was alright-"

"It is clearly not alright," Alpha interrupted him. "We have closed our eyes on that thinking it was something important, but at that point it's clear you're obsessed with magic itself, even at the cost of your own life, be it literal or social," she pressed her hands on his chest, "And I will not allow the man I love to be left alone because of his obsession, or worse, die because he couldn't properly assess the risks. We will drag you out of this. Whether you want it or not."

"…The man you love?" Cid slowly stood up, eyeing everyone around him. He could see Beta worriedly covering her chest, Gamma clenching her fists…

"Yes. I wish for your safety, and for you to realize that there are people worried about you. I understand that… two years ago… we left you on your devices. I understand that magic and swordsmanship were everything you had, but you don't need to bury yourself that deep."

"…You do know that I do everything because of my dream?"

"L-Lord Shadow? What-" Epsilon's eyes widened.

"Yes, I do," Alpha interjected before the Faithful could finish her question, "but that doesn't mean you need to throw away everything for the sake of it."

"Yes, bossman! Um, I don't understand what Alpha-sama is saying, but you seem sad, so I agree with her!" Delta nodded fervently.

"After all… If you do that, to who would you brag about your success later on?"

"… Hah."

"Shadow?"

"I intended to walk this path alone from the very beginning," he sat back down and sighed, "I wished to just become strong enough to withstand and fight everything should the need ever come to."

'Guess in pursuit of my dream I completely forgot about normal life… They all seem so worried…"

"… I agree."

"Lord Shadow?"

"Magic will not run anywhere. However, it has been long since I spent time with all of you, so let's have fun together again."

"YAY!" collective screaming and attempts to pile up on him.

"Oh, and Alpha… when you said about love, you meant…"

"I meant it with every fiber of my being, Shadow," she smiled gently.

"Alpha-sama, don't forget about us!" "M-m-m, I did no less!" "Do we show our love for bossman again? Delta is in…!"

"Oh… well…"

"Seriously, Master Shadow," Alpha sighed, tired, "were the last three times not enough?"

"Oh, I thought you just went along with role as always…"

"No, I did not do that because of any role assigned to me," Alpha blinked. "I just said, and I quote, "it would be cool" because it seemed like you wouldn't accept our feelings any other way."

"…And now I feel stupid for not understanding it sooner," he blankly stated.

"Then we will give you some knowledge on how to understand social cues," Alpha smirked at him, "because, clearly, you lack in that area."

"Low blow, Alpha… but thank you."

She simply nodded at him, still smiling.

"And we will help you in your dream… but you will have to listen to us when we say you're taking it too far, alright?"

"Sure thing."

'Man, it actually feels good to have friends!… Or should I call them my beloved now? Huh, it looks like I fully accepted my role as Harem Protagonist… Well, as long as they are happy. I already tested magic out, might as well actually rest.'

And this should conclude all the drama arc with Shades. From now on wholesome only with them.

Also next two or three chapters are about him being with Shades that didn't have their own yet (Delta, Epsilon, Zeta).