Life's a Pay to Win Game

by swordmaster888

Eminence in Shadow and Mobuseka Crossover. I read some fanfics that had self inserts take over, and some stuff that was like Light vs Shadow. So I since I made the connection of Luxion Light and am not that fond of how the self inserts kinda make the original protagonist needless, here we are. I'm pulling from as many sources these stories have as I can

15. Chapter 15

A/N: Okay. Here we go.

Also, I signed up for the A03 Queue. I didn't realize you needed an account for QQ. In hindsight though, I think I only moved to questionable questing after following Sage_of_Eyes' Unfortunately I'm not a Hero from spacebattles. I guess I use A03 enough to warrant an account anyway. Just remember to say thank you when I start posting there. It's going to be a couple of weeks though. Fun fact, I thought about Hikigaya Hachiman and his harem in this crossover too when I was first planning it. Just had no idea how to do it, lol.

Neat thing, finally got on the second page for Space Battles.

By the way, lemon in this chapter. Near the end again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs, nor do I own The Eminence in Shadow. The only Beta reader here is the elf.

---

-Alpha-

"Let him go." Shouted the Christmas cake.

"No!" I shouted in reply.

"Come over here Beatrice!" demanded the old hag.

"That's not my name!" I shouted.

"Beatrice please, I've been searching for you for years! I know you think you're grown but you can't be any older than 18!" shouted the woman with white hair.

"You found me! Congratulations, give me back my ring! I don't need you anymore!" I shouted.

It would be far to easy to simply exert my own strength over Beatrix, and some part of me so desperately wants to. But… But…

"Beatrice please don't say that…"

"My name is Alice now! Alice!" I scream.

I feel Cid's hand on my shoulders. He forces me to look at him.

"Alice… what is it that has you so angry?" he asked.

I can't look him in the eyes. I can't really process anything. I'm seconds away from forgoing my disguise and using my power to just get rid of Beatrix… but.

"Bea-… Alice. Please… I…" The woman reaches into the pocket of her extremely short pants and pulls out something… familiar, "Don't you remember this? When we used to play with flowers, you made this small ring for me. I've kept it this entire time… please… I want to help you… I… I've been looking for you this entire time."

…

I do remember making that for her.

I remember listening to her stories about the outside world.

I remember how she'd play with me until I got tired.

How she'd sneak me out at times.

How… how much she loved me.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk. It's not like we could outrun you or anything." Offered Cid.

Beatrix nods and sheathes her sword.

…

Hey, wait! Where's my ring!? Cid was going to give it to me!

-Beatrix-

When Princess Iris had contacted me for a temporary job I had accepted without thinking much of it. For as much as I didn't need the money, I did appreciate the opportunity to visit the academy. Many students there have elf servants, and even if they were mostly female students with male servants any opportunity to pool wealth together on my missing Niece was welcome. Some part of me figured that my niece may be one of those servants, given how cute she was. I couldn't help but worry if that were the case, at a mere 18 years old there's no way she'd be mature enough to face those kinds of circumstances and come out unscathed.

But to think that the night I arrived in the capital would also be the night I'd find her. Not only that she was being proposed to! I… I won't accept it! She's too young! At a mere eighteen years old, to get married!? Her parents were well into their eighties when they met each other, not to mention that not even I have had a lover even though I'm in my hundreds!

Beatri…Alice is still pouting.

This is for the best Alice. This man is far too weak for you. I won't accept a partner for you unless he is as strong as me. I won't accept the possibility that you could be kidnapped again.

As it was explained to me by Cid Kagenou: Alice was kidnapped by bandits when she was younger. By luck he managed to find her and her friends. The bandits were attacked by nearby monsters which couldn't get through the cages the girls were kept in, and Cid had let them out shortly after they left. As a baron's child, Cid was able to take in Alice as his personal servant in order to get her food and shelter. They also would regularly sneak out food and some money from the household. I suppose I can thank him for that at least. Some part of me wants to be angry about Alice being someone's servant, but she seemed to recall those times so happily.

"Cid has always been quite hopeless without me, if I were to leave him who knows what would happen." Stated Alice with pride.

Cid poked her cheek, "Is this really coming from the same girl that used to cling to me and beg for me to live at least 300 years?"

Alice pouted in the same way she used to as a little girl… no, this wasn't the same expression. She… she looks a lot like her mother did when she was with her father, "…I need at least a thousand from you now."

"Eh… how am I supposed to do that?" whined Cid.

"Figure it out. I believe in you." Said Alice with a smile… the smile of a young woman in love.

…

"Alice." I state.

The smile fades.

I sigh and take out the ring and flick it like a coin in her direction.

Alice catches it with a surprised expression. "…Beatrix?"

…Beatrix, not Aunite… I suppose I'll have to work my way up to it. I believe I know where to start too.

"Cid." I state, drawing his attention before I continue, "I… don't approve of someone so weak being my… Alice's betrothed. However, I can see that my opinion won't stop her. In fact I find it hard to argue with it, given how happy you make her."

"Oh?" said Cid.

"But… I can't accept you being so weak. I need for you to be strong enough to protect Alice. That is the only way for me to approve completely of your union." I state, making sure to stare deeply into Cid's admittedly cute eyes, "Luckily, I was called by Princess Iris to fill in for her as the sword instructor for the week. As I also managed to find Alice here, I'll stay nearby as well."

The look on Cid's face at my declaration was rather funny. With Alice's parents now being… In any case, I am Alice's guardian.

-P2W/Sherry-

One day after school, a girl caught the presence of a boy in the classroom and eagerly dashed towards him. That girl was Sherry. The boy, Cid, was far too tired from his practice with the elven woman known as The Goddess of War to really put up any effort. The elf that normally accompanies him, Alice, is also absent. Plus, last time Sherry had talked to Alexia it was confirmed to her that she had no feelings for Cid so Sherry is completely free to hang out with him.

"…to that end, I was thinking about going shopping in the open air market on my next day off." Said Sherry

"Oh?" mutters Cid, "that's nice."

Sherry nods enthusiastically, "So you see! I want you to accompany me, Cid, so I've come here to ask you along!"

"Why me?" asked Cid.

"Because of something Stephanie told me," answered Sherry "She said that the open-air market can be dangerous for a tiny girl like me to explore alone, so I should ask for you to go with me."

"She mentioned me specifically?" asked Cid incredulously.

"Yes!" Beamed Sherry.

"Well," mumbled Cid, "as a devout NPC I can't possibly turn down a direct order from that extremely vilaness looking girl. In fact, if I did say no, she'd probably make a whole bunch of trouble afterwords. Especially considering that stuff she was up to the other night. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em I guess."

Sherry adorably tilts her head and tries to catch the boy's attention by getting in his field of vision, "Cid? What are you mumbling about?"

Cid just shakes his head, "Oh, it's nothing. Understood. I'll go with you."

"You mean it?!" Beamed Sherry as she bounced up and down, "Oh, I was so worried that you'd turn me down! *Ahem* Okay, here's where and when we'll meet up…"

Heehee! Thought Sherry, it sure is fun making plans to go out with a friend, isn't it?

Sherry then straightens up, "Oh! If there's any place you'd like to go, Cid, please speak up. I would feel bad dragging you around to only the places I want to go."

"Hmm… I don't think there's any place in particular I'd like to go. So don't worry about me." Said Cid.

Sherry sparkles in excitement, "Are you sure?! O-Okay, then, I'll roll up my sleeves and plan away!"

Cid chuckles, "Ah… take it easy, okay? One day is too short to get through any grand plan you conjure up."

Sherry gasps in response to the completely reasonable advice as though it were a revelation, "Y-Yes, you're right! I'll take it easy!"

Time passes by in a flash, and the long-awaited day has arrived at last. That is to say they met a couple of hours after.

Feeling self-conscious as this is their first time meeting up outside of uniforms, the pink haired researcher asked Cid "Um, Cid? Is there something strange about my outfit?"

"No, not at all. Sorry, I just realized this is the first time I've seen you outside of school. You're usually holed up doing research right?" clarified Cid.

"hehe, yeah, I guess you're right. Um… how do I look?" asked Sherry.

Cid thinks for a second before stating, "Yeah, I think I like that style on you. It suits you."

Sherry blushes at her friend's comment, biting down on her lip to not show a dopey looking smile, "Mmf! W-Well… th-thank you."

Cid complimented my style?! I've never experienced anyone giving me a compliment like that before… I had no idea that so few words could make me so happy.

"So," started Cid, "Where're we going? You didn't tell me anything about it."

Sherry smiled before leading dragging Cid to a shop that sold hair accessories. She had a nice time asking for his opinions on bows and the like, and he even seemed to like some enough that he bought seven. Sherry figured that it was for Alice and/or his sister. Although Cid seemed o compliment Sherry on everything she picked, so I made her so happy she got confused. Luckily, she had saved up enough money to just buy everything.

After leaving the hair accessory store, they head towards some stalls along the side of the street. The town has an air of vitality about it. They went to look at some statuettes, Sherry buying ne that Cid recommended for her ignoring the price. Then they went to go get lunch. Although Sherry had a schedule, she started to let go of it as she went about her day, having too much fun with Cid to really care.

What's strange is that they by the Prince's entourage. Sherry knew that Stephanie had said something about having business with them, but she didn't allow Sherry to ask what it really was.

But what caught Sherry's eye was the fact that Marie Fou Lafan appeared to be wearing an artifact, or as the kingdom of Holfort called it, a lost item. Namely, a broach that Sherry had once read to be capable of charming the opposite sex. Surely… that was just a replica right?

Too nervous to call her out on it, Sherry simply goes about finishing her hangout session with Cid, even getting to hold his hand as they go through the crowded street.

-Leon-

With our return there was almost no time to prepare for the end of year party. However, given the sexy as hell dress that Angelica had prepared for the event, I couldn't just show up wearing my uniform. So I decided to ask Luna, who I gave a ride back to Holfort's capital, if I could buy some suits and dresses from her store suitable for the event. She was all too happy to do so, likely because I offered to pay for Cid and Alice as well.

I wore an updated version of the outfit I wore to my reward ceremony. It's essentially an old timey double button suit, with a dark gray outside, light grey on the inner strip, gold accents, and red on the collar and cape. Also, instead of a tie I had an cravat on that was tucked underneath my shirt. The girls seemed to think I looked rather nice, so even if I felt like a dork I couldn't help but feel good.

Angie wore this sexy black and red piece that looked like it was draped on her body and seconds away from falling off, just barely hanging on to her curves by some knots in the back and her side. She of course still had the Saintess' necklace and bracelet on. She caught me staring more than a couple of times while she wore it, smiling seductively at me and swinging her hips a bit more than usual. I walked into a plant at one point. Luckily, we were still in Mitsugoshi, but I felt bad about it.

Livia wore a really cute blue outfit that showed off her innocence despite showing a fair bit of cleavage as well. Light blue connecting large sections of dark blue and a clothe necklace with a gem on it. The gems were red however, likely to match her red eye. Looking at her, I couldn't help but wrap her in a big hug. She whined about messing up her look, but she was the one nuzzling into me at full speed.

Cid and the other boys wore pretty similar suits to my own, just without the cape and the red on the collar replaced by colors that suit them more. I suppose the power rangers insults towards the five idiots doesn't fit as well anymore given we were going for some sort of edgy fantasy version compared to their campier looks.

The other girls wore some simple pieces. Clarice for example had this cute sundress looking piece with a green sash that matched her eye color around her waist. Alice wanted to wear this dress that reminded me of a Chinese Qi Pao from my previous life, but all the other girls forbade it saying that it showed too much skin. I did see Cid whisper something to Luna about keeping the dress for later though, so, maybe I can score a couple version for Angie and Livia later.

Eventually the time for the dance came, and we had a good time at the start. I managed to dance with not only Livia and Angie but also Claire, Clarice, and Deirdre. I wasn't sure about doing it at first, but Livia had insisted it was okay. Cid and Alice snuck off somewhere, probably to make out if I had to guess, but not before Cid had danced with her, Rose, Claire, and Alexia.

Dan, Raymond, and Daniel actually all chose to skip the dance after getting one dance in with their own partners. I also met Dan's wife, which yeah wife, for the first time. She's a nice lady, pretty pure and soft spoken. A bit too shy though, so Dan had to introduce her and basically speak for her. I think her name was something like Nanna.

Iris and her friend Beatrix didn't attend the party due to them being teachers and not students. So they went out to go drink for plausible deniability for what was to come. Speaking of which:

"I'm doing this for the sake of the future of the kingdom, your highness." Insisted Angelica.

Julius merely sneered, "I can't stand your words. That's all."

Angelica shook her head, "Your highness, please. Your recent actions have been putting you in a bad light. Please, I understand you may not like me, but surely you can understand that you might not be able to live a peaceful life with your wife if you don't put in the work to become a good king."

"*Sigh* Make all the excuses you want Angelica, I wish not to hear them." Said Julius.

"Quite the pathetic showing Redgrave," said Jilk, "especially given how alone you are."

"Is this just because your jealous?" teased Greg.

"I feel bad for that poor boy you've been stringing along," taunted Brad.

Chris adjusted his glasses before continuing the jeer, "I've once heard that women of high nobility were like crabs in a bucket, you wish for nothing to drag Marie down to your level don't you?"

"Just look at you," said Julius, "surrounded by nothing but rejects, commoners, and people who are unwanted. Hmph, perhaps that's where you've always belonged."

*Crack*

"Leon!?" cried Livia.

Oh, I seemed to have crushed the wine glass in my hands. Huh. I also appear to be filled with a familiar rage. I know this feeling, it's the same feeling I had whenever I saw my boss in my past life harass some of my old co-workers. I couldn't save them, but I'll be damned if I don't stand up for the woman I love.

Okay. Showtime.

I look back to everyone and state, "…You know? I hate those guys with a passion."

I give Livia a quick kiss and pass her off to our friends, signaling for them to get ready. I walk up to the arena that everyone has made in interest of what was going on.

"Then maybe you'd listen to me." I state as I walk next to Angie.

I get a good look at these idiot's stupid faces of surprise. They stand in front of Marie, as though I'd want to do something to her.

"You guys really just say what you want, don't you?" I jeer, "I feel like I'd be surprised if it weren't for the blatant use of nepotism you all exude."

Greg walks up to me and tries to use his height in intimidation, "Who do you think you are."

…

Heh.

What a dumb one.

"Funny you should ask that." I state. I then reached into my suit jacket and pulled out some documents. At the same time, I see a certain red-haired princess begin to come close to us from the corner of my eye.

Jilk walks up to me and snatches the papers out of my hand. "What in the hell are you…"

He pauses for a second. Then reads over the paper again. And again. Julius walks up to him and reads it too.

"So," I say while addressing the interested crowd, "As everyone may or may not know, I am Leon Fou Barfort. Prior to my time here in the academy I was on an adventure. During which I had learned of something once forgotten to history. Everyone is familiar with the founder of the kingdom, Julian of Holfort, yes?"

Jilk attempts to stop me realizing the situation, but Iris and Beatrix cut them off.

"Princess Iris!?" balks Jilk.

"The Kingdom of Midgar recognizes what Leon is about to say to be the truth." States Iris, forcing everyone to realize the gravity of the situation.

"Thank you, Princess Iris." I thanked her before addressing the crowd once more, "Now funny thing about Julian, he was born in a village referred to as Bart's Fort. But what's more? He wasn't an only child as the bards like to claim. No, Julian had an older brother. This older brother was the one who taught him everything about being an adventurer, and may have even been the one to lead the efforts to conquer the new lands and all of the dungeons we had been lead to believe that Julian and the other four founding houses had done. This older brother? His name was Lea."

"This is absurd!" yelled Chris.

"You speak of treason Barfort!" exclaimed Brad.

"I ought to rip that tongue out of your throat!" roared Greg.

"Then perhaps you may finally have a grasp on reality," I state while having my friends distribute copies of the documents, "Because this has been confirmed by King Roland himself."

"Father!?" exclaimed Julius, "He knows of this?"

"Indeed, as well as what I'm going to do next." I state.

I walk up to Julius while taking off one of my white gloves and use it to slap him in the face.

"Julius, I am a descendant of Lea of Bart's Fort. I am the Lost King. I challenge you for the right to the throne." I state.

The room falls silent.

However, like a firework cutting through the darkness-

"W-wait!" cried Marie, "You… You can't do that! There's no way that you'd have the backing for this! What does the past matter, Julius and everyone have the people's support!"

Julius nods, "Yeah that's-"

*Pfft*

"You dare laugh!?" screams Jilk.

"Of course I do. You really think that I came so unprepared?" I answer before shaking my head, "You know what? No. No matter if I point out the fact that you have only the support of those afraid to change, or that I have the support of many other noble houses, no I feel that you may be more interested in this."

I take out the debt documents addressed to Marie. As she and the boys see them she grows pale.

"W-why… why do you have this?" asked Marie as she trembled.

"I tried to tell you when we explored the dungeon. I had done some digging following that time I saw you and the five nepo-babies confront Angelica at the tea ceremony. You… don't really like them, do you?" I said.

"On what grounds would you state such a thing?! Marie loves us, she's always loved us!" screamed Julius.

I shake my head, "Sure. She may love you, but that might not mean she likes you. After all, did you ever realize that Marie had these debts? Did you ever think to ask her about her family? Did you ever ask about her favorite things? Or was the way she was there for you enough? Did you believe that she'd always be there for you and always be able to read your mind?"

Julius seems to be aghast, unable to respond.

But then-

I make out Marie's appearance, and how she tightly grasps at a broach on her person.

I see…

Julius picks up the glove I slapped him with. "I accept your duel request, Barfort."

I smile, that girl is probably trying to her cheat code to clear the game, "Great! Let's just clarify what's going to happen when I win. Upon my victory you'll relinquish your claim to the throne and work for me to pay off what's left of Marie's debt. Don't worry about accruing more, when I bought them a couple of months ago I got her parents and siblings arrested."

"Hmph. When I win, you will cancel the debts Marie owes, and you will also forgo your claim to the throne." Stated Julius.

Yeah, I guess the whole 'I-If I win, please stop this horrible fight…' spiel won't apply here.

I nod, "Next, about what kind of duel we're going to do. How about a fight in suits of armor borrowed from the arena? Though in my opinion it's a pretty ordinary setup. I'll even let you guys all team up together."

Chris laughs, "Do you even plan on winning against us? Against you, this won't even be a challenge."

I can't help but laugh even harder than he did, "Huh!? Why has it already been decided that I'll lose? I do want to win! More than you'd ever know! This guy sure has a sense of humor! I suppose that's all you can expect from guys who became barons by chance sure are funny aren't they?"

Greg walks up to me, "Now that I think of it, you were supposedly the one to train those fools in the tournament weren't you? Is this all some kind of grab for attention? If you just want to stand out, then go back home, trash."

I laugh again, making Greg seem unnerved, "Eh? What's this? Are you trying to talk me into surrendering? We're way past the point of settling this through a debate y'know? Ah, that's troubling~ I'm pretty bad at that. I'm the one who picked the fight though, so I guess I'll have to accept it as is! You don't want to fight me, so it seems you plan to win with words, guess I have no choice! Let's all try our best!"

"Looking down on us like that, you…" Greg tries before Jilk cuts him off.

"Well, well." Said Jilk, "Our duel shall comprise of one-on-ones in armor suits. However, we have five people on our side. What of you supposed Lost King? Are your followers lost as well?"

I shake my head before pointing behind me. "Oh no, I have several people that would gladly follow me into this battle. It's just that I'd feel bad about having you all beaten by them again."

The five growl at this.

I chuckle. "Well, that's that then. Let's duel, Julius."

-Cid-

Woah… Nice job Leon! The light truly is on you now! Heh… but that just means that shadows you cast have only grown. And that's where we'll do our best work.

Alpha and I had been watching the entire incident from the skylight. We also danced a lot up there as Lord Shadow and Lady Shade, and kissed a bit, but that's not important.

"Cid…" said Alpha.

"It would seem our friend has drawn attention to him once again, this time by taking center stage. And in doing so, he has cast many different shadows." I say cooly.

"Of course. What should we do for now?" asked Alpha.

"For now, let's make sure that this duel will go uninterrupted." I stated.

Alpha nods and the two of us jump off from the ballroom's roof into the night. Recently there's been a bunch of bandits crowding around the capital and it's probably related to the artifacts that have been circling around. Like that one the little gremlin has, which can apparently make the opposite gender more attracted to them. While I do think that a sub plot where we have to track down all the lost items in the capital and then duel using lost items over more lost items could be cool, it would likely take a ton of time and distract from the plot Leon's been setting up.

I want to be a good friend and allow for Leon to have his turn with the Lore since it's so close to its climax, so for now I'll spend time with my favorite girls…Cid, c'mon… with the shades.

Namely Alpha and-

"Bossu~"

Delta, who we meet once we reach the city's outskirts. Good thing we told her to be a good girl and wait for us there, because it'd give me away way too easily. I pat my dog on the head, as does Alpha.

…Hm. Maybe calling her 'my dog' isn't appropriate anymore. My dawg… no. My bi- okay yeah no, no, no. My good girl? I guess so.

I kneel down to Delta's level, "How's my good girl?"

I feel like I see Alpha react to that, but I ignore it for now.

"Delta's been a good girl bossman!" beamed Delta with her tail swinging wildly.

"Good. That's my good girl." I scratch Delta's neck as she purrs a bit. Which is weird to me because I could have sworn that dogs and wolves couldn't do that. Maybe she's copying Zeta by growling? "Delta, I'm going to need you help us track down some stuff today okay?"

"Hunting?" asked the creature of mass destruction.

"Hunting items. Not people. But if you see cult members it's okay, just try not to make too much noise." Clarified Alpha.

"Yay~! Hunting with Bossman and Sir Ladyship Sir!" cheered Delta.

Hm… maybe this wasn't the best decision to make. Oh well.

*Later*

"Gah" screamed Bandit, sorry, Cult member A.

"C-calm down!" yelled Cult member B, "There's just three of them! Hold the line-"

However, just like all of the other members, he had run into the issue of which three people he specifically ran into.

"Too late." I state.

I slash away with the slim suit's nifty functions, basically just walking fast enough that my shoulders and arms are swinging fast enough that it really looks like I just ran through the guy. Like Goku when he's using Ultra Instict.

*sigh*

One day.

Cult Member B screams in pain, "Aaaaghhh!"

In the darkness of the night I lurk, Countless men have already been cut down within a fraction of a second, whoever's left horrified at the sight of the three shadow figures in front of them.

"Damn it…" cried Cult Member C, "How did they manage to figure out our plan?"

I had, in fact, not figured out their plan. Honestly, we got most of the lost items in circulation already and just wanted to head back to take Delta for a walk.

I take a quick look around me and see that Alpha and Delta have cleared out everyone else.

Save for one.

"…You're the last one." I state with complete apathy. To him, this is the end of everything. For me, this was a Friday.

The Captain of these bandits, sorry, Cult members looks in horror, "Ack! Y-you… You've slaughtered all my men! Why are you doing this!?"

"Why?" I said. "Isn't it obvious? To exterminate all of you."

"Exterminate…us? Who the hell do you think you are?! And what's in it for you!?" cried the captain, "I-Is someone paying you?! That's it, isn't it? Look we'll double whatever they're paying you. Sound good?"

The captain desperately attempts to escape death. However,

Alpha laughs. "Heh… If you're going to beg for your worthless life, you shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place."

Ooh is that a new Lady Shade voice? I guess it makes sense to try it near the end when there's only one guy left. It took me a couple of tries to get the Lord Shadow voice correct too. Especially since my voice changed in between me figuring it out.

The captain gets angry, "Wh-What's that?! You think you're on the side of justice? Give me a break! Take your hero act elsewhere!"

Delta growls and attempts to close in, but I hold up my hand and my good girl sits.

"You sure talk a lot for someone at the end of his rope. Interesting. Let's chat." I sheathe my weapon and confront the man unarmed. "My path was never to pursue justice. I simply made this my mission, and you guys happened to be my opponents. That's all there is to it. What about you guys? Why serve the Cult of Diabolos?"

The captain is still tense but doesn't let it show in his voice, "Why? Well, we all have our reasons. I know some who joined because they were intrigued by the research. Others because the pay was reasonable for the work required."

"Rather understandable reasons for 'people' like you." Remarked Alpha.

The captain then hesitated before continuing, "Well, I think I recall one guy… who said he enjoyed a work culture that justified violence…"

…

I whisper to myself, a habit I don't really delve in unless I'm comfortable enough, and since I'm with Alpha, Delta, and a guy who's a few seconds away from death, well I go ahead, "Hmm… I never bothered hearing out one of the baddies, but this one sounds like a regular salary man! But the violence part is a bit… Whatever. I guess he's trying to say they're also just doing it to satisfy their selfish ends. Looking at it that way, I'm no different. But some mistake being a murderer for 'justice' by convincing themselves they're ridding the world of evil. By justifying their actions, they can rationalize pretty much anything. It's frightening, really. They'll do whatever it takes to achieve their ends. It's laughable-"

While I was too into my own thoughts to really care that the captain was getting up he attempts an attack with a roar of "now!" However, I immediately transform my arm into a sword, Alpha throws some knives, and Delta stabs him with her tail.

"Really…" sighs Alpha.

Silence befalls the raucous night.

I decided to end this with some cool lines, "The end justifies all means. How very… human. Likewise—"

I turn on my heel, my cape billowing behind me.

I whisper this next bit, "I also intend to use any means to become The Eminence in Shadow."

After all, here I am in another world with magical powers. It would be a waste not to enjoy it to the fullest.

"Hm~ Hm~! That was fun!" declared Delta.

Alpha, however, says nothing as I take her hand and we all disappear into the dark of night.

-Leon-

It's the day of the tournament. I'm walking out to the arena from my side's entrance when-

"Leon!" cried one of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

Livia tackles me in a hug, and I spin her around while kissing her head. God I'm so happy. And worried. Because I'm not used to feeling like this yet. Maybe it's because I'm not king yet? Hope so.

I put Livia down and take in her appearance… god damn.

"Leon." Calls out a voice in a tone that I'm slowly getting used to.

Holy… I'm really glad I put padding into my plug suit that the other models usually don't have, such as the ones Livia and Angie are wearing. Because wow my Balmung would be on full display if Luxion hadn't given me pants instead of something more skintight.

Livia has a cute plug suit; it looks like a dress almost. There are metallic bits just off her shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles. The outfit is mostly white with gold accents and teal as the secondary color. The teal matches the light blue of her eyes. She has a hair band on with the same color scheme. The way the gold accents highlight her bust is really doing things to me.

However, Angie's outfit is way more… traditional. She has three colors as well: a deep wine red that makes up all of the metal bits such as her gloves, thigh high boots, and part that wraps around her shoulders and neck. A dark brown that connects the metal bits to a tanner bit. The tan bit is about the same shade I would think some stockings would be, and the way it covers her bust… god.

"Uh…" I say while trying to keep Balmung under control, "Why're you… wearing those? I hope you don't plan on joining me in the fight."

Livia giggles, "No silly. We just wanted you to remember what you promised."

a…

"Glad to see you enjoy the view~" teases Angie. I immediately look down and she giggles, "I meant your blush you scoundrel."

Before I can blush any deeper, I hear some people approach.

I turn and see Cid, Daniel, and Raymond.

"Yo Leon!" called out Cid.

I look to my black-haired friend and find that he's missing something… oh, "No Alice today?"

Cid shook his head, "She took her Aunt to Mitsugoshi to meet with some of the other girls, do you think Luxion can record everything today?"

I gave him a thumbs up, "I gotcha. By the way, what's with that red slip?"

Cid, Daniel, and Raymond wave red slips that seem to have my emblem on it.

Daniel, "Ah, the betting pool opened not too long ago, anyone with a red slip bet on you."

"Well, for at least some part. I did see people who bet on both parties but… there weren't to many people outside of our faction that betted solely on you." Sheepishly added Raymond.

Cid gave a thumbs up, "I bet you'd beat at least three of them."

I can't help but chuckle, "Thanks. I'll make sure you guys are rolling in dough. Especially since I made sure to make a huge bet on myself too."

"Mou~ I don't think you guys should gamble." Pouted Olivia.

-P2W/Leon-

It's a clear sunny day, the arena is full of the dull roar of the audience. As Leon gazes into the crowd, he notices how most people seem to have blue slips, meaning that most people are supporting the prince and his entourage. However, that's to be expected, you don't get a noble caste system from people not liking sticking to what works. However, Leon also sees a few red slips from his own group of friends, and some people he doesn't know. Mostly men. Which checks, honestly.

Speaking of men, Leon then looks to his opponents' side and sees their armors all lined up with their pilot's meeting Leon in the middle of the arena. All of their armors are built in the style that is popular nowadays. Slick, slim, designs that are designed for speed. Each of them also have a flashy paint job, total toyetic designs. 5/10 Probably built for easier ways of having the arms and legs move when people bought the merch rather than actual defense of the pilots.

"Barfort, where is your armor? Or did you not have a set prepared despite speaking so cockily," sneered Jilk.

Leon ignores him while putting his hand to his ear.

"Luxion?" he asked.

[Arroganz, Inbound.]

Leon then looks up and everyone follows his gaze, seeing a twinkle in the sky that quickly turns into a giant box that descends in to the arena.

The crowd gasps in curiosity of the sight, only to see the crate open with a hiss. A giant mechanical arm emerging and using the side of the box to prop itself up. A jet black armor highlighted by the glow of red.

The armor, Arroganz stands to its full height, meeting the five's armors.

However… the crowd only laughs. Hysterically even at the sight of Arroganz. Leon merely shrugs and goes to don Arroganz.

Meanwhile, Olivia turns to her friends as they sit in the stands. Aside from Alice, Iris, and Beatrix, everyone is there.

"Um. Why is everyone laughing?" asked Olivia.

Deirdre answers but doesn't take her eyes away from the armor, "I suppose you're not familiar with armor dueling is, yes? It's due to the build of Barfort's armor."

"From what I can tell Leon's armor is a lost item, but that doesn't always mean that it's stronger than what we have now. Especially in terms of technology." Adds Clarice.

Angelica holds Olivia's hand and continues, "In battles highly mobile armor with emphasis on power and speed have the upper hand. That armor is too bulky by those standards, so even though I trust that Leon knows what he's doing everyone else here believes his armor to be outdated and not well-maintained."

"Have you two not seen Sir Leon's armor yet?" asked Hermoine.

Angelica and Olivia shake their heads.

"When was the last time Sir Leon even drove an armor? He's spent most of his time helping us train and study," wondered Elouise.

"I saw a picture once," said Cid, causing everyone to look to him. "Leon used his armor a lot to help renovate the land he found before he came to the academy."

"Hm… that's at least 5 months ago then. I hope he knows what he's doing with that bulky thing." Remarked Dan.

Claire scratches the side of her face while saying, "Y'know it probably doesn't help how villainous it looks compared to the five idiots' armors."

"Um… But don't you think it looks kinda cute?" Tried Olivia with a smile, "Like how it looks kinda stubby?"

Rose chuckled, "Yes, sort of like a teddy bear."

Everyone else can't help but sweat drop.

As Leon boards his armor he is greeted by Luxion activating the systems.

[Arroganz, mobilizing.]

"Alright!" says Leon as the screens activate and Arroganz hums to life. He then thinks for a few seconds before asking, "…By the way, what does 'arroganz' mean?"

[…It's a word that suits Master very well.]

Leon feels offended but despite knowing some English due to his old jobs wasn't fluent enough to call out Luxion on it. He then has his attention quickly grabbed by the first of his opponents.

"Yo!" called out Brad from inside his equally purple armor, "Looks like you didn't run away… allow me to praise you. However, do you think you can beat me with that outdated frame?"

Leon quickly thinks over what he knows about Brad: Brad. A narcissist bastard who is well-versed in magic. He's the weakest of the 5 but he's so prideful that he's the first to step up… and that leads to his downfall more often than not. Most of the time I went for his route I felt more like I was guiding a suicidal NPC rather than working with someone.

Assuming Leon's silence is due to intimidation Brad continues to ramble, "My frame was built by a master craftsman and in terms of platinum coins… the spear is made with a material that is highly conductive which you don't see often…"

Leon tunes out most of it as he already knows it from his time playing the game. "Jeez, this guy brags a lot. No wonder he was the first one to learn the taunt skill despite having the lowest defense growth in the game."

[Master I can detect a drone like apparatus on his back, shall we counterattack by showing off as well?]

"In a manner of speaking yes. We still got the anti-magic defenses on here, right?" asked Leon.

[Yes.]

"Okay cool, we'll just taunt him into attacking with magic and humiliate him with old human ingenuity." Grinned Leon.

If Luxion could mirror his master's expression he would, but for now he simply whirls around excited.

With the announcement of the referee Brad immediately tries to attack with a drill.

Leon nods, then turns to Luxion and commands, "give me my finest blade."

Arroganz however, takes out a shovel.

…

Leon cuts off his mic to yell at Luxion, "THIS IS A SHOVEL!"

[Obviously. Don't you remember? You used it to dig holes on that floating island last time we went exploring."

"PUT IT AWAY! WHO CARES, JUST TAKE OUT A BLADE!"

[But Master, you were the one who specified "my finest blade"]

Leon would slump if Arroganz wouldn't mirror his actions while he mutters "You definitely did this on purpose. Whatever, I can deal with that purple idiot with this."

Brad attempts to strike at Leon, only to have his weapon immediately hooked onto by the back end of the shovel. Leon then uses the opportunity of Brad's struggle to get back his weapon to lightly slap the head of Brad's armor. Brad immediately tries to shield his face despite being seated in the body and Leon manages to swipe away the drill.

"Tch." Scoffed Brad. "Very well, my expertise has always been in magic anyway."

Brad backs off and begins to charge up.

"I should thank you for the last time you displayed your magic Barfort! Because now I will use that very same spell to humiliate you now!" screamed Brad.

However, Leon just made it look like Arroganz was yawning, much to the amusement of his friends.

"BARFORT! See how long that arrogance lasts you when witnessing this! I pray to the heavens themselves, bless this incarnation of beauty with the essence of life! Ziodyne!"

A big blue stream of energy emerges from Brad's arms. For anyone else this would be a death sentence. However.

[Deploying mana eating shield.]

Leon simply walks through the spell, walking up to a now very frightened Brad, and rips him out of the armor as though he ripped out someone's heart from their chest.

The entire arena falls silent.

"Hey, you know I had to fight an armor roughly built like mine now to get control of my lost item. Want to experience that?" asked Leon as he held brad right up to Arroganz's face.

Brad fainted.

It takes a few seconds, but the referee eventually comes to, "W-Winner…! BARFORT!"

The crowd is silent save for the solitary clapping of a certain gentleman.

"M-Master… he's a gentleman even in this occasion!" remarked Leon.

As for Leon's friends…

"W-wow. I knew that the armor's Luxion had could do that but…" began Claire.

"That… that could change warfare as we know it!" screamed Dan.

Deirdre turns to Olivia and Angelica who are sporting gazes that don't leave Leon. "Do you guys have room for a fourth?"

Without missing a beat, Angelica answers, "Might need it to be honest. I'll keep you posted."

"Wow! Leon won so easily! I knew he was amazing!" declared Olivia happily.

"What was that movement?" asked Raymond. "Armor that heavy looking that can move so quickly? It shouldn't be possible!"

"To think that Brad could be so easily defeated… from what I heard him state he didn't sport a mass-produced model but something made for him by his household specifically meant for an heir. And for Sir Leon to not have a single scratch…!" remarked Elouise.

From around the group the other members of the crowd begin to speak up.

"B-Brad's the weakest of the five anyway right? He's not very well built too…" tried to excuse one.

Another began to panic, "I bet my entire fortune on the princes! If they don't win I'm screwed!"

Others followed suit, "I borrowed money from my family too…"

Some of the others try to comfort themselves, "W-Well, next is Greg right? They'll definitely win next round."

Cid who overheard all of this can only laugh.

Rose who is next to him asks him out of curiosity, "What's so funny Cid?"

"Oh nothing, just that our friend is quite the scoundrel." Remarked Cid.

"Hm… that doesn't seem like the type of thing to state about your friend Cid." Pouted Rose.

Cid merely shrugs.

As for the remaining four idiots.

"Barfort truly was a dungeon explorer wasn't he… I had thought it exaggerated given the incident a couple of weeks ago, but I suppose his confidence is warranted." Said Julius.

"That armor…" remarked Jilk, "It's most likely a lost item. However, I've never heard of armor that powerful. It appears to be a 'power-type' but…"

As the two talk the red armor begins walking.

"Greg…" remarked Chris.

"I'm going." Stated Greg firmly, "Brad might be the weakest of the weak… but that thing's a real threat. I'll take care of it quickly."

Greg walks back to the center, meeting Leon who hadn't moved at all.

The referee comes forward as well.

"Leon Fou Barfort. Greg Fou Seberg. Both of you, step forward." He declares.

However, Leon's not really listening to the referee as he and Luxion talk.

[Confirmation of many repairs made to its surface. Judging by the scratches one can assume that it has seen use in many battles.]

Leon nods, "Yeah. Greg was supposed to hit the muscle-loving demographic so his route was basically just all about going on adventures and battling."

Greg assumes that Leon's listening and begins his speech, "Barfort… I'll remember that name. But you're done pissing me off. After all, you beat brad using the power of your armor, not your own strength."

Leon shrugs, Arroganz mimicking the gesture, as he speaks, "Well, you make a good point. If you wanna have a debate about it how 'bout we do it over tea some time?"

"…" Greg seethes, "I'll destroy you!"

The referee gives the signal and Greg immediately charges towards Leon. He begins a relentless assault on Leon's armor, striking over and over. But Leon stays still.

"Hey, what's wrong?!" screamed Greg, "Is that all you got?!"

"You know… compared to a lot of the students here you are skilled. You got gut's too. But, y'know…" said Leon. Suddenly Arroganz moves and punches Greg's armor square in the jaw, "USE YOUR DAMN GEAR PROPERLY!"

Greg… thinks Leon, not only is he confident in his abilities, he's also very prideful of his fighting ability. He rarely uses any equipment. Thanks to that, he always gets his ass handed to him during the war phase, leading to countless game overs…! The fuck did you mean 'my muscles are all the equipment I need'!

Leon also berates Greg out loud as he beats down Greg's armor without taking out the shovel again, "HECK, THAT'S AN OUTDATED MASS-PRODUCED MODEL! GET YOUR IGNORANT EGO…"

Arroganz lifts Greg's armor above his head before slamming it on the ground.

"OUTTA HERE!" Leon finished.

Greg hits the ground hard. However Leon isn't finished, he walks over to where Greg had slid to. Arroganz grabs Greg's armor's leg and tears it off.

"Uwaa!" screams Greg.

"Oh, shut up stuuupid. This doesn't harm you at all. If you ever bothered paying attention to class, you'd know this is one of the strategies recommended to safely disarm, pardon the pun, an enemy. Next is your right leg." Taunted Leon.

Greg began to rage as he was powerless to stop Leon, "You bastard! You think it's fun to mess with me?! What kind of man are you?! You're only winning because of your armor! Your underhandedness knows no bounds!"

"Huh?!" said Leon, "You're the one fighting with such outdated armor and now you're blaming me? Don't you know, preparation is half the battle. You should be ashamed of yourself… but it must be nice to make excuses like… 'I lost because of my armor.'"

Arroganz takes off the hatch to reveal Greg's now extremely flustered face.

"Damn it…" says Greg as he can do nothing but watch as his armor is taken apart, "Damn it! I won't lose like this, even if you take apart my armor I'll fight with my bare hands, I'll fight till my last breath!"

"Wow… but you know…" says Leon as he ignores Greg's cries, "Unlike you guys… picking on the weak doesn't sit right with me."

Greg stops in astonishment, as though he can't believe someone would ever say something like that to him, "…The hell'd you just say?"

"You heard me Greg Fou Seberg." Said Leon.

Greg begins to blush as he screams again, "D-Don't fuck with me! When have we ever picked on the weak…?!"

"AHAHAHA!" Laughed Leon, "Man, ignorance is so scary! Well, you underestimated me and came out with outdated models like that so I imagine you have a lot of confidence. But there's tons of guys just like you in the world, y'know? I mean sure, I was the one who picked this fight but I had thought that you guys would have had something to back up your cocky attitudes. I mean during the god of war tournament you were only knocked out by my people, but really, you're so damn weak. You're so weak it's leaving a bad taste in my mouth, so I'd like to end this already… you understand, don't you?"

Greg begins to rage, hitting Arroganz with all his might but doing nothing but bruising his own hands.

"Huh? Is that a mosquito?" taunted Leon.

The referee has to eventually go and grab Greg. This time when he asks for applause all of Leon's friends cheer for him.

"Hm…" pondered Olivia, "I'm happy that Leon's putting them in their place, but isn't that a bit too much? He could have just ended it in one blow."

"Leave it be…" said Claire as she shook her head, "Meatheads like that will just think you're looking down on them if you extend any kindness right now."

"Speaking from experience, Onee-chan?" teased Cid.

"Why you!" yelled Claire as she tried to reach over to Cid and strangle him, barely stopped by Olivia and Clarice.

Eventually the third battle begins. This time a light blue armor, signifying Chris Fia Arclight.

"Barfort…" remarks Chris as he has his armor brandish its sword, "I won't falter like those two did. I'm going all out from the start!"

Chris… though Leon, He's a young and cool swordsman. But he rarely expresses his emotions. Not only is it hard to raise his affection level, but he only uses swords, so he has virtually no ranged attacks. He's a character filled with flaws. Basically, he's a huge pain in the ass. No wait… They're all pains in the ass. Plus Chris is the one you go for the gap-moe appeal. He's super clingy once you get enough affection points, basically wanting you to baby him the entire time. Like, I get it, being a guy sucks sometimes and I love having Olivia dote on me, but dude you reek of desperation more than some of the boys here do, despite having a perfectly good fiancé who probably would have done so like that if you asked.

Leon then acknowledges Chris, "Alright then… time for me to also get serious."

Chris seems happy at this, "You're not kidding, right?"

"Yeah." Said Leon with a monotone voice, "It's a promise."

The referee marks the beginning of the battle.

Immediately after that Leon orders Luxion, "Luxion. Launch the drones."

[Affirmative.]

Several drones deploy from Arroganz and surround Chris. Before he can even react, he's shot at from all angles by lasers. He tries to swing at the drones to little to no success.

"UWAAAAH!" screamed Chris, "Ku… Barfort… You…! Are you… Are you satisfied, fighting like this?! Not a silver of chivalry!"

"Is that all you have to say," responded Leon, "Look, I never read up on chivalry, but can you really claim to have it? To begin with, this is a duel. Of course I'm going to capitalize on my opponent's very obvious weaknesses. Like, seriously, all that talk about being the next sword saint, but you never made a single effort to ever expand on what you knew or grow at all!"

This strikes a nerve with Chris, he stops attempting to hit the drones and instead charges at Leon. "Kuh… Barfort! BARFORT! UWOOOOOH!"

Chris swings his armor's sword at Leon, only…

*crack*

Arroganz catches the sword effortlessly and breaks it.

"That's the swordsman for ya." Chuckled Leon, "Bravo."

Chris kneels in defeat, "How can this be… How did I lose… I worked harder than anyone else… I was more diligent than anyone else… I wanted to be acknowledged…"

Leon has Arroganz kneel down to Chris's level, "Oh cry me a river. Or no, don't. Go crying to your girlfriend. You're not the only person in the world that ever trained, y'know? Besides, what was it you said to me all those weeks ago? 'Surely you should have realized when you hit a plateau and not kept at it'."

Chris begins to silently cry.

On the five idiot's side, Jilk begins to scheme on how to win. Even calling for a brief break.

On the side of Leon's friends,

"…Why… Why am I so sad…" cried Olivia, "Why is Leon fighting like that? He can be a bit mean but he's usually not like this…"

Clarice shakes her head, "Sorry Livia, but he has to. Remember, this is a fight for the throne, he has to completely show off the differences between him and the five idiots. Not only that, but he can't give them an inch, or else he might lose."

Olivia stops tearing up as her curiosity gets the best of her and she asks "What do you mean?"

Dan clarifies, "Chris is of a line of earls that teach swordsmanship… Chris' father is the best swordsman in the kingdom, and has the title of 'sword saint.' Chris is one rank below that, but he still holds the title of 'swordsman.'"

"Oh… that's impressive." remarks Olivia.

"Yeah, if it weren't for all of us he'd probably be the best swordfighter here. Considering that Leon just beat him without breaking a sweat, Green must be starting to panic." Said Clarice.

"Neat. Welp, I'm going to go ahead and leave." Said Cid.

"Where are you going?" asked Angelica.

Cid gives a thumbs up, "I'm going to get a victory party ready for tomorrow. Meet us at Mitsugoshi around 7 or so, we'll have a bunch of fun."

"That sounds lovely," smiled Angelica, "but what's your real reason?"

"I'm going to claim my winnings before the brokers try to book it." Said Cid.

-Alpha-

Now that I successfully have foisted Princess Iris and Aunt Beatrix onto Nu, I can go about thinking about the sudden revelations that had come to me last night…

I always loved how comfortable Cid had become around us within the past few months. However, what I heard him whisper to himself…

"I also intend to use any means to become The Eminence in Shadow."

I had been completely dumbfounded. Cid never really acknowledges his goals outside of destroying the cult of diabolos. So when I originally heard him acknowledge something he'd go to any means to accomplish, I was happy. I wished to support him. But… I had no idea what an "eminence in shadow" was.

However, Delta, Delta, somehow did.

That night…

It was shortly after we had separated from Cid. I went to drop off Delta at Mitsugoshi since everyone else was gone and Nu and the other named numbers can't calm her down. While we were walking I tried to think about what an "eminence in shadow" was, unable to understand why Cid could want to be one so badly.

By the time I had walked Delta back to her room and tucked her in, I had been so confused that I decided to throw the question at a whim, "Delta, did you hear what Cid was talking about earlier with the last cult member?"

"Hm?" Delta, however, just looked at me confused.

I sighed, "Right, sorry." Delta had always had a bad memory, so expecting her to remember anything was something I should have known was a dead end.

However, I should have known that Delta is a bit smarter than we give her credit for, as she was able to respond, "Do you mean about Bossman's shadow broker game?"

I had been completely dumbfounded once again, only able to nod.

"Delta doesn't really get it either but Bossman talks about it a lot." Said Delta happily.

"He…does?"

"Mhm, whenever it's just Delta and Bossman, Bossman will talk to himself a lot while Delta hunts stuff. Delta asked him what he was talking about this one time, and Bossman said that a shadow broker guy is some kind of like person that… um… plays with strings? And that person is the coolest, strongest, person ever. That uh… they hunt in the nighttime and don't ever let anyone know about it. Like Bossman!"

I remember thanking Delta, patting her head until she fell asleep again.

And I couldn't help but be left with my thoughts again, feeling dumb for thinking that Delta was completely mindless, but of course she would remember something that Cid had told her, she loves him. But… why has Cid never said anything like that to us? …To me.

I'd ask Delta more about it, I'm too scared to ask Cid, but Cid gave her a mission today so I have nothing to do but try and entertain Aunt Beatrix and Princess Iris. Admittedly we get along pretty well, all of us being on the more tomboyish side compared to our peers. But I found myself unable to think about anything but Cid… Honestly I'd welcome something related to the cult to distract me right now, beyond the artifacts that we had gotten the other night I mean.

Cid… what is this "Eminence in Shadow," and why do you want to be one? What does it mean?

-P2W/Leon-

Leon walks back to his mech and sees Angelica and Oliva waiting there for him.

"Leon!" said Olivia happily as she gave Leon a hug, "Where did you go?"

"We were worried about you." Said Angelica.

Leon was surprised and confused, "Huh? Worried? Why?"

Angelica and Olivia look at each other before Angelica answers, "Someone claiming to be your sister showed up. She said you didn't look too well, and asked us to check on you."

"Wait… which sister. What color was her hair?" asked Leon suspiciously.

"I think it was Jenna, the one with brown hair." Clarified Olivia.

Jenna? Worried about me? Impossible. Thought Leon.

Luxion then talked to Leon through his ear piece.

[Master, a bomb has been planted on Arroganz. Master's older sister planted it but was instructed to do so by someone else. For what it's worth she seemed extremely reluctant to.]

Well, I guess that's to be expected. Thought Leon. Probably shouldn't let the girls know about this. Plus, I had been up to something too, and Jenna distracting Jilk was the exact thing I needed.

Leon sighs, "I see… I guess my blood-sister would notice…"

Olivia walks up to Leon worried, checking for a temperature or any sign of injury, "Oh… so you really are unwell? Is there anything I can do?"

"Nothing serious honestly. I just needed to… pluck some flowers but there aren't any flower beds in the arena." Said Leon.

It takes a few seconds for the two girls to get the euphemism.

Olivia winces, "Th-That sounds rough…"

Angelica shakes her head slightly amused, "…Well, whatever. The break's almost over. Do your best, okay Leon?"

Leon kisses both girls on their foreheads, "Then I better get going."

Angelica and Olivia cheer Leon one last time as they depart.

[The bomb is planted on the back of the frame. The armor of this world would have important mechanisms there, so they're serious about defeating you. In fact, the amount of explosives back there would even kill the pilots in most armors.]

Leon says nothing, simply reflecting on what he knows about Jilk. Which isn't really much. The guy who usually appears the gentlest is actually the scariest… a common trope. He's the game's 'yandere' route. He's basically lived his entire life expecting to be there for Julius, to sacrifice himself no matter what. It's… unhealthy at times, not even like the game teasing yaoi for the girls playing, no like, it doesn't surprise me that he'd try to kill me like this.

Eventually, Leon and Jilk are in their armors and facing each other once again.

"You're strong." Remarked Jilk, "I respect that."

"Well thanks." Said Leon.

Inside Arroganz Luxion talks to Leon privately [The bomb appears to be a type that responds to a unique type of magic, which will trigger the explosion."

Leon nods as he speaks to Luxion, "There was a bomb like that in the game too. I didn't use it though."

Leon looks to his right and sees a screen linked to a camera that is pointed at Jenna, she looks like she's seconds away from crying.

The referee gives the signal for the battle to begin and immediately Jilk levels a rifle at Leon. He shoots while dashing backwards and then throws a smoke grenade. As the smoke completely covers Arroganz, Jilk uses magic to go into the air and snipe at Leon from afar.

"You're dangerous." Remarks Jilk to himself, "From the moment you opposed his highness you were done for. In that case, allow me to give you a spectacular end."

Jilk then loads an armor piercing shot, something that shouldn't be allowed in the arena, and shoots at Arroganz. The sound of metal colliding lets him know that he made the shot. However…

The smoke then clears and shows that Arroganz doesn't have scratch on it.

"WHAT!?" screamed Jilk.

Jilk then shows off a magic circle, startling Clarice and Deirdre in the stands. Jenna recognizes it as well and begins to sob as a massive explosion goes off. Every of Leon's friends stand in shock, and Julius does as well.

However once again, the smoke clears. But this time Arroganz is nowhere to be seen.

Jilk screams once again, this time in horror, "HE'S GONE, WHERE DID HE"

"Hey." Said Leon form behind Jilk.

Jilk immediately tries to fire at Leon only for Leon to immediately cut the rifle with his shovel. Jilk then pulls out a sword and does his best to fend off Leon's assault, but is obviously overwhelmed in the eyes of anyone that can use a sword.

"HOW ON EARTH DID YOU SURVIVE THAT EXPLOSION" shrieked Jilk.

Calm as can be, Leon remarks, "That was a serious blow… in various ways…"

No want Leon to insult him as well Jilk tries to cut him off, "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

However, Leon keeps up his assault "Take a look in the mirror and try again, you guys are insane!"

Jilk descends quickly to the ground and appears to be searching his pockets, "Kuh…! If it's come to this then I have no choice…"

Leon also descends to the ground, and after letting Jilk struggle for a bit he remarks, "Out of curiosity you wouldn't happen to be looking for a bottle of red pills, would you? I saw one earlier that looked like some illegal drugs that have been going around and turned them over to the knights."

Jilk pauses before raging and charging at Leon again, "Why are you standing against us and Marie!? We just want to bring her happiness! If you're planning to do something to his highness… I'll do everything to make sure that you have to take responsibility for those actions!"

"Including threatening my family, right?" said Leon with more venom in his voice than can be found in the country.

Jilk pauses. "You… you are making some serious-"

"Luxion, display your footage." Commanded Leon.

[Right away.]

Several drones go into the air, but rather than surround Jilk like the did Chris, they then begin to show a holographic image. One which displays Jenna as she had been when talking to Jilk earlier.

"Wh-what is this!?" shrieked Jilk.

["Jenna Fou Barfort, correct?" said Jilk.

Jenna tried to refuse "N-No you're mistaken-"

However Jilk immediately would get close to her, Miauler would try to stop him only to be immediately batted away.

"Miauler!" cried Jenna.

Miauler would try to get up only for Jilk to point a gun straight at Jenna before he could.

"Don't play dumb with me. I'm from the family of the kingdom's greatest spies, I know who you are. I know that you don't have the best relationship with Leon. So, I'm going to make you an offer. *chuckle* though I should really emphasize how you don't have the right to turn it down." Said Jilk.

"Don't listen to hi-"

*Bang*

"GAH!"

"Miauler!" cried Jenna.

Mialuer was clutching a now wounded knee.

"You understand what I'm saying correct?" said Jilk.

"yes…" sobbed Jenna as she took the bomb from one of Jilk's men.]

"How.. That magic…!" said Jilk aghast.

"Who knows, I've no obligation to tell you. You threatened me and my family first, so let's see… how bout I have your family listen to this. To threaten your opponent just because you're about to lose… even in this case they're probably going to have to kick you out of your family for this right? I wonder if that debt ridden girl is going to have any interest in you after that." Said Leon.

Jilk tried to make excuses, "Th-that won't be accepted by any court! For all we know your lost item-"

Leon laughs, "Even if it isn't proof, they would suspect you, right? And then if something actually happens to my family, everyone will think… 'that guy actually did it.' Also, won't they suspect Julius as well? Stuff like 'he threatened his opposition's family!' Your precious Puppet Prince's reputation will definitely take a huge blow!"

As Arroganz then continues its earlier assault on Jilk's armor Jilk tries to backpedal both in battle and speech, "H-His highness is innocent! These are my actions alone!"

"That's not your decision to make, now is it?" Stated Leon sternly, "Even if they don't want to, people are gonna connect them together… also may I remind you that we tried to support you? You guys just decided to throw it all away at some point."

"T-That's!" cried Jilk as he was cornered.

"We're done here." Declared Leon as Arroganz placed a hand directly over Jilk's place in his armor, "Stay the fuck away from my beloved family and drop dead."

With a blast from the hand of Arroganz's hand Jilk's armor completely shatters, leaving nothing but Jilk's fainted body and some scrap metal behind.

-Marie-

I look in horror as four of my five supposed saviors fall to the villain before me. He has to be a villain, what else can he be?

What…. What is this…! For there to be such a strong guy…!

I clench my hands so tightly that blood would poor if not for me healing it at the same time.

I knew nothing about this…! Is it because I cheated? I only used a charm to make the boys listen to me! They already loved me! I wasn't going to have the villainess leave or anything either!

What do you mean you want the throne!? Why do you have the cheat armor!?

Are you some bug fix? A warning form the universe!? A statement that I have to suffer no matter what!? Some hidden route!? What!? What do you want from me!?

"Mistress," called out Kyle, "Is this really okay? The four of them lost and could barely do anything."

No it's not okay!

I wanted to scream, but I have to do my best to act cute as Julius turns around and holds my hand.

"It's alright," he says in an attempt to console me, "I didn't think he was an opponent of that caliber. However my armor is made with the most advanced technology in the whole kingdom. Don't worry, Marie."

Gah! You Damn NPC's all say the same thing! You guys lost! No wonder I couldn't ever beat the game's combat scenes! You're just as weak as I remember!

This is why I had my brother beat the game for me! This is all his fault, he told mother that I was on vacation and died…

I lost my place in the family…

I never got a proper wedding…

My husband ended up beating me…

That's right… It's all Onii-chan's fault!

I hear the hum of armor and see Julius about to depart. Before he does he turns to me, "Marie, I'm going now!"

Right… I should do my best to rely on this dummy. At times like this I should…

"Yes." I say in my best cutesy voice, "I'm praying for Julius' victory."

Julius laughs happily like the boy he is, "Thanks! I'm counting on you!"

As he departs, I can't help but think about how exhausting acting like the protagonist is. All this flirting and naiveté is just so disgusting to keep up, I have no idea how she fakes it so well.

But… if I crumble now, all the hard work I put in will go to waste. Or rather… If he loses what's going to happen? Would it lead to a game over?

That's right… it can't end here. I put some work into Julius, so there's no way I have to worry about that Mob guy even if he has some anti-cheating codes installed!

-P2W-

"To even think that my turn would come." Stated Julius as he raised his sword in preparation for battle, "I respect your hard work coming this far."

Leon doesn't dignify him with a response, simply enjoying the noise coming from the crowd. The cries of "Do your best, Priiiiiince!" "Defeat that bumpkin!" and "Get Hiiiiiiim!" filling the air.

To have such faith in the prince even after this trainwreck… how sad. Thinks Leon, too bad but, I'm the one who's going to win. In the first place, I would've happily stayed a small fry if I thought I could trust the country in his hands. I wonder… if the prince and his entourage had properly trained over the three years would I have stood as well of a chance as I do now? Even in the game with its max stats Arroganz struggled with the final boss.

"…Is there a point in beating small fry?" taunted Leon.

"…" unlike his peers Julius doesn't easily fall for it.

Leon decides to take a different approach, "Mind if I ask you something?"

"If I have an answer for it." Responded Julius.

"Did you ever learn what kind of flowers Marie likes?" asked Leon.

"…She likes sunflowers." Answered Julius. "Why?"

"Wanted to make sure you were actually fighting for something." Replied Leon as he readied himself, "I won't be beaten by someone without any conviction."

"Well said." Said Julius as he assumed his stance.

The referee calls for the battle to begin.

Unlike his peers Julius stays in his spot, readying his shield and tries to assess what's Leon's next move.

[This appears one-sided. It's much better than other armors but that's all it is…]

"Luxion?" asked Leon.

[Apologies, I started picking up some mist headed this way. It's strange but shouldn't interfere with the current battle.]

Leon nods, "Let's get started then."

For the first time in the day Leon is the one to charge forward and strike first. Julius manages to block the first strike and then retaliate.

This pleases the crowd who begins to cheer for Julius with: "You can do it, your highness!" "You gotta winnnn!" and "I'm beggin' ya~!"

Leon scoffs from within Arroganz, "These guys just don't wanna lose their bets."

[I'm sure they'll have a grand celebration if Master were to lose. Perhaps they think that Master's behavior and actions make him a pain in the ass?"

"Don't use those words!" Leon yelled at Luxion.

As Leon was distracted, Julius takes the opportunity to create an opening, batting away Arroganz' shovel then going in for a shield bash.

"I can't lose…" declares Julius, "For the girl who's praying for my victory… I CAN'T LOSE!"

Blue wings made of fire emanate from Julius' armor with his declaration.

[…I'll acknowledge that it looks good.]

"That's a compliment coning from you," hums Leon. Leon then turns Arroganz' speakers on and talks to Julius, "Impressive Julius. You've got more spirit than the other four before you. Perhaps the other four were thinking… 'If someone were to disappear my time with Marie-chan will increase'?"

The flames from Julius' armor dissipate as he responds in anger, "Nonsense! What do you know about us!"

"That you're a fool." Responded Leon, "After all how else could someone throw away someone as perfect as Angelica? Especially given how much she loved you."

"You're wrong" yelled Julius as he began to strike with his sword, "There's no way that you could call her feelings 'love'! She never considered my own feelings! She's the same as any other woman in the royal palace! They're forcing a life of royalty on me! No one is looking at my true self…! I never wanted to be born into the life of royalty! Marie is the only one who's considered my feelings."

…

*Snrrk*

"You dare laugh!?" exclaimed Julius.

"How can I not," responded Leon, "You claim that you don't want to be a prince yet you fight me here for the throne? You claim that one sided feelings are terrible yet you knew almost nothing about Marie. Marie may have considered your feelings, but did you ever consider hers? Ahahaha… you became infatuated because she was different from other women in the palace, so does that mean you would have fallen for anyone that talked to you? If my lover Olivia, for instance, had met you and treated you to some meat skewers would you have fallen for her just as easily?"

"Grgh!" Julius chokes on his words before diving into a rage just like everyone else before him, "To say such empty words so smugly, what do you know!? You're just self-satisfied because you acquired great power! Having fun!? How's it feel to use power to overpower others. While looking down upon and lecturing them!?

Leon laughs, "…It's the best!"

"WHA-" Julius balks.

"It's the best feeling in the world!" Taunts Leon, "To use such a power to completely crush you guys who talked so tough because you thought no one could ever hold a candle to you is so satisfying! Also, seeing you five pitiful souls thinking you could actually beat me is such a riot! I might be arrogant but it's also true that you can't beat me!"

"B-BAAASSTAAAAAAARD!" Yelled Julius.

"I know! Want to know what else I know!?" responded Leon, "I know what it's like to almost be sold off to a 50-year-old hag and forced to become a soldier so she can claim the compensation! And if that wasn't bad enough, I know what it's like to look for a marriage partner in this school! I should thank you for throwing away Angelica, because she's an angel amongst all the other girls in the year! Have you ever had to sheepishly bow your head and ask her to marry you, only to be told: 'I don't like country bumpkins' or 'support my lovers too'!? Do you understand how it feels to be told 'I'm going to prioritize my love with my lovers instead'!? No! No, you lot had the best women handed to you served to you on a silver platter and said you didn't want it!"

Several men in the audience begin to cry at Leon's words, making some of their female classmates choose to look anywhere but them.

"Wh-What's wrong with that…! You guys have freedom! You had the opportunity to go on an adventure!" replied Julius.

Arroganz begins to strike back at Julius' armor, each hit being placed somewhere to elongate the fight, as Leon is wants to make this slow.

Leon becomes outraged and indignant, "Freedom!? You're saying that I… That we have freedom!? Don't screw with me, silk pants! Do you know what the life of an adventurer is really like!? Picture this: You spend months slaying monsters having to choose between having somewhere nice to sleep or if you can eat that night! You count the bullets you have and do your best to use your bare hands because you know you can't afford to spend the money on more ammo or repairs on anything else! Have you EVER experienced a lack of money? No! You've been enjoying your spot on your ivory tower and enjoying the freedom to play around with girls just as much as your father! The hell do you mean 'I didn't want to be born into royalty' when you're enjoying every bit of the benefits it gives you! To begin with there should be plenty of ways to make Marie a mistress or something, to disregard your fiancé and all her help, not even mentioning the Duke, you have been throwing away the future of the kingdom! You're nothing more than hypocrite that lacks self awareness!"

Leon then manages to cut straight through Julius' sword.

"This fight is over." Declares Leon.

"No!" cried Julius, "Not yet! I… I can't lose here! Not while Marie is cheering for me!"

Leon sighs. However, before he can do anything a warning begins to flash on his monitor.

"Luxion, why's my monitor saying that the air is becoming dangerous to breathe?" asked Leon.

[Master. The mist from earlier, it's invading the arena. No, this isn't any regular mist, we must evacuate your allies, they should be fine for a bit but this smoke will become dangerous the longer they are in it.]

"What!?" yelled Leon before he turns back to Julius, "Dude seriously!? Filling the arena with poisonous smoke when you're losing!? You're worse than Jilk! The arena doesn't stop air from going to the audience! Hey! Everyone, you need to evacuate!"

The crowd begins to panic and move.

"It wasn't me!" yelled Julius.

"Who else could it be!?" argued Leon.

"Look up."

Leon and Julius gaze up, the mist blocks most of their view but from what they can see, a figure roughly the size of their mechs with four large wings and an inhuman body descends.

"Is that a dragon…?" whispers Leon to himself.

As the dragon descends to the level of Julius and Leon, a figure can be seen on the dragon's back. A familiar looking cloaked figure with glowing red eyes.

"IS THAT SHADOW!?" yelled Leon.

"Who are you!?" Demanded Julius, "Don't you know that you're interrupting a sacred duel!?"

Shadow raises his arm. "I am Shadow. I lurk in the shadows, and hunt the shadows. Today, I shall decide where the shadows are cast."

Leon dashes towards Julius.

"MEGIDO" shouted Shadow.

Leon tackles Julius out of the way before the orb of energy that flies from Shadow's outstretched hand can reach him. Said orb hits the spot Julius was standing in and burns through it.

Leon immediately looks to the stands to check on the status of his friends, only to immediately be interrupted by a swipe from the Mist Dragon.

"Shit! Luxion tell the others to evacuate for now! See if you can get another armor on the way to help out!" commanded Leon.

[About that. The others have already left.]

"Okay good… right?" asked Leon.

[Olivia was abducted by a wolf therianthrope when Shadow and the dragon showed up.]

"WHAT!?" Screamed Leon.

-Angelica-

"IS THAT SHADOW!?" Yelled Leon.

Everyone in our group immediately stood up. But before we could say anything another dark figure had descended before us. It was a cloaked figure with a large tail and glowing purple eyes.

"Uh, hello there." Waved Olivia, "Can we help you?"

The figure then came in close, showing off a masked face. From what I can tell it belongs to a therianthrope woman given how she's sniffing in our direction. She doesn't say anything, merely sniffing, before she stops at Olivia.

"Cookies?" said the woman.

"Um… yeah? I have some if you waaaaaaaaaa!?" Olivia tried to reach for her bag only for the therianthrope to lift her up.

"Let go of her!" I yelled and tried to grab Olivia. However, the therianthrope easily jumped out of my reach.

"No way! Bossman told Delta to take the blonde woman with two colors in her eyes and smells like cookies away." Said Delta.

"Take her where!?" demanded Clarice.

Delta merely shrugs and begins to run away; we all chase after her.

-Cid-

When I saw Leon's armor in action for the first time, I had the thought that all boys my age would naturally have:

Wouldn't it be sick to have it do battle with a dragon?

Thankfully I actually knew one, a smart one too. He was a bit hesitant to leave the forest since he's basically been there forever but when I told him this was to help someone get stronger to then in turn help me get stronger he thought it was worth doing at least once.

Basically, I wanted Leon and the dark blue guy to fight the dragon and me at the same time, which would be a way better way to show who deserves to be king than Leon's one-sided curb stomp from earlier.

I also didn't want the others to interfere with our fight, so I had Delta carry Olivia away for a bit. I told her to keep doing it until Alpha told her to stop, so we should be able to get a quick fight in.

"Shadow!" yelled Leon, "Where is your subordinate taking Olivia!?"

"If you want answers then you will have to force them out of me." I stated.

Leon immediately charges in, followed by Dark Blue right after. The Mist Dragon roars as the two approach. Leon attempts a strike with his shovel only for the Mist Dragon to meet it with a swipe from his claws, and of the two the Mist Dragon's was made to be used as a weapon. The two clash but I see Arroganz back up a little after. The Mist Dragon then follows up with a swipe from its tail and Arroganz backs up to dodge it.

Julius then follows up with a shield bash, knocking me off of the Mist Dragon. Well not really, but I did promise the Mist Dragon that we'd be fighting together and I wasn't going to use him as some kind of mount. So I immediately use magic underneath my feet and dive towards Arroganz.

For something so big it's pretty fast, so when I try to strike at it with my slime sword Leon manages to block it with his shovel, which knocks me back into the air since I don't have the mass to meet it.

"You know, there's a lot I need to ask you Shadow…" asked Leon before adding, "Or is it Minoru?"

Oooh, going into the backstory. Hm… I'm not fully decided on what to commit to yet, plus I love living in the present more so,

"Shadow is the only name this form will answer to." I say after straightening out in the air. I then fire off a "Maziogna" to destroy all the nearby drones.

"Okay, next question." Said Leon as he charged in again, "What's your deal with the cult of diabolos?"

I fire a "Megido" at Leon causing him to dodge and follow up by firing a "Agialo" at me. I dodge it too, and then the Mist Dragon throws Julius' armor at Leon. Leon catches him and falls back to cancel the inertia before quickly dropping him and charging back at us. The Mist Dragon begins to charge up a laser from his mouth.

Before I can warn the Mist Dragon he fires his laser and Leon charges straight through it with his magic absorbing shield. As he approaches the Mist Dragon Arroganz locks arms with it and Leon pops out of the back of his armor to fire a spell. I try to dash at him but Julius enters the battle again by throwing his shield at me Captain America style. Which, for the shape his shield is I wouldn't think it'd bounce back to him like it does after I hit it but here I am.

Leon shouts "Concentrated Ziodyne!" and a huge red laser emerges from him and hits the Mist Dragon. He stops firing the laser and Arroganz then tackles it into the nearby empty stands. Julius follows the fight with Arroganz and the Mist Dragon so I go mono a mono with Leon.

"I've said all that's needed to be said. Now prove your worth descendent of the lost king." I state.

-Olivia-

I find myself carried by the wolf girl from the Shadow Garden. I'm pretty scared but for some reason when she shifted to carrying by the scruff of my neck I just kinda lost it. Like, this is so ridiculous I can't find it in myself to be scared.

"U-Um. Excuse me?" I say in an attempt to get the girl's attention. I think her name was Delta, assuming she talks in third person. "Miss Delta?"

As she leaps from building to building in an attempt to lose Clarice and Angie who are on an air bike Delta hums to show that she heard me.

"You aren't going to eat me, are you? I know I smell like cookies, but I won't taste good." I say.

Delta shakes her head, which means she shakes me too and fro a bit. She then realizes she's still carrying me like this and jumps up to the top of a nearby clock tower she sets me down and starts talking. "Bossman said that I had to keep you and your friends busy for a while. So Delta's just playing fetch for now."

"Bossman… do you mean Shadow?" I asked.

Delta nods, "Mhm. That's what Bossman's called when we're playing our shadow broker games."

"Shadow broker games…?" I can't help but wonder what that means. I should talk to Leon about it later.

"Livia!" called out Angie.

I try to look for Angie, but Delta immediately puts me on her shoulder again, and starts running. Geez isn't there anything I can… wait.

"Luxion! If there's any lost items you can bring here, please do so!" I yell. Although I was worried he was too busy with helping Leon I saw an orb very quickly fly near Angie.

-Leon-

I do my best to match Shadow blow for blow but I'm very clearly being played with. That's fine. I won't entertain the thought that without Arroganz I could do a lot of damage to him. But still, I need to keep his attention on me. For at least a little longer.

"So how's the crown choice going so far?" I ask jokingly.

Shadow looks over to his right, where the Mist Dragon is using Julius' armor to try and hit Arroganz.

He then looks back to me, "You're winning so far."

[Master. Everyone within a kilometer has safely been evacuated.]

I sigh in relief.

"Oh? Were you trying to stall me this entire time?" asked Shadow.

"I know I can't beat you," I admit, "Not with how strong I am now. But I can at least stall you."

Shadow closes his eyes, or at least I think he does since the red vanishes from the black smoke that makes up his face, and he laughs. "Heh. I suppose a King would have to know when to make sacrifices. I've managed to accomplish my objective by now. How's about a wager?" Shadow dismisses his sword and stances up with his hands. "If you can land one clean hit on my face, I'll go ahead and leave. Better make it quick though, that prince isn't going to last much longer."

One hit…

I can't do it.

No way in hell. I'm way to tired and all my magic is being focused on keeping myself from being poisoned.

Leon cannot beat Shadow. That's simply a fact.

…

But.

Just maybe…

I reach out my hand and try to recall the feeling of being in a field full of flowers. "Lea lend me your power!"

-Cid-

I see Leon power up like the shonen protagonist he is. However, he's made one fatal flaw.

I will not be defeated by borrowed power!

…

Wait, does it count if it's his own reincarnation? Meh, I say it does.

*swish*

Oh, wow he's really going in.

I try my best to not to end the fight too quickly and honestly, I don't have to try that hard. This Lea possession thing is really giving Leon a power up. It feels like I'm fighting the guy from the dungeon again, but every now and then he'll do something crafty like I expect Leon would. I throw a punch and he dodges, I throw a feint and he tries to capitalize on it, I kick and he parries it.

We keep going and I can feel as though he'd grow to have a proper conversation with me one day. Unarmed fighting was never my favorite, but Lea can do this pretty well for a country guy who probably never learned from an actual school.

*Swish*

Woah that one was pretty close! I kick at him again and he slides back on the ground a bit. I go in for another hit but

*Vrrr*

That magic shield was deployed around Leon as soon as I try to hit him. When I hit the shield I notice my slime suit start to dissolve. Leon notices it too, quicker than me even.

*POW!*

Ah. That was a pretty good hit to the jaw. It didn't hurt really, I feel like he'd need Arroganz to hit me for it to, but well it was a good hit.

"Not bad." I remark.

Leon is breathing heavily, and I feel as though Lea has vanished. "A deal's a deal, right?"

I nod. I then send a pulse of magic to the Mist Dragon to mark that it's time to go. He lets go of Julius and I turn to leave one last remark.

"Be careful of the light, stay in it too long and you'll be too blinded to see where it's darkest."

After that the Mist Dragon and I vanish into the night sky. I'll take a nap in Alexandria before coming back tomorrow.

-Angelica-

"Can this thing go any faster!?" I asked.

"Not without us crashing!" Replied Clarice.

Grr…. This Delta girl is running circles around us! How is it that Clarice's air bike is going to run out of energy before that girl does!

[Mistress Angelica.]

"Luxion!" I cried in surprise as the orb begins to fly near me.

[Yes it is I. I have come with an armor meant for you that might aid in this situation.]

I crane my view to see a box being dragged by a few drones.

"That box seems a bit too small for an armor though." Pointed out Clarice.

[This is not the armor you are used to seeing. This is armor meant for areas that those armors would not fit in. They are also very fast and it comes with a sniper that should fit the situation nicely.]

"A sniper!?" yelled Clarice, "What if we accidentally hit Livia!"

[I have some control over the armor, I shall help you aim. Moreover, the sniper rifle is set to a stun setting. It will not hurt a bit.]

Seeing no other option I nod. The box opens up and red drones come out and pick me up off the air bike, followed by more similarly red bits that cling to my legs, some gauntlets, and the aforementioned sniper.

"No chest armor?" I asked.

[I was working from the bottom up, my apologies.]

"No matter, how does this work?" I must admit, if it weren't for the circumstances that led to me wearing this I'd have been very excited to wear this. I'll make sure to thank Leon later, with Livia.

[Have you ever flown an armor like Arroganz?]

"A few times, mostly in case I'd ever need to evacuate." I admit.

[Perfect. Imagine you are flying an armor, the suit shall move you similarly. When you believe the opportunity arrives I shall control your arms to aim the rifle. Just do your best to follow Delta and Mistress Olivia.]

I nod and suddenly feel myself flying through the streets. It's an incredible feeling that fills me with the determination to save the woman I love… that… that Leon loves…

Delta notices me and begins to run once again. Olivia notices me and smiles brightly.

I feel my arms begin to move on their own.

[Keep sight of the two for 30 seconds so that I can properly aim.]

"Understood!" I declare.

Delta may have heard this as well, as she switches from holding Olivia with her mouth or arms to holding her with her tail and running on all fours. Olivia seems strangely content with where she is now.

I go just above the height of the nearby carriages as I follow. I have to dodge nearby street signs, and at least two groups of pigeons.

"Luxion please tell me you're almost done… and that you plan on including a helmet!" I yell.

I immediately feel my arms move and the rifle is fired, I see it miss but before I can yell in disappointment I see it ricochet off of a nearby carriage window and hitting Delta in the face.

This causes her to jump up with a loud "OUCHIE!" tossing Livia in the air.

"Livia!" I yell as rush towards her.

"Angie!" yells Livia back.

I manage to dive right to her, safely catching her and twirling her about in the air. I hug her for all she's worth enjoying every bit of her soft body… that Leon loves. Like how he loves her cute teary face, her lovable eyes that stare right into your soul while completely full of love, and those soft kissable lips…

"Aroooo!" Delta howled after recovering from her stun. I immediately get ready to fire some spells, however, a figure descends from the sky.

"Delta." Commanded the woman.

"Eep!" the once intimidating wolf therianthrope then begins to look like a meek puppy. "Your lady ship sir! Delta's a good girl! Delta's on one of bossman's missions! Delta swears nano-desu!"

A blonde elf woman in a hood and cloak stands before all of us. Her face is largely hidden, and her eyes are covered by a mask. However, her mere presence is enough to make me nervous. I had never seen Shadow myself, but what I'm feeling now is similar to what Leon and Livia described feeling when they met him.

"We're done here… let's hope the next time we meet it isn't as enemies." Said the woman.

Then with a turn and flap of her cloak, the two vanish.

[Master has also finished with his duel against Shadow. I recommend going to Partner.]

Livia and I look at each other, both of terribly disappointed knowing what we're going to have to tell Leon. I turn to Luxion with pain in my heart and say, "…I'm a bit tired Luxion. I know that I made a promise to Leon, but-"

[Master has several energy replenishing drinks on board Partner. He learned how to make them when he was an adventurer. He just never brought it up because he was worried you'd think he wanted them for other purposes… which I suppose ended up being true.]

Luxion may have footage stating otherwise, but I will deny any accusation of a perverted smile on our faces.

-Leon-

I returned to Partner immediately after my fight with Shadow. Understandably, Julius was all too happy to finish hashing things out tomorrow, and everyone else needed to go home and wash the poison off.

When I got back to Partner, I saw my two favorite girls in wearing nothing but a towel and drinking some energy drinks. When they handed me one and walked to the shower with an exaggerated sway to their hips I had no choice but to down it immediately and run after them.

A/N: Okay, this is the Lemon.

It's Leon, Angelica, and Olivia having fun in the shower.

A/N: Lemon ends here.

The girls and I got dressed, too exhausted to try doing anything again. But… I was happy. Happy that we did all that, of course, but also happy that they were safe. That they could fend for themselves even without me. Happy… Happy that I managed to meet them, happy that we're together.

I'm going to do my best to keep it that way.

---

A/N: Hey, hope you enjoyed the chapter. So fun thing, although I had planned for Marie to have some kind of cheat item that Leon would recognize, the bit with Sherry was a complete accident. I just looked up her story for the game, because I was looking over the other's for some stuff to pad out the chapter a bit more, and there it was. Though in Sherry's story her and Cid only find a replica.

I also did Shadow's story in the chapter. Everyone was asking if Cid would ever realize things, but I feel that's the wrong question. It's more about if others realize stuff about Cid.

Here's a link to Livia and Angelica's plugsuits. I know they have other designs in the later LNs but I saw these first, and don't know what the other ones look like in full. r/MobuSeka/comments/m5svap/livia_and_angie_in_hypothetical_evangelion_suits/

Also, this is the version that Angelica has during the chase scene:

en/artworks/112978163

Now let's get to the comments:

From SB:

Laciiell: Well, hopefully you like how it developed this chapter.

From Fanfic:

Guest (I'm assuming the same one posted twice): Glad you liked Cid and Beta's date. I wanted to highlight that at the end of the day, Cid doesn't know what he's doing when it comes to romance. And he's scared of messing stuff up with the shades. Gamma or Delta should be next, followed by Eta or Epsilon, then Zeta last, if I don't have her share time with Delta. I dunno, even though Eta's the last of the shades I always feel like Zeta should be the last covered. Probably because of the Z.

So I actually didn't realize you needed an account for QQ. Like I say above I just forgot that I made one for that purpose. So, yeah, I'll make an AO3 account. Probably will update the story with some grammar fixes and formatting changes to mirror the current chapters. I will say though, that QQ has the most people engaging int the story so far. With fanfic close behind. If I do drop one place it'd probably be SB.

EDG1999: Thanks, that's really nice to hear. Anyway, for the lemons and limes if you don't want to make an account for QQ then wait for AO3's version to come out. It should be out by the 14th or so of June.

Fangs of death: So I added the stuff about Leon's boss and about Marie being beaten to death. I just wanted it to make more sense that she is willing to use men. Other than that I've mostly stuck to canon.

Haseo55: I didn't understand the sentence "U like moat I did enjoy Mrie's route" sorry. If you meant you liked how I did her section then thanks!

It'll take a bit for everyone to come clean about everything, after all that's part of the fun of these series.

Beatrix hasn't done much outside the tail end of season 1 so I felt like I could include her earlier. I was inspired by how "Eminence of the Side Character" did it honestly. I don't see why Alpha wouldn't know Beatrix, she likely doesn't recall her family fondly given how she was found by Cid though.

Church21: So I assume you aren't going to read this, but I'm going to fix formatting to alleviate that issue, as most people seemed to have trouble telling the shift in perspectives with the line break on its own. Also, I don't see why I'd need to change Cid? Most fanfics I see keep him the same.

I won't refute it, I did mash them together the best I could. I shifted ages because I'd be writing lemons and stuff, and wasn't comfortable with them being under 18 while doing that. But because the dates shifted to 6 years instead of 2 years of Alpha and Cid meeting I had Alexandria founded prior to Claire's kidnapping to match things. I felt it appropriate since they would have gotten tons of members in that time frame.

I feel like your argument of EiS being too awesome to exist in Mobuseka is an opinion you're allowed to have, but I don't really… have a reaction to that honestly. Anyway if you continued reading you'd have known that stuff went way off the rails and I didn't have the characters try to out mob each other. Hope you find a fic you like more, or hey maybe you'll write one.

Galeon82: Thanks again for the long reply! I kinda answered it here but will go more into detail later. But basically it has to do with game strats.

Politically the people probably agree with the harem, it'd make it easier for Leon to create a faction that way.

Lol yeah, Beatrice is going to have words later. I didn't get too much into it this time but I'm not done with her.

Thanks! Sometimes I worry about how I mashed them together.

Oh yeah, I wasn't going to just wave things off with the blood tests in the background. I'll bring it up later. None of Roland's kids went for the throne in canon, which I can only assume is because none of them would have the backing or power. Something Leon has both of.

That's a neat idea for how the blood could work in tandem with the origin of demi-humans. I'll think about it for sure.