Chapter 22 – Passionate Beliefs

"You sure about this, Boss?" Maria asked as the three of them were led to the Cathedral of Unity by Bishop Valais and a small squad of templars.

"As sure as I can be." Reina confirmed.

It took a bit for Reina to calm down after meeting with Lola, not to mention her terrifying older sister. Once she got herself in order, she knew exactly what she had to do. It was late afternoon, but there was more than enough time left in the day.

With a messenger already dispatched, they were expected. The gates to the massive cathedral were open and ready for them. The grounds here were about as big as the smaller churches, but the building was as magnificent looking as the palace, if not more so. That didn't mean it was nearly as big, just well made.

Given the political nature she's come to understand of the churches, Reina has to wonder how much of the splendor is for show. "We are united for the sake of the country," that sort of thing. Maria's knowledge aside, Reina wondered how much the common people knew about the leadership of the churches and their conflicts. Well, their fighting was apparently well-known, so maybe the whole 'united' thing wasn't accurate.

Priests and templars of all the different sects watched as they walked through the pristine halls. The party was fully armored, but that was only part of the reason. Mostly is was giving looks to Vyrdrun and Maria. None tried to stop them, so they clearly knew who Reina was.

They arrived at a set of large doors, the place where the high priests of the churches were meeting; the place Reina needed to be.

"Right through these doors." Valais gestured with a light bow.

With a nod from her, two of the following templars pulled open the doors and stood aside.

Inside the large room was a long table of a sort. It was shaped like a 'C' with space in the center, but made with straight lines. On the ends were the high priests of the lesser churches, three on each side. In the middle section were the four high priests of the greater churches, plus someone else in between them. From what Reina was told, this person acted as a sort of moderator, though they held no real power.

In theory, the 10 churches had equal power here. In practice, it was the big four that held the most influence. The leader of this particular building is elected by popular vote, one from each high priest. Again, with no real power behind the position, it was only for public appearances. That's what Bishop Valais explained to Reina, and she could believe that.

"Welcome to the Cathedral of Unity, Spirit Forger." The leader/moderator called out, rising from his seat as the hero party moved into the room. "I hope your stay here in the holy nation of Keston has been to your liking."

"It's been welcoming." Reina said with some neutrality.

In the center of the somewhat circular table, there was a stand for Reina to move into. It wasn't quite a podium, but Reina wasn't sure how else to describe it. This was where she was to stand to address the high priests. Vyrdrun and Maria stood at either side of her.

She took a look around the room. In addition to the church leadership, there were also 20 templars in the room, 2 from each church. They were lined up against the wall about five feet from the table, corresponding to where their high priest sat. Most likely, they were the most trusted of each churches' templars to be inside for such meetings, in addition to acting as guards.

"To what do we owe this gracious meeting?" The moderator asked as he sat back down.

"I'll get straight to the point." Reina rested her hands on the wooden rail of her podium-stand. "I want access to the ritual implements your churches use to improve my weapon."

It was as simple as that.

"Could you clarify this?" The high priest of the Azure Star asked evenly.

"If I hold certain objects, my weapon can copy them." Reina told the man. "I can get stat bonuses, skills, and other abilities to use from them."

"You mean to say your weapon will take on their appearance?" Another high priest asked, this one of the Radiant Cross Church.

Theirs was one of two churches that wasn't—as Reina would put it—color-coded, for lack of a better phrase. It also didn't have any relation to one of the major religions of her world that featured a cross. Funnily enough, the 'cross' was actually a magic weapon that acted a bit like a boomerang, equipped to every templar. That reminded her of a videogame that did have more religion, if you counted vampires.

That said, this church—along with the Golden Hammer—had spells specifically for fighting undead.

"That's right." Reina answered.

Murmurs broke out amongst the church heads. Reina couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

The high priest of the Bronze Effigy raised his hand. "While we would be honored to aid you, surely you must understand that having anyone not affiliated with our faith wielding something of great significance would cause confusion."

That was the political way of saying, "join our church and we'll help you." Reina did her best not to sigh.

This was one of the churches Reina figured she'd have a problem with. They were the only one that complemented their templars with golems. Since bronze was a good conductor for magic, making golems out of them wasn't difficult. If anything, it was easier than most other materials, even if they were a bit soft and could still be costly. The cost was why they weren't exactly used in all the branch churches in different kingdoms, other than as temple guards, or so she was told.

And, since Gromnar shamans and druids could dispel the magic in golems, well…Suffice to say it's not a surprise he wasn't immediately on board with her wants.

"Now that I think about it, could the people who attacked Vyrdrun's tribe be connected with this church? I don't mean the main church specifically, but one of the branches? I'd feel like I wasted a favor with the bishop if that's the case. He might have already considered the connection and that's the reason he sent someone to investigate. Thoughts for later."

"The Violet Storm Church has already offered our tools for the Spirit Forger to copy." The high priest of that church casually remarked.

'Priest' might not be entirely accurate, since the person in question was a woman. Four of the high priests were women with the other six being men. Reina figured it was more a translation thing with her weapon.

"That's well and good, but I hear the Spirit Forger is already residing within your church's halls." Another priest commented.

"Under the circumstances, ours was the most accommodating for the Spirit Forger and her party." The Violet Storm high priest replied evenly.

"And yet, the mage in her party is not affiliated with the Wizard College." The high priest of the Crimson Blade spoke in a grandfatherly way.

"I believe that is your church's reservation, not my own."

"Do mages hold any respect in your eyes at all?"

"I do not wish to hear that from you."

"If your church would help more with the Mist Mountain brigands…"

After the Violet Storm high priest responded, more and more voices entered into the mix. Reina couldn't keep track of who was saying what as the room devolved into conflict. It went on for a least a minute before she regained control.

"Everyone, please!" Reina's voice cut through the air. "This isn't what our meeting is about."

She wanted to say the high priests looked ashamed of how they were acting, but they weren't. The templars they brought with them must truly be the most loyal if they can put up with their leaders acting this way. Of course, respectable people could turn belligerent in the presence of those they absolutely hated. That wasn't entirely accurate here, but maybe they just got so used to being out of public eye in this meeting room that it simply came out.

"The Waves aren't the only problem. The Demon Lord is one as well."

Part of her didn't want to bring him up, fearing what his spies might relay to their master. But, it wasn't as if they didn't know he existed.

"On that front, we have much less information." The high priest of the Golden Hammer responded. She was the only woman out of the four greater churches. "We know he attacked Savia, the country you were summoned to. Outside of that, we have no knowledge of his movements."

"Didn't Prince Johan relay anything about him?" Reina asked the group.

"He did, yes." Said the high priest of the Evergreen Sickle. "However, it was only that a new Demon Lord was discovered. We don't even know what he looks like."

Reina knew what he looked like. His image was burned into her mind.

"With a lack of any real information, there's simply nothing we can do about him." The same priest continued.

"I've spoken with Bishop Valais about him and told him everything I know." Reina said. "I'd be more than happy to repeat the information here."

"Please do." The moderator spoke, gesturing to her.

Reina did just that. She recounted the events of that night as best she could remember. The sound of buildings collapsing. The cries of fear and for help. The monsters the Demon Lord had with him. The Demon Lord himself. The two children of his she encountered underneath the castle. All of it.

She had some practice with her Prestidigitation spell. With it, she was able to make a somewhat crude image of the three of them. She even tried projecting one of Maphai, though she didn't see her as long. They wouldn't be enough to get a strong impression of the people, especially since they could apparently hide their draconic bits. For all she knew, they could completely change their appearances as well.

There was a bit of a war inside Reina at showing them this. Reina thought it might be possible to get Lola to come around, assuming whatever brainwashing her 'father' put her through wasn't concrete. Still, she knew she shouldn't keep their appearances to herself. If Lola went around killing people, then, child or not, she needed to be stopped.

Opposite of that, there was no conflict about informing the gathered priests about the trio of witches. Namely, because Reina didn't mention them at all. As far as she was aware, those three did nothing wrong other than believe their uncle was innocent. And, seeing how Lola probably wasn't blood-related to Derdir, the same might be true with those three siblings. 'Uncle' didn't have to be familial.

Besides, they were witches. Apparently, individual mages are viewed more favorably than witches in general here, let alone ones who can modify a person and basically bring them back to life. Reina didn't have enough know-how of magic to say for sure, but that last fact alone probably wouldn't win them any friends here. No good would come from telling these priests about them.

Unfortunately, but predictably based on Reina's knowledge and short experience here, the meeting started to veer off course again.

"The Golden Hammer Church was the favored group of the queen in Savia. And yet, they could do nothing against the Demon Lord's army."

"Favored, yes, but that was only recently. The Crimson Blade had several times the number of members as my faith in Savia. Not to mention the Bronze Effigy, if I recall correctly."

"Our members there were not following our creed as closely as they could have. This I freely admit. If they were more in line with our doctrine—"

"Instead of using their blessings to make and sell golems for the nobility, you mean."

"Your sect is nothing more than glorified farmers! Frankly, your magic is far too similar to what I hear Gromnar druids are capable of."

"Say that again!"

Reina could hardly believe what she was seeing, let alone hearing. These people, some of the most powerful and influential people in the country—possibly the world—continued to squabble over petty issues. There were bigger things at stake.

"I didn't survive everything until now just to listen to your stupid crap!"

She was reaching her boiling point, and it was about time she made them see what they're up against.

"Enough!" With a thought, Reina activated her skill. Deft Strike. A flaming arm burst into existence and slammed down, shattering the podium she stood in. The splintered wood caught fire, but there was little to worry about on the polished stone floor.

The templars on the sides of the room quickly readied their weapons. None moved in just yet, but a few looked like they might want to.

With the ghostly arm having already retreated back into Reina, she addressed the assembled leadership.

"Do you people have any idea how completely unprepared everyone is!? Just today, I got pulled away by one of the Demon Lord's daughters. I had to send the templars guarding me away, because if I didn't then they would have been killed trying to fight her! And then, I met another one of his daughters who looked ready to kill me for reasons I have no clue about!

"In the dead of night, the Demon Lord and at least three of his kids attacked the capital of Savia out of nowhere and won. From the bits of news I've heard, everyone there was killed. He was able to bring an army with him, possibly using the city's Adamantine Gate. He can probably teleport wherever he wants. Hell, two of his daughters were here this morning, and one of them said the Demon Lord killed a templar here last night! He was here, in your own country!

"So, this is what's going to happen. You all are going to let me copy whatever I want so I can fight the Waves. You won't bother me about joining whatever church you're a part of. And you definitely won't harass Vyrdrun or Maria. Otherwise, I'll leave and let you fight the Waves here yourselves. It's not like the other two heroes are here. And if you want to try killing me, good luck summoning another Spirit Forger."

With her long tirade completed, Reina had to keep her breathing in check. She had a brush with death with two of the Demon Lord's daughters today, even if one claimed she was in no real danger. There was no way she was putting up with any more of this nonsense. Of course, she couldn't let that specific feeling show on her face. Something more refined here, even if their squabbling was almost like that of children.

"Maybe Lola was wrong and I've gone crazy. This could all be a hallucination and Maria will tell me later what actually happened." Reina joked to herself, trying to alleviate her concerns, but she really hoped that wasn't the case. She probably couldn't fix her own craziness.

Honestly speaking, Reina knew the things discussed weren't entirely childish. She knew strongly-held beliefs had a big sway in how people acted. People wanted to do what they thought was best, but not everyone agreed on what that was. That didn't excuse their bickering, but Reina could at least see where it might have started from.

If she was the Spirit Forger that helped start these churches, her presence here would've made a bigger difference in their attitude. As things stood, she was an unproven successor. If Vyrdrun didn't hate her for what the last Spirit Forger did, these priests similarly didn't necessarily have to treat her with reverence. The last Spirit Forger was able to defeat the first Demon Lord with the help of the other two heroes, so she knew she had potential.

"The Demon Lord. I really didn't get any farther away from him, did I? In less than a day after arriving, I literally bumped into one of his daughters. He was even in the city the same time as me." There really was no getting away from him. All Reina could do was continue to get stronger and hope that would be enough someday.

From the silence that permeated the room, it seemed like her threat was effective, and right on the mark about the other heroes. No one knew where the Chisel Hero kept himself, and it didn't seem like people even knew who the Cleaver Hero was. Bishop Valais confirmed Maria's knowledge on both of them. Reina really was the only one they could rely on.

"Ahem." The first one of them to speak from the long silence was the leader of the Violet Storm Church. "Well, I know where my church and I stand on this matter. Once we've concluded this meeting, I'll allow you to copy my crosier, along with anything else that might have been missed from my church."

Reina let a simple smile form on her face. She looked around at the other high priests.

"We…clearly have much to discuss with one another." The high priest of the Crimson Blade spoke cautiously. "Perhaps you would like to rest for a bit from your trying time in our country."

Reina crossed her arms. "And the weapon copying?"

His face stiffened slightly. "At the very least, I suppose anything that doesn't signify you as a high ranking member of our church."

"That is…acceptable."

"It cannot be helped."

One by one, the other high priests gave their words of tentative agreement.

"Then I'll go around again today to get that done." Reina told the group.

"As the church currently housing the Spirit Forger, I will be providing an escort to ensure all the low-ranking items are presented." The Violet Storm high priest said, giving Reina a sly look.

Reina understood what that meant. It was the same look the bishop gave her before. She was expecting a favor for helping to get the others to agree. Reina also understood that she likely wouldn't have much of a choice. This little stunt probably just put her in a bad light with 9 out of 10 churches.

"I'm sure by the time we're finished here, the clergy of all the churches will be aware of their leader's edicts." The high priest of the Violet Storm said happily.

"Then I'll rest here for a little bit while everything gets sorted." Reina said with certainty. On the inside, however…

"Huh. That worked."

The Violet Storm high priest waved over one of her templars and instructed him to guide Reina and her party to a sitting room.

They left the large room behind, following behind the templar. When they arrive, Vyrdrun has to crouch into the standard-size door, but the three of them go in easily enough.

Once inside, Maria relaxes on the fancy couch. "I can't believe that actually worked!"

"Ugh." Reina slumped her shoulders.

"You alright, Boss?" Maria gazed up as Reina walked over.

"I feel so drained. I can't believe I said all that to that huge group…"

"Oh yeah, you did mention you're not a big public speaker or something~."

"And all it took for me to do all that is be scared out of my mind twice in a short period of time."

Reina fell back onto the couch, leaning her head back to stare at the ceiling.

"Aw~! You really are all tuckered out~." She cooed.

"I shouldn't have had to do that in the first place." Reina protested. "It costs them nothing to let me copy things."

"True, but they did have a point about looking like a high-ranking official." Maria pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's still stupid." Reina argued back. "Just tell everyone that the boyish-looking, short girl with long, braided hair wielding their church's special item is the Spirit Forger or something."

"Haha!" Maria put her arm around Reina's shoulder and gave her a squeeze, pulling Reina's head to Maria's shoulder. "And here I thought you didn't like being thought of as a boy~."

"I don't, but I know how I look."

"Aw~." Maria swept her other hand over Reina's head. "Does my cute little hero need some pampering to feel better~?"

Reina was about to retort, but then she closed her mouth. Instead, she pulled back.

"Did I upset you~?" Maria asked without any real care. "Don't be mad at—"

Her voice cut off as Reina plopped her head onto Maria's lap. The stunned look on her face was exceptionally pleasing to Reina.

"Well?" Reina folded her hands over her stomach. "Start pampering. I could really use it."

With everything that happened today, that was an understatement. First going around to all those churches, then getting pulled away by Lola and having a terrifying lunch—that she didn't even get to eat—and then meeting the girl's even more terrifying sister!

"Hm, that feels nice…" Reina commented, closing her eyes. A gentle hand was passing over the top of her head, going down to where her hair was braided, and then repeating.

After all that, she just finished yelling at a group of people who were essentially running a country. Sure, it wasn't exactly like that, but they held the most influence. And Reina yelled at them like a bunch of children.

"Are my nerves just shot or something?" She wondered. "I didn't like doing that, but I think I could go back in there and start yelling again if I needed to."

Opening her eyes slightly, Reina peeked up and saw the blushing woman stroking her hair. As funny as that was to her, she remembered something from before.

"I can see why you didn't bother telling me more about Keston before." Reina said. "The politics here are aggravating."

The hand on her head stopped. "That's, um…"

Reina could barely see Maria's face over the two lumps of fat obstructing her view. She couldn't be mad at that or say Maria was flaunting them, since Reina put herself there in the first place. What she could see was someone who was nervously looking to the side.

"What is it?" Reina asked.

"I didn't keep it from you for that…" Maria quietly said.

"Then why did you?"

There was a pause. Maria sucked in a breath. "I was worried that, if you learned how revered you were here, you'd want to come right away."

"What's wrong with that?" Reina asked, gesturing with her hand. "I mean, aside from the obvious."

Valais and the lower priests might have played it up, but the high priests didn't seem as revering. Public sway could probably get them on her side more easily.

"I-It's…kind of stupid." Maria completely removed her hand from Reina. "I thought that, if the churches were more like what I heard, you'd get so many templars to work with you. They'd have all sorts of magic they could use, plus some would have a connection to the Wizard College for anything else you'd need. And then…" She lowered her voice even more. "You wouldn't want me traveling with you."

Reina stared up at the woman. "Seriously?"

She looked at Reina with wide eyes. "W-What…?"

"You're right, that is stupid." Reina moved her arm up and pointed it in Maria's face. "You've been super helpful to me and taught me a whole bunch, even if I didn't get a lot of it. They probably would have been trying to gain my favor, but you're here because you actually want to be."

With a red face, Maria stuttered. "B-But don't I bother you with how I act?"

"Yeah, at first. But don't you remember? I told you it was flattering."

Maria looked around, almost desperately. Reina continued speaking.

"Besides, if I came straight here, I probably wouldn't have learned as much about Gromnar as I did. We wouldn't have helped that tribe with the poison problem, not to mention getting that dragon egg."

The egg in question also needed a magic seal set on it to make the dragon obey her, something else Maria told her. They still had plenty of time, since the egg probably wouldn't hatch anytime soon. Maria didn't know everything about dragons, but their eggs apparently needed to be in certain environments to hatch properly. Monster tamers could emulate that and accelerate the process, which was why Reina planned on visiting one today.

"B-Boss!" Maria all but shouted. "Okay, I believe you! Just please move your arm!"

"Huh?" Reina tilted her head slightly.

It wasn't as if she didn't know where her arm was. It was where she usually found her head in the morning, albeit not recently. With those two sacks blocking her path, it wasn't as if her arm could be anywhere else to point straight at Maria's face.

"Seriously? One of my first memories of you is having my head smooshed between your breasts. I was the one who had to tell you to keep something on while we slept and you clung to me. With how touchy you are with me, how are you this bad when it's the other way around?"

Regardless, Reina did move her arm back down, earning a sigh of relief from the woman.

"W-Well…" Despite her receding blush, Maria adopted her usual demeanor. "That's just how I pamper my little hero. If you want to do that back, maybe you should take me on a date first~."

"Okay." Reina said without missing a beat.

"H-Huh!?" Maria looked at her, completely flabbergasted.

"I said yes. Let's go on a date. How about tomorrow?" Reina asked casually.

Maria held her hand to her cheek as she looked away. "Um…are you serious?"

Instead of answering with words, Reina opted for action.

"Ah~!" Maria quickly covered her mouth to silence the moan that came out of it.

"Does this answer your question?" Reina asked.

If it didn't, Reina suspected she was actually much smarter than the woman above her. Her left hand pushed against Maria's right breast, kneading it like a cat. The strange dynamic Reina ascribed to their situation notwithstanding, she had to admit this felt rather nice. She did like the clothing Maria wore. It was a pretty good quality and it looked lovely on the shapely woman.

And, of course, the soft skin the ends of her fingers were pressing into was indescribably heavenly. She pushed a little harder, letting her fingers feel more skin and earning another muffled moan from Maria. At this point, it was a good thing her hand was where it was. Otherwise, well, the somewhat thin fabric of her wizard's dress wouldn't be able to conceal how that part of her body was reacting.

Joking or not, she could see why Maria kept feeling around her stomach before. More than once, the woman let her hands creep up higher before Reina stopped her. Given how Maria seemed to enjoy this, maybe she shouldn't have.

"B-Boss…" Maria breathed out. "What're you…"

"I'm pretty sure my brain is still fried from earlier." Reina told her, continuing the motions. "Don't worry. By the time I wake up tomorrow, I'll be back to my reserved self. Probably. Maybe."

She really couldn't see herself doing this sort of thing normally. Not even in her wildest dreams was this a possibility. That implied she fantasized about being intimate with someone, which she didn't, but her actions now were still far from the norm.

Reina was also a bit curious how much Maria could handle, and if it was the perceived interest in her as a person or anything at all that made her squirm. Plus, seeing her face like that put a smile on hers.

"Huh. So, does my ability to deal with random or unexpected things extend to this? Or, am I just being corrupted by my flirty wizard?" Reina pondered.

Truthfully, if Reina did revert to her normal self in the morning, she could completely see herself rolling on the floor while trying to figure out why the hell she did this. It'd be pretty funny to watch. She gave a small laugh at her future self's expense.

"I'm not an expert on human interactions, but I believe I should leave the room if you two are going to continue."

Reina shot up on the couch, eyes immediately turned to Vyrdrun, who she completely forgot was in the room with them. He sat on the ground, one arm propped on his knee while he rested his chin on his hand.

"N-No! We're not—I'm not—" The words refused to come out of Reina's mouth properly. "Why didn't you say anything earlier!?"

Vyrdrun shrugged. "Like you said, you were still feeling stressed from your earlier encounter with these daughters of the Demon Lord. This seemed to be helping that. In fact, I remember my old master telling me once that humans sometimes use those intimate physical touches to help relieve stress. Although, I believe it was more similar to mating—"

"STOP!" Both Reina and Maria yelled loudly to end that line of discussion.

With the sobering realization that they weren't alone, Reina felt just the tiniest bit more self-conscious of what she was doing. Of course, if they were alone…

She looked behind her at the distressed wizard. Maria had her arms wrapped around her own chest, trying to catch her breath. She caught Reina looking at her and turned her head away.

"Boss…" She said in a quiet voice. "Were…you serious? About the date?"

Reina gulped, suddenly worried about what her answer might mean. "Y-Yes."

"Okay." Maria took in a deep breath. Then, she turned back to Reina, a blush still on her face. The smile she wore seemed to radiate a pleasant warmth. "Then…while you're going to the churches, I'll go out and find something nice to wear."

"Oh!" Reina gave her a brief nod. "G-Good then."

The room took on a somewhat awkward silence, though it only lasted for about a minute. A knock on the door kept the situation going on any longer. A templar from the Violet Storm Church informed them that preparations were made and Reina could now go around to the other churches once more.

She said farewell to the rest of her party and began her quasi-pilgrimage anew. With no one but the templars guarding her, she was left to her thoughts.

"Now then…how do I go on a date? I've read manga that had it once, but…" Her lack of romance in her world certainly didn't help any.

~Forging Legends~

Boring.

Making plans was boring. Making preparations was boring. Everything leading up to a fight was boring. Sometimes even the fight itself would be boring.

But not this fight. Tonight's fight would be anything but boring.

Meruthia knew that for certain. There were several factors that led her to this conclusion.

First off was the fact that all of her siblings were present. That was huge. Lola being here wasn't all that special. She was the weakest out of the five of them, at least for right now. Goalith and Maphai, on the other hand, were the strongest. Meruthia was up there too, but she wouldn't want to pick a fight with either of them. What really sealed it was Darvon. He was only above Lola in strength, but his work kept him more in the shadows and away from most fights. If he was joining in, this fight would be a good one.

The second factor was all the additional people present. Four druids and a shaman, plus a group of their warriors. That was good, but Maphai also brought along her pets with her. Snarling little things, Meruthia couldn't understand how they were any better than the humans Maphai hated so passionately, but she couldn't be bothered to figure that out. Given who and what they were fighting this night, it almost seemed pointless to bring them.

That just meant this fight would be good.

The third and final factor revolved around Dad himself. He wasn't someone to show what he was feeling, but Meruthia saw it this night. She saw it when they first arrived. When he looked to their destination, their objective, Meruthia knew beyond all doubt this would be a good fight.

Dad had smiled.

It was well worth crawling out of her hole, as Maphai had put it. Meruthia didn't care about the barb. What her sister said was true. It would indeed be well worth it.

"We're ready, Father." The arrogant woman herself said with a vicious smile as she approached Dad.

And why wouldn't she be happy? Their main enemy here was a human, and a powerful one at that. He was one of the few that could feasibly get in their way.

Dad turned around and she saw it again. That smile. That alone was worth coming out here. A rare sight, and she loved seeing it every time. Maybe she loved seeing it more than fighting itself, but she wouldn't have to choose today. Not with the tower in the distance and what was guarding it.

Not when Dad opened his mouth and said a single word.

"Begin."

Author's Notes:

I wrote most of this chapter in one day, so I'm sorry if that shows. I've had a rough outline for it most of the week, but I just couldn't get myself to write it. Normally, I'll write a bit here and there, then I'll think up ways to add to it during work or before bed, then I'll use that to write even further.

If any of you were hoping for a yuri couple, your wish is being granted. The genie got a few things out of order here, but that'll be fixed in post. What does that mean? I don't know, I just repeat things I hear to make myself sound smarter. There, I admitted it. Are you happy now?

Crazy ramblings aside, my last section didn't end where I originally planned. Might need to shift a few things around, but it should all still be good.