A/N: This chapter should round off volume 5 stuff and start the volume 6/ Blood moon antics.

Leon Fou [now Rapha] Barfort: Renowned adventurer and current crown prince. / previously: Hiro (pre:isekai)—Lea of Bart's Fort (The true founder of Holfort and lover to the Saintess Ann and Mary)—JOU_MOU_ (someone who used to work in Luxion's facility.)

Angelica Rapha Redgrave: Daughter of Duke Redgrave and ex-fiancé to Julius/ Previously: Ann of Bart's Fort (aka Saintess Ann and lover of Lea of Bart's fort). / Also goes by Angie to close friends and loved ones. Currently Pregnant.

Olivia: Commoner from the Kagenou Barony. / previously: Mary, lover and companion to Ann and Lea. When they had returned from their adventures in ancient Midgar, all three had been attacked by the founding heirs as they all wanted Ann. To save Lea and Ann from such a fate, she teleported them away, and swapped bodies with Ann. / Is also known as Livia by her close friends and loved ones. Currently Pregnant.

Cid Kagenou: fiancé to several famous elves but just a regular mob you'd find anywhere / previously: Minoru Kagenou boy from Earth that would be transported to the ancient times of the current before dying at the hands of his friends due to becoming demonically possessed out of grief. / Also dons the secret identity of "Lord Shadow." Leader and founder of The Shadow Garden. / Mundane Mann, a pathetic looking sword wielder that disappeared many years ago and has returned for the Bushin festival. / Kageno of Mitsugoshi, after an argument with his parents, Cid decides to go by Kageno for a while. / Herlock Sholmes. During the trial of Leon v Holfort, Cid disguised himself as the famous detective. Most importantly, all the Shades call him some variant of "darling."

Alice [Kagenou: Cid's personal elf servant, lover, and childhood friend / previously: Beatrice (this is non canon, but all of Shadow Garden had identities before joining so I made a name up for her.) / Dons the secret identity of "Alpha" or "Lady Shade." Co-leader and second founder of The Shadow Garden, first of the Seven Shades. The name "Alpha" is only used by those in Shadow Garden. Currently Pregnant.

Other Shadow Garden Members: All of the seven shades have secret identities. They see their Shadow Garden names as their true names and will use that in their own thoughts. But to everyone not in Shadow Garden that sees them as their secret identities will use those names.

Beta: Natsume Kafka, renowned writer.

Gamma: Luna of Mitsugoshi, owner of said store and many others, richest Woman in the world. Xianyun, Sword master of the far eastern kingdoms. Currently Pregnant.

Delta: Sara, certified good girl.

Epsilon: Shiron, amazing musician known internationally.

Zeta: Zetan. Previously known as Lilim, named after the therianthrope hero, Lili.

Eta: Goes by Eta Lloyd Wright, renowned Architect.

Charlie: Known previously as Carla Fou Wayne.

Aurora: Called Violet by Cid and now camps out in his soul/brain. Known as the Witch of Calamity, and the Demon Diabolos.

Other People:

Claire Kagenou: Cid's older sister and one of Leon's fiancés. Going by Nonna during her time in Alzer.

Deidre Fou Roseblade: The stereotypical haughty Ojou-Sama. One of Leon's fiancés. Going by Rogue during her time in Alzer.

Rose Oriana: Princess of Oriana. Probably the only person besides Aurora that knows Cid thinks everything is part of a game. Going by Luci in Alzer. Number 666 in The Shadow Garden.

Noelle Beltre: Beltre is a fake last name given to her after the destruction of her house. In truth, her name is Noelle Zel Lespinasse / ?

Louise Sara Rault: Currently the one and only daughter of House Rault. Also the only living child by blood following the death of her brother Leon Sara Rault. A vampire "princess" to boot. / In her previous life she was Hiro(pre-isekai Leon)'s girlfriend, Yuna. He was ready to propose but when the rumor of him being gay spread she dumped him.

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

-Gamma-

"Alright, Gamma." Said Lord Darling as he pat my head and slowly-sadly-pulled away. "I need to be in Alzer before Leon is, and I'm pretty sure my ship arrived an hour ago."

"Aww…" I whined. I had spent the better part of an hour trying to burrow into Lord Darling's chest, feeling as though it was empty somehow.

Lord Darling chuckled. "C'mon, you know we both have stuff to do. Take care of yourself." Lord Darling kissed me on the forehead and then knelt down. "And them too." He placed a kiss over my stomach as well. Our baby had kicked in response, something it has done since Lord Darling showed up today. He chuckled and gave my stomach another kiss. "Yes, yes, I'll miss you too."

"Hm…" I hummed.

"What?"

"Can I get another kiss too?" I asked.

"Gamma, I gotta leave."

"Please baby…?"

I covered my mouth as Cid blushed.

"That's… new." He said while scratching his cheek.

I poked my fingers together. "Do you… do you like it…?"

Cid thinks about it for a bit. "Don't… don't call me that when we aren't alone together… it'll look kinda… uh, childish."

I giggled a bit, he had always had a love for looking imposing. Of course that was because when he fully leaned into his role as Lord Shadow he'd be the scariest (and if I'm being honest, sexiest) person to exist. So I suppose that he wouldn't be too fond of being called 'baby' in front of others.

"Okay baby." I said with a smile.

Baby coughed and deepened his voice. "Ri—*cough* Right. Now, it is time for me to leave."

"W-wait!" shouted a voice from outside the door.

The two of us look as the door opens and a certain maid walks in with some luggage toted behind her. Ah, that's right.

I touched baby's arm. "My Lord. Apologies. I had a request for you."

"Oh?" said baby with some interest. "It's rare that you ever ask me for anything Gamma."

I nodded and then gestured towards Yumeria. "Our wet nurse has been wanting to see her own child for some time. Unfortunately, the prince and his entourage didn't stop by while in Holfort so she had been unable. If possible, could you take her with you?"

Baby looked at Yumeria who put her best pleading face on.

"Very well." Baby nodded. "You do understand that you cannot, under any circumstances, reveal us as part of The Shadow Garden, yes?"

"Yes!" said Yumeria with a salute.

"You also cannot reveal what I am about to do." Said Baby as he opened up a red portal beside him. He looked back to me with one final nod and gently pushed Yumeria through.

"Oh, um, understood. Thank you Lady Gamma!" said Yumeria as they went though.

I cheerfully waved at the two.

I had to admit, I was rather fond of Yumeria. I know we had kidnapped—ah, that is liberated her from the church because Alpha ran into her by chance and felt bad for her, but I have to say it was one of our best investments.

Her knowledge about having a half-elf child was something you really couldn't find anywhere else. In fact, according to Yumeria the noble that had… done that to her had in fact left her to die in the wilderness. It was only by chance that she managed to stumble upon one of the many supply outposts of the Templars and wandered her way into their stable. There she had given birth to Kyle, having used nearby horse reins to keep herself from biting her own tongue out from the pain.

And apparently, this was also one of the outposts that Victoria had been at. That was the only reason that Yumeria and Kyle were allowed to live, because for as flawed and mind controlled as Victoria was at the time, she still desired to be a saint in her own right. Shortly after giving birth, Yumeria was enlisted as a nun for the church's location in Lindwurm.

Her job at the time was to check all letters before giving it to the Archbishop. It's a wonder that she survived to be perfectly honest. She's admitted that a few times her hands were cut from hidden blades and a few poisons had made her sick, but she had been talented at treating herself with plants thanks to her strange affinity with them. Eta had been interested in researching Yumeria, wanting to see if there was a hidden plant magic that only she knew about, but Alpha and Baby had forbidden it.

However, I'm not only fond of her thanks to how much she can help with our children. But because she's a bit of a kindred spirit.

…

She's extremely clumsy. Not as much as me before I got the upgraded slime suit, but she's up there.

-P2W-

Given that Leon was going to be there for a bit, the girls had found it prudent to use one of their days off to spend time with him. And what better way to do that, then to have a tea party? Although there was a favorite room in the school reserved for such a time, given the current state of the academy and their pregnancies, it wouldn't do to hold it there.

Instead, they had went to the Redgrave duchy for their one day. Noelle had offered to stay on the Einhorn for the day, but Angelica and Olivia insisted that she join them as part of the family. Clarice had joined as well, but Iris unfortunately had to settle with a dinner the night before when he had been warped by the sacred tree sapling.

A maid peeked in on the tea party. Here at the Redgrave estate, many servants looked after Angelica. Especially now that she was pregnant. Her parents couldn't be any happier, nor cautious. In fact, Leon half near needed to borrow Cid's crowbars to pry them away. Gilbert meanwhile had been avoiding his sister, and his parents for that matter given he still hadn't found a suitable lover.

In any case, the caution was somewhat warranted. In the past most of the maids that served the Redgraves had hailed from knight houses and had received an education at the academy. Some aristocratic daughters from earldoms, viscounties, or baronies were among them as well.

However, in the wake of the war with the former Principality of Fanoss, the majority of the houses that had betrayed the duchy had been punished, and many of the houses were demolished once Leon had… 'ejected' them from the airship where his trial was held. The daughters and sons who had once been Angelica's followers had been among said families, and wisely chose to not piss off Leon any further given what happened to their parents. Due to that, the number of high-ranking maids at the Redgrave's estate had thinned considerably.

One of the remaining high-ranking maids was named Cordelia Fou Easton, and she had been taking care of Angelica since she was a little girl.

Cordelia was currently twenty-eight years old. She had worked at the duke's estate since she was young, learning proper upper-class etiquette in the process. Due to the age difference between herself and Angie, she had been unable to attend the academy with her mistress and become a proper member of her entourage, but they had known each other for years nonetheless.

At present, Cordelia was studying Angelica and her guests, her face devoid of emotion. "That man," she whispered. "I cannot believe he would make a move on another woman—foreign or otherwise—when he has Lady Angelica at his side."

The other maids traded troubled looks.

"Lady Cordelia, please calm down."

Cordelia's normally expressionless face contorted, lending her the air of an enraged demon. "How can you expect me to calm down!? Do you even realize the horrific treatment our lady endured because of that witch Marie? She stole that idiotic prince from Lady Angelica and made a fool of her in public!"

"D-don't you think calling him an idiotic prince is a bit too—okay, no, never mind." One of the maids tried to scold Cordelia, but the latter's ire was so intimidating that she changed her tune midway.

"Surely he realized the lady was worried he might be unfaithful. And in spite of that, he still… he… GRRRRR!"

"Um, you recall that Lady Angelica was the one to set up the harem that makes you so mad, correct?"

"The issue is that he forced her into such a situation to begin with!"

The previous year, Julius had broken his engagement with Angelica. His reasoning had been as unconscionable as the act itself, and House Redgrave's displeasure with the royal family only mounted. It was no wonder why they had backed Leon's ascent to the throne. Cordelia was most frustrated with Angelica's own entourage turning their back on her.

"Everyone close to the lady turned their backs on her. Do you know how depressed she was? Supposedly Leon was aware, yet despite all of the women he already has he was off cavorting in that foreign country with a new woman! Wait, no women! I won't let him get away with it!"

The other maids thought she was going overboard, but Cordelia did remind them of how terribly their Angie had been treated. At the same time they were thankful for Lady Olivia and His highness Leon given how they had made sure that despite the betrayal Angie had never truly been left alone.

Also, some of them had very strongly shipped Olivia x Angelica. The others? They shipped Angelica x Olivia.

Either way, they knew it was thanks to Leon and the family he had made, or rather was built for him, that such pairings could come to be.

Back to the point, Cordelia thought it best to come up with some way to curb Leon's (supposed) wandering affections.

"They should send someone to keep an eye on him while he's abroad," she said.

-Leon-

After enjoying once last tea party with the girls, I went to collect the heirs who all were sporting new bruises. I simply pointed them to their rooms and gave Marie some money so she wouldn't make a fuss. Noelle said she wanted to take a nap, having been exhausted from everything.

That left me with a rare moment alone.

I'll be honest, it's strange to think back on this past year and realize that ever since I started my adventure and met the Kagenou family and Livia, I've always been with someone. I know in my past life I would've complained about it, but in this one I can't help but feel a bit… empty now that I'm on my own.

Well, except for one person.

Luxion.

And, uh, yeah I mean person.

While we were in Alzer his wife had decided along with mine to make them human-like bodies. If you looked closely you could see details that definitely marked them as robotic, such as their fingers and other joints. But for the most part they looked like ordinary, if attractive, people.

Apparently, Luxion only heard about this at the last second. Just in time to stop Cleare from giving him cat ears and a tail apparently.

["Master. Is there something wrong?"] asked Luxion, his features schooled like that of my tea master, and seemingly as dignified. Luxion's human appearance was that of a well-trained butler. He wears glasses, Cleare insisted, that frame his red eyes. His hair and skin look a bit like mine, if a bit lighter in color. He's also a bit shorter than me, although he can change that at any time.

"I'm still just a bit weirded out about not seeing you as a little orb I guess." I said.

Luxion's face becomes unbearably smug, something he had only been able to hint at with his mockery. ["Of all the things you've seen on your journey, the thought I could construct a human like body should be the least surprising. Such a foolish master I have."] Luxion even adjusted his glasses with one of his hands to reach maximum smug butlerness.

I shook my head, "It's more that you're willing to use it. Then again I suppose you wouldn't be able to turn down something from your wife." A thought occurred to me. "Come to think of it, how human did she make those bodies? Because I remember that Cleare was responsible for creating elves and therianthropes."

Luxion glared at me. ["None of your business."]

I smirked. "What, I know you two had fun creating children as robots. Besides it's just us guys here."

["Then I'm sure you can imagine why I decided to not allow her to keep her human body on the Einhorn. Now, we have more important things to talk about."] said Luxion. Since he could perfectly control his features, he didn't portray anything other than annoyance. But given how long I've known him, I know for sure he'd be blushing right about now. I guess Cleare wants to wring him dry.

Then again, knowing Cleare, I'm a bit worried about what she'd do to Luxion before, during, and after such activities so I can't entirely blame him for making sure they'd be separated.

"You mean the sacred tree sapling and the Alzerian nobles right?" I asked.

Luxion nodded. ["Precisely, looks like even a broken clock is right at least twice a day."]

I glare at him, he smiles. Giving Luxion an actual face was a mistake.

["In any case. First, given your position, were you truly naïve enough to believe that you'd be able to ignore all your responsibilities? Holfort and Alzer have entered a transitional phase as they try to establish diplomacy, but it only appears peaceful on the surface. As you have seen, both countries are exceedingly busy. And underlying out all of that, this Otome game—as you like to call it—is entering its own critical phase, is it not?"]

"Yeah, yeah. I get all of that. But sometimes I need a breather too, you know?"

["I believe you have gotten more than a 'breather.'"]

"You call filing through paper work a breather?"

["Filing through paperwork while taking breaks to fondle the queen, yes."]

I had to concede with that. I did enjoy doting on Mylene and plowing her on her own desk in between all the paperwork. She had been a bit pent up too, so I wasn't even the one to initiate most of the time.

["Eugh, wipe that look off your face."]

I rolled my eyes.

Moreover, there was the whole issue of Noelle deciding to be a part of our little family. Meaning I couldn't try and get her with one of the love interests, especially since I'm now the guardian of the Sacred Tree Sapling. Speaking of, wasn't Albergue the last boss?

Specifically, a version of him that had merged with the original Sacred tree that would become a monster that went berserk.

In the worst case scenario, Luxion could probably deal with the fallout, but the republic would be in dire straits if they lost their tree. It had provided them with the bountiful wealth they currently enjoyed. They would be in a difficult position without it, to say the least.

According to Marie, the sapling was supposed to 'rebirth the country anew,' but we didn't know if that means it was capable of the same feats as the current Sacred Tree. However, the Sacred Tree Sapling—oh screw it, that was too much of a mouthful; I'd just call it Sappie for short—needed a Priestess to realize its full potential. Noelle had become the priestess, and chose me as her guardian.

Speaking of, I glanced at the back of my right hand. "I can't even remember when exactly this showed up. Is it permanent? What am I, a Master Magus?"

It felt like Sappie had been the one to recognize me honestly. I know Noelle said she had a crush on me for a bit, but I can't imagine that alone is what determined things. It would make sense given the Otome game setting, but most things that made sense that way had more behind it.

Luxion had his own theories. ["Master, do you know why the Sacred Tree chooses a Guardian?"]

"Well, if the word itself is any indication, I assume to protect itself."

["Correct. And who acquired this sapling and protected it until now?"]

"Guess that'd be me."

["I see nothing odd about the sapling deeming you its rightful Guardian."]

"But what about the Priestess?"

["I never understood that part to begin with. Is it so very necessary for the Priestess to decide who ought to be the Guardian? I see the rationale in the sapling choosing a Priestess first—in order to better its understanding of humans through her—but in this case, the sapling has obviously prioritized its own survival."]

For whatever reason, if Sappie (or any other sapling from the Sacred Tree) was left on its own, it would wither and die. Yanking it out of the ground and keeping close watch over it wouldn't change the situation either. It simply wouldn't grow, and the reason for this most intriguing.

"Even though the Sacred Tree gives life to those saplings, it's also the one responsible for killing them," I said.

["Yes, it does seem quite twisted for a plant to operate in such a way."]

The Sacred Tree's energy source was the mana permeating the air. Unsurprisingly, the nutrients derived from water or soil were insufficient food for these saplings. However even though it wasn't like a single sapling could steal much atmospheric mana from its forbear, the Sacred Tree refused to share any of this precious resource with its offspring. It was almost as if it were trying to destroy the saplings.

["For a sapling, the most important thing is to ensure it has a master who will guarantee survival. I have no doubts that a Priestess comes secondary to this."]

"So reality is different than the game, as expected."

["Quite. Also, while I had the chance I looked into a few more things. I must say that something seems off to me."]

I rolled my eyes, although there was no real emotion behind it. "Everything always seems off to you, but fine. I'll humor you, what is it?"

["As a general rule, there is a hierarchy to the crests that The Sacred Tree allots to people. The most powerful is the Guardian's Crest, and just below that is the Priestess's Crest."]

"Yeah, okay."

["Next are the crests given to those who hail from the Six Great Houses. Even the three towers are below them, although there are arguments about the Crimson Tower's Vlad given his secrecy. Either way, The Sacred Tree prioritizes the protection it offers to those who rank the highest. In that case, something is off about all of this."]

"What's that?"

["Have you not noticed?"]

I knitted my brows in confusion, which only elicited Luxion's exasperated sigh.

Wonderful. Now he's starting to piss me off. I scoffed, "Just tell me already!"

["If House Lespinasse had both the Guardian and Priestess crests, then why were they defeated by House Rault when the latter's crest power should have paled in comparison?"]

Now I finally understood what he was getting at. And yeah, he did have a point. Why had House Lespinasse fallen? Neither Marie nor Noelle could tell me. Marie simply treated as part of the lore and Noelle was too young to know.

"Maybe House Rault's vampirism made up the difference? Or maybe they invented something that doesn't rely on The Sacred Tree's power?" I guessed.

Luxion shook his head. ["Although I can't deny the former, I know the latter to be wrong. The republic simply doesn't possess the technology. I do not believe there is any weapon or technique currently in existence that can counter the crests' power aside from what Lord Shadow had done with Field."]

"And he's an outlier we really shouldn't count anyway."

["Agreed."]

In Alzer, many weapons were powered by energy from the Sacred Tree. The tree would cut its resources off from anyone who opposed the elite, since it prioritized protecting those at the top of its hierarchy. By extension, House Lespinasse should have had the same protection at its disposal. They could have used the tree's power to fight back. Regardless of whether they were caught unaware to a surprise attack, it didn't seem possible for them to be overpowered and lose so dramatically. Yet based on what we know, House Lespinasse had been obliterated without much of a struggle.

["Master, this is only a theory, but what if House Lespinasse lost their crests?"]

Now things were getting complicated. If they didn't have their crests, then perhaps someone had stolen them? Or had they simply lost them somehow? No, maybe…

"If… if the Sacred Tree is sentient enough to give out the crests, couldn't it take them away too? I know you can bet your own crest, at the very least. But if the tree took away theirs, then it would also explain why Albergue can be the chairman despite having destroyed another house."

Which also meant that the other houses, fully aware of the role the Raults had played, still acknowledged their authority. That jus tamed this whole thing even more confusing.

"Luxion, why didn't you bring this up sooner?"

["I did want to consult with you about this, but the timing was never right. Besides, the discussion was not urgent at the time. It is history after all."]

"No, I think this definitely qualifies as urgent!"

Luxion shrugged. ["Knowing all this changes nothing, at least not in any significant way. You are trying to reach the ending of this Otome game, are you not?"]

True enough. Knowing the truth of what had happened before wouldn't really have much of an impact on our trajectory given how much we've changed things.

I shook my head. "Still, tell me this stuff! If there's a reason for the crap that's gone down, I wanna know!"

Given my connection to Louise, I was hoping I wouldn't need to kill her dad. Also, that I wouldn't need to purge much more than house Fievel.

"*Sigh* what a mess." I said.

["One you made."] supplied Luxion.

I glare at him.

I readied myself before Luxion, generating electricity into my fists so that my attacks would hurt him. "You know, Luxion, it was a mistake giving yourself a face I can punch."

Luxion chuckled and then copied my stance. ["You can try."]

-P2W/Cordelia-

As Luxion and Leon fought each other, Cordelia had rested in her room aboard the Einhorn, doing her best to recall the conversation she had with Angelica before leaving with Leon.

"Angie." Said Cordelia, "I wish to go with Leon to Alzer."

"Mm. Try not to get pregnant, I'm waiting for them to come out to see if it's a precious baby boy or a darling little girl. But if you have a child before Princess Iris things would look pretty bad."

"W-w-w-w-what!?" shouted Cordelia in shock and embarrassment and Angie's words.

Angie looked up from the papers she had been reviewing. "What?"

"What do you mean what? I'm asking because what the hell!?" Cordelia slammed her hands on Angie's desk. "I'm going with him because I want to make sure he doesn't cheat anymore! Not to help him do it more!"

"Cheat? Since when has Leon cheated?"

"He has 8-9 other women besides you!"

"None of which he personally pursued… Well I suppose Noelle and Louise may have been, but the former was an accident and the latter was in their previous life."

"Why are you okay with that?"

"Probably because some of them are pretty good kissers."

Cordelia's jaw dropped. "Lady Angleica!?"

"They got rocking bods too. If I were a guy I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of them."

Cordelia was aghast. "Lady Angelica!"

Seemingly in another world, Angie began drooling with her eyes looking off into the distance. "Although I have to admit I'm pretty fond of the arrangement we have now. If no one gets pregnant in between Livia and I giving birth I'd love to arrange a day in which we all take turns letting him teach us our place. I wonder if I should try to go last or first? If I go first I can experience the bulk of his energy but if I go last I can dote on him in that way I know he loves…"

"LADY ANGELICA!" shrieked Cordelia. (A/N: Like this- /O5nkTxBXmQo?si=Yh5h1zQ9MxLH_P-T =70)

"What?" Angelica didn't look bothered, rather she had been rather amused by Cordelia's reaction. "I thought you always wanted to have love talks."

"That is so much more than a simple love talk!" shouted Cordelia as she stole Angelica's fan and began to try and cool her own face, something no other maid would dare do, but Cordelia could do to her close connection to Angelica. "Moreover, what was with that talk of me joining in! I though you already reached the maximum number of women, although I still think it shouldn't have been higher than just you!"

Angelica shrugged. "Although I don't care much for how my brother and father put it, men are generally expected to have some kind of dalliance. According to my mother, my father had done so, albeit only when she was pregnant and even then it had taken him months to crack."

"Angie…" said Cordelia with concern.

"I dislike cheating, as does everyone else in our little family." Explained Angie. "However, for some people there is a bit of an appeal for it. Leon… given his relationship with a certain distinguished older woman, may be one of those types."

Cordelia opened her mouth but was cut off.

"Not that he'd want to hurt us in any way of course. However, as my father and brother suggested, perhaps we should do as my mother did during her pregnancies and plant a specific person to fulfill this role of the 'dirty secret' as it were." Said Angie. "I can overlook a couple of dalliances, especially if I control them."

"Surely you didn't think of this on your own Angie." Said Cordelia.

Angie hummed, "Well, no actually. The idea was pitched to me by Alice. Cid's first wife, the elf if you recall."

"And you listened?" asked Cordelia incredulously.

"As Alice explained it, Leon and Cid are only going to grow stronger. Neither are the type to plateau. Given how it usually takes about two of us to keep up with Leon usually, what happens when he gets stronger? If you recall he is currently not only in sync with his past life memories, a veteran adventurer, a war veteran, one of the strongest dark knights we know, but now even has become The Guardian of The Sacred Tree." Angie smiled as she listed everything off on her fingers, proud of her husband.

Cordelia hummed at this. "So you mean to say…"

"Alice explained it like this, there his main wives. The women he will share everything with. Then, if we wish, the possibility for each of us to choose a lover to join us. A back-up of sorts. I believe that Alice had chose that Nicole girl, as worrying as it is given she's one of the members of the Shadow Garden. Some of the others girls chose others. But either way they all had to be someone that everyone knew about."

"And what, do you expect me to believe that 6 other women are familiar and okay with me?"

"Yes." Answered Angie with a smile, "I told them a lot about the woman I admired the most besides my mother and the queen."

Cordelia blushed, unable to hide her own smile. She quickly schooled her features. "Well, I appreciate it but I'm not going to do anything with him but make sure that he doesn't cheat on you."

Unbeknownst to Cordelia, historians would record her giving birth to at least 3 children from Leon.

-Violet-

I look at her.

Her, the woman I somehow forgot.

Her, my best friend.

Her, my knight's wife.

She looks not at me, but at my knight. My cutie.

Our love.

He can't hear her. He can't see her. He can't feel her.

But somehow, Cutie feels comforted by her.

And strangely, the reincarnation of our departed friend could. Although he took one glance and pretended he didn't.

"Hey Cid, is your familiar… around?" asked the man.

Cutie nodded. "Yeah, she usually floats around me. Why?"

"N-no reason." Said the man. He took one more glance at Olivier. She waves. He looks away. "Er, why's Yumeria here?"

"Greetings your highness." Said the elf with green hair that seemed familiar to me for some reason. "I apologize for this, but if… if it's alright…"

"She wants to see her kid. Kyle, remember?" said Cutie.

The man nodded, "Oh right… uh, yeah it might be a good idea to see them right now."

"What do you mean?" asked the green haired elf.

"Marie kinda… got pissed with her boyfriends and kicked them all out of the house. Said they had to get jobs or something. It was none of my business. But yeah, Kyle could use some time away from Marie because last I saw she was wrecking some training bots with her bare hands."

Even Olivier and I winced at the visual. Poor elf child.

The man gestured behind him, "Let's go get Kyle and then meet with the others."

Everyone agree with this course of action, so we had piled into the tram. Olivier took a position on Cutie's lap while I floated next to him, so that I'd essentially be on his shoulders. I could tell he enjoyed the sensation of my chest on his head, although he'd never admit it out loud.

The man sat next to the maid that accompanied him, and the… she looks familiar… the woman with blonde hair in a side ponytail. The elf with green hair sat next to the maid. We drew the gaze of a couple of people who shared the space with us. Although they mostly stared at the woman with the side ponytail.

I believe there was something about her being the Priestess of the sapling. That could be why.

When we arrived at the small one's estate, the maid's eye twitched in displeasure.

"What is this place, a pigsty? It's as though no one has done any cleaning at all." As a maid, she couldn't hold her tongue. Olivier nodded with her sentiment.

The small elf child raced down the stairs to greet us, and he quickly retorted, "We should be praised for keeping the place looking this good, considering how few of us there are to look after it. Besides—" He continued haughtily defending himself, his attitude unsurprising give he was still little more than a child.

The elf woman dropped her travel bag and flew toward him, cutting him off. "Kyle!"

"M-mother?!"

It was a touching reunion that brought tears to a lot of our eyes. Even the harsh maid had enough sense to read the room and keep her mouth shut.

"Kyle, I actually came to work here on behalf of Lord Cid. That means we'll be able to be together from now on!"

The elf mother smiled, but her child wriggled out of her embrace. He wrinkled his nose, the blush on his face extending all the way to the tip of his ears.

"I'm working right now! Besides, why are you here? They should have picked someone else."

His words came as a shock to his mother. Olivier narrowed her eyes at the boy. Given she very much always missed her own parents I move to hold her back should the need arise.

"Kyle, you don't want me around?" the woman cried.

The elf child peeked over at the man and the stern maid, clearly conscious that they were being watched.

"I suppose the child is going through puberty." I said.

Cutie replied, Oh, this is going to be painful to watch then.

"I-I didn't say I don't want you around, but I told you, I'm working! It's improper to let private affairs affect one's job!"

Such detailed professionalism. But since his words left his mother utterly dejected, the man cut in.

"Kyle, I get that you're getting in touch with your tricky adult hormones and all that, but try being a little nicer to her. No one will think you're any less dutiful for it. Now go on, give her a big hug."

The child's cheeks flushed and he opened his mouth.

But the man's eyes gleamed with power and authority. "I said hug your mom."

The elf child pouted, but out of fear he ran like the child he was into his mother's arms. The elf mother's ears began to wiggle happily. Olivier smiled at the sight as well. The tiny one's master did as well.

Suddenly one of those strange devices emerged from nowhere. It's eye purple.

(Father, shall I begin the data synchronization?)

The man's red companion emerged, simply an orb rather than the body it had been using on the airship.

[Yes, thank you Hikaru… ... … … … Oh dear.]

The man groaned in exasperation. "What happened?"

"Is my sister okay?" asked the woman with the side ponytail.

[You may want to go check on her.]

"Right. Cordelia, Yumeria, Marie. You all head back to the Rault estate." Said the man.

The small one quirked her head, "Are you going to walk us there…? Or…?"

The man simply extended his arm as he used to in his old life, creating a portal of light. When he did some voices came out of the other side.

"Eek! What's that!?" shrieked the woman that once hurt the man.

"Eh? Leon? Is that you?" Cutie's sister peeked her head out.

"Yeah, listen we need to go check on something. Can you protect these guys?" said the man.

The woman with ringlet hair poked her head out next, "Of course, but wouldn't you prefer for one of us to accompany you?"

The man shook his head, "If I take you both and I'm wrong about this first thing it'd be like putting all our eggs into one basket. I'll take Noelle and Cid with me, but you two should be at the ready just in case."

"Got it/Understood."

With that the civilians had walked through the light portal the man had opened. Once they safely stepped through he closed it and opened a new one. This new one had been in front of the woman with the side ponytail's house. But the second we got there, the man's eyes narrowed.

"Leon? What's going on?" asked said woman.

The man looked at her, "I feel something familiar. Noelle, can you ask Sappie for power again?"

The woman with the side ponytail nodded, she prayed and I felt the tree pour power into the two of their crests.

"Take out your guns but don't undo the safety just yet." Said the man as they all walked in.

-Shadow-

When we walked into Noelle and her sister's house, we were greeted by her younger sister. Or at least someone that looked like her younger sister. Given that her younger sister is out and about right now under Beta's plan, she shouldn't be here. Something that Leon hasn't yet been informed of.

Yet.

BANG!*

"LEON!?" shouted Noelle in concern after seeing him try to fire at her sister(?).

"Why is it always you?" questioned Leon. Noelle followed his eyes and saw the slime disguise melt from Nu's face.

"How can you always tell?" shot back Nu with some annoyance. I mean I get it, if someone had consistently made my specialty seem obsolete I'd be pissed too.

Leon raised his gun again and shot to the side. With little effort Beta, who had been off to the side, catches it by closing her book over the bullet.

"Vibes were off." Answered Leon.

"The… vibes…?" questioned Beta as she got closer. She was clearly taking a few glances at me.

I crossed my arms and nodded, "If the vibes were off then I guess that's that."

"What does that even mean though?" questioned Violet.

Eh, it's one of those things that you either get or you don't.

"Mo… what do you mean you get it!" Violet said in the direction of no one.

"Well, I assume that you have something you want to ask?" said Beta as she calmly took a seat.

Noelle charged forward, "Where's my sister?"

Beta glanced where Luxion usually hovers near. "Would our other friend like to join us?"

"Shouldn't you be answering that question?" asked Leon.

Beta and Leon both smile, clearly aware of Luxion and Rose who was hiding in a spot no one would think to look.

As cool as the stand off is, I kinda want to see the fruits of Beta's plan. So I do my best to act the mob who is determined yet still fearful.

"W-w-where's Miss Noelle's sister…!" ha, I still got it!

Beta looked to me, blinking twice in clear signal that she was going to play along. "Hm… why should I say?"

"I can think of a few reasons." Said Leon as he reloaded his gun.

"I dunno… Hm." Beta got up and then used magic to drag me over. Leon caught me before I got too far and Noelle helped pull me back.

"What do you think you're doing." Demanded Leon.

"Aw… I just want to play for a little bit." Crooned Beta. Hm, she's gotten better at doing the sexy villain voice.

"Do you remember the first time she tried it in front of you." Asked Violet, snickering slightly.

Wait, don't bring that up right now! That's one of the things I use when I need to smile!

"Wha—Cid!" scolded Noelle, "You have a pregnant wife waiting for you at home!"

"Sorry it was just a bit of an ego boost." I tried.

"You. Have. A. Pregnant. Wife. At. Home." Repeated Noelle as she shook me, "What ego do you need boosted?! Alice is so beautiful she makes me feel self-conscious!"

I put my hands up, "Well, thank you on behalf of her. But also…" I took a more nervous look. "H-he wants to meet already doesn't he…?"

"He…?" Leon puts his gun back in its holster but doesn't let go of it. "Oh, that's right. You meet Lord Shadow about once a month don't you."

"That's right." Cooed Beta, "And he's missed our cute little friend quite a bit since he took this trip to Alzer. But a deal's a deal you know. I'd hate to find out what would happen if you don't hold up your end of it."

Leon and Noelle looked hesitant. And I could tell he wanted to leave Luxion or something behind to watch me. But that would get in the way of us or something so I had to stop that idea in its tracks.

"I'll be fine. We meet every month remember? If Lord Shadow wanted to do something, he wouldn't have let you know that he'd be the one meeting with me. You guys have something important to do, right? Leave me here and I'll meet you later. Let's not do anything to piss him off by testing things though." I said. Leon nodded, although it was clear that he didn't like it.

Beta clapped, "Good! Glad the future king of Holfort can see reason. Now, you wanted to know Leila's location yes? Well, think about it, if we could disguise ourselves as her, what's to say we couldn't disguise her as someone?"

Leon narrowed his eyes. But Noelle was the first one to catch on. "Oh my god she's with Loic isn't she!"

"Shit, Luxion get me their location immediately!" shouted Leon as he took Noelle by the arm and started to lead her out.

"Be safe Cid!" shouted Noelle as they left.

We waited a few seconds before Nu happily gave me a princess carry. I assume Beta wanted to do but either she lost rock, paper, scissors, or Beta realized her boobs would make it a bit difficult to do that. To be fair Nu's are resting on my lap right now, but it's not getting in the way as much as Beta's would've.

Nu and Beta then take the me around Alzer, we zip around pretty quickly, and I manage to get a good look of the three towers as we do. Eventually we had found our way to what looked like a branch of the Sacred Tree that rest over the commercial district in the Barielle territory.

"Nu, put me down." I said. She pouted as though she were holding onto her favorite plushy and forced to part with it. Ultimately she did set me down, albeit with the caution one would with something made of porcelain. I kiss her on the cheek as thanks as I take my role as Lord Shadow again.

Nu giggles and Beta tugs at my sleeve looking expectant. I take her hand and kiss it while looking her dead in the eyes. She blushes and fights one of her squeals with all the strength she can muster.

"Well look at you being all affectionate." Teased Violet.

Gotta appreciate what you have, right?

Violet nodded in agreement. All of us then looked down to see Leon and Noelle as they raced down the street.

"Beta, catch me up on things." I asked. "There's a sense of urgency I'm not up to date on."

"Yes Lord Shadow," Beta then began to dutifully inform me of the plan she had devised. She had taken the idea of Leila interfering with the story and her apparent insecurities towards her sister then married them by making it so she just was her sister. Beta had wanted for Leila to see what her sister had been putting up with, and possibly see how a combination of the two sisters could affect the 'otome game' world.

"I see…" I muttered. I mean, it did make some amount of sense. After all, we had to reach the end of the game one way or the other, and if the two sisters became one being once more they may be able to change things. Plus, I have to admit this is a pretty cool storyline idea. All that matters now is what Leila and Loic had done.

-Leila-

I have to admit, the most annoying thing I had thought my sister had to deal with was the added weight to her back. But I was wrong. No, the worst thing she had to deal with was something far worse.

The amount of decisions!

"Now Noelle, please, I could buy you the entire store, but it's only our first official date." Loic had said in that weird tone of voice, but whatever, he was buying me stuff. "Try on some things at first, okay? How about all of these items?"

Loic had pointed out several dresses from the front of a catalogue, as in, the most expensive ones the tailor had to offer. Even Emile makes me follow a budget when he gets me gifts. And because of my normal figure I don't have anything particularly eye catching that would fit me.

I ended up having fun grabbing a few dresses and trying them on.

Stupid big sister, how did she get all of the curves! Well too bad, they're mine now!

…

Actually, come to think of it, where is my body? Am I still napping at my house? Or is it walking around.

I poked my head out of the changing room. Loic, being a guy, very obviously sat down quickly. He was probably going to try and sneak a peek or something. Whatever, Noelle'd probably be okay with that much. If anything, I wish Emile would've tried it at least once, but I guess since I'm a lot flatter than my sister he didn't feel the need. Jerk.

"Hey, Loic, didn't you say you saw my little sister?" I asked innocently, "Did anything seem off about her?"

Loic smiled simply, "No, she was perhaps a bit snippier than normal, but it had been early in the morning so I thought nothing of it."

Oh, so my body is still doing its own thing right now. Hm… if I swapped with Noelle that'd be one thing, but I feel like she would've made a big deal about it if she had. *gasp* this must be like one of my transmigration stories!

I must've went back in time at some point in my sister's body while my body is still out there! I bet once I clear the route for her I'll go back to my body and everyone will be grateful for it! I haven't seen those foreigners, or heard anything about them all day, so chances are I'm back before then…

Wait no, he said something about the foreign nobles this morning, didn't he? I wonder if they were forced back to their territory because they basically glitched their way here then. I mean, I remember there was a tie-over easter egg thing you could do to port them over for the last couple of chapters and control the protagonist of that game during some extra battles that'd make the final boss easier.

Eventually, I decided on a dress. It was a bit more racy than I'd be comfortable with, but since Noelle could rock it—No, because she needed to rock it for the sake of the world, I put it on. Loic seemed to drool a bit, and honestly seeing that made my skin crawl a bit but it was for the greater good.

I'll at least make sure not to put out on the first date, Noelle deserves at least that much I think. But if I'm still in here by the 3rd I'm pretty sure the game would let you go for it if you bought the 18 version.

"Noelle," said Loic with an excited voice, "I'm glad to see you wearing something befitting a woman standing at my side, but how about we go out to eat now? Pick a place," Loic's eyes squinted, "and please pick a better place than last time."

I immediately rattled off one of the more expensive restaurants I heard existed in his territory. He smiled.

When we got there, I was welcomed into the kind of place that Emile said he'd take me for an anniversary, and yet here Loic was doing it just for a normal everyday date. Huh, maybe I chose wrong.

Easy-pick-Emile was the easiest, but honestly he's hardly my actual type of guy. Whatever, I at least won't cheat on him. I hate cheaters after all. But I mean, this is Noelle's body so it doesn't count if I do anything.

"Noelle, dear." Said Emile with a sickeningly sweet smile. A smile meant for her. Because of course the little sister never gets anything. That kind of smile would never be directed at me no matter what life I had. "Would you allow me to put a necklace on you? Something solidify our bond."

"Sure." I said happily. If it's an expensive necklace maybe I can nick it form Noelle later.

CLANK*

"H-huh?"

I opened my eyes to see Loic wear a bracelet that had a chain connecting to the necklace he put on me. But was worse was the smile he had been wearing. It sent shivers down my spine.

"W-what did you just put on me…?" I whimpered.

"Why, our wedding band!" cried the man with a sense of happiness that didn't seem right.

I felt for the necklace only to feel a collar. "Wedding bands are usually rings."

"Ah yes…" crooned the man, "But I needed to make sure you could never leave me again."

"What?"

Loic began to shush me, petting my hair, making me feel the need to shave it all off. "Calm down. Listen. This device is embedded with a part of the Sacred Tree. Normally, a servant wears the collar while their master wears the bracelet attached. That way, the one wearing the collar can't run away."

I was horrified as he went on, unable to do anything as I felt my blood run cold.

"Once the collar and bracelet were both secured in place, the chain disappeared." It started to do just that. "However, neither servant nor master would be able to venture far from one another. If the one wearing the collar tried to make a run for it, the chain would reappear and forcefully return them to their master's side." Loic forced me to look into his eyes. His crazy, lust filled eyes. "It can never be removed."

I felt the collar more, inspecting it for any kind of weakness. I felt my breath hitch as I couldn't find anything like a latch or weakness.

"Th-this is… this shouldn't be allowed." I whispered. "You're… you're not like this!"

Loic grabbed a fistful of my hair. "You forced me to be! If you just stayed with me and behaved I wouldn't have needed this!"

No wonder Noelle hated this guy! He's way off the deep end!

"No wonder you aren't the guardian" I hissed.

"What."

I looked into his eyes. "The Priestess has to choose the Guardian, and they have to be worthy of the title!"

"Who could be more worthy than I!? I am the heir of the great House Barielle, and I have more than enough strength to protect the Sacred Tree. Not to mention, I am in love with you. No one is more qualified, especially not that foreign noble who tried to take you from me!"

"You're a lunatic! You don't want a lover! You want a doll!"

SMACK!*

I collapsed to the ground as I clutched my cheek.

"How DARE YOU" snarled Loic. "Make me the guardian! Now!"

Loic pulled me up by my hair.

"I can't! Even if I could, I wouldn't!" I shouted as I tried to attack him in return. But I've never trained a day in my life.

Loic easily pinned me down, and it hurt. It seriously hurt, I could feel my limbs actually begin to bend in ways they shouldn't be. This wasn't the way you should treat someone you loved.

What messed things up so bad? When I did everything I did with the walkthrough in real life why did none of it work? Was Loic always this messed up?

Did the game lie?

Was I wrong?

"LEILA!"

I look to the window.

I see someone that wasn't in the game.

-P2W-

Leon and Noelle raced to the restaurant that Luxion had managed to trace the sightings of a second Noelle. What's more, she had twintails. To Leon this meant that not only was it likely that Leila had been Noelle, but also that he now had too much pointing to her being a reincarnate.

It baffled him then, that she'd want to be near Loic despite everything about him lately screaming 'bad end.' But that wasn't the mai thing to worry about right now.

No, first and foremost he had to save her.

When the two approached the restaurant they found two people waiting for them outside. That being the two love interests of the game, Hugues and Fernand.

"Hello. Barfort, was it?" asked Fernand.

"What floor's the restaurant?" asked Leon.

"Hey, my brother asked you a question." Barked Hugues.

Fernand held a hand up to calm down his brother. "they're on the tenth floor. Although I—"

"K, thanks."

Leon charged the two men, picking them up by their heads and then slamming them into the ground. With his Guardian crest glowing the two men had no defense other than whatever they had trained for. Which, given the way Alzer works, was practically nothing. More than the common folk, but nothing compared to someone from Holfort or Midgar.

With a loud "BAM!" Leon had slammed the two men's skulls into the ground, slightly cracking the concrete beneath their heads. In an instant and with no effort, Leon had knocked out the two men.

"Okay, tenth floor." Said Leon as he started getting ready. "I think it'd be safer to take the stairs but time is of the essence. Noelle, what do you think about just… Noelle?"

Noelle, who had been blushing at the sight of her Guardian's strength, snapped to attention. "Uh, let's go with what's faster! Need to save her, and all."

Leon nodded. He then picked up Noelle into a bridal carry and began casting. "Garudyne!"

With that they had flown to the tenth floor with no effort. When they looked in, Noelle was horrified at what she saw. Inside was Loic standing over a bruised twin tailed version of herself. But, despite the disguise, Noelle could tell who it was.

And it infuriated her to see her beloved, if aggravating, sister in such a state.

"LEILA!" shouted Noelle.

Noelle had pushed off of Leon, jumping straight through the window with a flying kick she had seen Iris do before. The glass had shattered, cutting her slightly, but she didn't care. She had to save her sister.

But she had to admit it was a bit satisfying landing a clean hit on Loic's face.

"Sister—ugh!?" Leila had tried to say something but quickly found the chain on her collar flaring up and pulling her towards Loic.

"Wh-what is this!?" shouted Loic, "Why is there two of you!? Tell me, now!"

Leon, who landed next to Leila, glared at Loic. "What's that on her neck?"

"It's our wedding band!" shouted Loic with a manic grin, "the ultimate gesture of love between me and my priestess!"

[Master, that appears to be a slave collar. With its matching bracelet on the orange haired scum. So long as they wear that, neither will be able to separate from each other.]

Leon and Noelle's expression darkened.

"Let her go, Loic." Demanded Leon.

Loic, too insane to understand the mounting danger, had merely cackled. "I don't have to listen to a thing you say! You're just some foreign noble! You may be a prince there but you're nothing here!"

"He's my guardian." Said Noelle.

Loic paused, "What."

Leon showed off his right hand, the guardian crest prominently displayed. "Hey, I heard that your crest was something given by the sacred tree right? It was made to be lesser than ours."

"Shut up!" Loic took out a blade and aimed it at Leila's neck. "Noelle's mine! I don't know why there's two of her, but I will never give up my Noelle! If I can't have her then no one can!"

Leila's neck that was covered by a collar. A collar that couldn't be broken.

Leon realized that Loic wasn't very smart.

"Tetrakarn." Chanted Leon, immediately granting Leila a brief immunity to physical attacks.

"Wait," Loic shouted, but before he could do anything else, Leon had taken his pistol out and shot his arm, forcing him to let go of Leila. Before Loic could do anything else, Leon rushed forward with a blade, and cut off the arm with the bracelet.

"AUGAHDAG! YOU BACKWARDS GUTTER TRASH!" Loic clutched the stump on his arm, and shouted at Leon, "HOW DARE YOU!?"

"How dare you." Said Leon, sneering in Loic's direction. Loic finally began to feel fear, and tried to step back. "You call me gutter trash, but if I am then know you're trash not even fit for it. No matter how bad I am you're many times worse."

"Grahgh…" Loic could only grunt as he backed up. There were servants in the room, but as Leon marched towards Loic none of them could bring themselves to move. There was some mixture of them not being fond of the heir to begin with, but for every step Leon took, they felt the room grow a degree colder.

It was as though Leon's shadow began to encompass the room, overtaking Loic's visage, and making him look like a mere child before Leon's frame. Leon isn't even that tall, yet as Loic found himself tripping onto his back and crawling backwards, Leon may as well have been sitting in Arroganz and peering down upon him.

"I…" grunted Loic, "I am above you!"

Leon smiled, and then lifted Loic by his collar. He glanced to the right. "Hey, give me his severed arm." One of the servants immediately tossed it his way. Leon shook the bracelet off of the offending appendage, and then looked back to Loic.

"What are you doing you—aglhadhg!" Loic found his voice muffled by his own arm being shoved back in his mouth.

"Above me?" chuckled Leon, "Let's fix that the New Holfort way."

Leon then dragged Loic to the window that Leon and Noelle had broken in through. He dangled him over the edge.

"W-wait…" said Noelle, "Are you really going to kill him?"

Noelle was softhearted after all. She understood that some things were necessary, and given the danger to her sister she wasn't really against hurting Loic, but killing was still too much for her.

Leon shook his head, "Don't worry. With his crest and magic training, all this will do is hurt." Leon smirked at Loic whose face was as full of rage as it was fear. "It's going to hurt a whole lot."

Noelle nodded, and then looked away.

Leon dropped Loic, and then raced back over to the sisters.

"Leila, that's you right?" asked Leon. "Are you alright? Can you speak?"

Leila shook, unable to move.

"Leila, it's me, your sister. C'mon, you can trust Leon. He's…" Noelle blushed a bit and chuckled. "He's going to be your brother in law."

"M-monster…" cried Leila. "Mom… Dad… Sister… Help me…!"

Leon and Noelle shared concerned looks, it clear to them that Leila wasn't going to be able to say much.

"Here, I'll open a gate to The Einhorn. You take her through and see if Luxion can analyze the collar and whatever changed her appearance." Said Leon, doing just that.

Noelle lifted her sister, "But what are you going to do?"

Leon smiled, "Something tells me that I'm not done with House Barielle just yet." Taking a glance outside, several armors seemed to be fast approaching, and if one were to look down, they would see that Loic had never hit the ground. Rather, he had been saved at the last second by a few servants who were reattaching his arm.

Noelle darted quickly back to Leon, kissing him sweetly. "Give him hell for the both of us!"

"I'll make him wish I'd kill him." Responded Leon with a demonic grin.

Noelle wasn't fond of the expression, but loved why he was making it. She quickly retreated through Leon's light gate with her sister. As she did, Arroganz MK II had arrived outside the building, reaching its hand in so that Leon could step on it.

[Master, it would appear that we our outnumbered 100 to 1.]

"Oh? And what does that mean for us?" asked Leon, more fearing the tedium and chances of being able to not kill a single person than his own life.

[If you don't control your growing ego and anger, it'll be an even fight.]

Leon nodded, and took a deep breath.

In.

Out.

"Okay. Let's go."

As Leon flew to meet the approaching army, the three members of Shadow Garden (and the two spirits following their leader) gazed upon him.

"Lord Shadow." Asked Nu, "Shall we do anything? We should have several people ready with armors."

Lord Shadow simply held up his hand, telling them to pause.

"Adventurer of the Lost Winds. Future King and Hero of New Holfort. Guardian of The Sacred Tree Sapling. Reincarnate. Leon. All these titles and yet I feel like for you the last is the one that matters the most." stated Lord Shadow. "Where does this all lead? Show me, entertain me, teach me."

Nu and Beta weren't sure what was meant by Lord Shadow's words, but Olivier and Violet could recognize that it was more Cid talking than his other self.

-P2W-

"Hm…" Cordelia had done her best to try and calm herself given the situation she found herself in. Not even 1 hour after touching down in Alzer and she found herself in the middle of some kind of dangerous situation. Normally she'd clean something, but the Rault estate had rather robust maids, so she could only pace nervously.

"Try not to pace in the same place too much, you'll make a rut." Chastised Claire from her place on Deirdre's lap. Deirdre tittered a bit at her lover's words. Claire glared at Deirdre, "Hey, who said you could stop?"

"Apologies" Deirdre had went back to petting Claire's head.

"Yes Miss Kagenou," replied Cordelia. Cordelia didn't have many feelings about Claire nor Deirdre, but given the state that they had left Louise in after her training (sprawled on the floor with her but sticking up and her own family too afraid to do anything), she had erred on the side of caution.

Cordelia then took a glance at Yumeria, who was intently staring at The Sacred Tree sapling given to her by Noelle before she took off.

"Miss Yumeria? What is it?" questioned Cordelia.

Yumeria's shoulders jumped. "O-oh, I'm sorry! Um, I just… couldn't help but notice this little one here." Yumeria gently held the Sacred Tree Sapling as though it were a newborn baby.

Cordelia peered at the tiny tree. "Yes… I suppose that for such a tiny object it is quite remarkable is it not?"

Yumeria nodded. "Mhm! Although… I can't help but feel some kind of pull to it."

Kyle shook his head, "Ugh, there you go again. I know you like plants and all but you always get so distracted by them."

Yumeria wilted a bit at her child's harsh remarks.

Claire, Marie, and Deirdre all glared at Kyle.

"Surely there are nicer ways to ask your mother to not focus on the tree." Said Deirdre.

Marie huffed, "C'mon. You can't say you're all mature and then act like that."

Kyle grumbled and held the hem of his shirt. "Sorry…"

Yumeria merely smiled gently.

It's strange… she thought as she placed the tree down. I feel little to nothing from the big Sacred Tree, but Sappie here seems to be calling out to me somehow. It's as though the little one has a voice. But that's strange, plants have never spoken to me before.

"Um…" said Louise as she peeled herself off the ground, "Shouldn't we help Leon out somehow? We don't even know what's going on, right?"

"Nah he's fine." Said Claire, although her voice was muffled given Deirdre had bent down to pick up her drink.

"Pardon, but shouldn't you express some more concern over your lover?" questioned Cordelia.

Claire and Deirdre showed off their rings and tiaras.

"Do you see the gem here?' questioned Deirdre.

Yumeria cheered, "yes, they're quite lovely."

"Thanks." Chirped Claire with a smile. "But right now that's not what I'm pointing out. Do you see the light coming from the center here?"

Louise and the two maids had leaned in, and indeed the tiara and ring gems had a red light flashing in the center.

"What does that mean?" questioned Louise.

Claire and Deirdre smiled beautifully.

"It means that Leon is in Arroganz." Answered Deirdre holding the back of her hand to her mouth, practically kissing the gem on the ring but unable given how wide her grin was. "It's supposed to be a warning of sorts, given that Leon usually only dons his armor in extreme situations."

"But if something serious was going on he or Luxion would have said something by now. So, we'll just relax until then." Claire's smile practically busted her lips as she fiercely grinned, "And if Leon's in Arroganz there's basically nothing that can hurt him."

-P2W/Leon-

To the horror of the people of the Barielle territory, there was a large amount of armors in the sky. 99% of them had belonged to House Barielle's militia, so that was nowhere out of the ordinary. But to their mounting horror, there was a single armor fending all of them off.

With a shovel.

"You know, I'm starting to wonder if I give the five idiots too much flak." Said Leon. He could feel Luxion raise a brow at him despite being in the orb body so he elaborated. "Just when it comes to combat of course, I mean these guys are going down as easily as Brad did the first time I fought him. If anything, it kinda feels like my shovel is cutting through the armors like a knife through butter… you didn't make it sharper, did you?"

[Not anymore than the time during the duel. It is merely a shovel at the end of the day.] Luxion then seemed to sneer with his tone of voice alone, despite it being rather monotone. [These Alzerians simply have lackluster armor and skills. Even by New Human standards at least those in Holfort had halfway decent of both.]

Arroganz grabbed one armor, stopping its momentum, then Leon used the shovel as though it were a baseball bat. With a swing, the head of the armor flew off, hitting several other armors in the process and knocking them out of the sky. Funnily, this almost hit the members of Shadow Garden as well, although Aurora had made sure to subtly change the flying object's direction.

-P2W/Loic-

"YOU!"

Leon glanced to the feed of the camera behind him, and saw a specially made model owned by House Barielle. Unlike all the knight armors he had fought so far, it was powered by the Sacred Tree. This required the pilot to have a crest, clearly telling him that it was Loic flying towards him. More importantly, the crest made the armor all the more powerful than any ordinary armor. This was the reason the republic had thus far gone undefeated in defensive battles.

Of all the Armors that House Barielle possessed, this one in particular could only be operated by someone from one of the Six Great Houses. Normally, this machine was used by a commanding officer or some other high-ranking official, as it had specifically been made to accommodate a pilot with one of the more powerful crests, and it made use of the massive energy such a person could harness from the Sacred Tree.

It was large for an Armor, with a sleek design and crimson armored plating. Since it was made to stand out on the field, appendages that resembled wings spread out from its back. And while much emphasis had been placed on its appearance, its performance capabilities were no less impressive.

Loic sat in the cockpit, bloody bandages wrapped both arms, and gripped the control sticks. His eyes gleamed red. "Sacred Tree! Give me your power, that I might cover the land in flames! I will give you everything. You can have all of me!"

Rage had consumed him, drowning out any sense he might otherwise have had. All he wanted to do now was destroy everything. His crest manifested behind him as he surged through the air. He accelerated with such force that the Armor creaked around him. Finally, he whipped out his sword. It was covered in flames, and as he sliced through the air, the fire formed a crescent beam that shot towards Leon, slicing through any of his men that were in his way.

"Burn—I'll burn everything! Including Noelle and the other Noelle! If I can't even have one, even though the universe itself deigned me a chance once more, then I must burn everything down!"

More of the Sacred Tree's power flowed through him than ever before. His arm—which Leon had just severed—still flared with pain. With each throb, his hate flared.

Leon had sent two drones out, so that they could rescue those Loic shot down and the two Druille brothers he had defeated earlier. "Tsk. Tsk. You really are making a mess of things."

"BARFORT!" as Loic screamed the crest behind him glowed even brighter.

Loic charged Arroganz with his sword raised, but Arroganz easily sidestepped him. At the same time it reached for a battleaxe on its back and swung, chopping off the should plating of Loic's armor.

"This is child's play," Leon said mockingly.

"Damn Holfortian savage!" shouted Loic as he attempted swing after swing, "Looks like you're a steady hand when it comes to piloting, but your choice to dodge reveals that you're avoiding a true test of power between us. My Armor dwarfs yours. I can win this battle through the sheer superiority of its capabilities!"

For what it was worth, he was right in that the armor towered over Arroganz. The latter looked built for strength, but it had nothing on Loic's suit.

Like the villain he was, Loic kept monologuing as he missed strike after strike. "You seem confident in your Armor's performance, but this suit was specially made by House Barielle! It feeds energy from the Sacred Tree, which means I don't have to wonder about running out of mana. But that's not the case for yours, is it? Even assuming you could draw power from the sapling, it doesn't hold a candle to the tree!"

In Loic's head, the victor of the clash should be given. Between the Sacred Tree's blessing and his more capable Armor, Loic was sure of that. He was confident that such an enormous gap couldn't be overcome by skill alone.

He brandished his weapon in the air and pressed the attack. The soldiers and knights on the ground didn't know who they were truly cheering for anymore, but they didn't want to be caught in the cross fire either way.

As Loic brought the sword down, Arroganz raised the battle axe to meet it. The flames disappeared from Loic's blade, which instead began glowing red.

As Loic increased the pressure of his attack, the heat from his weapon began melting through Leon's axe.

"I'll rend you in two!" Loic snarled.

Suddenly, Luxion's voice rang out. [Master, how long do you intend to keep playing this game?]

"Aw come on. My opponent seems really invested in this, so I'm doing some… uh, what would you call it? Acting?" Leon's voice carried no hint of panic, but Loic was sure he was bluffing.

"Cut the bravado!"

Leon's voice dropped several octaves. "Okay, kiddo. It's time I showed you how it's really done. This is how you put your opponent in their place."

-Leon-

Loic intended to beat Arroganz by relying on his Armor's (supposedly superior) capabilities. That infuriated Luxion.

[I cannot put up with your games anymore, Master.]

"Aw, don't say that. The gallery is all fired up watching us."

Luxion intercepted the voices of the people below us and played them for me.

["Yeah, that's it! Take that kingdom hunk of junk down!"]

["Shouldn't you be cheering for him to lose?"]

["Do you know how much it costs to cover the arena's you lose under the house?! If at least that guy goes down with Loic who was bleeding out I'll have something to like about today."]

"Wow, these guys are just beyond saving." I uttered with some disbelief. I guess that's on me for believing in them.

Then again, even if they were just knights, they were still knights from House Barielle and some from House Druille. It would have been silly of me to expect any of them to actually cheer me on.

Loic's sword was glowing red, hot enough to cut through metal as though it were butter. Something I'd find more impressive if I couldn't do that with my shovel.

[Master.] Luxion said again, disgusted that I was still pretending to be at a disadvantage. It no doubt irked him to see Arroganz on the back foot.

"You don't know the meaning of patience, do you? The fun part hasn't even started yet."

The hulking Armor managed to push Arroganz back, but that was just thanks to physics. As our weapons locked, I began increasing my engine's power output. Slowly it was Loic who was being forced back.

"Is this stupid Armor's power waning?!" Loic gasped. "Dammit, you pile of junk!"

I sighed. "Don't blame it on the machine. That's a fine suit. The problem is you."

Blue flames shot out of Arroganz's engine nozzle as it pressed the red Armor back. A sword popped out of the container on Arroganz' back, which I grabbed with my left hand before swinging it at Loic's blade.

"What!?" Loic gasped in shock as I cut straight through his blade.

"You're too slow." I said. "Like I said, your armor isn't the problem. It's you."

I landed a kick, sending his suit spinning backward. He lacked the skill to maneuver it properly, so it kinda looked like a dragon ball Z character being sent spinning through a couple of buildings. Meh, I'm sure Cid can buy them later.

"You were saying I had been weak, right? Then why are you not even half the threat of any previous enemies? You'd think that the further you got in a game world, the stronger the enemy, right? You're just more insane."

I chased down Loic's armor and tore it from where it landed.

"You know I currently have the Guardian's crest, right? You kept bragging about your own blessings but how come you can't acknowledge mine? You know that the world doesn't revolve around you, right?" I batted away each of his strikes as I spoke. "C'mon, where's that Sacred Tree power you're so proud of? The one that Noelle was supposed to fall for? I'm getting bored here, hurry up and pull out all the stops so I can crush you already."

This was the correct way to put someone in their place—to use only the superior performance of your own machine to completely squash them even as they tried to come at you with everything they had.

The crest floating behind Loic's armor swelled even larger, and flames poured out of it. It gathered the flames into an enormous fireball that it shot toward me, but I easily dodged. Despite being massive and receiving an immense amount of energy from Loic, the fire ball had no speed, and there wasn't even really any power behind it. It was just big.

"Seriously, this is all you've got? Calling you a hot head would just be accurate now huh, you're like a blimp. Big and impressive looking, but ultimately fragile." I chuckled.

Loic charged at me but I just stopped him with one hand, at this point he couldn't even make me back up a bit. Because of that, he basically punched himself with my outstretched hand, breaking parts of the armor off.

I guess he needs a handicap.

"Hey, I'm going to aim at your right leg. Dodge or do something about it." I said as I pulled out a rifle.

Loic hissed as he attempted to shield himself with a barrier.

[Shield already analyzed.]

I pulled the trigger and the bullet chased after him even when he tried to run away. Eventually it landed and took off his Armor's right leg. Naturally, that meant it went through the shield as well.

"Th-that's not possible!? It went through the Sacred Tree's blessing?"

"Don't delude yourself. Or wait, I guess that's all you know how to do, huh?" I just shrugged. "All right. Next is your right arm."

Loic seemed to think delulu was the solulu and tripled down with the barrier.

[You're wasting your time.]

Like Luxion said, with the next shot I took his armor's right arm clean off.

"Hey, let's keep up the pace. Next is your left arm."

I continued blasting away at Loic's armor, tearing it off bit by bit. What ever the people watching had believed before, now they all just wanted to not be on the losing side. Unfortunately, it appeared that the one armor, the armor of the foreign king, mine, wasn't fond of them.

Lol.

Eventually, all that was left of the armor was the bit of the torso that the cockpit rested in. I easily tore the door off, and leveled my gun at Loic's face.

"You really are a small fry. I can't even begin to express what a disappointment it is that the Sacred Tree's blessing only amounts to this." I sighed. "All you've done is borrow something else's power. Do you know what that made you?" I loaded the gun. "Weak."

"HAHA!"

I looked up, because I could have sworn I just heard Cid laugh somewhere. But when I looked to Luxion he just did the equivalent of a shrug.

"D-dammit!" Loic cried out in frustration.

I'm the one who wants to cry out in frustration here. I can't believe that Noelle and her sister were almost lost to you. The idea that there is any world in which they ended up with you. I guess if you were a normal guy that approached her like a sane person, maybe, but seriously. All of this? How could someone become this?

"Maybe this is why Noelle hates you—because you were too weak." I said. I know that's probably wrong, but my main goal was to piss him off anyway. "And despite your weakness, you tried to act all big. Look where that got you, nothing more than a raving, rabid, mad man."

"What would you know about me?! What would you—I adore Noelle! Love her!"

"Well too bad. She definitely doesn't adore, let alone love you. Given what you tried to do to her, and ended up doing to her sister, she's viscerally disgusted by you!"

Given the state Loic seemed to be in, I doubted my words even registered. Just imagining the girl I loved telling me she was disgusted with me in any capacity made me want to cry. If any of the girls said such a thing to me, I don't think I'd ever be able to recover.

"It would never have been this way… if you hadn't appeared!" he howled.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes it would have been. Noelle wouldn't have picked you either way."

"I'll kill yoooouuuuu!"

Even though a gun twice his size was staring him down, Loic still didn't back down. I had to admire that, at least. But then again it wasn't due to him being brave, just crazy.

I sighed.

Even after all of this, I can't imagine that Noelle really wanted me to kill him. She's too soft hearted. And honestly, I can't say I'm fond of killing either.

"Luxion, knock him out." I commanded.

[Are you sure Master?]

"It's not up to us to kill him."

[…Very well.]

Luxion floated out of Arroganz, and then appeared by Loic's head. He quickly fired a taser.

A pathetic end to the duel for a pathetic man.

-P2W/Loic-

When Loic woke, he found himself surrounded by soldiers.

And his father, who appeared livid as he stared at Loic's right hand.

A doctor approached Lord Bellange Leta Barielle, stating, "Lord Bellange, I am afraid the young master has lost his crest."

Bellange stared down coldly at his son, but after a moment he looked away. "So he's Unprotected now? Well, he wasn't going to be of use to me anymore anyway. I will make preparations to have him officially disinherited. Meanwhile we have other things to worry about." He stared at The Einhorn, gritting his teeth.

It was bad enough that the republic's airship technology had lost to the kingdom's but now their Armors had been proven inferior as well.

As his father left, Loic watched as Leon approached with Noelle. Claire and Deirdre were there as well, acting like escorts. When Noelle came to a stop beside Loic, she knelt and looked directly into his eyes.

Loic glanced back at her, smile self-deprecating. "Come to have a good laugh? There's much entertainment to be had, I'm sure, seeing how miserably I lost. I don't even have the Sacred Tree's blessing anymore. But mark my words, I haven't given up, Noelle, you still belong to—ah!"

She slapped him across the face. Loic turned his head back to glare at her, but almost as quickly, he was left gaping.

"Wh-why are you crying!?"

Tears trickled down her cheeks. Noelle turned her face away, but her voice rang out loud enough for all to hear. "Just so you know! I don't hate you because you're weak! At some point, Loic, you started treating me as an object. No matter what I did, you told me it 'didn't suit me' and that you would 'buy me something expensive'!"

This had happened even before she had started outright hating him. Once upon a time, the two had actually gotten along, and theyy'd happened to meet up in town and gone on something of a date. Loic had wanted her to become a woman worthy of someone in his position, so he'd needled her about every little thing she did.

From his perspective, it had merely been advice. "I-I only did that for your sake!"

"that's not what I wanted! I wan'ted something more normal, I wanted to enjoy our time together, to eat out, to go shopping. I wanted to have fun. And in spite of that, you rejected everything about me."

Loic paused, trying to remember what had happened back then. Once, Noelle said she wanted to ride a boat, and he'd dismissed the idea, telling her he'd prepare an airship for her instead. When they'd gone out for a meal together, Noelle wanted to choose somewhere less pricey but Loic refused, choosing to take them to a high-class restaurant instead. A similar incident occurred while they were shopping. Noelle picked an accessory she wanted, but Loic told her it was too cheap and personally selected something that was more his style to give her instead.

"We're not a good match," said Noelle. "I understood that from the beginning, and I had no intention of seriously dating you. But you kept trying to lead me around by the nose. You even wanted to slap a collar on me! What's worse is that it's on my sister now! Something she may never be able to take off for the rest of her life!"

Loic said nothing.

Noelle got up.

"You never looked at me. You were never okay with me as I was, that's why I started hating you."

Loic could only drop his head, and they had all left him there.

Leaving him to ponder what exactly he had been doing this entire time.

-Leila-

I woke up in the middle of the night. Or at the very least a very dark room.

What appeared to be the grim reaper was in the room with me. But when I blinked, suddenly it was an average looking boy I didn't recognize.

『Hey, you. You're finally awake. 』Said the boy.

I glared at him. 『Please tell me you're not making a reference at a time like this. 』

The boy shrugged as he cut an apple. 『I wouldn't know. I'm just one of the 'game characters' of this world.』

『What…? 』I asked.

The boy sneered, 『Does Cinderella not get it? The clock already stuck midnight you know? But that prince you were waiting for wasn't your own. Afterall you're nothing more than the ugly sister. 』

The boy's face shifted, as though it were made out of slime. I then saw a woman in all black emerge. Her hair and eyes both violet in collor.

I trembled.『M-m-monster…』

The woman chuckled. 『 I guess you could call me that, sure. But no matter how bad I am, you're worse. Do you understand what it means to be family? Do you understand what you nearly did to your sister? Do you understand how she wept at the sight of you in this? 』

The woman held up the collar that Loic had forced on Leila earlier. Leila tried to feel for her neck but found she couldn't move at all. It was as though she was paralyzed.

Leila couldn't say anything, she couldn't even cry.

But then as the woman approached her, the door to the room she had been in had its lights turn on. The woman was gone.

"Leila!" shouted Emile. He rushed over to her and hugged her close.

Leila had finally been able to move and hugged her boyfriend fiercely. But before anything could continue, another man had walked in.

The monster her sister had loved. He patted Emile's shoulder.

"Hey man, I'm sure you have a lot to say. But remember, I need to get that collar off of her." Said Leon. "The sooner the better."

Leila felt her neck, and saw the collar had returned, if it had even been taken off.

"Um, I think I should stay in here. I don't think she should be alone." Said Emile. Leila was grateful.

"Don't worry," said Noelle as she had entered. "I'm going to be here too."

Emile held Leila's hand. Leila didn't want him to leave, but felt bad about what she had almost done to her. So she hugged Emile, "It's okay. They're the ones that saved me after all."

Emile had been reluctant to leave, but eventually nodded. "O-okay. Hey, as soon as we get that off of you how about we splurge and go somewhere expe—"

"NO!" shouted Leila. She noticed Emile's expression and then straightened herself out. "Let's just… order in or something. Something cheap."

Emile nodded, although clearly weirded out by the sudden change.

When he closed the door behind him, Noelle approached her sister. But it wasn't with a friendly expression like usual.

Then, the monster had approached Leila next. Sitting down next to her bed.

『 I think it's time you talk as equals. We have a lot to talk about, given how much of the game doesn't exist anymore. 』said the monster.

I turned to Noelle. Who was crying.

"How long have you been my sister?" she asked.

-Shadow-

Wow Violet, that was amazing!

Violet giggled and swayed shyly, "Aw thanks. I tried."

I could see it, that was awesome! Did you see how scared she was? I gotta say the detail of making her experience sleep paralysis was just the cherry on top.

"Hm? Hey, is that you Kageno?"

Before I can continue singing Violet's praises, I hear a voice I hadn't heard in a while. When I look up I see a man that looks like a delinquent.

"Oh, Serge. I forgot this was your home country." I said.

.

.

.

A/N: With that, we're done with volume 5 of Mobuseka. I did have certain plans in mind for Leila but a bunch of commentors as well as the way the chapter evolved had given me different ideas. So congratulations, she's not going to be cartoonishly evil anymore.

Fun fact the original ending of this chapter was gong to end with me joking "No Leila, you were so close! You were almost a person. You were so close!" since she'd have gone back to her canon self.

Anyway, my brian's fired so let's answer the questions before I post this.

Oh and on SB and QQ you can see the human designs I drew for Luxion and Cleare.

Silent Dream Omake:

QQ:

Demon777: I wanted to write he had been eating it, but forgot about it when I wrote his and Livia's seen later.

Someoneani: You know, not that you mention it. I guess that next time we're going to have school Beta and Akane instead of Minoru. Minoru would be cool, and is probably a planned Alt, but Akane is inevitable honestly.

Lmao yeah, that was exactly how I had pictured Alpha.

Ao3:

JackTheMemer: The game events are all really fun, but highest has to be one of my favorites. I do think it came from the name of the song, but I wouldn't blame you for thinking the author was high when he came up with it.

BOY4_GOW:

1. As you saw later in the chapter, Alpha and Cid were still childhood friends. She drew it then, but can't remember most of that time.

2. They both have heavy imposter syndrome, so it really depends.

3. Yup, and Cid's a repeat food stealer.

4. It wouldn't be Cid if he was lol.

5. Yup.

6. Lmao Yeah, I would've done more with her but the chapter was already getting long. But her selling out Cid sounds funny I should've included it.

7. Murphy never listens unless it's to make you suffer more.

8. *Laughs in John Smith Arc.*

9. Yeah that's basically it. I might continue it, but I need ideas for it to come. Right now I'm focused on the blood moon and john smith arcs coming up since I want to really deliver on them based on how important they're ultimately to Cid's development.

Last Chapter

SB:

MWKillKenny84: I feel like you commented this before. Or I responded to this already and forgot about it.

Ff:

Rendfire: That's a good point I feel. Yeah Noelle was already in love, she just needed to convince herself too.

They probably ran the two over once or twice, but given they train with the Shades Kai and Omega felt nothing more than a little love tap or something. If Clarice had aimed to kill, they would've been able to break some bones though.

I probably should have Alexia spend time with Leon. That scene is probably something I'll use in the future. Although we all know Leon prefers his little brother Colin above everything else. Unless we count the Volume eight scene where Livia and Angie called him big brother.

Clarice is coming up with new tactics. Honestly might devote an entire chapter for Louise running the bridal gauntlet.

Cid and Mary are very much sibling in their interactions.

Glad you liked the fight, that feeling of Cid being overwhelmed and forced to adapt was exactly what I wanted to convey. Makoto was something that will flash in his mind a bit, yeah.

Leila definitely is traumatized, but Loic's fate was ultimately up to Noelle. Leon just got to beat him up for a bit. Although we haven't heard from Pierre…

You know it's funny you say that because at this point, Leon's roughly equal in power to the shades, even if we don't count Arroganz. Like he'd lose in a fight against most of them, but he wouldn't die from a confrontation. I actually want him to have to fight Delta at some point too, but we kinda crossed the point where I could write that. Maybe a what-if Omake later.

I didn't know that detail about magic not going past the planet. Could you tell me where it was said? I'm not 100% sure I want to include that, but the idea is pretty related to what I wanted to do for the Climax of the John Smith Arc.

QQ:

VATSTeen: More to the point. Leon can see Olivier just like Alpha can. But because Leon is afraid of ghosts (like horrified of them honestly) he pretends he can't. He also doesn't know what Violet actually looks like so he assumes Olivier is just her.

Bladist: The fun thing about Leila and Loic as the villains of volume 5 is that it was all based upon delusions about Noelle. Leila only gets worse, but for more relatable reasons that make her real life gross/annoying (the cheating that she tries to gaslight her way around). "Loic not appreciating having functional kneecaps" made me laugh out loud, like legit.

The reversal teleport chain was in reference to KH2, but yeah those are also good visuals for what Lea and Cid were doing.

Well Alpha was also the one to recommend Nu to Cid, so she can trust her somewhat. Delta's always been a wildcard and now she's also a possible threat.

Glad you liked the Yukime character. Given it's prior to the John Smith Arc I was worried about getting her correct since you interact with her in Master of Garden after.

Exactly. Cool story Leila has, doesn't excuse a damn thing. Leon's probably going to try and tell her this next chapter. Especially with the gameplay thing, how can you try to follow a game's plot to the letter when you only know the good parts that you didn't even solve yourself?

That magic boob thing is hilarious. But also, I feel it could be explained by different storyboard artists. After all Alexia's strong point is her ass, so they may forget her front.

Someone ani: I do love the characterization dissection you gave. I could argue that it switches to saying Minoru because the scene switches to Minoru in front of the TV if I remember correctly.

But generally yeah, Cid seems to be another role while Minoru has continued his life. But Cid is still somehow his own person sometimes, like the times Cid acts his own age with the Shades usually.

Delta does a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense. Such as when she got the witch outfit and tried to cast magic only to do it all by accident and sheer force of will.

Ao3:

DivineDemonDragon: Pretty accurate assessment of Leila. Glad you liked Cid's section. The Alpha scene was a favorite of mine to write. I hope the Apocrypha characters differ more.

Wolfpaladin: It does, but as you pointed out Alexia has no way of knowing that yet. So Epsilon still does have to talk to her at least once.

Leila should find out next chapter, yeah.

Loic was the worst, but no one could tell that until it was too late.

That's pretty accurate to what Lea wanted. Basically, he needed Cid to change his mindset.

Yup. I might have Leila go to Earth too. Don't know yet. I am excited about the Earth arc. But at the same time I'm not entirely sure about what to do with it. Oh well, I got time.

Emile's reaction is next chapter actually. I just had the chapter get too long so I skipped over a bit. But he wasn't doing nothing.

Dynamic_Kaleidoscope_sensei: Thanks to you and others, I think I will change Leila's fate a bit. But I do plan on at least having some of Volume 6 and 7 events happen, which in part is thanks to Leila so I need her still adjacent to that.

Totntobt: He was reborn in the Coop route. But in the P2W he'll probably be Alpha's second kid, born probably when the fic is done.

You almost made me change the chapter with all these ideas on how to handle Leila honestly. Everything you said was really interesting. I did keep this chapter mostly the same, but I'll change some things. But I don't think she'll end up with Sherry, as funny as that would be.

The Teresa idea was great too. I do have some idea for how to handle the other past lives, but I do wanna see more of them in the story before I continue with it too much.

BOY4_GOW:

1. Little bit of both honestly.

2. Oh, he and Cleare have a date night over it for sure.

3. Let me put it this way. You might not have known about the collar, but if you saw Loic in real life at that point, you knew he was going to try something. In some fics, I've seen people interpret it as him going to "force himself on her" if you catch my drift.

4. Oh absolutely.