A/N: Due to recent laws in the US, I may be taking down the NSFW versions of the stories, or at least just getting rid of the lemons and making them SFW. If you're reading on Ao3 or QQ and want to save the lemons/limes to repost in the event I take them down, feel free. Just the lemons/limes though. I will say that Ao3 isn't banned in Texas, which was one of the first places to do it, so I think I'll leave things as is there for now.

I've also taken down the NSFW drawings on my Pixiv. I left the SFW ones there, so that should be fine, but I don't want to get arrested or fined so I'm going to have to not draw that stuff and fade to black in writing from now on. Sorry guys.

Okay, so some people had some great comments, so I'll kinda address them here.

First, to the person who asked what arc we are on, Cid's mini one or the second invasion of Fanoss, it's both. While Cid's having his mini arc (which I'll point out, it's called mini for a reason) Leon will be setting up the invasion section proper.

Second, A person on had made a super detailed post about what I believed to be a massive retcon. That being the Partner being only one of Leon's ships and not the main one as I had been assuming. They pointed out how it could be resolved without being much of a retcon, so thanks to him I know how to resolve the issue.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, Swordmaster of the fareastern kingdoms.

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.

Yankee: Known previously as Stephanie Fou Offrey

Foxtrot: Sherry's mother.

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

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-

During the Bushin Festival, I had been given the chance to speak with Princess Hertrude of Fanoss multiple times. The first two was under my disguise as Xianyun, a retired sword master from the east. It was during the second meeting that I was able to arrange a third, or rather first, meeting with me under the alias of Luna.

I had done said meeting with the help of Nu, Kai, and Omega.

I recall that I had done my best to talk about all the proposals I had sent to Fanoss about possibly setting up a store there. I did my best not to sound accusatory, especially after Hertrude had insisted that all fault lied with us for Fanoss being able to receive nor respond.

I'm glad that I decided to take Nu, Chi, and Omega, as I imagine that any other of the numbers—named or not—would have had some choice words and rash actions.

Nu had done her best to curtail the possibility of it being Holfort intercepting the messages before they could get to Fanoss, coming up with explanations on how they had given the messages through dignitaries and missionaries that were passing though when the usual channels had not worked. Nothing overt like asking them to deliver a letter on our behalf, but small suggestions of setting up a talk like our current one surely should have reached her ears sooner.

Sherry had been rather useful in this endeavor as well, being able to serve as something of Hertrude's voice of reason and stress ball. Whenever Hertrude found herself becoming close to diving into a tirade she'd immediately hold Sherry's hand, pat her head, or hug her.

Kai had expressed concerns over Sherry, positing that she may be something of a pet to Hertrude. I can't deny the possibility out right. Yet, as the princess of Fanoss Hertrude actually would have better relations to the common citizens. Not even to mention Sherry having been adopted by one of the most important men of said kingdom.

There ended up not being much that I could cover as Luna, let alone Xianyun…

Is what I would say, if I had not been Gamma the Devoted.

If my roles could only do so much, then would it not show true devotion to make one last attempt with my true form. Although, Omega had noted that perhaps to truly take such an action, it may be in my best interest to separate Hertrude from even Sherry.

Luckily, I have a few distractions for little Sherry on staff.

-Stephanie-

Although most people had spent the day of the semi-finals watching the matches and roaring with excitement. I remember how I stood in the office of one of my several bosses dumbfounded.

"I…I'm sorry?" I said to the richest woman in the world.

She looks up from her paperwork, "Did I lose you at some point?"

"Uh…" I decide to nod, recalling how this is also one of the strongest women in the world and lying would do me no favors, "You… You ordered me to take Sherry out on a date?"

Lady Gamma takes the 'pen' to her mouth before nodding, "Well, I suppose if you were to summarize everything I said… then yes. Essentially, I need you to separate little Sherry from Princess Hertrude. As I recall you and her were quite fond of each other so I believe I can leave this matter to you."

I nod again before I feel a familiar chill down my spine. I turn my head slightly to see Sherry's mother staring at me with an uncomfortably forced smile on her face.

"L-lady Gamma…" tried Charlie, "Perhaps… maybe we shouldn't phrase it like that?" Charlie then covered her moth on the side facing Sherry's mom and whispering, "I think one of us might do something we aren't supposed to…!"

Sherry's mom then turned to Charlie and stared at her, Charlie did her best to look elsewhere and whistle nonchalantly.

Lady Gamma chuckles before leaning onto her folded hands. "Girls?"

All of us look at her as she dons her new slime suit.

"Are you trying to go against orders?" questioned Lady Gamma.

All of us straightened up. According to some of our coworkers, ever since Lord Shadow visited before the Bushin Festival, Lady Gamma had changed and become stronger in just about everything. She barely even trips anymore, and honestly without that her enthusiastic and borderline Lord-Shadow-obsessed personality seems less comedic and more… concerning.

"""Sir! No, Sir!""" we all shouted with a salute.

We then immediately fled from the room, not wanting to set off the woman.

Wait… where even is Sherry now? I guess I can start looking near the castle—

"Yankee…" said Sherry's mom as she held both of my shoulders and leaned down into my ear, "You're not going to do anything further than a hug, understand?"

"But we've already kiss—" I try to point out only to be cut off.

"Understand?"

"Yes ma'am."

-Leon-

I look at Miauler who is prostrating before me, having just asked me for permission and the funding to elope with my sister.

I then look at Jenna, who came with him but hadn't said anything because she usually doesn't talk to me unless she needs to. She's blushing so hard that she's crying. I'm pretty sure she's happy.

I'm happy for her.

There's a lot to consider with what Miauler brought up, but it's not something I've been totally ignoring. Honestly, I just thought that Angie's papa could handle it, but I guess that was my fault.

I mean, I'm going to be a king. If I want to be a good one, then I can't keep leaving the work to everyone else. Like, I'm not opposed to delegating—just the opposite really—but I should probably get involved with politics.

"Look," I said while crouching down, "Whatever you and Jenna do is completely up to you two. As long as you treat her right then I'll have no reason to ever get involved. But what you said sounds very, very important. But I don't think we should talk about this while we're here."

"Wouldn't the Partner be the safest place to talk about this stuff though?" asked Clarice.

Angie shook her head, "Not while we have all the people staying with us. Honestly it was a chore getting everyone to leave for the hotels."

Yeah, people were too used to the Partners rooms and didn't want to leave. Heck, some of the people that didn't come with us wanted to stay on Partner and not leave. I even had a few noble girls try and proposition me with marriage so that they could either own the ship or that I would own it but they would get to stay on it with their lovers, demi-human servants, all on my dime.

I asked them if they really thought I would ever entertain such attitudes in the future. They got pale real quick and ran away while apologizing. I guess it helped that I came back from training with Iris, I must've looked intimidating.

Anyway, yeah. Most of them are gone but we're still expected to bring them back with us next week. Not to mention the Kagenou's who've been staying on the ship. I mean I'm not exactly pulling out all the stops for them for respect for my buddy Kageno, but I'm not being mean to them out of respect to my lover Claire.

"Say… we're going back the day after the finals right?" I asked Angie.

She nodded, "Correct. Although everyone will be coming to the academy here in Midgar once the break ends completely, we'll be sending everyone home before so that they may recuperate a bit before continuing the school year. Saintess knows… that sounds strange to say now, er—anyway After the events of the other day I know I could the break as well."

Clarice snorted, "Man. It must bother you whenever someone says 'By the Saintess' fat tits!' or whatever huh?"

Angie just shook her head in disgust. Man, I never said anything like that but now I'm morally obligated to beat the shit out of anyone who says it now.

"Okay, so we're going to make that illegal to say in your presence." I said while patting Angie on the shoulder, "But less importantly, I think that we should maybe expedite that a bit."

This caught everyone's attention.

"Oh? What do you mean?" asked Clarice.

I shrug, "Well, it's not as though we don't have several reasons to do so. Jenna and Miauler's upcoming marriage, the incident that happened just yesterday, not to mention any others we can make up."

Angie sighs fondly while Clarice giggles.

Jenna looks at me hesitantly, "U—uhm, Leon I…"

I stop her by replying, "There's a couple of houses that are about to fall like a house of cards. I can make you in charge of one, just use the rest of your years in school proving it."

Jenna nods, and Miauler walks up to her to give her a big hug. He even spins her around.

Now… since I'm going to probably upset Claire by skipping her and Iris' final match I should try and talk to Kageno.

Hopefully he's at Mitsugoshi still.

-Kageno/Shadow-

Luckily Claire was nice enough to just leave the conversation at exchanging a few questions about the baby. She brought up some things I hadn't really brought up either. Like where we plan to raise them, an education plan, and even how'd we handle them being a half-elf.

"Yet your plan seems to be to just wing it." Pointed out Violet.

Well, I mean, it's not like it's easy to predict how a child's life will go.

I can feel Violet quirk a brow, "I thought you were the master of making predictions?"

Huh? No, not really. Just when I'm roleplaying.

Speaking of, I guess I only got about 9 months to do so freely.

"I suppose your free time would be hampered by your future child." Agreed Violet.

For a bit at least, I'm totally going to get them to follow the wisdom of the shadows when they're old enough.

Violet rolls her eyes good naturedly at my words.

In any case, we've arrived at Eta's workshop again. I left the helmet here for her to study. At least as much as she could, according to her the helmet would shock her whenever she reached for it. Plus I figured this way I wouldn't forget it.

"Master…" greeted Eta as I entered. I give her a hug and kiss her on the forehead. She pulls me down to give her one on the lips. I pull away to see her ears wiggling slightly.

I feel Violet poke my cheek, "You're smiling too, in case you haven't noticed."

"Eta." I say while trying to maintain my composure, "Report."

Eta nods before pulling out a journal, I quickly rifle through it. Unlike before where I would have only just barely glanced at it, I make sure to skim it before handing it back. I mean, we're dating now so I can't just ignore something they hand us after all.

"Us?" questioned Violet.

Well, yeah. Me and you.

"If that were true, then you should have flipped through it slower. I barely saw anything." Pouted Violet as she pulled some of my hair, "I need to make sense of things not only through the codes that you guys speak in, but also make up for the major differences in dialect from my time."

But you speak just fine to me?

"I have to use a spell." Revealed Violet.

That makes sense. I think.

"Master? Your thoughts on my progress?" asked Eta, who at some point ended up leaning against me without my knowledge. Sneaky. I approve.

And because of my approval I give Eta a big old hug.

Truly the thought of acting my role as the mysterious boss was thrown out the window a while ago… oh wait that reminds me, there was something Alpha wanted me to ask.

"Eta, before that. I need to ask you something. It's serious." I said. Eta took a few steps away from me and even stood a little straighter in response. "Did you hear the news about Alpha?"

Eta shook her head.

I sit her down on her pillow while I kneel in front of her.

"She's pregnant." I explained.

"Oh…" murmured Eta. "Really…?"

I nod.

"Oh…" said Eta with a nod before her eyes widen and her ears perk up for the first time in her life, "OH…! Truly Cid!?"

…

Cid nods, "Yup. For real. I looked at her womb myself, there's a baby growing in there."

"Wow…" said Eta as she rocked a little back and forth, "I had thought… Prince Leon… and Olivia would have been the first… if not Angelica."

I couldn't help but raise a brow in interest, "Oh? You're on first name basis with them?"

"Mm… from the… time at the resort." Confirmed Eta. "We… played some games… together… Olivia was very… fluffy. Nice to hug… she… reminded me a bit of… Beta… but more motherly. Angelica was… a lot like Alpha… no fun… unless she was with… the person she loved."

"I suppose that's a pretty accurate assessment of the two." Mused Violet, "Though now I have to wonder how everyone else in his group matches up to your harem. I can imagine his Epsilon being Clarice, and his Delta being Claire. But who would his 'me' be?"

Some combination of Luxion and Mylene I guess.

Eta pats my face to get me to focus on her again.

"When… is the baby… due?" she asked with stars in her eyes.

I thought about it for a second. I mean, do elves even have the same gestation period? But more importantly, "Eta… you… you're not planning on doing anything to my children. Right?"

"What do you… mean?" asked Eta with a tilt of her entire body.

How to say this without sounding like a dick… "Like… you don't have plans for experimenting on them, right?"

Eta began to pout. "No… master, you jerk."

Grk!

"Kya~! How cute~! The first time she's ever insulted you too!" squealed Violet.

I flailed a little bit as Eta began to spin around using her slime so she wouldn't have to face me.

"I-it's a valid question!" I tried.

"Hmph."

"You used to poison me right?"

"Hmph."

"You even gave me some aphrodisiacs that one time—"

"Hmph."

"—and remember how you said that you wanted to see my children?"

"Hmph."

"You even said that you wanted to experiment reproduction to see what the child between the strongest human and one of the strongest elves would look like!"

"I was flirting…" grumbled Eta. "You were… supposed to have… pinned me down… according to the text…"

Violet was no help and only made things worse by teasing me, "Wow~ this the second time I've seen you so flustered. I suppose The Eminence in Shadow has a weakness: family planning."

"I…" I took a deep breath and gave Eta a hug to keep her from turning away. "I'm sorry. It's just… you're like me y'know? Willing to give up a lot of stuff for what we care about. I've found my limit, but I never really knew if you had one or not. But with Alpha pregnant I needed to make sure you wouldn't… do anything to our kids."

Eta stayed silent but leaned back into the hug. I moved one arm and pat her head as she began to formulate the words she wanted to say.

"There… there is nothing I want to learn from… experimenting on kids." Stated Eta.

…

You know, Eta once told me something. That her parents were just like her. When she caught possession rather than look for a cure they studied her until the cult got them. Their last act of kindness to her was to give a journal so that she could continue the research of possession.

In fact, she's even gone as far to say that she wished she was possessed for a little longer so that she could research it further.

But…

But…!

I think… I think maybe that wasn't an honest statement. Eta… she never changes her tone of voice. I can't recall the last time I really heard her laugh. Maybe her talking about that stuff was her own version of gallows humor. Some kind of admission to make it seem like she's in complete control over those memories… rather than the reverse.

"How can you tell?" asked Violet with a motherly tone of voice, "Like you said she never gave it away."

Well… she's said that she never resented her parents. That they did what they needed to, and that let her grow up exactly the way she's wanted. Everything about her life is perfect now.

That…

Well it sounds like something a bit too close to home.

"Truly Eta, you are my partner in crime." I said.

"…" Eta turned her face to me. Her eyes full of that curious spark I love to see.

"I'll tell you one day." I said. "When I'm… strong enough."

Eta's eyes widened in alarm, "You… you aren't strong enough now…!?"

I/Minoru/Shadow/Cid/Mundane covers Eta's eyes.

"Listen well, Eta. For it takes all of my strength to say this secret to you. I am far, far weaker than anyone—including myself—can say."

Eta doesn't say anything else. But she turns around and hugs me. At some point we moved so that I'd fall asleep in her lab again.

The next time I open my eyes I'm back at the tea table Mary was siting at.

There's a door in front of me, and I decided to open it.

-Stephanie-

Thoroughly scolded by Foxtrot, I decided to do my best not to let my feelings overwhelm me again. So, I did my best to dress in my normal outfit. Which is to say I had to buy a new uniform since Lambda tore almost all of my old stuff up during my supposedly laxer training.

In any case I begin to walk the streets of Midgar as I look for Sherry. I'm not doing so aimlessly, as I was told the last place she and Hertrude went. But the more I wait for her to show up the more nervous I got. Not to mention that I can swear that both Foxtrot and Charlier were watching.

So, to calm myself down I employed the Shadow Wisdom of repeating things to do so, "Focus on the mission. Focus on the mission. Focus on the—"

"*Gasp* Stephanie!?" called out a familiar voice.

I look to my left and see a pair of people surrounded by some guards in disguise. I have to admit, if it weren't for my training I wouldn't have been able to spot them all so clearly.

"Sherry!" I shout with genuine affection, even opening my arms for a hug… causing a huge amount of blood lust to form behind me.

Sherry tries to rush over to me only for Princess Hertrude catches her by the scruff of her neck and drags her back like she's a therianthrope child of some kind… I should buy Sherry one of those fake ears and tails accessories, maybe a collar too when we get far enough—

"*Ahem*" said Hertrude to interrupt me as I stared at Sherry, "I suppose from my dear friend Sherry's shouting, your name is Stephanie, yes?"

…

I pay close attention to how this bitch holds Sherry close to her.

"Yes. I am very close to Sherry. I was there for her when she had no one." I pointed out with a closed eyes smile.

-P2W-

As Stephanie began her verbal throwdown with Hertrude as Sherry could do nothing but helplessly watch, Charlie and Foxtrot watched with morbid curiosity, disguised as some customers from a restraint on a balcony not too far away. Which helped with the fact that Charlie had been munching on some fries with rapt interest.

"Aw… you must be like an older sister to her." Said Hertrude.

Munch-Munch*

"Well," said Stephanie with a chuckle befitting of her old background, "You could definitely call us family."

Much-Munch*

"Well I'm Sherry's closest friend, ever since childhood." Said Hertrude.

"Are you now?" said Stephanie as she stepped closer, "Well I'm much closer than a friend to Sherry."

Munch-Munch*

"Charlie, Foxtrot, what is taking so long…" said Gamma as she snuck up behind the two before seeing the catfight. Gamma then took a seat.

Charlie offered her some fries.

"Oh! Are you!?" said Hertrude with a raised voice. "Strange how she's never mentioned you then!"

"Perhaps she didn't feel safe enough around you to say so." Said Stephanie.

Foxtrot chuckled while sipping some tea, "Oh no she didn't."

Munch-Munch-Munch*

"Excuse me!?" shrieked Hertrude.

Stephanie smiled, "You're excused."

"Ha!" Laughed Foxtrot, enjoying the childish spat between two people apparently interested in her daughter.

Sherry herself merely watched, somewhat enjoying the attention.

"Now if you don't mind I had wanted to spend some time with my dear Sherry before I would be required to move for business again." Said Stephanie.

"Ha! 'business' you say?" snarked Hertrude, "As I recall the business your family is involved in is something that Sherry hates."

Some maids that came to check on Gamma, Foxtrot, and Charlie poured the ladies tea and joined in watching.

"Ah yes… the family business that I had no choice in the matter of engaging in…" mused Stephanie with her snake-like smirk, "You know? I could have sworn a certain family had employed us… who was it again?"

"""ooh~"""

Hertrude bristled and marched up to Stephanie, pushing Sherry slightly behind her.

"You watch your tongue!" whisper shouted Hertrude, although that didn't keep the Shadow Garden members from hearing.

"Hm… Watch my tongue? Can Sherry do it for me? After all, she's rather interested-" Stephanie smirked while pushing her sizable chest against Hertrude's lack of one, "-in all my body has to offer after all."

Hertrude shoved her off, and Stephanie used the opportunity to bounce back on her feet to not trip. This was a practiced move straight from Lady Epsilon, as it showed off what her chest could do that Hertrude's couldn't when moving. Then to land a final blow Stephanie winked towards Sherry as she stopped.

Sherry's face had turned as pink as her hair, and she looked away while fanning her face.

"YOU!" shouted Hertrude before Sherry pushed her away.

Blushing Sherry had hurriedly said, "Um, Rudy! You had something to do with Princess Alexia right? I-I-I'll just hang out with Stephanie! Just for a little! Okaybyeseeyoulater!"

Sherry then took Stephanie's hand and ran off with her in the opposite direction of where Hertrude was heading. To rub it in further, Stephanie stuck out her tongue in Hertrude's direction… through her fingers in the shape of a V.

Foxtrot wasn't impressed but held in her bloodlust to not set off the staff of the restaurant that were also monitoring the display.

Hertrude noticed all the people watching and shouted "WHAT!?"

Everyone hurried to go away.

-(Minoru) Kageno/ Shadow-

After opening the door, I found myself in the middle of some more white islands with some colored fog. There's two in front of me, one with yellow colored fog and another was red.

Obviously, I wanted the better rewards so I chose the one with red.

I land in the fog and when I do I find myself in a body much smaller than my last.

I'm in front of the television… wait this isn't just any TV. This was the TV!

I know this memory! It's the reason I went down the path that I did.

I remember now, my dad and mom were both nerds turned into corporate slaves. As I recall their marriage was arranged by their families, but they did care about each other. They even liked me for the most part.

Dad also had a habit of watching anime whenever he was stressed, usually leaving on some shows he recorded on the vcr or burned onto his dvds.

One day he and mom had some urgent calls from their company, and he left the television on. Some show I can't recall the name of, where a guy with some cool eye power and this sick outfit with a high collar. I don't remember much of anything from it. Although I think I recall him having a right hand in the form of a girl with long hair, which was green I think.

That's what got me going down this road.

How nostalgic.

But how's this a hard memor—

"Minoru? Where are… Hey!" shouted my mom as she flicked on the lights, "Were you watching daddies shows in the dark again? Honestly, I told that man not to leave things on like this… and why are you sitting so close to the tv!"

As my mom rushed to Minoru and began to fuss over him, he smiled.

"Mommy! I want to be him!" I shouted with glee.

My mom paused as she looked to where my little hands were pointing.

Minoru's mom smiled.

"Aw… does little Minoru want to be a bad guy?" cooed Minoru's mom.

Minoru's dad then walked in, "Excuse you, but Lelouch is not a bad guy!"

Minoru's mom pointed to the pretty villainous looking stuff on the screen happening.

"Okay I know that looks bad," said Minoru's dad, "But it's just all a part of his plan! See he's not the bad guy really, and yeah he's kinda not the hero. He's the guy pulling the strings…"

(A/N: I should point out that I never watched code geass, I should change that sometime. But if I got some things wrong tell me what I could replace the example with. I went with this because I'm pretty sure Lelouche's outfit inspired part of Shadow's)

"that sounds so cool!" shouted Minoru, "Mommy, Daddy! I want to be Le-lou next time!"

Minoru's mom kissed him on the nose, "Of course, my little guy in the shadows."

Right… my… Minoru's mom and dad were also nerds that liked going to cons. When I got old enough, they'd take me and dress me up sometimes. That's why I knew how to make the slime suits.

I mean, I used a paper bag as 'slayer' but that's just because I figured an easily disposable outfit was more suitable for training. I would've made my actual outfit later when I actually nailed the role.

…

The memory fades away.

I see three bits of the costume Minoru's mom made for me…noru the next time he…I went to a con with them.

I grab the mask.

-Leon-

Wanting to find Cid I decided to head towards Mitsugoshi. I figured that it might be best to ask Alice where he might be. If he was hiding on purpose then she'd probably help him, but she also would likely pass along a message from me considering how long we've been friends.

I also decided to only take Livia and Claire with me since we're kinda the main 5 friends in our group, having known each other since the adventuring days.

We were let in again by the Mitsugoshi ladies, who I think are looking at me warily because of how drunk I was last time. I also see Nicole in a black wig trying to keep her distance. She looks a bit like Luna dressed like that, but I'm too wary of her presence to have not noticed it. I decide not to act on it though.

If she knows what's good for her she won't go anywhere near Kageno and Alcie's baby! I don't care how scary Shadow is, I won't let him or anyone in The Shadow Garden hurt my friends!

"Miss Alice will see you now." Said a woman I think I recognized as one of the girls that played with Shiron during that one celebration we had.

The three of us walked through to a small lobby room where we saw Alice who was being protected by Sara. I say protected because as soon as we walked in Sara walked in front of her and stanced up like a dog getting ready to pounce.

"Sara." Said Alice, forcing Sara to sit back down. Alice then turned to us while patting Sara's head, "It's nice to see you all. What brings you here?"

"Well first," said Livia as she took out a bag and handed it to Sara for inspection, "Here's a little gift from me and the others."

Alice opened the bag after Sara gave her all clear, and she smiled at the sight of the toys that laid within.

"A bear, a little bossman, a little boss lady, and… a ball?" noted Sara as Alice took them all out.

Alice lifted the ball, which resembled Luxion and Cleare's floating bodies.

"Is this… like your familiars?" asked Alice.

I shook my head, "No, it's more of a baby monitor. Er, in the sense that if the baby carries it around and they trip or something the ball will emit a barrier to catch them and stuff."

"That's a lovely gift, thank you Leon." Said Alice with a nice motherly smile. Which is to say her normal smile, but now she's actually a mom.

"Me and the other girls helped make the other ones. They don't have anything special about them, other than some stitching techniques provided by some of Luxion's machines. I thought of making little you and Kageno because you guys are always busy with Mitsugoshi so your baby might appreciate having them around." Said Livia. I suppose we should leave out that Claire was the one who did all the work, having been the only one familiar with making dolls.

"I thought maybe we should give them a little sword to play with like what I had," said Claire before huffing and pouting in that cute way she does as she puts her hands on her hips "but apparently that's more of a '4 year-old' type toy. So Angie came up with the idea of the bear, to help stir the adventurer blood in their veins or something."

Livia adorably put her hands up like claws, "It's so there's a bad guy for the doll versions of Kageno and Alice to beat up."

Were we not in public I would ask Livia to go 'gao~' for me right now.

"Thank you…" whispered Alice doing her best not to cry. Claire and Livia exchange glances before going in for a hug that Alice returns. I give Sara a small high five as her tail wildly wags.

After a few minutes in which Livia and Claire ask Alice about how her stomach feels and anything they should look out for, I decide to go back to what I was there to ask for.

"So… Alice, would you happen to know where Kageno is? I kinda needed to speak to him about some stuff." I said.

Alice looked at me and with obviously practiced ease, asked "I'm not sure, do you mind telling me what you were going to talk about?"

Hm…

I signal for Luxion to employ the silent room trick again.

"Yipe!" squeals Sara as she sees the many mechanical eye looking drones float about the room and employ a silencing effect.

"Okay, so I'm going to be honest, there's a lot of stuff coming up that requires a lot of things going right. And some plans in case none of it does…" I admitted, "I plan on going back to the hangar we did all those years ago… because there's some stuff I want to get ready."

"Stuff?" questioned Alice.

"Mechs, ships, maybe some other armors… It'd probably help a lot to have you guys help supply stuff if possible." I pointed out, "But the big thing I'll probably need Kageno's help with."

"Oh?" said Alice.

I took a deep breath before answering. "I want his advice on how to beat Shadow."

-(Minoru) Kageno/Shadow-

There were roughly 5 more memories I had to sit through before I made my way to the boss.

In order:

Yellow- I got to see the memory of me explaining what a shadow broker is to all of my little kid friends and how they slowly got disinterested with the game every day. The relics I was able to choose from were some of the little makeshift gadgets we made to play with on the playground.

Red- I saw the memory of my parents getting concerned about me still on the path to become the eminence in shadow. I managed to trick them into paying for all of my martial art and other extracurricular activities. To them I never stuck to any one thing, but both I and a few teachers knew I just was secretly strong… didn't mean I like hearing my parents complain about all the times I changed. The relics I could choose from were some stuff from each activity.

Green- I saw the memory of me playing the moonlit sonata for the first time. I fell in love with the song immediately… My… Minoru's parents were super impressed. They made me play for our relatives. My mom cheered for me and my dad would toss me up and down. Sometimes we'd all play the piano together. How the fuck was that supposed to be an easy memory.The relics I could choose from were some key chains my dad got me from my favorite Shadow Brokers as a reward.

Yellow- I saw the memory of my first few fights with people as the stylish ruffian slayer. It was fun, but honestly I was a little afraid the first few times I held the crowbars. I mean, fighting people in arenas is one thing, on the street was another. I couldn't even hulk out then. Though nothing compared to the one where I saved Nishitani or whatever he name was. That was my peak eminence act of that world. The relics I could choose were some coins I got from the people I beat up.

Red- I saw the memory of everyone telling me to grow up. My teachers, my classmates, my 'friends.' Truly all I had at that point were my otaku parents and my dog Requiem. Well, that and my dream. The relics I could choose from consisted of some torn up… stuff, don't worry about it.

Which brings me to now.

I see someone standing in the middle of a platform.

This must be the boss fight then.

I jump over, still having to roll due to how much of my strength I still lack.

When I get up, I see the paper bagged face of an old persona.

"Minoru." I greet.

But Minoru doesn't respond in kind. Instead, he asks me a question, "Tell me, upon seeing all of your memories, some of which were memories with details that you chose to repress—have you changed in any way?"

"No." I answer, about 90% sure. Like it was nice seeing all that stuff I guess, but it didn't really do anything for me. "I'm still going to become The Eminence in Shadow."

Minoru closes his eyes and then asks another question, "Then let me ask this- A man who was weak enough to die when hit by a truck… Is he worthy to stand at the top?"

I narrow my eyes.

"I thought I didn't die," I said, "That I was instead summoned to our current world."

Minoru shakes his head, "No… as you'll discover we were rammed by a truck, and there's evidence towards that. But enough talk."

Minoru takes out his crowbars, and I ready my sword.

"Let's make this the last time we have to do this." I stated, a little tired of seeing past me over and over.

Then we charged towards each other.

-P2W-

As the sun set, Hertrude found herself fuming in her room. The conversation with the dignitaries of Fanoss went according to plan, but Hertrude couldn't help but fume at how Sherry went with Stephanie.

Sherry already had her and Hertrauda as companions, so in her opinion Sherry didn't need the former daughter of a now collapsed barony. After all her and Hertrauda were literal princesses!

Was it the boobs? Mused Hertrude, are they really that attractive?

In truth, Hertrude doesn't really have a good grasp on her feelings for Sherry. The way she was raised in Fanoss didn't really give much reason for her to have entertained the thought of finding a lover outside of a political marriage. She did think about offering herself to Prince Leon, but then he defeated her entire invasion force and she was less inclined.

When it comes to Sherry, Hertrude and Hertrauda were of the same opinion, that she belonged to them. In fact they were against the idea of Sherry having a handler. But Vandel put down his foot on the matter and they had no choice.

I didn't even know that a girl could kiss another… grumbled Hertrude as she rolled around in her hotel bed, and why would Sherry feel the need to go to someone other than me and Rauda? Is it because she's closer in rank? …Is she thinking about marrying her someday!?

Hertrude sat up in her bed, her mind racing with the possibility of same-sex marriage being allowed in Holfort due to how Angelica and her favorite commoner Olivia were so close.

But then she noticed that she wasn't alone in her room anymore.

Slowly turning her head, she sees a woman with black hair in a cloak. What little pokes out from the cloak is her arms and legs clad in red armor… her chest also seems to be a bit big, and at this point Hertrude is done with woman with chests bigger than hers that think they can just walk all over her.

"Guards!" shouted Hertrude as stood up and began to cast a spell, "Agilao!"

Gamma merely raised a teapot in front of her, allowed the spell to hit it, and then poured herself a cup of the now piping hot tea. It was one of the many strategies for pissing people off that Lord Shadow came up with. As the shadow wisdom went: You must act like you are in full control of any given situation, treat any potential threat like it was coming from a child and you're humoring them at best.

Gamma mused about how Lord Shadow was correct as always as she also poured Hertrude a cup, and forced her to stand still at the sheer audacity when it was handed to her.

"Princess Hertrude." Greeted Gamma finally, "I'm afraid your guards aren't going to be coming to your rescue. At least not for a couple of hours. How about we have a civil discussion before I decide to change my mind about that?"

Hertrude warily took a seat in front of Gamma and left the tea untouched.

"Great!" said Gamma cheerfully, "Now, I wanted to ask you something. How much of Fanoss' history was explained to you?"

"All of it…?" said Hertrude confused.

Gamma chuckled, unnerving Hertrude in the process, "No. I mean, how much of it have you ever bothered to look up yourself? If your answer is that all of it was explained to you, and you didn't bother double checking any of it, then I have to say I'm quite worried about the future of Fanoss."

"What do you mean?" asked Hertrude.

Gamma sips some of her tea, "Well, it just sounds a bit like you're less of a ruler and more of a puppet… hm, I suppose in that matter Fanoss will be fine. After all you aren't really going to make any decisions on your own."

A silence befalls the room.

"Honestly," scolded Gamma, "How long are you going to plug your head into the sand?"

"You know nothing" growled Hertrude.

Gamma smirked, "Don't I? Let's start with those flutes."

Hertrude looks away.

"What kind of country asks their princesses to sacrifice their lives for the sake a feud that they've never won?" asked Gamma.

Hertrude slams her fist on the table, "The same country that's tired of losing!"

"And yet they're willing to lose you." Pointed out Gamma, "Or I suppose you aren't much of a loss to them to begin with."

Hertrude scoffs, "Oh please, are you going to argue that our willingness to give our lives is some kind of cruel act? All citizens of Fanoss are willing to give their lives for the cause of finally getting our vengeance on Holfort!"

"Even the children?" asked Gamma, stopping Hertrude in her tracks. "What of the commoners? I know that the commoners of Holfort are more willing to side with you given how they're treated by the high nobility. Speaking of, despite the fact that you—the crown princess of their nation—was willing to fight the enemy head on, why weren't they?"

"Someone needs to lead the nation—" tried Hertrude.

"Like the princess?" said Gamma with a raised brow (although Hertrude couldn't see it due to the cloak and mask) "Aren't you supposed to be indispensable?"

Hertrude opened her mouth.

"Please don't say something like you don't care because your sister will take your place." Said Gamma.

Hertrude shut her mouth.

Gamma did her best to seem a little friendlier, "Look. I'm not saying that the other countries are without fault. But none of those countries are going to attempt to start a war."

"Why does this bother you? Who do you work for?" asked Hertrude.

"Can't you tell?" asked Gamma teasingly.

Hertrude narrowed her eyes, "… You're from that Shadow Garden right? Prince Leon's allies from what I hear."

Oh? Thought Gamma, that's a little concerning. I should bring it up to Darling later.

"We've worked with the man in the past, that much is true. But to call us allies? I'm afraid that's only due to circumstance." Said Gamma, recalling how Shadow had explained their relationship to Leon's faction, "And currently he is enemies with our enemy."

"Fanoss?" snarked Hertrude.

"The shadows." Clarified Gamma. She then interlocked her fingers and stared straight into Hertrude's eyes. "Shadow Garden's mission is thus: To hide in the shadows and hunt the shadows." Gamma then raised an arm and pointed to Hertrude, "And you're currently surrounded by them. You are so far deeply entrenched by the darkness that you can't tell what is friend or foe. What you and your country is doing is not crawling your way to the light, but you acting like crabs in a bucket: constantly dragging down anyone who might have anything better than you."

"How dare you!" shouted Hertrude.

"How dare you!?" shouted Gamma in response, "How dare you endanger you country, your citizens, your friend, and your sister due to information you never bothered to validate!"

"WHAT WOULD I EVEN DO!?" screamed Hertrude. "Say that you're right! That Sherry and that miserable lout from Midgar she's fawning over were right! What could I even do about it?! All I have is my anger and the flute to which I can deliver it!"

"Then use it."

Hertrude and Gamma both turn to see that another person has joined them.

"Lord Shadow!" exclaimed Gamma, causing Hertrude to become nervous.

But Shadow doesn't skip a beat and approaches the princess, "Use the flute. Unleash all of your anger onto the world. And then witness that there are things that can overcome hate. Learn from it."

With that, Shadow walked to the window and Gamma followed after. Leaving Hertrude alone until Sherry came back with lipstick marks on her face and a concerned look due to all the knocked out people littered about the hotel.

-Kageno/Shadow-

"So…" I said as Gamma and I walked back into Mitsugoshi, "What's… all this?"

I see a tied up Yankee forced to dangle from the ceiling as Foxtrot and Charlie push her around.

"Lord Shadow!" exclaimed Foxtrot, attempting to bow before I stop her. She doesn't really have legs to kneel or bow, and the slime barely holds her up most of the time so I'm not going to force her to do that. It's not cool you see. "I… I was just…"

Yankee spits out the gag from her mouth, "She was mad I made out with her daughter! For the record Lord Shadow, I regret nothing! No, if anything I regret that I was stopped when we were moving to third base!"

If it were in character I would burst out laughing. Instead I hide my laughter by looking at Gamma so that she'll handle the rest. She stares at me in a way that says 'do I have to?'

With a sigh Gamma begins to discipline the girls, scolding them and threatening pay cuts like she would with Eta.

I turned to leave, but before I did I turned to Gamma one last time and said, "By the way, that was really impressive how you handled the stuff with Fanoss. Tell me about it later, I have some things I want to run by you."

"Mou! Lord Shadow how am I supposed to scold someone with this dumb grin on my face!" shouted Gamma happily.

I just walked away.

I took a deep breath as I walked back to where Alpha was. Eta had some ideas about what to do with what she could find out about Arroganz so I needed to talk to Alpha about it.

"Are you okay?" asked Violet. "That last memory… it was a bit much wasn't it?"

I'm fine.

It's something I made peace with a long time ago.

"Okay… but if you need to talk, I'm here." Assured Violet.

I know… thanks.

I follow the signs of Alpha's magic signature. You know, I think it's changed a bit.

"Really?" asked Violet.

Yeah. Like it still smells of lavender, but instead of just feeling like a home cooked meal, it feels like… I dunno… home in general? Like I'll walk up to her and be greeted with a 'Okaerinasai'

Violet booped me on the nose, "You know, I recognize that she's the head wife. But if you told any of the other girls that only one of them felt like home they'd be pretty jealous."

It's not like the others don't

"No?" questioned Violet.

Right, if Alpha feels like returning home after a long day then the other girls feel like… how to put it…

Beta feels like when you snuggle into your favorite spot and open a good book and forget to move for a couple of hours.

Gamma feels like when you take in a house and realize you own it. Like you earned it, and can decorate it however you want.

Delta feels like… well I guess like coming home to a pet dog. It's mean to say, but I can't think of any other way of describing the feeling of coming home to someone extremely happy to see you in that way.

Epsilon is like listening to your favorite song on repeat, or even full playlist. Especially when you get to that favorite part in the song that you practiced singing or dancing to for years.

Zeta feels like finding a good spot in the house to take a nap and waking up hours later not even sure about what year it is when you get up.

Eta feels like… the bed in the morning when you don't want to get up and can feel it beckon towards you when you're leaving the house.

"Permission to summon myself and tell them how much you love them since you're too much of a weenie to do it yourself, sir?" shouted Violet in a mockery of Lambda.

Denied.

Speaking of magic signatures. I sense the strange sensation of a chihuahua (Claire), energy drinks (Leon), and cake ala mode (Olivia).

I wonder what they're doing here.

"No way to find out other than to open the door and talk." Said Violet before I felt her on my shoulders and pointing triumphantly, "Charge!"

Someone's excited.

Violet pouted "I haven't been able to do anything recently… you didn't even call me out during the fight with Minoru across the city!"

Ah sorry. Now that I think about it, it probably would've been cool to have you fight too.

I open the door and see everyone in the room.

Alpha looks constipated almost, and Delta looks confused.

"Yo." I greet, "What's going on? You guys want to go on another adventure or something?"

Leon scratches the back of his head, "Well, kinda. There's a bunch of stuff I want to talk about. But the thing that seems to bother Alice here the most is something I've been working on for a while now."

"What's that?" I asked as I gave Alpha and Delta a hug. Oh, cute toys.

Leon turned to me fully before saying one of the coolest things I've heard all day, "I've been planning to kill Shadow should the need arise."

"That's sick." I said with full honesty.

Violet pulls at my cheeks.

"With what happened two days ago I feel like we can't just sit around hoping he stays just as powerful as always." Said Leon, "From what I can tell he's only growing stronger. And for as much I want to believe he has good intentions, what happens if like Minoru, he falls to demonic possession and becomes evil?"

…

Hm.

"So, since you seem to be the one who's known Shadow the longest I wanted to bring you back to Luxion's base to help plan out how we might be able to do that." Said Leon.

I nodded. "It makes sense. Not sure how much help I could be, but I'll do my best. Honestly it scared me too, I did my best to hide it at the time but when we saw the arena burst into flames and the lights… I was worried about our kid and the life they may not get to live."

"Cid…" said Claire softly.

Olivia tries to signal a 'do not' by shaking her hands around her neck.

"It's fine…" I sighed.

Leon takes a sad look, "Hey, so relatedly…"

I cross my arms, "You want me to talk to them right?"

Leon nods, having the decency to look a bit ashamed, "They don't want to leave unless they talk to you one more time. I'll back you up if you want, but I'm not sure how you want to handle it. Either way I kinda need them to leave my ship."

I look to Alpha.

She hold my hand.

I think about it.

I think about my parents form my past life.

I think back to that memory.

-Minoru age: 13-

It was a normal cloudless night. I had gotten into trouble at school again because I was in the dead center of grades and didn't get along with anyone. This was all due to me doing my best to perfect the dual life of a helpless mob that moonlighted as The Eminence in Shadow.

My parents understood of course. They even encouraged it…

Well they did. They've been worried about me being actually dumb sometimes but I would prove to them that it was all a part of the plan.

They understood.

They got it.

Even if everyone else would reject my dream, I knew my parents would have my back.

…

That's what I thought until that night.

I remember going to bed after coming home from the meeting with my teachers and parents, then waking up as I usually did to go become the stylish ruffian slayer.

But when I was getting ready to sneak out, I heard my parents from their room.

"*Sniff* Honey… I…" cried my mom.

"I… I know."

"I don't know what to do!"

"…"

"He's so smart! I know he is!"

"I know."

"Is it our fault!? Did I fail him! It's my fault isn't it!"

"It's not."

"It has to be! We encouraged him too much! We were lucky to have him even with all of our fertility issues and wanted to give him the world!"

"We did. But we didn't spoil him. We were fair to him."

"Then how did we end up raising a chunnibyou that refuses to grow up!? Where did we go wrong!?"

"I don't know… I think… I think he was just destined to end up like this."

"I don't want to hear that! Don't say that!"

"Honey… I've seen the look in his eyes. I know that he's living exactly how he wants to. There's nothing we can do about it."

"So we're just supposed to watch him waste his life away!?"

"Not exactly."

"What?"

"My uncle, the one that lived in the US, died a while ago remember? Well, his business isn't doing so well and our parents asked us to go handle things."

"What are you saying?"

"Minoru's old enough to take care of himself and he obviously wouldn't listen to us anyway. Instead of taking him with us, why don't we let him live here alone? We have the money."

"…"

"I mean we'll probably have to change some things in our life to pay for two houses' bills. But… I'm willing to give up my hobbies. I… I don't think I want to ever watch anime again."

"…Didn't your uncle leave some kids behind? From an affair or something. They don't have a mother, right?"

"…Yeah, they're living with my mom right now. She'd probably appreciate if we helped take care of them."

I didn't go out ruffian slaying that night.

I think I wanted to see if this was one of those miscommunication moments that characters could solve if they waited around long enough.

…

But they went to sleep right after.

And they left for the US a week after.

And all I had left was my goal.

But it was fine.

I'm fine.

-Alpha-

Leon, the man who I'm not sure how to look at right now, put his hand on darling's shoulder. "Hey, if you don't want to I can probably just team up with Claire and kick them out."

"No." said darling with that despondent look in his eyes, "It's fine. Thinking about it, they aren't that bad all things considered."

"Are you sure?" asked Claire, so quietly I could barely believe it was her.

Darling nodded.

"Um." Said Olivia, "maybe you should bring some of your fiancés! You know, so you feel comfortable!"

Darling looked to me.

I held his hand and looked in his eyes, "You know we'd drop everything to help you whenever you need it."

"Yeah!" shouted Delta.

Darling smiled.

But his eyes still looked tired.

"How about tomorrow then?" asked Leon.

Darling nodded, "Sure, the sooner the better I guess. So, lets meet after breakfast and leave sometime during lunch I guess."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Said Leon as he shook darling's hand, "see you tomorrow man."

We waved everyone off.

We then went to have some of the numbers fetch Zeta and Eta.

As we waited, Epsilon, Beta, and Gamma were informed about Leon's plans.

"What!" shouted Beta. "Darling I'm sorry but what!?"

Epsilon was similarly distraught, "You can't seriously be considering this?"

Darlilng was a bit confused, "Is talking to my parents again that big of a deal?"

"Bossman, I think they mean what Lion wanted." Said Delta. "Are we going to kill him first?"

"It'd be a bit of pain to do that considering how much is revolving around him" muttered Gamma, "but if he poses a threat…"

Darling clapped much like I would to silence the girls.

"No one's killing Leon." Declared Darling.

""But—"" tried Beta and Epsilon.

"And obviously no one's killing me." Clarified Darling, easing all of us. With a shake of his head he explained, "I'm helping Leon prepare for the worst. His worst. And his worst will kill 'Lord Shadow' but not me. If need be I'll take on another role. After all, what's in a name? A shadow by any other name is just the same."

Gamma let out a sigh of relief.

"Speaking of, you girls can call me Cid if you want. It doesn't bother me." Said darling.

A this Beta cheered and ran in for a hug that darling accepted. Delta also wanted a hug and charged in. Epsilon and Gamma looked at each other and shrugged and joined in, causing darling chair to tip over as they all fell from the momentum.

I enjoyed how they laughed. Darling especially.

He finally started to sound like 'Cid' again.

.

.

.

A/N: I love Cid, he's one of my favorite characters in fiction ever. *Puts him in a blender*

Anyway, like I said at the start, I'm probably going to spend next week deleting the lemons off of Ao3 since I don't want to get arrested or fined. It'll be up on QQ since I think since that website requires people to make accounts and provide ages. But Ao3 doesn't.

If someone wants to copy the limes / lemons and repost them after I've deleted them, that's fine.

I will say that I originally intended for this fic to go up sooner but I had stuff to do so I ended up forgetting how this chapter was supposed to go and ended up with what I have here. Like, I would've written the final (yes: final) fight between Cid and Minoru but I just completely blanked on how to do it.

If anything I have an idea on how to write the Cid and Leon vs. Minoru fight if Cid didn't change to Shadow. But that can be a non-canon omake.

Now, let's answer the comments.

QQ-

Someoneani: So Gamma, if it wasn't clear, was scouting Hertrude and Sherry. Her entire purpose for joining the Mundane arc was to meet with Hertrude and se things up. In the background, she's been training one-on-one with Cid. Like it's mainly poses and sounding cool, but obviously that Shadow Wisdom to Gamma.

BlackThief12: Yeah, he is connected to her tribe. However, it's like they're cousins at best. And yup, they are going to react to each other at some point.

Havefeith: Given that running over Minoru was probably a reaction command, I'm pretty sure that Leon's closer to one of the keyblade wielder party members. Like Riku.

Bladist: I guess since I usually post at midnight Sunday it would come out on Monday for most people.

Yeah, I felt like Miauler and Jenna kind of are just ignored for the most part so actually writing them out proper instead of giving them like 5 scenes in total felt right. Like I think Jenna does get a proper engagement later, but eh.

I like the opening song for the anime, and found the manga delightful. I might look up the light novels later, thanks.

Yup. I won't say when or who, but if you read either series you can probably guess based on character arcs.

I didn't know about that game, but I imagine that introducing stuff like that to middle ages people would be either not that big of a deal or giving them cocaine in terms of addiction.

Well, I won't spoil too much. But do you know that game about lawyers?

Zackman2k12: To be fair I think Beta wouldn't have minded. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Ao3-

JackTheMemer: I don't take requests, but I'll admit that I don't know too much about Re: Zero. I've heard good things, and it seems nice. But watching Subaru is painful sometimes. Like it's worse than Rudeus Greyrat… to watch I mean.

Wolfpaladin: Glad you liked the new perspective. I felt like changing things up a little, and since in canon this was the one time Miauler actually spoke I figured why not make him more than a prop.

Clarice also got the last (for now) lemon, so good for her.

Yup, that sums up Mary and Lea's actions pretty well.

So you're right about Eta, but I'll point out that Alexandria not only has Arroganz, but Arroganz is in Alexandria.

It was pointed out (in this fic I don't think in canon) that Leon has multiple armors. Arroganz is just the one he usually pilots, but I'm pretty sure that there's multiple copies of it in Luxion's actual hangar.

BOY4_GOW:

1. I mean technically it was a cliffhanger sandwich. Miauler's section at the top and the last few sentences at the end.

2. Zeta and Miauler will meet eventually. Not sure when to do it honestly.

3. Yup!

4. Yeah, Luxion needs it tbh

5. I think she can at least make armors that will work for demi-humans (I think they don't in canon). Maybe not to the par of Arroganz itself, but probably pretty good ones.

6. It was less an exorcism and more that she moved on after the fight.

7. Yup, the talk is next chapter.

8. Shit, I forgot to explain the joke this chapter. Next time.

Shadowy_mann: neat idea, but I feel like if I was going to do that I wouldn't have given them arroganz to study.

I don't know if that's true, but the Minoru thing was because his body didn't naturally produce magic so he had to steal it.

Anisomeone: There's another bit planned next chapter about the Luxion x Cleare ship *bad um tiss*

Best Guard Doggo!

I'm surprised they don't in canon. Like the therianthrope's do but I feel like it was a missed opportunity to not have the elves do it. I guess they are a bit smaller than most elves (as in, elves in fiction, not the series alone) so it's harder to show.

I'm surprised no one pointed out how Cid could just walk up to Eta while she's sleeping with no consequence while her subordinates are under threat of being thrown out the window.

I imagine it would have a game theme, given the way the mind sanctuary works is based on how the weekly one in Master of Garden.

Cid's Excalibur is in danger.

That's cute, I didn't realize I made it a weakness lol.

It's also the last lemon.

Rashedkurd: I actually did think about doing it like that, maybe having Marie know Cid from some crossover gacha game thing done with Alto Liebe (EiS has a shit ton of crossovers) but decided against it when I planned to do this for what's essentially the entire series.-

Guest: Like I said near the beginning, it's both arcs.

Aniisomeone: I meant that Eta had no plans for the kids.

Rendfire: So, first off—thank you for the long detailed comments, it really made my day to see those.

Taking what you wrote into account (because I haven't really read the WN in a while and only had some brief spoilers for Mobuseka) I figured out some stuff I wanted to do.

I actually didn't know about Einhorn and Licorn, nor the baby AI. Thanks for that, it gave me some ideas for next chapter.

The Mary vs. Cid cookie thing was fun to write, glad it made you laugh.

As for your second comment, again thanks for the detailed comment. I really liked seeing someone memorize all that stuff about the story I've been writing.

SB (4th page now!)-

MWKillKenny84: Never saw that video.

Yup, fuck it all. The idiotic high nobility is trying to be a problem.