PHASE 45 - THEY SHOULD HAVE ATTENDED MARRIAGE COUNSELING FIRST

I’m pretty sure I can defeat Hades myself, but I do have to take Jeanne’s word about that damned rotten god interrupting our plans in casting the . I have to be cautious just in case, so I prepared an immediate conference among the Aether Crusade members. Last time we used that wish-granting song, most of my allies were killed. We have to be prepared at this time.

To prevent any information leaks, we see to it that only the Aether Crusade members know about our plans.

Our usual conference room is in the Kozukata Shrine in Heightsburg City. It’s a bright and shiny Saturday morning, and it makes my day brighter to see that all Aether Crusade members are participating in this conference. I feel like a teacher who is greeted by a perfect-attendance class.

Tiara, Jeanne, Helena, Kristoff, the punk star Drex, the emo weirdo Benedict, and the new member Francois is here. Ayano is no longer part of the Aether Crusade since she took over the position of the still-missing Asumi as the head of the Kozukata Shrine Maidens so she’s absent. But for some funny reason, Kristoff’s wife: Naomi is here.

I know Naomi is not part of the Aether Crusade, but I will allow her to attend this private conference anyway. I’m pretty sure that she came here for a different purpose, as she looks so grumpy and skeptical.

“Rikkun, here are the papers you need!” Tiara handed out some reports to me like a good dog, I mean, secretary.

“Thanks, Tiara.” I gently patted my girlfriend’s head.

I was on the way to the podium when I noticed a commotion in the back seat.

“Ohhh! Kristoff! I miss you, my love!” Jeanne’s seductive voice echoed around the room. She is clinging hard on Kristoff’s bulky biceps, and Kristoff can’t help but feel infatuated.

“J-Jeannette! Y-You’re really Jeannette, are you!?” Kristoff asked in disbelief.

“Yes, Kristoff! I miss my lovely boyfriend~” Jeanne cried.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Naomi stood up beside them, her hands holding her hips as if she’s a granny who is about to scold the kids. “What’s the meaning of this, Kristoff!? I thought you two already broke up!?”

“I-I don’t understand it either!” Kristoff explained to his wife. “Wait, are you really Jeannette?”

“Yes, darling~” Jeanne rubbed her cheek against Kristoff’s. “I want to reignite our love once again. Say, you want to go to a hotel after this conference?”

“Whaaaaa…” Kristoff can’t take this seduction anymore. His brown face just turned bright red, and I’m pretty sure Jeanne’s charms had him completely addicted.

“GRRRRRRRR!!!”

It was a growl identical to a mountain lion, but it was just an angry wife. Naomi can be seen clenching her hand with extreme force. Her eyes are red and the air around her is starting to turn to smoke. She’ll unleash her monster form at this rate, so I decided to intervene.

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I went behind them and pulled the damn blonde kitten on the nape of her neck. “Nyaa?” She made a cute sound as I lifted her up. Jeanne looked at me with her innocent eyes as she does not know why I’m lifting her.

“You freaking idiot, this is not your universe! Kristoff here is married to Naomi, so don’t mess up other people’s lives here.”

“Nyah?” Jeanne tilted her head adorably as if she did not have a clue. She’s in full cat mode. I know how cunning Jeannettes are, so she’s just probably playing around.

I’m slightly pissed, so I just tossed the blonde kitten to the corner of the room.

I approached Kristoff and proceeded to sermon him. “Dude, you know this. I’ve called you about Jeannette from another universe, so stop pretending.”

“Oh, yeah... I forgot.” Kristoff made a wry smile as he scratched his head. However, his wife is not pleased. She’s turning Super Saiyan Five.

I just left the couple as I went back to the podium in order to start the speech.

Finally, the people settled down. Naomi angrily sat beside Kristoff to guard her husband against that blonde kitten that might steal him. However, Naomi refused to talk to Kristoff for the rest of the conference.

<>

And so, I started the conference.

“This will be short but important. I’ll keep this as brief as possible.” I raised my voice so that all the members would listen to me. “I asked for this immediate private conference to set up one goal: to have Tiara sing the once again. I only summoned people here that we can trust, so the Black Cross and even the Kozukata Shrine does not know any of it. It is a necessary means to keep the casting of the a secret and prevent information leaks.”

All the Aether Crusade members nodded after hearing these words of mine. They already get what I am implying. The only one who appears to know nothing is the new recruit, Francois. He does not even know what the is.

“Tiara is already ready to sing the , and the twelve God Cores have replenished their energy. We will schedule the ritual tomorrow afternoon, at the bell tower of the shrine. I intend to let the shrine maidens know about this tomorrow.”

Suddenly, Drex the emo weirdo raised his hand.

“Uh… Why are we sealing this information against the others? If we’re talking about the Fake Outsider, we cannot hide anything from him anyway.”

“The Fake Outsider is no longer a threat. We have a different enemy.” As I said these words, it made an immediate muttering sounds among my members. “Our enemy that might exploit the is Lord Hades, the God of the Underworld.”

“Ye have a plan for this?” Drex asked.

“Yes.” I nodded with a smile. “All Aether Crusade members will be in charge of defending Tiara while she sings. Be on full alert. So basically, our objective is to protect Tiara at all costs, even if we end up dying. Don’t worry about being a pawn, as Tiara can easily revive you during the duration of the song.”

The members talked among themselves, and they seemed to nod to my suggestion. It might not be a perfect plan, but Tiara and I are overpowered. At my current power, I can take the Fake Outsider if he interrupts us again. I doubt a being more powerful than him will appear.

The chattering finally stopped, and all agreed on the plan.

Except for one.

Naomi raised her hand. I entertained her concern, so she stood up.

“Is this operation exclusive for Aether Crusade only?” Naomi asked in an angered tone.

“Yes.” I said, “I’m sorry, Naomi.”

“No! Don’t be sorry! I will not accept this!” Naomi made an outburst.

“Hey, Naomi! Stand down! You’re embarrassing us!” Kristoff whispered, but Naomi won’t calm down.

“You’re not a member of the Aether Crusade, so you can’t participate. The Black Cross will punish me for it.” I reasoned out.

“Then let me join the Aether Crusade!” Naomi held her heart as she shouted.

“Huh?” I tilted my head. “Why are you so eager to join this operation?”

Naomi aggressively pointed at the blonde kitten sitting at the far edge of the conference room. It’s as if she is a prosecutor fully convicting Jeanne for committing a murder.

“I have to watch over my husband and make sure that bitchy blonde runt won’t go near him!” Naomi cried.