“What an eyesore,” I muttered, scratching my head as I clicked my tongue. “I can talk to you anytime, via phone calls even, more of a reason why I should prioritize these AWOLs first.”

I replied, knowing that this meeting only comes on rare occasions. I can schedule a personal interview in my free time. However, this assembly should take priority. It would be drowned in hell when another one of my members slipped away.

Quimora didn’t falter and slapped her palm hard onto the glass table, which resonated with a clap on her pulpy skin. Impatience dragged her hiss out her mouth as she gritted her teeth. While she gazed at the familiar faces who brought hell to Hera, Phantom who scrolls his phone, and Guinelle who turned away when their eyes met, she shouted.

“How dare you put my friend’s life in danger! We aren’t doing anything to you! You are… criminals. There should be a better way to resolve the conflicts, not through violence.”

She flinched back and shook after I slapped the same way as her and stood at my chair, growling, “You crying was never this agenda’s meeting! Don’t anger me, clout leech. Do you want answers? Wait patiently in line. Let your clogged brain absorb the land where you’re currently standing.”

“......I’m sorry.” She bowed still as her eyebrows drew together. Her lip bite told me how worried she was.

I sighed, sat, and leaned back in my chair. “Rox, I appreciate not being late, but I won’t tolerate wasting the minutes of the meeting by bringing havoc. Fifteen minutes of preparation doesn’t include ten minutes of games. Go to your seat.”

She might’ve panicked in the last moments when Quimora popped out of her screen. Though my threat at the announcement was only a prank, I’m glad they took this seriously… or so as Rox did. They never appeared at meetings until I declared my urge to kill.

“I apologize, Nebula-sama. Thank you for your consideration,” Rox replied and sat on the chair between Guinelle and a woman in a two-piece bikini loudly snoring over her arms resting on the table.

I locked my pitiless gaze on Quimora and asked, “Are you just going to bow there for centuries? The clock is ticking. I’ve never seen someone in my life wanting to become a statue. We already have a statue here.”

Quimora, trembling, circled her pupils twice before finding a spot to settle. To save time, she sat on the vacant chair between Phantom and Silence who did nothing but maintain a static straight sitting pose like a statue.

“I suppose the beast boy has been given another chance for life. You may rest easy there, though you may find those two weirder than the ones you encountered at the prison. Also, your seat was this certain someone’s request–”

“Nebula-sama!” Guinelle squealed with a flushed face. When she accidentally directed her eye contact to Quimora, her head swirled in the opposite direction instantly.

I clapped, “Now that we have come into a proper meeting, I don’t want any interruptions. If you made me laugh, I’ll deduct your salary. And importantly…” My shoe floated in the air when I swung up my leg. When I caught it with my hand, the additive force in my hand threw it to the sleeping woman’s head in a straight trajectory.

“OW!” She squeaked with a head that tilted to her side and bounced back… like a spring.

“...No sleeping, Noir.” For some reason, I felt the annoyance from her narrowed amber eyes. I should be the one to get annoyed though.

After the intermission, I clapped, “Now the serious talk. You’re all the reason why we’re delayed for two weeks. Virtual Pigeon, start the initiative.”

“I–I’m sorry, Nebula,” Rox asked, scratching her metal head. “... But I don’t know what this meeting is for.”

“......” I pouted until my cheeks turned red. The screech made by my squeezed throat loudened as I held my rage. “The stones.”

Faking that she got my intention, she flinched with a bright face, raising her index finger. Even if she lives within the virtual world, I’ve known Rox to be a forever forgetful person, the opposite of mine. The moment she remembered the past week’s agenda. With her mind, Rox opened the television behind me and started the presentation.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“The Obsidian Asylum’s offensive records a complete success. Even though we successfully retrieved the triangular amethyst and confirmed its compatibility with the tomb holes, the clues in which the next stone, are still blurred. Alas! We successfully cleared the wanted name ‘Quimora’ from the empire’s watchlist through her fake death. We have the records of transcripts painted on the walls of the Asylum for our next clues.”

Rox presented the images of the walls captured from the prison underground. Various ancient records painted three-fourths of the wall enclosure, unknown to anybody unless a Wicked Luna decrypts it.

“What does it say, Luna?” I asked.

Guinelle cleared her throat and said, “From the ashes of life's final breath, a radiant dawn shall arise—a generation of children, their eyes sparkling with newfound might. They will emerge as the kingdom's salvation, their tiny fists clenching the power to conquer the shadows of destruction.”

I rested my elbows on the table and clasped my hands covering my mouth, leaving a short cool grunt. “Hmmm…”

“Did a clue stroke you, Nebula-sama?” Rox asked.

“Child labor, I suppose. Too general, like a military officer’s ranking. I don’t understand which dumb lawbreaker offended a certain kingdom and ate the amethyst in hiding. However, this is already a clue. Guinelle, do you have any acquaintances from the temples inside the Vergilian Empire?”

The Vergilian Empire always bore a mention in my memory through various gossips. However, I didn’t find any interest in the political kingdom’s heir conflicts. This should come as a hint whereas the documents Skade left before mentioned a convict who hid the amulet, got caught, and was sent to bars. I did have suspicions, but this comes to us as a confirmation.

“I’m afraid I don’t have someone I know, Nebula-sama. It’s been three years since I lost contact with anyone related to the church,” Guinelle replied.

“Is there any info from your reconnaissance of the place, Phantom? And can you stop using your phone?”

Phantom slammed his phone face down and bragged. “Other than those ingenuine experimentations, none of the sort. The head of its military was a crybaby and mumbled to himself like crazy. He doesn’t have any friends.”

“And you, Noir? Don’t you have any relations from the past connections in your kingdom?”

“I would be if some men from that certain place invited me for a drink. I’m not a drunkard back then.”

“What a crunk. And Phantom… Never mind,” I halted, understanding that Phantom couldn’t speak. “Well then, I will deploy you to the place for a month. If we don't encounter anything worthy of online content, we’ll retreat. Any violent reactions…”

“”Argh!?”” Everyone sounded disappointed, with only having two weeks of rest in a place they never wanted to leave.

“Miss Suppose, you’re being sadistically strict!” Phantom exclaimed. “I didn’t even catch up to Rox’s level in RPG games! Also, the girls here are worth talking to with their makeup on.”

“Madam Nebula… There’s no Margarita out there, not even Pina Colada…” Noir emoted with a downturned lip, resting her head back over her arms. “Also, the boys here are worth engaging with, mostly those who hit the gym.”

“I never said I will deploy you now,” I remarked. Their wide collective eyes stared at me as their mouth gradually curved convex. “You can enjoy a week before your departure. However, the cost of this would be full attendance at the meetings. It hurts my incentives, you know?”

“” YES!”” Both Phantom and Noir giggled, clenching their vibrating fists with their full strength.

“Silence and Noir, for the next mission, you’ll be taking the full initiative. For the rest, I will guide you for support. About that beast boy… I hope he turned purple. For now, any violent reactions?”

Phantom attempted to pull his chair up, but I followed up, “By violent reaction doesn’t mean you’ll throw a chair at me or such. If this is the case, we will now adjourn the meeting. Rox and Guinelle, you may stay here.”

Silence would always be the one standing up first once the meeting ends. He developed the habit of covering his buttocks until he left the conference room. I always had the urge to perform a Kancho so that we could hear his voice.

Kanchō is a prank performed by clasping the hands together in the shape of an imaginary gun and attempting to poke an unsuspecting victim's anus, often while exclaiming "Kan-CHO!". When we did it once, everyone’s eyes widened like they'd seen a celebrity face-to-face. With a single ‘A,’ a joyful chaos enveloped. He was just like an elementary toddler learning kanji for the first time.

Noir also stayed, pulling and drinking the reserved bottle of wine she brought. After Silence and Phantom left, Quimora approached me, fumbling in confusion, and asked. “What do you mean clearing my name?”

Oh, right! She was never a member in the first place. I’m glad she’s polite throughout the gathering. However, what she heard may be too much for her to absorb. She was never a sponge meant for cleaning dishes.

“I suppose your head is still boiling. Why don’t you intake some nice fresh air first and touch some grass?”

“Why are you always dodging my questions!? My friends… what did you do to them?”

“Look at the mirror. We won’t have an understanding once you’re hot-headed. My members’ idiocy is contagious.” I gazed around the remaining two. Guinelle still retained her pride by looking away. “You two, why don’t you take my sister’s forehead nerves for a walk?”

Rox didn’t mind, but Guinelle… She turned at me like Ricardo Milos did but with furrowed brows.

“W–WHAT!?”