“You even took their furniture?” Josef asked, while looking at a desk.

“We did not have much time and I have a large storage space.” I answered.

“She has a hoard, almost like a dragon. She just loots everything. Especially food.” Lucy said. “She doesn't even remember half of the things she carries around.”

Lucy did have a point. So I just shrugged.

“One tends to accumulate things over time.” Lilith confirmed. Maybe she was a hoarder too.

“Anyway, maybe it has some helpful information. Speaking of information, we discovered different runes on the invaders. They are experimenting with demonic and fey magic. You should look at some of the bodies.”

“Interesting. Have you heard of any fey abductions?” Thessia asked.

“No.” I answered.

“Maybe they wanted to capture a young kitsune?” Lilith suggested while looking at Ben.

“I am not a kitsune, I am foxkin! But maybe I will grow into one, like big sis!” Ben said.

Lilith frowned. “That is not how this normally works. How did your sister become a kitsune?”

Ben pondered that. I was curious how he would respond. While Lilith was gathering information, it was not really a secret that Lucy’s family was normal. And the warlock pact was known by quite a few people as well.

“I am not sure.” Ben admitted. “It has something to do with Amaya, who is also big sis now. Because she snuggles with Lucy a lot!”

Lucy smirked at me but I avoided blushing, mostly.

“Shani tells me you just grow by slaughtering things.” Ben added. “I think Amya and big sis slaughtered like a whole army! With a demon lord! And they bonded over that!”

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Ben paused, thinking. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “Sis just grew a new tail from slaughtering things!”

My guess was her protective instincts triggered the transformation. But I was not sure. She had been training her aura recently. It could have just been a result of practising and using her power. Further research was needed.

“And I will happily slaughter many more, if they come after my family. We will need to respond to that.” Lucy said.

“You mean, we should go on the offensive?” I asked.

“They dared to touch my family! I don’t care what their plan was. I will crush them!” Lucy’s eyes started to glow.

“That is so cool.” Ben said. “Can you make your tails sparky again too?”

“Um…” Lucy’s grim mood evaporated and she looked at her brother. “I think I need to practise that. Also, I would not want to hurt you…”

Ben was rather vulnerable. Maybe we could get him a nice armour soon. Unfortunately I did not know of a way to really improve his strength. There was the warlock pact, but that was essentially still on cooldown. And after what happened with Lucy… It would be way too much power in the hands of a child. I suppose from that perspective, it was good that he was not strong. Finding a babysitter for an actual kitsune might be problematic.

“Maybe we should enter the palace again and seek more information on this incident?” Lilith suggested, suddenly.

“Sure.” I agreed. I had only wanted to check on Thessia and she was fine, as was Josef.

“Will you accompany us, Lucy?” Lilith asked.

“Huh?” She sounded surprised, then she looked at Ben.

“Let’s go with them, they are fun!” Ben said.

As we walked away from the tree Lilith turned serious. “I wanted to talk with you two in private.”

“Well, Ben is here too.” Lucy pointed out.

“Even if I do not fully understand the circumstances, he is your family and enjoys your trust, right?”

“Yes.” She confirmed.

“This is about mortals in general.” Lilith began. “I do not trust them. They fear our power and lust after it. Many offered me their allegiance in the past. All of them betrayed me in the end.”

“I do not doubt your words, but I suspect that only a certain type of mortal was willing to deal with you. It takes a lot of ambition and likely a lot of greed to interact with a demon lord.” I pointed out.

“And you do have a reputation.” Lucy added. “Demons in general, I mean. They are avoided by normal people.”

“While you are not wrong, there are plenty of honourable mortals who give in to temptation. I do not know what precautions you have but I do hope you are ready. Once we win this war they will not take kindly to our presence.”

I could see her point. But I did not think that Loriel would act against us. I had every intention of settling down in our county at some point. I had Lucy by my side and we were building an army of maid knights. Anyone coming for us would pay a steep price.

“You are not worried about us betraying you?” Lucy asked.

“No. Kitsune are known to be playful, my interactions with them have been limited. But they are not known for treachery. Archfey are manipulative but tend to take their word seriously. I trust you more than most demon lords. And I do believe that you gain little from betraying me.”

It was hard to tell but she sounded honest.

“If you are our friend we will help you. If you betray us we will crush you. It matters little if you are mortal, or not.” Lucy stated.

“Is Lilith going to be a big sis too?” Ben asked.

“No.” Lucy and myself answered simultaneously.