PART 1

"Come on, man! Can't we do this tomorrow?"

I turned a sideways glance at my moaning friend and sharply shook my head.

"This takes priority, so sit tight, and wait for your turn."

For a second, it looked like he would continue to argue, but then his girlfriend let out a giggle, and and dropped the topic altogether.

"Hihi. That tickles," Angie squirmed as Galatea put the adhesive sensors onto her scalp and chest. "It's also a bit cold."

"Just bear with it. It's not so bad," I said as I walked over to her side. "I've been getting tested like this every day for the better part of two weeks, and I'm still alive."

Angie nodded a tad sheepishly and tried to stay still. She was sitting between two big machines; one sleek modern device, and one boxy one right out of the lair of a pulp fiction mad scientist. I was very familiar with them, though not in this particular environment. Since our homunculus project took up the majority of the main workshop area, a lot of equipment had to be moved to make space, and the soul-testing apparatuses were now set up in their own chamber in the underground base. It took some time, so we had to postpone giving Angie and Josh their checkup until today.

The room gave off a sterile, medical air, with a tiled floor and walls, clean white furniture, and rather inoffensive abstract paintings hanging on the walls. It also had a padded bench by the left of the machines, where Josh and I were sitting while waiting for Angie to be tested. Last, and arguably least, there was a modular desk with a couple of monitors on the right side, with Mr Plague Doctor sitting behind it and hammering at the keyboard attached to the sleeker device.

He was wearing a white coat over his usual outfit and had a pair of large glasses, though I wasn't entirely sure about their purpose, or how he was planning to drink the steaming cup of coffee in front of him with his beaked mask still on. Putting the logistics of all of that aside, my attention was drawn back to Josh when he let out a lung-rattling sigh.

"Why the long face?" I asked out of courtesy, and he responded with another, somehow even deeper sigh.

"I know this is important, but couldn't we at least stop by home first? I mean, I dunno how I'm going to explain any of this to my parents, or where I've been in the past couple of days, but I bet they are worrying about us even now."

Just as he said, after the breakfast party was over, I sent Jaakobah and the Praetorian Guards away with Rinne and the Knights, and then immediately took the childhood friend couple to the base for testing. As it was already made abundantly clear, Josh wasn't happy about it, but his girlfriend didn't seem to mind. In fact, when she overheard what we were talking about, she joined the conversation from the other end of the room.

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure my mum and dad already told them what happened. Right, Leo?"

"Most likely," I answered with a light shrug. "I had Morgana and Agrawain give them a heads-up a day after you disappeared, so that they wouldn't needlessly panic."

"Hold it!" Josh suddenly exclaimed, looking mortified. "Are you telling me my parents know?!"

"About the kidnapping? It would be hard for them not to notice."

"No, not that! The part with the Celestials and the supernatural people!"

"Oh, that? Yeah, obviously," I told him maybe a bit too nonchalantly, because the guy looked at me like I just betrayed him. "Come on, pal. You're going to have a whole gaggle of weird bodyguards in ancient Greco-Roman outfits hovering around you for the next couple of years. It's easier to just let them in on the secret at this point than to come up with some harebrained explanation for all that."

"I know, but… Argh!" Suddenly, he hung his head and grabbed it with both hands. "It would've been hard enough to explain my disappearance, but now I'll also have to tell them about everything else, too? Man, this sucks!"

"You don't have to explain the whole thing," I stressed. "You can easily leave out the whole Deus thing and just focus on the basics. It's not that complicated."

"Easy for you to say that! You never met my parents. They would want to know absolutely everything and…" My friend continued to grumble, but then he suddenly let go of his head and sat straight, with a sense of alarm visible on his face. "Wait! Hold your horses! Do you think they know I'm dating Angie?"

"Why wouldn't they…?" I responded on autopilot, but then my eyes narrowed on their own accord. "You haven't told them yet?"

"We were looking for the right time, okay?" Josh griped.

"Dude, there's no way they didn't notice."

"Maybe, but we didn't tell them officially, and… Man, my mother's gonna kill me for keeping it a secret…"

"If you know that, then why did you keep it a secret?"

"Hey! You're the last person who can call me out on that, with all your secrets and schemes and Plan G-s! People in glass houses and whatever!"

"The context is very different though," I pointed out, and Angie let out a giggle.

"Josh was worried his mum would tease him if she knew," she explained with a gleeful grin. "She's been trying to get us together for years, you know?"

"Well, I didn't know," Josh fumed, causing his girlfriend to giggle again.

"Oh, come now, chum!" she called out to him with a wave of her hand. "Look on the bright side! Now that your mum and dad know, you can finally get your money!"

"Money?" Josh repeated after her, and a second later, his eyes lit up. "Whoa! You're right!"

"Of course I am! I'm always right!" Angie declared with a toothy grin and put her fists on her hips, causing one of the sensors to detach from her collarbone. "Ah! Sorry!"

Galatea didn't say anything, and just dutifully reattached the round, plastic pad onto her. Meanwhile, Josh was suddenly on cloud nine, and muttering something about talking to Dad-in-law again.

It took me a while to work out what they were talking about, but once Abram was mentioned, I figured it was the tournament prize money Josh won back in December. Since he was still a minor, he couldn't open a bank account without his parents' consent, and he didn't want to explain to them where he got a million Jens out of the blue. Because of this, Dad-in-law was holding onto his money until he turned 18.

Speaking of which, I didn't know what he did with those elixirs he won either, but before I could ask, Fred entered the room with his trademark laugh in tow.

"Kihihi! Sorry for the delay, everyone!"

Our resident mad scientist was the same as always, though his unruly hair might've been slightly better combed than usual. He had a clipboard under his arm, and a mug of coffee identical to the one in front of Mr. Plague Doctor in his other hand.

"The test subject is ninety-seven percent prepared," Galatea stated even as she was fiddling with one of the adhesive pads on the back of Angie's neck. "One hundred percent."

"Kihihi! Marvelous!"

"How long will this take?" I asked as I stood up, and Fred gave me a confident smirk.

"Don't worry, boss! We had a lot of practice, so we should get this done in a jiffy!"

I noticed that he was suspiciously avoiding giving me a clear timeframe, but I didn't dwell on it and turned to Josh again.

"I'll step out for a bit. Just do as he says, and behave yourself."

"I'm not a kid," Josh fumed, but didn't argue any further than that.

Angie gave me a small wave as I left, and after leaving the side-chamber, I found myself back in the main workshop. The fact that it was taken over by Peabody, Sahi, and the Class Rep couldn't be any more evident, as things were surprisingly clean and organized. The center of the spacious room was dominated by the large glass tube hooked up to all kinds of machinery and filled with a translucent green liquid. It was very similar to the one I'd seen in Saahira's hotel suite, just bigger and even more elaborate. It was also empty, but if everything went smoothly, it wouldn't stay that way for long.

On my way across the workshop floor, I met a couple of Research Society personnel working on the project, and after exchanging a few basic pleasantries, I left the place and headed for the main hall. Or to be more specific, its lounge area, where I left the girls before accompanying the childhood friends to the test chamber.

It wasn't clear if it was because of our return, but the main hall was especially lively this afternoon. On my way, I passed by a group of male Squires, about half of them new Draconian recruits by the looks of it. They were idling around while discussing the highlights of their last Call of Honor session (they developed an avid local multiplayer gaming habit I absolutely blamed on Penny's influence), while a group of female ninjas and Squires were doing breathing exercises in the corner of the nearby training field (though it looked more like yoga to my eyes, and I wasn't sure their skin-tight outfits drawing the attention of the aforementioned Squires was accidental or on purpose). Looking a bit further, I also found Vurrok, who was… painting them?

As in, painting the scene with an easel and a palette and everything. Heck, he even had a French beret on his head! I mean, everyone needs a hobby, but that one was just unexpected. Strange sights aside, the main hall of the base was rather peaceful, and it felt less like a military base and more like the world's weirdest college campus with every passing day. And I was perfectly okay with that.

"Ue-sama!"

My peaceful musing were cut short by the sudden appearance of a certain tiny miko. Oddly enough, she wasn't wearing the usual shrine-maiden style outfit from the morning, but a tomboyish white T-shirt and jean shorts combo. Even stranger, she was accompanied by Odango Girl wearing a very similar getup, just with the colours flipped. They were followed by a few female Feilong clan members in formal martial artist outfits keeping an eye on Xiao, but when they saw me, they respectfully bowed and moved away to give us some privacy.

"Brother Leonard! We have an emergency!" the aforementioned tiny dragon exclaimed the moment she came to a screeching halt in front of me.

"Emergency?" I echoed her, and the girls nodded in unison

"Ue-sama! Tell us about Jaakobah-san!"

"… I thought I introduced him back at the banquet."

"No, not like that!" Odango Girl cut in while waving her hands. "We want to know if he…"

She trailed off, but Ichiko rushed in to pick up her slack.

"We want to know if he gets along with Rinne-san!"

Were they worried about Rinne after seeing the glum Celestial argue with her after discovering she could talk all along, I wondered? I had a different hunch, but for the time being, I presumed innocence and answered accordingly.

"Yes, they are. They've been supporting me in the Elysium, and so far, they worked well together."

"Oh no!" Xiao exclaimed with a hand in front of her mouth.

"Are you sure, Ue-sama? Are you sure they aren't just friends?"

"I wouldn't necessarily call them that," I told them, and I was starting to feel that my initial hunch was getting more solid with every exchange.

"More than friends?" the tiny dragon repeated after me with the wrong emphasis, and it was now the mini-miko's turn to exclaim.

"Oh no! We have to do something!"

"We have to! Otherwise, Brother Naoren will—!" All of a sudden, Xiao's eyes opened wide, and she clamped her hands on her mouth, as if she was about to blurt out a big secret.

"We have no time to waste! Thank you, ue-sama!"

With that, Ichiko grabbed the other girl's hand and they dashed away, closely followed by the group of bodyguards trying to keep up with them.

I waved after them, and after letting my hand down, I concluded the encounter with a shallow sigh. That sounded like a silly misunderstanding in the making… but it was none of my business, for once, so I promptly ignored the whole thing and continued on my way. I spared one last glance at the yoga-group in the distance, currently doing a head-stand with one leg stretched out vertically and the other horizontally in a ninety-degree angle. I had no idea how that was supposed to be a 'breathing exercise', but they were into it, and so were the guys idling at the sidelines and still pretending to be talking about who scored the most points in Call of Honor the night before.

I wasn't going to call out either group. Spring was definitely in the air, with Valentine's Day just around the corner, and this was a big group of healthy young adults with above-average looks (even by Simulacrum standards) we were talking about here. So long as it didn't cause any problems, I was willing to look the other way. Especially since I didn't want Judy to catch me staring and cause another misunderstanding.

But speaking of her, I soon arrived at the lounge area, where I was met with a familiar scene. My lovely assistant and my equally lovely princess were sitting at the bar, with Brang slipping into his role as the bartender once again and serving them to the best of his ability.

"Have you ever considered retiring and becoming a barista?" I jested on arrival, and the old Faun's lips parted into a toothy smile.

"[Nay, Blackcloak. There is still too much life in these old bones to consider such things.]"

"Can Fauns even retire?" Elly mused while sipping her colourful drink. She was out of her ball gown but didn't look one ounce less gorgeous in her casual outfit. As expected of her, really.

"I think we have more important things to discuss," Judy responded in a deadpan voice, and as I looked her over, I had to conclude that even after she took off most of her makeup and was no longer wearing any accessories, she was still damn pretty.

Was it the different context? Or just a side effect of me feeling lighter after finally leaving the Elysium? Or maybe Abram was right, and distance did make my heart grow fonder, even if I wasn't sure it applied to our situation, considering my nightly visits.

"Chief. You're spacing out. Is everything all right?" Judy asked with her head cocked ever-so-slightly to the side.

"If I told you 'I was lost in your eyes', would you laugh at me?"

My response made her blink, but then a moment later she got off her bar stool and reached out to put her hand on my forehead.

"You don't have a fever."

"Oh, ha ha ha. Funny."

"You can't blame me," she excused herself and pulled my head towards her. "You aren't famous for being randomly romantic." She planted a kiss on my lips, and then added, "I could get used to it though."

"What can I say? Spring is in the air," I told her a touch awkwardly, and after sharing another glance, I cleared my throat. "So, what did you want to discuss?"

Judy sat back down and Elly moved to the next seat over so that I could sit down between them. Once we were all seated (and the princess received her kiss as well), Judy drank half of her mocktail in one go and turned to me again.

"It's wonderful that you're back, Chief, but your return didn't solve our main problem at the moment."

"The Celestials," I said a touch dourly, and Elly spoke up to correct me.

"Actually, we were only thinking about the three directors," she said with a frown and started counting on her fingers. "Savir, Mensah, and Tsephanyah, right?"

"In that order," Judy commented with audible distaste. "The Angeline Route is progressing steadily at the moment, and it might be the last breather episode we would have before everything would come crashing down. We need to figure out what to do about them."

"Do we have to do anything about them?" I floated the idea, and my dear assistant imperceptibly frowned at me. "I meant that as in, right now."

"Let's look at this objectively." Judy put her drink aside and looked me in the eye. "Savir absolutely has to go. She tried to blackmail you, and she wants to control both you and Angeline."

"True, but at the moment she believes she has a solid grasp on me, and so she won't make any sudden moves."

"You can't know that for sure," Elly interjected. "And even if you're right, it's only true for the short term."

"She also isn't the only problem," Judy followed her up without missing a beat. "Director Mensah actively dislikes you because of your Abyssal connection. He cannot be trusted either."

"I'm not trusting him as far as I could throw him either, so it doesn't matter," I pointed out, but my girlfriends didn't give me an inch of ground in this discussion.

"Just the fact that you let him stay in his position is a huge concession," the princess told me, her expression unusually serious and her voice tinged with just a hint of outrage. "You can't be lenient with subordinates that betrayed you, or you'll come across as weak, and it will only invite more betrayals."

"They aren't exactly my subordinates though."

"Chief. You're Archon Polemos, the Second True Archon, and the equal of Deus. Yes or no?"

I eyed my dear assistant for a moment, but she remained steadfastly expectant, so I uttered a weary, "Technically, yes."

"That makes you the pinnacle of the Celestial hierarchy, so they cannot be above you, and they aren't your equals either. By process of elimination, that makes them your subordinates."

" Spot on!" Elly backed her up with a confident huff.

"Okay, let's say we all agree on that. What do you expect me to do? Get rid of them?"

"That would be the simplest solution, yes," Judy agreed, much to my surprise.

"One issue," I pointed out with a finger raised. "Even if I theoretically could do that, I have no one to replace them with. I could count the number of sane directors on two hands, so where am I supposed to find someone to fill in their shoes?"

This time, my girlfriend was giving me a rather unflattering look, much to my dismay.

"Chief. You don't need to find anyone. You and Angeline are the god-kings-in-anything-but-name-only rulers of the Elysium. You are their replacement."

"Exactly! That's why this Director Savir is so freaked out about the two of you!" Elly pressed on, going as far as to poke me with her finger. "She knows that you have more authority than her, and that's why she wants to put you in a check so that she can keep her position! That's why, now that you have the chance, you need to get rid of her!"

"Preferably, you should get rid of all three of them."

"Tsephanyah is technically our ally though," I pointed out. "And he's the least bad of the three, too."

"The fact that you call him the 'least bad' is the whole point!" Elly exclaimed, and my other girlfriend nodded along.

"He is someone whose idea of a conflict resolution was to have your friends brainwashed and use them to gaslight you into doing what he wants," Judy stressed and crossed her arms for further emphasis.

"[To mine ears, that sounds akin to the typical behavior of the white-winged ones,]" Brang added in a whisper, and even though neither of my girlfriends could understand him, they nodded along all the same.

"Chief. I know why you don't want to touch the Directorate."

"Do you?" I asked back, and Judy nodded.

"It's because dealing with all the fallout would be annoying, right?" Elly interjected, and my dear assistant nodded again.

"Precisely. You're the type who flips heaven and earth to get rid of something annoying you, but would rather swallow an indignity than kickstart something tedious. Such as directly governing the Elysium and interacting with its bureaucracy. Can you say I'm wrong?"

"… No, but you're oversimplifying things," I grumbled, much to the princess's secret amusement.

"Don't worry, Leo! We'll help you deal with it!"

"And once Angeline and Joshua are ready, you can foist the Elysium on them, and you can focus on the Draconic Federation and the Ordo Draconis again. It's probably part of her route, anyway."

"But to do that, you first have to get rid of the three obstacles," the princess emphasized once again, and I threw my hands into the air.

"Oh, fine! I get it, geez! I'll do something about them. Are you happy?"

"Tremendously," Judy stated in her usual deadpan tone while facing away from me, and it made it hard to tell if she was serious or not.

So, in conclusion, to make my girlfriends happy, I'll have to get rid of, or at the very least disenfranchise the three chief directors. To be fair, they had a point; since I was finally out of the Elysium, I no longer had to rely on them, and clearing them out would make things much easier for Angie as well. I couldn't quite understand how that factored into the Angie Route at the moment, but I was sure Judy would sooner or later send me over another fifty pages long dissertation on the topic.

Not even bothering to hide my exasperation, I ordered a drink from the ex-general to lift my mood a little, and a few minutes later, he delivered a mocktail in a huge cocktail glass, with a little paper umbrella and three long, swirly plastic straws. I had a feeling this was something the girls planned out in advance, because the moment the old Faun set it down in front of me, the two of them pulled their bar stools closer to mine like they were expecting this development.

However, before we could engage in this staple, if a little bit unorthodox, example of couple shenanigans, I noticed a small group heading towards us. Led by a cackling Fred, they quickly made their way to our side.

"Are you done already?"

"Kihihi! Of course, boss! Didn't I tell you we had a lot of practice? Everything went smoothly, and the preliminary data is already here!"

With a triumphant grin, he shoved the clipboard he was carrying under my nose, and my eyes immediately glazed over when I laid them on the tightly packed numbers and graphs in front of me.

"Can you give us an abridged version?"

"Most certainly!" Mr. Plague Doctor, still wearing his oversized glasses over his beaked mask, stepped forth and presented Angie like an old-timey circus ringmaster. "The data shows that the young missy over here has not one, but two minds in her!"

"… We were already aware of that," I pointed out, but it couldn't douse his enthusiasm.

"I might not have been precise enough, so let me try again." This time, he readjusted his coat and glasses, and explained, in a slightly less flamboyant tone, "It would be more accurate to say that she has two consciousnesses compressed into one. There is a mostly inert base layer, which we presume belongs to this fabled Deus we heard so much about, and we have her consciousness growing on top of it, kind of like an extension!"

The childhood friend couple looked rather apprehensive, so I gestured for him to get to the important part.

"That mostly checks out with what I'd seen. The question is, is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"Kihihi! That's the tricky part, boss!" Fred exclaimed and, pointed at a graph on his clipboard, as if I was supposed to understand what that meant. "In terms of sheer volume, as much as such a term could be applied to souls, the base layer should completely overwhelm the top layer, yet it doesn't happen! Care to guess why?"

"I'm not in the mood right now."

Fred didn't mind my comment and grabbed hold of Joshua.

"It's this guy!"

"Yes!" Mr. Plague Doctor elbowed his way back into the conversation. "This young man's astral construct is a marvel! A natural wonder! It's a one-in-a-trillion mutation that we might never see in the history of mankind ever again!"

"What they are trying to say," Galatea spoke up in a weary voice, "is that Joshua Bernstein's ability to re-sequence and reproduce the characteristics of other races originates from the quality of his soul."

"Exactly!" Fred grabbed their reins again, and roughly patted and increasingly confused Josh on the back. "His soul not just replicates whatever mystical bloodline is introduced into his system, it filters out what it doesn't need and refines what it wants!"

"And because of this!" Mr Plague Doctor cut in by literally pushing Fred out of the imaginary limelight. "Because of this, he directly absorbed parts of the missy's consciousness, but only the base layer, and incorporated them into his own consciousness without overwriting any already existing elements! It's astonishing!"

"But that's not even the most important part!" Fred pushed and clawed his way back to the forefront, and as annoying as their struggle was, Elly was entertained by it, so I graciously allowed them to continue. "Kihihi! You're never going to guess it, boss!"

"I'm not even trying, so just get on with it."

It once again fell on Galatea's shoulders to be the voice of reason (or at the very least, the voice of understandability), and she walked around the scuffling men to deliver the final assessment.

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"According to Master's analysis, it would be accurate to describe the situation as the two of them sharing three souls, with the Deus data acting as a bridge between them and forming a metastable coupling. Preliminary assessments of the data also indicate that it's the main reason behind the Deus data layer remaining inert."

"That's right!" Fred exclaimed even while he was holding the other man in a headlock. "And that's why we should continue the tests regularly!"

"It's also recommended," Mr Plague Doctor added in a relatively easy-going voice, despite the circumstances, "That to further stabilize the connection between the two of them, they should continue to reinforce it by engaging in whatever process led to the absorption of her base layer of consciousness."

That was, apparently, the last word on the topic, and the lounge area fell silent, to the point we could hear the squeaky sounds Brang made as he cleaned the girls' empty glasses. At last, Josh raised a hand, as if we were in school, and blurted out, "Okay, so… Could someone explain all that in a way we could also understand?"

Angie repeatedly nodded in agreement, and after another long beat, I let out a low chuckle.

"What they are saying is that, if you want to make sure Angie's inner Deus stays under control, you should regularly exchange fluids."

"Exchange…?" Josh echoed me with a puzzled look, but then his eyes opened wide and he glanced at the girl at his side. Coincidentally, Angie did the same thing at the same time, and when their eyes met, they both twitched, then flushed red, and then sheepishly averted their gazes.

Yep. Spring was, without a doubt, in the air.

PART 2

"No. You do not need to stay at my house."

I spoke on no uncertain terms, yet Jaakobah remained annoyingly insistent. We were currently standing at the crossroad leading to my neighbourhood, or rather, one of the inconspicuous buildings right next to it. It apparently 'just happened' to be put up for sale, so the Critias School bought it up and it now served as the impromptu headquarters of the Praetorian Guards. The rest of them were already inside, and based on the sounds, they were in the process of moving the furniture.

I couldn't complain about the arrangement. The place was suitably close, yet not so close that their continued presence would interfere with our daily lives. I was told they would also disguise themselves, but so far, only the dour agent changed his outfit, and his black trench coat, wide-brimmed hat, and black sunglasses were anything but inconspicuous.

"Lord Archon. It is my duty to—"

"Stop right there," I interrupted him with a hand raised and added a glare, for good measure. "While you are here, your 'duty' is to look after those two. I'll be fine on my own."

"Those two?" he repeated after me with a frown. "Wouldn't the boy, or should I say, the Justicar, guard Her Grace Deus? Why would he need our protection?"

"Due to many complicated metaphysical circumstances I'm not going explain right now," I told him, and credit to his adaptability, the man accepted my words at face value. Or so it seemed.

"I still think we, the Praetorian Guard, should maintain the security of the Lord Archon's environment, considering it was our original duty."

It took inhuman willpower not to chew him out for the abyssal track record of their so-called 'security' so far, but I managed to hold it in and only stated, "Jaakobah. Don't make me repeat myself."

While I didn't think I was particularly harsh (if anything, I probably wasn't forceful enough), the man slightly reeled back, and after a round of silence, he nodded in resignation.

"As you command."

"I'm glad that we're finally on the same page. Now, go, and rein in your subordinates before they turn the whole building upside down. We'll talk tomorrow."

Without further words, Jaakobah gave me a Celestial salute, and then turned on his heel and headed inside. Sighing, I also started walking down the familiar streets. I could have Phased, but it just felt right to walk home and observe the neighbourhood after my return. It felt strangely satisfying, even though I hadn't even been away for that long.

The afternoon streets of the residential district were the same as always, yet also subtly changing. Even though it was still February, most of the snow already melted, with only a few piles visible in the street corners, where the snow-sweepers deposited them over the winter. There was a noticeable increase in car traffic since the last time I had observed the roads, and the placeholders on the sidewalks were all wearing season-appropriate clothing. That might not have sounded much, but I could still remember how many of them were still in summer clothes when the first snow fell. I supposed their development didn't stop while I was out of town, so to speak.

At last, I rounded the corner leading to my street and headed home. There was nothing much else to do today; due to the unexpected banquet, I said hello to practically everyone that mattered. Judy was busy moving out of the Dracis mansion, and we already spent most of the afternoon together, so there was no need to visit the girls again. Ditto for the underground base (official name still pending). As such, my plans for the rest of the day were simple: go home, rest up, and prepare for school.

Speaking of which, I still had to look over all the materials the class rep told me about. My attendance record was a mess, but thanks to Lord Grandpa's intervention, so long as I passed all the tests I missed, I would not have to repeat a year. Which, now that I thought about it, felt like such a silly thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things…

I was still thinking about the school as I fiddled with the keys and opened my door, and I could hear some movement from the living room even as I was taking off my coat.

"My Lady? Is that you?" the voice of a certain Abyssal spymaster called out towards me, and when I didn't answer right away, she added, "Do you know where I can find the…?"

Her words came to an abrupt halt as I entered the living room myself, and so did my steps when I saw her. Tajana was, to put it bluntly, in her underwear. A black, lacy thing to be exact, and nothing else. Her hair was damp, so I figured that she must have recently taken a shower. Frowning, I levelled a flat stare at her, and when our eyes met, she let out an ear-piercing scream.

"Kyaaah! W-W-What are you doing heeere!?"

"This is my house," I told her in my best Judy impression, and as if she just realized her state of undress, she let out another weird shriek and ran away to the guest room.

Was this one of those fanservice moments, I wondered? But weren't those supposed to titillate an audience? I sure as hell wasn't, and I sincerely doubted that anyone was watching the Simulacrum. Or at least I hoped so. That would've made this whole world even more zany, that's for sure.

I was still considering the whats and wherefores of fanservice when the guest room opened again, and out walked Tajana, wearing a loose shirt and baggy pants, with her hair done up into a dishevelled bun.

"Why are you here?" she asked, somehow managing to sound equal parts outraged and timid in the process.

"Again, it's my house," I reiterated my previous reaction and crossed my arms. "The better question is, what were you doing running around in your underwear in my living room?"

"I-I thought My Lady came home! Nobody told me you would come! How was I supposed to know!?"

"So you're telling me that while I wasn't here, you would walk around the house in your undies all day long," I noted with feigned nonchalance and glanced at the cloaked Faun in the corner. "Is that correct?"

"Occasionally," Pip responded in a disinterested voice, making her jump again.

"S-Since when was he there!?"

"Always?" I answered, sounding a bit stumped even to myself. "Seriously, you know you're under constant surveillance, right?"

"Y-Yes, but I don't like to be reminded of the fact," Tajana fumed, and I rolled my eyes in return.

"Well, since I'm back, I would appreciate it if you paid more attention to where and when you undress." At first, I considered this the end of the conversation, but then I considered the situation one more time, and added, "Unless, of course, you knew that I was coming and you showed up as you did on purpose, in which case I would have to say you are worse at being a totally-not-succubus than even Snowy."

"What is that even supposed to mean?" the young spymaster moaned in distress, but a moment later her eyes opened wide and she completely changed the topic by asking, "Speaking of which, where's My Lady? She should be home by now!"

"My sisters went out to buy a cake," I answered off-handedly even as I was heading towards the stairs.

"Cake?"

"To celebrate my return, I think." Shrugging, I was about o head upstairs, but stopped and turned to the Faun again. "This time, I didn't bring snacks, but you can have a slice if you'd like."

"Appreciated!" Pip said with a huge smile visible under the orange sheen of the cloaking Sigil, causing Tajana to jump in surprise again.

Seriously, just how much of a scaredy-cat could she be? Heck, if I hadn't already observed her actions for a while, I would've suspected she was over-acting to lower my guard, but I knew better. Putting the topic aside, I waved at the two of them and finally headed to my room.

Stepping in made me feel a mixture of strange, nostalgic sentiments, which was, once again, weird. It wasn't like I was gone for years, so why was I getting so emotional? Was it a wire the whole Polemos incident crossed by accident, I wondered as I walked over to my bedside. That thought reminded me of the memory transfer, which reminded me of Teeny, and I reflexively muttered, "Ah, right…"

Stopping on my track, I extended a phantom limb to my Leoformer. Or rather, the second disk embedded into the belt buckle housing it. There was a flash of colourless light, and a moment later, a pair of swords appeared in my hands.

"{Agh!}"

"{Notification: Exiting standby mode. Welcome back, Archon Polemos.}"

"{Teeny! Don't just brush what our young Knight did so easily! You're only encouraging him!}"

"{Response: As Interface:Teeny already explained to Interface:Cal, entering stand-by mode is non-detrimental to our functions.}"

"{But it makes me feel stuffy!}"

"{Idle Thought: We are interfaces created in service of the Lord Archon. Why would Interface:Cal be capable of feeling the sensation of 'stuffy'?}"

"{I don't know! Why are you capable of idle thoughts?}"

"{Response: This query requires deeper investigation.}"

Ignoring the bickering weapons' words, I placed them onto the bed and left them to their own devices. As for how I managed to stash both of them away, it was all thanks to one of those caveman-level realizations.

I could barely store Cal in the weapon storage space incorporated into the Magiformer. I had spent several days trying to expand the enchantment array, but its template, Raven Boy's pouch, was pretty much already at the limits of what could be done with this particular magitech. Maybe that was why it wasn't used by anyone else; it was probably considered a magitechnological dead end, like those funny little minidisks you would see in some movies.

But then, while sweating over the enchantment, I had one of those 'Why didn't I think of this sooner, am I really this dumb?' kind of realizations. Namely that, if there are hard limits to the storage space of this enchantment, and I can't store both of my chatty weapons in one of them, then I would just need two storage spaces.

Again, very obvious in retrospect, but I still gave myself a pat on the back for realizing it myself instead of wasting more time until someone smart, like Judy, would point it out for me.

Anyhow, I left the swords on the bed and walked over to my PC. It was exactly how I left it, more or less. Of course, there wasn't a spec of dust on either the case, the monitor, or the peripherals, but that much was to be expected. No matter how complicated the plot and my life became, nor how much the Placeholder population developed to give things a more authentic sheen, I could always rely on the trusty invisible ninja maids to diligently keep everything completely spotless.

I turned on the machine, and as expected, it loaded into the dummy account. There was nothing to see there, so I searched for the USB drive with the encryption key, and after inserting it into to back, I rebooted the system. It took a while for it to de-encrypt and restore the original account, leaving me plenty of time to just sit down and decompress a bit.

It didn't last long though, and my mind inevitably wandered towards the future. I couldn't be sure we didn't already butcher the assumed Angie Route. None of us could be, but even if we presumed that everything was going more or less smoothly, there were still a lot of annoying things I had to consider. For a start, I still didn't know what to do about Percival.

His betrayal was the thing that started my extended Elysian side track, and while I gained a few useful things from the excursion, it mostly just added to the mountain of headaches already piled on my head, and I wasn't happy about it one bit. Unfortunately, his 'interrogation' still didn't provide anything useful, and whatever cards he still had in his hands, I could probably find out about them by flexing my authority a little. Or, considering that the Unorthodox faction was no longer my fans, maybe ask Angie to inquire in my stead.

This line of thought brought something else to mind. I promised my girlfriends that I would do something about the Directorate in general and the three chief directors in particular, now that I was no longer reliant on them to vouch for my newfound identity as Polemos, but I had no idea where to even begin. Trying to directly depose them was just asking for a civil war scenario, and while the girls were convinced that the combination of Polemos and Deus should be able to force things through on authority alone, the truth of the matter was that our 'authority' was much less concrete than they thought.

Put simply, all of it came from historical, and in the case of Angie, pseudo-religious sentiment. While I had made a few connections in the Elysium, it was nothing compared to the extensive social network the Directorate and its leaders had in place. As for Angie, while her combination of prestige and raw Deus power was enough to cow Tsephanyah, doing it to everyone at once would be just asking for pushback, and while I was sure a lot of the more cultish Celestials would follow her, the ones in positions of power wouldn't let go of the reins they've been clutching all this time just because she demanded so.

This was the crux of the problem, no matter how I looked at it. While I personally didn't want anything to do with the Elysium and its power structures, if I tried to overtly get rid of the three heads, so that they wouldn't complicate our lives with their schemes, it would appear as a purge of political opponent in their eyes. From there, we were just one roll of the dice away from being back to the civil war square, and that was the last thing I wanted to happen right now.

Honestly, none of this would've been all that difficult, if only I had Celestials I could trust. I mean, I did trust Mike, to a degree, and his father was mostly okay too, but neither of them was someone I could rely on to take control of the situation after a fallout with the three head directors. All the other department heads were scheming snakes too, and while their devotion to Deus was genuine, I couldn't be sure their interests wouldn't override that once push came to shove. After all, they've been waiting for Deus's return because the prophecy (or some reading of it seven steps down the telephone game) promised a Celestial golden age, and so if Angie wasn't doing that, but instead rocked the boat and shook the base of their authority, they probably wouldn't stand still.

No matter how I looked at it, the problem was with the crazy, scheming, backstabbing-happy culture of Elysium. At least as far as the tower inhabitants were concerned, but with the rest being disenfranchised, it was pretty much the only culture that mattered in this context. How was I supposed to find a single sane, reliable person in this mess?

Then, as if to answer my inner question, the PC finished booting up, and my browser popped open on its own following an automatic update. I stared at the home screen talking about the new security improvements, and my hand reached out to the mouse, the cursor automatically gravitating towards the bookmark of the Celestial Hub.

Once it loaded in, I found my inbox full of notifications. By the looks of it, Judy didn't bother to answer them in my absence and only took care of the most pressing matters related to the site's maintenance. I scrolled through them, but most of them were just editing requests or questions about site functionality. Nothing urgent.

Closing the pop-up, I returned to the main page, and this time, I clicked on the live chat. As expected, it also had a few archived conversations, though once again, Judy only responded when absolutely necessary. I looked for a specific tab, and seeing that he was online, I inhaled deeply and started typing.

"Admin: Hi, Moose."

"Admin: We need to talk."

There was no answer at first, but then after a minute or so, the chat panel lit up again.

"MoroseMoose: How can I help?"

"Admin: It's not exactly help. There's something we need to talk about. Pronto."

"MoroseMoose: …"

"MoroseMoose: Admin? Is that you?"

"Admin: ?"

"Admin: Of course it's me."

"Admin: Who else would be messaging you from this username?"

"MoroseMoose: Your GF. :P"

I blinked in surprise, and since he saw I wasn't typing, Moose added three more lines.

"MoroseMoose: I meant Assistant."

"MoroseMoose: I guess you lent her your account?"

"MoroseMoose: You two write very differently."

"Admin: …"

"Admin: Don't tell me she was using kaomojies in chat…"

"MoroseMoose: Ha!"

"MoroseMoose: I knew it! :D"

"Admin: Did anyone else notice?"

"MoroseMoose: I don't think so."

"MoroseMoose: They thought you were just making fun of n1nj4, as usual. XD"

"MoroseMoose: Welcome back."

"MoroseMoose: Where have you been?"

"MoroseMoose: Was it a secret assignment?"

"Admin: Not quite, but it's part of the reason why I need to talk to you. In person."

"MoroseMoose: What?"

"MoroseMoose: In person?"

"MoroseMoose: What?"

"Admin: I'm serious. I need your help with something."

"Admin: How soon can you move?"

There was a long pause between the messages here, and I was getting a little nervous by the end of it.

"MoroseMoose: It's a little sudden."

"MoroseMoose: I have a job, you know?"

"MoroseMoose: We have a big project going on right now, and if I leave, I might just get fired."

"Admin: If that happens, I'll pay you twice of whatever you got there. I'll pay for the plane tickets and accommodations too."

"MoroseMoose: Yikes."

"MoroseMoose: You sound desperate."

"MoroseMoose: Are you in trouble?"

"Admin: No. This is something that concerns the Elysium and the Directorate as a whole."

"MoroseMoose: That's kind of heavy… -.-'"

"MoroseMoose: I'll see what I can do."

"MoroseMoose: Where do you want to me go, anyway?"

"Admin: Timaeus, on Critias."

Another long spell of radio silence followed, and this time, Moose didn't respond at all.

"Admin: Are you still here?"

"MoroseMoose: Yeah, but…"

"MoroseMoose: Admin? You know that the place is currently a beehive, right?"

"MoroseMoose: It seems like the higher-ups want to keep it hush-hush, but I've read some files, and they said crazy things."

"MoroseMoose: Like that Deus is on the island."

"MoroseMoose: And Polemos, too."

"MoroseMoose: You know, the Archon from the history books?"

"MoroseMoose: It's crazy!"

"Admin: Unfortunately, it's not."

"Admin: You can meet them in person if you come here."

For the third time, the chat went silent, this time for a solid five minutes. And then…

"MoroseMoose: I made my reservations on the next plane."

"MoroseMoose: I only found a first-class seat open. You'll reimburse me, right?"

"Admin: Sure."

The moment I hit enter on that, I noticed a sound coming from downstairs. I figured my sisters were final home, but just to be prudent, I Far Glanced at Penny's dot. To my surprise, I found not only Snowy with her but another familiar, if currently kind of pale, face as well. With a soft 'Huh,' I turned back to the screen, where Moose had already written several lines.

"MoroseMoose: Unless I miss the flight, I should be there by tomorrow."

"MoroseMoose: Noon, I think."

"MoroseMoose: I checked the time zones, it's more like one PM."

"MoroseMoose: Hey?"

"MoroseMoose: You're not pulling my leg, right?"

"Admin: If I did, this would be a pretty stupid prank."

"MoroseMoose: All right. I trust you."

"MoroseMoose: Just make sure you'll be there to meet me at the airport."

"MoroseMoose: Okay?"

Listening to the commotion downstairs, I got a better idea and wrote:

"Admin: I don't think I'll make it."

"Admin: I'll send n1nj4 to pick you up instead."

PART 3

The ground floor turned rather lively by the time I walked down the stairs.

"Brother!" a bouncy voice greeted me the moment I arrived, and Penny beamed at me from the entranceway, only for her expression to cloud over a second later. "Aw shucks! I thought we got home before you… There goes the surprise."

"Hi, kiddo. Is that the cake you mentioned?"

I pointed at the large, decorative cardboard box in her hands, and she nodded with a sheepish smile.

"Y-Yeah. It's store-bought though. For some reason, none of the usual confectionaries were open."

"Well, it is Sunday," I pointed out, and my sister let out a displeased huff.

"It's still annoying. The service industry in this town is in a disappointing state, I tell you…"

Still grumbling, she kicked off her shoes and walked past me, heading to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Snowy also showed herself. Her face was a little flushed, probably because of the cold, and she pattered over to my side.

"Hi, Leo. Are you back for good this time?" When I nodded, she let out a relieved breath and, in an unusual display of affection, she caught me in a hug. "Thank goodness! I missed you!"

Truth be told, we had seen each other quite often at the dock district hideout, though not as regularly as I'd visited Judy and Elly, so her actions were a little startling. Was she putting up a show for Tajana, I wondered? Or was it for the other guest? Whatever the case was, I felt that I could certainly get used to this, so I hugged her back.

"Rest assured, I'm not planning to go anywhere in the near future."

"That's good," she whispered and buried her face into my chest. I had to say, she was either a great actress, or she was genuinely relieved by my presence. I hoped it was the latter, but either way, I was getting all kinds of fuzzy, big-brotherly feelings from the encounter, so I wasn't going to complain.

"Hey, you two!" Penny exclaimed the moment she returned from the kitchen, empty-handed. "No fair!"

"Stop complaining and come here, Kiddo," I told her, and I didn't have to say it twice, and a blink of an eye later she was already by our side and trying her best to give both of us a bear hug right out of Dad-in-law's playbook. She was on the petite side though, so her attempt came off as a bit comical, but I appreciated the hustle all the same. Fulfilling my brotherly obligations, I helped her out by putting one of my arms around her in return, completing the group hug.

"Hehe!" my knightly sister let out a silly laugh, and even Snowy seemed to find the situation pretty amusing, as she soon followed suit. Unfortunately, we had someone else in the house who couldn't read the atmosphere if his life depended on it, so our family reunion lasted for only a few seconds.

"L-Lord P-Polemos! I-I-I greet… No, crap, it's the other way around…!" the guy in the entryway sputtered in abject skittishness, wringing his hands and looking like he was staring down the throat of a scary apex predator. "W-What I meant to say was that I greet the Polemos of— No, the Archon of— I mean…"

Subtly rolling my eyes, I let go of my sisters and turned to the nervous Celestial.

"Stop spouting nonsense and come in already."

Mike's eyes opened wide, and he tried his best to imitate a Celestial salute, just with the wrong hand, and putting it too high, appearing as if he was trying to pat himself on the shoulder.

"I-It is my great and unending honor to be in the presence of—!"

"What did I just say about spouting nonsense?" I grumbled with undisguised annoyance, and Penny let out an awkward chuckle at the guy's expense.

"We met him on the way back, and he's been very… polite, like that," Snowy told me in a low, somewhat stumped voice. "He said he wanted to pay his respects to you. I tried to tell him you don't like formalities like that, but he was very… um… adamant."

Rolling my eyes, I walked over and dragged the hapless guy into the living room. "Just come here and sit down already. We don't bite."

Still a nervous wreck, the guy nevertheless did what I said as if it was an order, and stiffly sat down next to the rather nonplussed Abyssal spymaster on the couch.

"I'll bring something warm to drink!" Snowy proposed apropos of nothing, and my other sister followed suit.

"Then I'll prepare the cake! We need…" she silently counted the people in the room, and declared, "Five plates, right?"

"Six," I corrected her, and while her eyes said she didn't get it, she obediently repeated the word after me and followed after Snowy.

"Erm… Are you the… guest, I've heard about?"

Michael, stiff as a board, was trying to make small talk while my attention was on my sisters, but Tajana remained silent and only eyed him suspiciously.

"Who's this?" she asked when our eyes met, equal parts timid and alarmed, so I figured I might as well start with the introductions. First things first though, I walked over to my favourite comfy chair and took a seat.

"He's Michael Khurshid. Celestial agent. We are…" I momentary considered what the best word would be to use to describe our relationship, and ultimately went with, "… friends. In a sense."

"R-Really?" the guy cried out in delight, completely ignoring the qualifier I tacked on after the word.

"I'm also a close associate with his father," I added, and his eyes opened even wider.

"Really?!"

For some reason, the second time he was louder than the first, but I overlooked his shouting and pointed at the woman sitting at the other end of the couch.

"She's Tajana Sukkal, and Abyssal of House Inanna currently in the custody of my sisters."

"R-Really…?" the third time was much, much quieter than the ones that came before it, and the hapless Celestial shrank back as if suddenly frightened of her. "Nice to… meet you?"

Tajana silently nodded and eyed the guy with equal parts suspicion and apprehension. As usual, Mike was terrible at reading the atmosphere, and when the silence continued to drag on, he uttered, "Your hair is rather… unique."

The Abyssal woman's eyes narrowed at once, and she responded with, "So is your face."

"Oh? Thank y—"

"For Pete's sake, Mike!" I cut in with one hand already on my forehead. "Don't thank her. That wasn't meant as a compliment."

"It wasn't?" the guy uttered in audible shock, and when he looked at her questioningly, Tajana meaningfully tucked her bangs behind her air with a smirk. So, by the looks of it, she was one of those people who were weak before the strong and strong before the weak. That also meant these two had horrible compatibility, so keeping them in the same room would be just asking for annoying and counter-productive antics. Combined with the fact that I promised Ammy that I would be nice to the guy, it meant there was only one thing to do.

"Tajana. I need to have a few words with Michael in private. Please go back to your room."

"What?" The previously smug spymaster's eyes opened wide, and she immediately shrunk back like a puppy who was just hit by a rolled-up newspaper. "B-But my show starts in ten minutes!"

"I don't see how that's my problem," I told her flatly, and while she was outwardly submissive, she apparently wasn't keen on sacrificing her soap opera without a fight.

"But My Lady said I could watch it so long as I behaved well and didn't try to run away anymore! I've been good, I swear!"

"And you're currently not cooperating with my request," I pointed out, and for added emphasis, I amended, "Should I tell Sir Griffon about your misbehaviour?"

"Um… No…" she answered, audibly dejected, and got off the couch. "I'll take my leave then."

With a huff, she walked headed to the guest room, and once inside, closed the door behind herself with more force than strictly necessary, making the guy in front of me flinch from the sudden noise. As for me, I couldn't help but wonder why, despite her ostensibly being older than me, I felt like I just gained a troubled teenage daughter. Chasing the silly thought out of my mind, I shook my head and turned to Mike, who was sitting ramrod straight, as if is he was at an important job interview.

"Would you please relax a bit? You're making me nervous."

"Yes, O Venerable Glorious Lord Archon Polemos of—"

"And knock that off already! Just call me Leonard like usual," I cut in, and the guy audibly gulped.

"I wouldn't dare!"

Levelling my flattest, deadpannest, most straight-faced-est stare at him, I let out a long breath and told him, "Mike. I promised to Ammy to be nice to you, but if you don't cut that out, I swear I'll smack you upside your head for your own good."

Following another nervous gulp, the guy stopped fidgeting and mumbled, "A-All right, erm… Lord Leonard?"

I internally debated whether I should make good on my threat, but I was too tired, and my chair was too comfortable, so I let it slide.

"Close enough. So, how are things going for you nowadays?"

The sudden personal question made him twitch and, after an uncomfortably long beat, he answered with a barely audible mutter.

"I'm… fine. Things are fine. Really."

"That wasn't very convincing," I pointed out, and he hastily raised his palms.

"But… But everything really is fine! I mean, I'm a little troubled about what to do about Valentine's Day, but it's not something someone of your standing could relate to, so…"

"Mike, are you serious?" I blurted out and once again held my head in my hand. "What do you mean 'I can't relate'? I have two girlfriends, you know? Or fiancées, technically, but it's practically the same thing. Of course, I'm troubled about Valentine's Day!" I crossed my arms and let out a protracted groan. "Because of this whole hubbub in the Elysium, I now have to deal with all the Ordo Draconis paperwork that piled up over the weeks, a bunch of official and semi-official meetings I'll have to attend, keep a constant eye on my honour guards to make sure they won't cause any diplomatic incidents, catch up with my schoolwork, and then, after all that, I'll have to buy gifts and prepare three separate dates in less than a week!"

"T-Three?" Mike echoed me with a slack-jawed expression, and I responded with a wave of my hand.

"Two separate solo dates with Judy and Elly, and then one final date with all three of us."

"That sounds… complicated."

"Just one of the many logistical ordeals of trying to make a polifidelous relationship work," I told him with a shrug, and the guy fell silent for a good while before suddenly bowing his head.

"I'm sorry! I completely failed to take any of that into account!"

"Stop that," I told him what felt like the hundredth time already, and gestured for him to look me in the eye. "I don't need your apologies, but your cooperation."

"I'm at your command Lord— I mean, Leonard!" the guy perked up at once, as if waiting for me to say that.

"First off, let's make sure we're on the same page. Are you aware of the current situation?"

"My father gave me a briefing, yes," he nodded with a solemn expression, trying to act professional, but the way his fingers were still fidgeting betrayed his true emotions. "I have heard about your return… I mean, the return of Polemos. Also, your return to Timaeus. As… Leonard?" When I nodded, he let out a relieved breath, as if he just answered a tricky question at an oral exam. "I've also been told that Mister Jaakobah is now no longer an Optio of CIEL anymore, but the Prefect of your Praetorian Guard, and that they are on the island to guard you and…"

Suddenly, his voice trailed off, and he started fidgeting even harder.

"Is there a problem?"

"N-No, it's just that…" he stammered, and then tentatively asked, "Is… Is it true that Little Annie is… erm… His Grace Deus, the First True Archon, The Illuminated One, Leader of All Celestials, the Father of Elysium and the—"

"Yes, yes," I cut in, getting impatient. "She's…" I wanted to say 'housing the soul of Deus', but based on what Fred and Mr. Plague Doctor told me, it was more like the Angie we knew was an extension of Deus, or something. I imagined I would have to sit Galatea down one of these days and ask her to explain everything again in layman's terms, just to make sure I've understood everythign. The fact that she was by far the most likely to be able to give me a reasonable answer to my questions spoke less about her than it did about the rest of the Research Division… but I digress. All of that was for later. For now, I settled on the answer, "She is technically Deus, yes."

"I can't believe it…" the guy muttered, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. "He… I mean, she was so close to us all this time, and none of us would've realized it if not for a miracle."

"I wouldn't call a kidnapping a 'miracle', but it's beside the point." After saying so, I reflexively put my fingers in a tent position, even though I wasn't actively masterminding anything at the moment. Let's call it a bad habit. "So, you're familiar with the outlines, and you came here on your own volition. That should make things much less of a hassle than expected. Thanks for that."

"It is my honor to serve!" Mike exclaimed with a delighted grin on his face. If he was that eager, I figured I might as well stop beating around the bush and be honest with him.

"First, since you already know Jaakobah, and you are more familiar with Timaeus than they are, I would like you to help the Praetorian Guard settle in."

"U-Understood!"

He was still trying to sound enthusiastic, but I could hear his voice buckle a bit. I decided to ignore it for now and pressed on.

"I'll also have to ask you to free up your schedule for tomorrow. We'll be getting a guest, and I need you to pick him up at the Timaeus Central Airport."

"As you command!"

I expected him to ask about who it was, but since he was still roleplaying as a dependable agent, I didn't go out of my way to reveal Moose's identity and let it be a surprise. On my way down, I picked up my wallet, and it was time to open it up.

"I'll need you to arrange a place for him to stay, as well as food, transportation, and other daily necessities." I leafed through the bills in my wallet, and in the end, handed about five thousand Jens to him, in hundred Jen bills. Judy always told me it was silly to have so much cash on hand when I had a card, but it was handy for times like this. After handing over the wad of hundred Jen notes to the startled Celestial, I told him, "Consider this your starting operation funds. If you need more, you know where to find me."

Mike nodded repeatedly, with his eyes glued to the bills like this was the most money he had ever seen in his life. Though again, considering that, until very recently, he was an Asset who didn't get paid by the Celestial Intelligence Network, and who lived the life of a not particularly diligent university student, I might not have been far from the mark.

"This will probably keep you busy for the next couple of days, so in exchange, I'll arrange a Valentine's Day date for you and the class rep. How does that sound?"

"I… I wouldn't dare to impose on you like that…"

"I told you to cut the deferential treatment. It's giving me goosebumps." I waited until he nodded and relaxed his posture a little, and only then did I add, "It's not imposing on me at all; in fact, it falls in line with my other plans perfectly. But speaking of plans, you haven't changed your phone number, right?"

"No."

He sounded a tad apprehensive, so I told him, "I'm only asking so that I can contact you about tomorrow's task. Once I know exactly when the plane will land and at which gate, I'll send you a text message."

"Okay." Mike waited for a beat, and then he nervously glanced to his right. Whatever he was looking at was out of my immediate line of sight, so when I turned around to take a look…

"Muuuu…!"

… I was met with the intense stare of Tajana, her head poking out from the gap of the partially opened guest room door. We locked eyes for a while, and when she didn't relent, I let out a sigh and called out to her.

"We're mostly finished. You can come out and watch your bloody soap opera or whatever."

I didn't have to say it twice, and in less than five seconds, she was back on the couch again with remote control in hand. As if waiting until this exact moment (for all I knew, it might have been literally the case), Snowy and Penny also returned. My knightly sister was carrying a large, multi-layered chocolate cake on a wide plate, grinning from ear-to-ear, while my Abyssal sis rolled in with a fancy kitchen trolley. It was one of those bizarre items my kitchen just inexplicably had, and there were a pile of smaller plates, forks, and napkins on it, right next to a familiar tea set.

"Let's start the welcome-back party!" Penny exclaimed with a childish glee that matched her appearance much better than acting like a brave and honourable knight, and placed the cake onto the coffee table. I thought that was the end of it, but then, without warning, she snatched the remote out of Tajana's grasp and turned down the volume on the television.

"But… But my series!" the young spymaster whined, but my redhead sister didn't give her any attention and instead grabbed a wide kitchen knife from the cart and glanced at me.

"We're celebrating Brother's return, so you're getting the first slice! The second slice is Snowy's, the third is mine, so the fourth one goes to…"

"Fine with last," a deep voice called out from the corner, and both Tajana and Mike jumped in their seat.

"Pip is last," Snowy stated, and after a content hum, they started cutting, ignoring the dejected Abyssal staring at the mute TV screen and the freaked-out Celestial glancing all over the room, trying to find the source of the voice.

In other words, it was sweet, delicious chaos. The kind that made me feel I was truly home. And I couldn't be happier to be here.