PART 1

"Chief, please stop. You're smothering me."

"I'm sorry Dormouse. I'm afraid I can't do that," I joked and hugged the girl sitting in my lap even tighter.

"We're in public. If you don't stop, I'll…"

"Hate me for an unspecified amount of time?" I ventured a guess, earning me a soft huff.

"No. That would be too predictable. I'll sulk." She glanced over her shoulder and added, "And you wouldn't like me when I'm sulky."

"Will you turn into the Incredible Sulk?"

"Maybe."

"Well, we can't have that, can we?"

I loosened my hug a bit but didn't let her go just yet. She no longer complain though, so I figured it was a nice compromise. Like that, the two of us relaxed on the sunbed overlooking the reddening afternoon sky reflected on the still waters of Elysium. It was a cosy, peaceful kind of silence that lasted exactly until a certain someone skipped over to our side with a grin.

"Like, look what we have here? Hi, lovebirds!" Sahi exclaimed with a Chesire Cat grin. She was still in her colourful swimsuit, her wavy hair un-braided and hanging damply on her shoulders, and she was looking at us with a doting, saccharine stare. "You're, like, totally cute. Oh, the beauty of youth!"

"Careful. Your age is showing," I jested, and her expression immediately turned pouty.

"Like, age is just a number! The only thing that matters is what's inside!"

"Isn't that something only strange people on the internet say?" Judy muttered and glanced at me. "Chief? Should I be worried about her?"

"Maaaybe? I mean, she is hanging out with armband guy a lot, and considering the age gap…"

"La-la-la! I'm not listening!" Sahi yelled while plugging her ears. "This is so lame! Call me when you stop being lame!"

"Oh, fine." I rolled my eyes and gestured for her to pipe down. "Is there anything you wanted from us?"

She finally pulled her fingers out of her ears and looked at me funny, as if what she just did wasn't weird and silly at all.

"Like, why do you think I want something?"

"I know you well enough to notice that just from the way you're looking at me."

"I'm not sure I'm happy about that," Judy chimed in, so I ruffled her hair a bit. She got the memo and stopped grumbling.

"Well, like, fine," the brown girl huffed and puffed and folded her arms. "Like, I just wanted to ask you if we can play volleyball on the beach. We could totally hold a tournament and stuff, you know?"

I waited for her to continue, but she was looking at me expectantly. Was that the whole question?

"Is there a reason why you couldn't?"

While my response was rhetorical, she took it literally.

"Because we don't have, like, a net? And other stuff?"

"Such as a ball," Judy chimed in, and Sahi snapped her finger with dramatic flair.

"Well, doy? We totally need that too!"

To be honest, I was already expecting something like this to come up. Beach volleyball was a pretty common trope when it came to beach episodes, so I made some preparations ahead of time. I was just about to tell her about them, but our conversation was interrupted by Angie suddenly swooping down from the sky and landing next to our sunbed.

"Guys! I've got an idea!" she exclaimed right away, only to stop when she took a closer look at us. Her lips soon parted into a giddy grin. "Wow! Someone's being really affectionate today, aren't they?"

"I'm always affectionate," I retorted and stroked Judy's hair with a determined frown, much to the Celestial girl's amusement.

"Hehe. I wonder if Elly will get jealous."

"Nah, she never gets jealous," I responded on autopilot, only for my dear assistant to give me a sideways glance over her shoulder.

"That was as close to the setup of a template subversion joke as it could get."

I wanted to dismiss her with a wave of my hand, but lo and behold…

"Hey, Leo! Guess what, we—?" The princess landed next to us, her bare feet hitting the sand so hard it wouldn’t have surprised me if she left a crater in her wake. She was wearing a bright red single-piece swimsuit that not only had an open back, but also open sides to show off the red scales on her waist and hips, as well as a generous cleavage window. It was one of those 'only held in place by the PG-13 rating and maybe double-sided tape' kind of outfits, but it certainly emphasized her figure, and it remained well-attached so far, so I couldn't complain. She seemed really excited at first, only to freeze up the moment she noticed the girl on my lap. "Hey! Judy's getting spoiled! Me too!"

My lovely assistant gave me another meaningful look, and I had no choice but to say, "Okay, so she rarely gets jealous. And only about things like this."

I also had to wonder why both she and Angie only noticed Judy after landing. Maybe it had something to do with the large parasol next to us? Speaking of which, Elly realized that there wasn't enough space for her on our sun-bed, let alone my lap, so she quickly dragged another one over, put away her wings, and then laid down next to us and pulled my free arm around her before resting her head on my shoulder. It was only then that she paused and glanced up at me.

"Wait, why was Judy getting spoiled in the first place?"

I almost wanted to tell her I could spoil my fiancées any time I wanted, but my dear assistant beat me to it.

"The Chief is being extra-affectionate today because I executed our anti-harem countermeasures well."

That wasn't entirely accurate, but I didn't argue, especially since Angie was mimicking checking a non-existent watch on her wrist, so I gestured for her to continue her previous train of thought.

"Right! You know, I just had this great idea! Actually, it was more like Grandpa Deus's idea, but I made it better!" She flashed a proud grin and spread her arms. "You see, there used to be this thing. Grandpa Deus says it was for training or something, but it's essentially like badminton, but up in the air! It sounds awesome!"

"Ah, right! That's what I wanted to tell you about!" Elly raised her head from my shoulder and stared at me from up close, visibly excited. "We just need some rackets and shuttlecocks, or maybe some magic balls that fly really well, and…"

"Like, hold your horses, gals!" Sahi stepped up and held out her palms. "I got here first, and like, I already asked Leonard for volleyball stuff! First come, first served!"

"What? That's not how it works!" Angie argued back with a huff.

"But, like, wouldn't it make more sense to play volleyball on the beach than whatever that lame game is you're talking about?"

"It's not lame! And we can play volleyball any time we want, but we can only play this game in Elysium!"

"Bah, gag me with a spoon! Like, you're talking as if Critias has a bunch of beaches! Where else can we play volleyball if not here?"

"Anywhere! If you really wanna, you can play it in the school gymnasium or something!"

"But that totally misses the point! It's, like, beach volleyball! BEACH!"

"Who are you calling a bi—?!"

Just as the argument was about to explode, a new voice entered the fray.

"What is this commotion all about?"

The class rep arrived at the scene as usual, appearing from our collective blind spot. She was still wearing the same sundress from before, and her magical Grimoire beads were sitting on the top of her head, like a pair of small birds perched on a tree after flying all day.

"Listen, Ammy! Sahi is being obnoxious!"

"I'm totally not! Listen, she wants to invent some new lame flying game that most of us, like, can't even play instead of just sticking to beach volleyball! You totally agree that it's lame, right?"

The class rep squinted at the ex-arch-mage.

"Why are you making a scene again?"

"Again? Like, are you still mad about what happened?" Ammy didn't respond right away, so Sahi rolled her eyes. "Don't be a Joanie! It was all in good fun, right? And this is totally important!"

While the argument raged on, I couldn't help but notice that, after voicing her initial support for Angie's idea, the princess remained conspicuously silent. When I looked at her and raised a brow, she pretty much read my mind and let out a soft giggle.

"You're going to get us equipment for both, right?"

"Well, yeah, that's the obvious solution."

"Then why aren't you telling them about it?" Judy asked in my lap, jerking her head towards the arguing trio… No, wait. Quintet.

"Come on, Neige! It will be fun!" Angie insisted, grabbing hold of my hapless Abyssal sister's arm the moment she came over to see what the ruckus was about.

"Like, listen to me, Penelope!" Meanwhile, the ex-arch-mage hijacked my other sister. "You can't fly, right? That means you can't play this flying lame-o-rama with your family, but you can play beach volleyball together!"

Considering the situation for a while, I shook my head.

"Nah, this is fine. It sounds like some low-stakes rivalry in the making, and that's good for drama. I'll tell them about it once they duked it out between each other first."

"I'm not convinced it's a good idea," Judy grumbled, so I hugged her a bit tighter and nuzzled against the back of her neck to divert her attention.

"Ah, right," Elly blurted out on the side, as if she just recalled something, and sat up. "You said Judy was getting spoiled because of the anti-harem thing, right? Did something happen?"

"I warned Eris Savir to stay away from the Chief," Judy stated with just a hint of pride in her deadpan voice. "The prep work paid off in full."

"You did way more than just that, Dormouse."

"Come on, don't leave me hanging! Give me the details!" Elly urged us, and my other girlfriend was all too happy to oblige.

It was a story I didn't need to hear again, as I'd already seen it. As for the disagreement about the games, the group had grown once again, with Mike and Pascal arriving late to the party and trying to support their respective… Wait. Were Sahi and armband guy dating? Or were they still in the UST phase? I never really looked into it, but I wouldn't have been surprised if they were going out, and while the whole age-gap thing was a bit weird, considering how many people I knew who didn't look their age, I just decided not to care and let them sort it out between each other.

By the by, speaking of apparent ages, I still couldn't believe that Savir was in her forties. She looked to be in her early thirties at worst, though I admit that this new knowledge made that single grey lock of hair she had make a lot more sense. Oh, and while we were at making sense…

"But why would she do something like that?" Elly echoed my sentiment, though her tone sounded more confused. Mine would've been just one hundred percent unadulterated exasperation.

The question itself remained valid no matter the tone though, so I was tempted to use Far Sight on her, but just a quick look showed that she was all alone in one of the bungalows, reading some reports and whatnot. Maybe she was trying to see if Judy's claim about owning the Celestial Intelligence Network's repository had any merit, maybe she wasn't. I couldn't tell at a glance, and since there was nothing else to see, I didn't linger for long.

Not that I could've done so anyway, because before Judy even had a chance to fully explain her encounter to Elly, everyone's attention was drawn to the newest arrival descending from the sky, taking a page out of the princess's handbook and landing with a solid impact. At least he did a classic heroic three-point-landing pose though. That counted for something. As for the identity of this newcomer…

"Oh, come on, man!" Josh exclaimed and threw his hands up with a scowl aimed right at yours truly. "When you said you had to leave to kiss your girlfriend, I didn't think you meant that literally!"

"What? I'm always literal."

"You never are!" he griped and crossed his arms defiantly. "We've been waiting for you all this time over there, and you were just lazing around here all this time!"

"You were waiting for me? Why?"

"Because you told us that you would be back!"

"… I didn't mean that literally. Sometimes you need to read between the lines, you know?"

Josh gave me the mother of all glares, but then he took a deep breath and addressed the girl on my lap.

"Judy, could you please give us some space? I'm gonna kick your boyfriend's ass."

However, before he could make good on his challenge, or I could get a word in, he was intercepted by her excited girlfriend and got dragged into the argument unfolding nearby.

"Josh, support! I need support!"

"Wait, what are you…? I said, wait, I'm still…!" Unable to contend with his childhood friend's insistence, he sent a look at me that said we weren't done yet, and finally let her pull him away.

Sooo… Yeah, I should probably apologize to him later. That was the mature thing to do. Unless he'd forget about it first and I could get away with it, which was the efficient thing to do. We'll see, I surmised and returned to Far Sight. While Savir was still alone, quickly cycling through my other marks in the proverbial neighbourhood made me notice that the other ex-directors were not only together, but also heading towards her direction.

I made a quick mental note about that, as I figured the situation might prove interesting later. The rest of this quick roll-call was less intriguing; my two sets of in-laws were playing with the Celestial kids while using the opportunity to sneakily question them about the state and culture of Elysium, Lord Barnabas was doing… something with a tool that kind of looked like a sextant, while Arnwald and Morgana were taking a romantic stroll along the shore at the far end of the beach. Good for them.

Meanwhile…

"You guys realize that this whole argument is kinda dumb, right?" Josh scoffed, raising a bunch of eyebrows around him. Shaking his head, he used both of his hands to point at us (or rather, probably just me). "These aren't mutually exclusive options. Just ask Leo to get you everything you need; we have a whole week to figure out the rest."

I couldn't help but notice the provocative way he was staring at me, so I figured I would let him have a small 'victory' here and let out a theatrical groan.

"Oh, fine," I grumbled, trying to sound suitably reluctant. "I really didn't want to bother with this, but since you put me on the spot, I guess I'll just arrange for everything you need. Give me a list later, or something."

Josh turned back to the small group with a triumphant 'You see?', looking like he just doused them in cold water. If I had to guess, they were so attached to their side that a simple compromise like that made them feel both unsatisfied and just a little silly. There was no point fighting over it anymore though, so tempers quickly cooled and everyone started discussing what equipment they actually needed. Except for one of the ringleaders, surprisingly enough.

"Leo? Did you seriously leave Josh behind like that?" Angie accused me with a pout, with her boyfriend standing beside her, arms crossed and trying not to look smugly vindicated.

I wasn't going to get away with this without an apology, was I?

"All right, all right. I'm sorry. I completely forgot about you because I was busy spoiling Judy for a job well done."

"Chief, please don't use me as a shield."

"I'm not. I'm only saying the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Scout's honour."

"That still doesn't mean you can just leave him at… erm…" Faltering, Angie turned to the guy at his side. "Where were you, anyway?"

"I asked Leo to show me the training grounds and get some practice done," Josh explained, sounding a bit sheepish all of a sudden.

"Oh, so that's why I couldn't find you anywhere! Mister Overachiever!"

She poked him in the side with her elbow, forcing Josh to back away.

"Hey, careful! I told you that you have a pointy elbow. It hurts when you do that."

"I don't have a pointy elbow! It's perfectly normal! Right, Leo?"

I blinked, feeling mildly whiplashed.

"Wait, you were just scolding me five seconds ago, and now you're asking for backup?"

"Those are two different things! Now, please tell this dunderhead that I have perfectly fine and cute elbows!"

"Asking someone else to lie for you isn't nice, you know?" Josh teased her, and when she tried to poke him again, she came away with a metallic clang and a hiss.

"O-Owie! What was that?" She exclaimed, but then after a beat her tone softened and she wondered aloud, "No, seriously, what's that? Where did you get it?"

She leaned closer to look at Josh's new armament, and he grinned like a well-fed cat, as if he had been planning to do something like this ever since he first got his hands on that shield.

"Leo arranged it for me. I've got a sword, too."

"Really? Where is—?" Before she could finish, Josh already produced his weapon from the storage enchantment. "Whoa! So cool! I wanna have one of those too!"

"A sword?" Elly blurted out in surprise, and the Celestial girl hastily shook her head.

"No, not that! A thingie that lets you store stuff! I wanna have one too!"

"Your bow is already compact, so you don't really need it," I pointed out, which resulted in a pout the size of the Rocky Mountains.

"But I still wanna!"

"Hello? Can we get back to the sword?" Josh sounded a bit impatient, and eventually his girlfriend gave up trying to pout me into submission and turned her attention to his weapon. "Look, it has a black blade. Neat, huh?"

The moment he unsheathed it, there was a hint of alarm on the Celestial girl's face, followed by a focused, almost pensive stare.

"That's…" She sounded like she had a hard time getting the words out, but after shaking her head, she tried again. "Grandpa Deus says it looks really familiar, but he can't remember where he saw it."

"It apparently belonged to one of the previous Archons' attendants, or bodyguards, or something. Maybe he remembers it from that time?"

"I dunno, but it's giving me goosebumps."

"I mean, it does look a bit scary, but listen." Josh made a few practice swings, and the blade made a strange whistling sound; not the kind you get from just cutting the air, but an almost melodious one. "And when I do this…" For his next demonstration, Josh hummed a solemn tune, and the whole blade was enveloped in the same kind of blue-ish aura his arm-blades had in the past. Not only that, but when he swung it again, this time it made a playful, almost tinkling series of musical notes. "It's so weird, right?"

"Y-Yeah…" Angie whispered, leaning closer to take a better look. "Grandpa Deus says he could swear he had seen it somewhere before…"

While the two of them were busy inspecting Josh's new weapon like it was a toy, Judy leaned back and whispered directly into my ear.

"Chief? Did you give Joshua a plot-sword?"

"No. That's the beauty of it," I whispered back with a smirk. "I just let him loose in an armoury, and he picked it himself. Peak protagonist behaviour, if you ask me."

"Are you sure?" Elly joined our hushed conversation, looking troubled. "Could it be that he picked it because you were expecting it?"

"A fair point," Judy agreed with a thoughtful hum. "Or it could be that the plot-sword came into existence just so that it can fulfil the trope you were expecting."

"Leo is the Narrative," Elly piled on, and I cut this line of thought short with a grunt.

"Come on, girls. Can we please not immediately try to blame every tropey development on me? It was bad enough when we were bogged down in looking for Narrative influence in everything; let's not replace it with an obsession with me-influence."

"But we already have an example of that happening with the romance story development," Judy pushed on, earning her a frown from me.

"What are you three whispering about?" Angie interrupted us, and I was all too happy to use it to move on.

"We're just talking about that I really need to look into where I can get volleyball and badminton equipment," I said, and gently nudged Judy off my lap and next to Elly. "In fact, I should probably get started right away! I'll be back in a minute!"

"I've already heard that today," Josh scoffed, but I ignored him, winked at the girls, and Phased… to my suite in the tower.

In truth, there was a different reason why I needed some space at the moment. Even while everything else was going on around me, I kept glancing at Savir's way, and the other two ex-directors were already by her side. So, I quietly sat down, closed my eyes, and cast my viewpoint into the living room of the beach house, where Tsephanyah just uttered an exasperated, "For goodness's sake, Eris. What were you thinking?"

That was a very good question. I couldn't wait to find out.

PART 2

The beach houses built by the Celestials at my behest were constructed in a hurry, but not without care. Each building was designed for the use of two to four people, with different combinations of single and double beds. In essence, each one was just a large bedroom, a small bathroom with a shower cabin, and an equally tiny kitchen, only useful for preparing simple dishes or reheating food.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

All in all, they were exactly what I wanted them to be: a place where we could sleep in comfort for the nights and provide minimal utilities for whenever we weren't on the beach or exploring what the Elysium had to offer. Which, to be fair, wasn't much, but I was pretty sure we'd find ways to entertain ourselves.

As for the décor, it also followed the aesthetics of the Elysium, or at the very least those of the towers. Everything was white, sleek, and austere. There were no electronics, which made sense, considering that there was no electricity either. Even the fancy magic-powered sinks and showers were using analogue controls (read: good ol' twisty valves), and the enchanted heating element in the kitchen looked just like an old-school electric stove top for the convenience of our less magically inclined guests.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with the results, and I made a mental note to thank whoever was responsible for overseeing the construction and furnishing of these buildings. Not Tsephanyah though; as much as he was trying to get on my good side and claiming credit, I was pretty sure I would've noticed if he was the one literally building these. Not Mensah either; while he was trying to kick-start the Elysium's tourism industry, it was clear that he was a late-coming investor. And as for Savir…

"For goodness's sake, Eris. What were you thinking?"

Right, that.

At the moment, the three ex-directors, currently alleged advisors, were standing in one of said beachside bungalows. All the blinders were shut tight, with only a few stray rays of the late afternoon sun lighting the bedroom. On one side, an exhausted Mensah unceremoniously sat down onto one of the free beds, while Tsephanyah remained standing near the only entrance, arms crossed. It was hard to take him seriously, since he was still wearing his bloody angler outfit, but his glare was absolutely genuine.

"Spare me the outrage, Acacius. I'm not in the mood."

Savir's voice was a bit hoarse and came out as more of a hiss than anything. She then reached for the bottle on a nearby nightstand and filled up her crystal glass before downing it in one go. It wasn't anything special, yet Mensah raised a confounded brow at her.

"Since when are you drinking white wine?"

"Shut up, Dolion! I just said I'm not in the mood for this!" She put her glass down and exhaled a breath that was neither a sigh nor a groan. "White, red, what does it matter?"

"You're avoiding the question," the blonde ex-director raised his voice again, his brows descending even further. "Did you really pick a fight with one of Polemos's lovers?"

"I did not!" she denied indignantly, then after shaking her head, she also sat down. Considering that the bottle on the nightstand was practically empty, maybe the alcohol was getting to her. "I just wanted to… talk with her. Things just… didn't go as planned, that's all."

Strangely enough, she wasn't surprised in the slightest by the fact that these two had already heard about her encounter with Judy. Though again, stripped of most of their titles and authorities or not, these were still veteran politicians who made it to the top of the Celestial hierarchy, so maybe this much was to be expected.

"From what I've learned, your 'talk'…" Tsephanyah paused only long enough to make air quotes with his fingers and then crossed his arms again. "… was a bit more than that. Be honest with us Eris; what exactly did you think you would achieve by antagonizing her?"

"I told you, that wasn't my plan!" she burst out and then held her head in her hands.

"So, you were trying to do something entirely different, and you just angered one of the Lord Archon's fiancées by complete accident," Mensah summarized, and despite showing up here along with Tsephanyah, he sounded almost disinterested in the main topic, still eyeing the empty bottle of white wine next to Savir.

"It was supposed to be so simple!" she exclaimed, still holding her head. "Judy Sennoma should've been, by all intents and purposes, the weakest link in Polemos's retinue! It was my one opportunity to establish rapport with her and gain a new foothold. "

"That's not what I've heard," Tsephanyah interjected a touch impatiently. "Have you not personally tracked her down and provoked her?"

"No! I admit, my approach might've been… mistaken, but I just wanted to establish a fruitful alliance with her!" she griped, reaching for the bottle, only to put it back down when she realized it was . "I simply… wanted to establish that she was lacking the kind of backing that was befitting the spouse of the Second True Archon, to make sure she understood that she needed allies in high places, and then propose an offer. I wished to create a mutually beneficial partnership, to get in her good graces, and once I've firmly established myself as her friend and benefactor, it would've made it difficult for Polemos to threaten me again. It was a foolproof plan!"

"And you decided to do that personally, instead of using a proxy, and didn't even check to see if she would be receptive to such an offer first?" Mensah blurted out with just a hint of schadenfreude. "That's unlike you, Eris. It's such a rookie mistake to make."

"Oh, shut up. Both of you," she hissed, sending a venomous glare at Tsephanyah just as he was about to add his own five cents as well. "You two have been brown-nosing Polemos's retinue all afternoon, so I don't want to hear a single word about my methods from you! Not to mention, how was I supposed to know that she hijacked our CIN database!" She abruptly froze up, as if her own words just registered with her, and she continued with an alarmed, "Hold on. Since when did she do that? And how?"

"Weren't you aware of Lord Polemos's reforms?" the blonde ex-director inquired with a brow raised high, sounding just a teensy bit incredulous. "You shouldn't be surprised by this."

"What are you talking about? What does that have to do with…?" She froze up again. "Has Polemos honestly handed the reins of our intelligence network to her? When?"

"Not officially," Mensah chimed in, showing more than lukewarm interest in the whole discussion for the first time. "From what I've heard from my… ugh… 'estranged brother', the Lord Archon had infiltrated the Intelligence Repository even before his official return to Elysium, and he put people loyal to him in key positions well ahead of time. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the CIN was secretly working for him even before we knew about him, and the girl had been at his side every step of the way."

"As expected from Lord Polemos," Tsephanyah stated solemnly, and it almost sounded like a stock phrase he had practised ahead of time.

"And you find no problem with his mundane lover just casually gaining control over our intelligence agency? Running background checks on us? We aren't talking about just some surface-level sleuthing! She knew about my nose—!" Without warning, she let out a hiccup and forcefully shook her head. "My birthmark! How did she ever get access to personal information like that!?"

"Excuse me? What was that about your nose?" Mensah interjected with his finger raised, sounding as intrigued as he had ever been since he set foot in this bungalow.

Meanwhile, Tsephanyah earnestly considered Savir's question.

"It's Lord Polemos's fiancée we're talking about. As the consort of an Archon, she's technically already part of our hierarchy. Or will be, at any rate. I see no problem with her being granted certain privileges previously only afforded to Cherubim belonging to the Celestial Intelligence Division."

"If anything, we should petition the Synderion to give her an official title, and that should solve this whole problem, nice and simple," Mensah added. "So, back to that thing about your nose…"

"No, that's not the problem!" Savir exclaimed indignantly and rubbed her face with her hand. "She used our institutions against us! We have to do something about this!"

If I was there, I would've been hard-pressed to decide on what to point out first. Was it the fact that she casually conflated the other two ex-directors into her own blunder? Or that she didn't see anything wrong with the way she tried to manipulate Judy and was only concerned with how the tables were turned on her? Or maybe most egregiously, the way she completely ignored the elephant in the room; namely that for Judy to learn all those very specific and personal details about her, they already had to exist within the recesses of the Celestial Hub's database.

Yes, I was the one who gave her access, and sure, Raz and the others probably helped her unearth the juicier bits and bobs, but it still meant that all of that incrimination information was already collected on Savir, by the Celestial Intelligence Network. That, consequently, meant that someone had to give the order to dig up all of that, and preserve it in the repository, even details she actively tried to erase once she came into power.

Were we talking about well-adjusted, sane people, they should've immediately recognized this and realized that their pathological fascination with skulduggery and trying to get one over on each other was the ultimate source of the problem. Maybe it could've even led to a quiet moment of self-reflection, planting the seeds for some character development.

"It is indeed a troubling development, and one we must establish safeguards against such breaches on our private information, but it's a discussion for another time."

Oh, who was I kidding? Of course they wouldn't do that. Because the problem clearly wasn't that the culture of Elysium, at least amongst the higher-ups, was a dystopian nightmare out of a cheap spy thriller. Neither was it how the Celestial Directorate used to obsessively gather incriminating intel on everyone nor the fact that they created such incriminating evidence due to the sheer amount of shady shit they got up to. No no. The real problem was that all of it was now being used against them. Bah!

"Right." Mensah readjusted his glasses and stared intently at Savir. "So, can we talk about that nose thing again?"

"Are you seriously going to keep harping on that, Dolion?" she growled back. "Do you have nothing better to do?"

"Believe it or not, I do," he responded flippantly. "I've made great strides with the Assembly representative, and he seemed receptive to my ideas about improving Elysium's image among the Magi. Frankly, if Acacius didn't insist that we all needed to gather to discuss your latest transgression, I would be out there even as we speak. I still need to probe the dragonbloods."

"In that case, you are welcome to join us tomorrow." Tsephanyah flashed an uncharacteristically upbeat grin. "I have already made arrangements with the Dracis family head for a fishing trip to a creek further inland."

"No, thank you. I'm not particularly interested in such activities," the younger ex-director declined with a shrug, followed by a curiously raised brow. "Now that I think about it, do you even know how to fish?"

"I'll let you know that I have investigated and gathered the finest local anglers to learn all of the best fishing spots, lures, and other minutiae they could share with me."

"… That wasn't a 'yes'," Mensah pointed out, and it made Tsephanyah's expression wither a bit.

"I admit that I have yet to have the opportunity to put any of the guidance I received into practice, due to my busy schedule, but I'm confident I will manage." He punctuated that with a shrug and a self-assured, "It can't be that hard."

"Gentlemen, could you please focus on the problem at hand?" Savir spoke through clenched teeth.

"You're right," Tsephanyah relented right away and faced her, folding his arms once more. "We can't have your conflict with the consort of Lord Polemos disrupt our carefully laid out plans. The last thing we need right now is to stoke the Second True Archon's ire, just as everything is proceeding so smoothly."

"No, that wasn't the part I was referring to," she argued back, but it was two against one, as Mensah soon joined the blonde ex-director's side.

"While the girl herself doesn't have the backing of the Assembly or this newfangled Draconic Federation, she does possess considerable influence among the representatives currently in Elysium. Even if we don't consider her access to classified records within our intelligence databases, provoking her at this stage could cause dire setbacks in the establishment of advantageous relations with these organizations."

"Quite," Tsephanyah piled on, not letting Savir get a word in. "I propose that we arrange for a… semi-official meeting between the young consort and Eris, where she can apologize and attempt to mend their relationship."

"Apologize? Me? I was the one who—!"

"I second the notion," Mensah interrupted her by raising a hand. "And while we're at it, let's ask about the subject of that 'nose' comment, shall we?"

The woman sitting on the bed dangerously narrowed her eyes at her colleague, and whispered, "I swear, Dolion, if you bring that up one more time, Deus be my witness, I'll strangle you."

"Oh, that's a good idea," Tsephanyah blurted out, sounding almost impressed. "We could ask Her Grace Deus Angeline to mediate between the two of you, and serve as a witness of your reconciliation."

"That's not what I…!" Her protests were cut short when she realized that her company enjoyed the way she was squirming. A long beat later, she inhaled deeply and started again, this time sounding considerably more collected. "Very well, I shall swallow my pride and attempt to… befriend the girl for the second time. Just… Give me a few days to collect more information on her first. I need to grasp a weakness, anything, or I'll look like a fool."

Ah, and there we go again. Zero self-reflection. I wasn't expecting anything, and yet I still got disappointed.

Oh well. At least I caught their scheming this time around, so I could warn Judy and Angie about it ahead of time. Also, I had a feeling I should really keep an eye on the anglers tomorrow, because that whole thing was shaping out to be either a catastrophe in the making or a setup for some high-grade slapstick comedy.

That was for later though. For the time being, I watched the three stooges a little longer, to see if they were up to anything truly nefarious, but since they just kept bickering, and Mensah soon lost interest and left the place, so did I. Back in my body, inside the suite in the tower, I got up and stretched a bit. What was I planning to do before I got sidetracked?

"Oh, right… Volleyball stuff."

Also, badminton. Though to be honest, I had no idea how the latter was supposed to work. I tried to sift through some memory fragments I inherited from the real Polemos, but there was nothing even remotely reminiscent of that in them. Maybe it was something I retconned into existence, and couldn't remember anything about it because I retained my unmodified memories? Or it could be that Angie was just making stuff up because she really wanted to play in the air.

In either case, I figured getting some racquets wasn't going to hurt. The only question was…

"Are any sports stores even open at this hour?"

It was about an hour later that I learned that yes, there were. Even ones that were doing business twenty-four seven, to make sure they wouldn't miss some lucrative customer in the middle of the night. Yay for capitalism, I suppose?

PART 3

The sun (or at least its effective equivalent) was sitting on the horizon, marking the end of a pretty hectic day. 'Hectic' in the sense of 'lots of things happened', as opposed to 'there were a series of unforeseen crises popping up one after the other'. I felt the need to clarify that, as my life had too many instances of the latter.

Of course, the day wasn't really over yet. Everyone still had to occupy their beach houses and unpack, we had already made plans to build a small camp fire by the shore and roast some marshmallows after dark, and the potential for some romantic starlit strolls on the beach was still in the cards. However, before any of that, there was something else that had to be taken care of.

To be perfectly honest, I originally didn't want to get any more involved with whatever Savir was cooking. I imagined that Judy putting her in her place would have her stay low for a while. Maybe I was still a bit too naïve, but not so clueless that I would leave her fully unsupervised, and so I inevitably caught her in a compromising position yet again.

Skulking behind the buildings in the twilight of the evening, a young woman wearing a curious mixture of a modern dress uniform and fancy bronze greaves and bracers was doing her best Mission Improbable impression, darting from wall to wall while trying to stay out of sight. I was vaguely familiar with her; this otherwise fairly unremarkable brunette was once of Savir's more loyal lackeys, and I had already encountered her once or twice. At one point she even pretended to interview me. That happened quite a while ago, but I had her marked anyway, just in case.

She dashed behind the very last building of the row, looking hella conspicuous in the process, and once she made sure she wasn't followed, she sidled up to the nearest window and made two short knocks, followed by a pause and three more knocks. The window opened a few seconds later, and Savir gestured for her to get inside, which she did in a single bound before the ex-director hastily closed the shutters behind her.

"Were you followed?"

"No, ma'am. I was careful," she declared confidently, and Savir let out a frustrated breath. She sounded a bit steadier than the last time I observed her, so either the wine she drank was already out of her system, or she used some kind of Celestial magic to detox herself.

In any case, she locked the window to be sure and walked over to the middle of the room before dramatically turning on her heels and facing the agent. She immediately fell to one knee in front of her and bowed her head in return.

"What are your orders, Matriarch?"

"Our intel on Judy Sennoma was incomplete and it put me in a precarious position. I need you to put together a team and investigate her recent activities, with a particular focus on her sources of information within the CIN." She paused to consider her words, her lips set in a thin line. "Also, you may approach her family. I authorize the use of mind-hymns. Try to unearth any hidden or potentially embarrassing information, no matter how mundane or insignificant it may seem. And then—"

"Eris."

"Kyaah!"

She honest to goodness screamed when I showed up behind her, sitting on the edge of her bed. Her agent jumped to her feet, only to realize it was me, and when I glared at her, she immediately fell back down to one knee, as if she never moved at all.

"P-Polemos?" the startled woman muttered in a daze, her eyes swimming and arms unable to decide if she wanted to cross them or not. On second thought, maybe she still had a fair bit of alcohol in her system. "W-What a pleasant surprise?"

I could've asked why that was a question, but I wasn't in the mood. In fact, I really didn't want to do any of this, because getting involved with her was a pain in the ass, but not intervening had the potential to be even worse. When I didn't respond right away, she somehow managed to gather her wits again, and she finally folded her arms.

"Since… when were you here?"

Ignoring her, I turned to the agent still kneeling on the floor.

"You."

"Yes, O Lord Archon?"

Her response was surprisingly calm, but the way her eyes were shaking told me she was only putting up a brave front. Still, she seemed competent enough, and I had a soft spot for competence, so I lazily pointed at her.

"I offer you a deal. You have ten seconds to get up, ignore everything Eris just told you, and then disappear from my sight. In return, I will forget I've ever seen you, and I won't bury you along with her. Take it or leave it."

Without as much as a word, she stood up and did her best to unlatch the window. However, maybe because she was secretly still a bit shaken by my sudden appearance, her fingers failed her.

"Just use the door," I growled. She froze up and then gave me a hasty salute before practically dashing out of the building, slamming the entrance shut in her wake with a bang that made Savir shudder. But speaking of her… "You. Sit down already."

The ex-director gulped and calmly walked over to the other bed in the room. She took a seat and looked at me with a mixture of anxiety and resignation, like a kid who was just caught with her hand in the cookie jar and was expecting to be scolded. There wasn't any visible indication of a sense of guilt though, but that much was to be expected, considering it was Savir we were talking about. If she showed any remorse at this point, it would've only made me more suspicious.

"So, Eris," I began, making sure my words were accompanied by my deadpannest stare. "Do you remember what I told you when we first arrived at the beach?" She was about to respond, but I beat her to the punch. "I told you that if you tried to heckle my fiancées, I would bury you. Literally. Right now, I'm tempted to do it with your feet up, and then leave you there until the tide rolls in."

"Elysium's waters don't have tides," she pointed out, only to realize that it might not have been the best idea to 'Um, actually…' me at this point and shrink back.

In return, I leaned forward and let my brows naturally descend into a glare.

"I can arrange for that," I growled at her, and for once, she looked suitably frightened. She even let out a hiccup, which was yet another tally mark in favour of my 'she's still tipsy' hypothesis. I didn't mind, as it made her easier to deal with.

"Listen, Polemos. I… I didn't mean to anger your consort, I simply—"

"I'm well aware of your intentions, Eris," I cut her short again and straightened my back. "I might've even let it go if not for you trying to dig up dirt on Judy right afterwards. Let's make things clear: tomorrow, you're going to apologize to her. I don't care about the exact circumstances of it; make it as private or public as you want, but get it done. After that, if I smell just a whiff of you trying to scheme something again, I won't just bury you; I'll strip you of all of your remaining titles, bar you from entering any of the Migdáls, and I'll publicly denounce you in front of the entirety of Elysium."

Whatever little colour was left in her face drained at once, and she hastily sputtered, "But… But the power vacuum of such a decision would be—!"

"I'll deal with it," I uttered blandly. "If anything, making an example out of you will probably make everyone else behave. It's a win-win." I fell silent, inserting a purposefully tense beat into the conversation, just to make her squirm a bit more. "So, Eris. Can I have your word that you'll be on your best behaviour from now on?"

"Y-Yes," she blurted out, and after holding eye contact for a few more silent seconds, I let off the pressure.

"All right. Just remember; I'll be watching you closely." She hesitantly nodded at that, which was as good an opportunity to conclude this topic as any, so I relaxed my posture and flashed a thin-lipped smile. "I'm glad we're now on the same page. So, let's move on."

"Is there more?" she asked, and this time I raised a critical brow at her.

"I was under the impression you have some very important information 'for my ears only' that you were hankering to share with me in private. We're in private right now, so get on with it."

"Ah, you're right." As if I'd just given her a glass of water in the desert, her complexion immediately improved and she casually fixed up her hair, as if it was her turn to shine on the stage. "Indeed, I have multiple pieces of information that you will most certainly find intriguing."

"Sure, sure. Get to the point."

She nodded and her lips bent into a smile that didn't touch her eyes at all.

"First and foremost, there is the issue of the old Hymnos that we agreed that I would… keep discreet."

That made me narrow my eyes at once. She was clearly referring to that ancient tome of law she unearthed that required powerful Celestials to get married to produce powerful offspring. She tried to hold that over my head as a sort of Sword of Damocles, except it was a threat of annoyance rather than anything else. Also, a bit petty, but that was neither here nor there.

"What of it?" I asked, and she cleared her throat.

"As you're well aware, Bel of the Abyss set fire to the Grand Archives, where I hid the original text, out of sight of prying eyes. I thought it lost to the fire, or at the very least mislaid amongst the thousands of similar copies of ancient Hymnos, yet to my shock, I recently discovered that it was amongst the first books the librarians of the archive catalogued." She paused to gauge my reaction but soon continued all the same. "Not only that, but during the restoration efforts, they immediately discovered the pages detailing this old law. I'm afraid by the time this news reached my ears, its contents already became a topic of fervent discussion amongst the Synderion."

"Oh, great," I muttered. "So I'll have to deal with that too, now…"

"Actually," she cut me off, her smile growing wider, yet still not showing in her eyes. "I have taken it upon myself to rectify this situation. By gently reminding key figures about the fact that Joshua Bernstein, also known as Her Grace's Justicar, also possesses the four pairs of wings signifying his status as a hallowed Ophanim, I have successfully diverted the conversation in that direction, sparing you any potential annoyances."

She continued to beam at me, and for once, I couldn't find a fault with what she just said. If anything, it made a lot of puzzle pieces I previously struggled to figure out fall into place. Future-me's notes never explained why he, meaning I, had to/will have to set the archives on fire, but now it made sense. By independently spreading the information through the librarians, it not only took the leverage out of Savir's hands, but by re-focusing it upon Josh, it gave the relationship between the childhood friend couple a solid justification in Elysium, silencing any potential naysayers.

I didn't expect Savir to be playing a major role in this though. But then again, maybe she was just trying to take credit for the development to curry some favour with me. It was hard to say.

"That was commendable," I concluded, and for the first time, her smile looked genuinely delighted. We couldn't have that, so I added, "In recognition of your efforts, I promise I won't bury you upside down."

"I… erm… thank you?"

"Don't even mention it." I flashed a grin, taking her even more aback before stilling my face again. "Was that all you had for me?"

"N-No, far from it!"

"Then go on. Only give me the important news."

"In that case…" She hesitated for a bit, and then raised two fingers, as if showing a victory sign. "I have two more pieces of vital information your ears only." She curled one finger, only showing her index, and solemnly stated, "First and foremost, I have investigated the bloodline of Her Grace."

"Have you now?" I responded flatly, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

"It was all done with the utmost care and with well-meaning, I assure you."

I was tempted to point out that most people didn't have to insist like that when they were doing something 'well-meaning', but I didn't want to get bogged down here longer than necessary. I still owed a romantic stroll to the girls, and the sooner I could get to it, the better.

"Let's say I believe you. What did you find."

She let down her hand and cleared her throat.

"By analyzing the census records for the past fifty years, I have successfully traced back her lineage in search of any living relatives." She paused for a beat and shook her head. "Unfortunately, the situation with Her Grace's parentage is… problematic. Her closest known living blood kin is her grandmother. Regrettably, she's currently not in Elysium and cannot be contacted. Her Grace's mother passed away in an unforeseen accident not long after she gave birth. Furthermore, Her Grace was born out of wedlock, with the identity of the father ambiguous."

"Uncertain, or unknown?"

"I was sure you would recognize the nuance," she told me with just a hint of a smirk, but then she hurriedly cleared her throat again. "Indeed, the problem is that there are multiple potential fathers. Her Grace's mother was known to be rather… free-spirited, and she had multiple lovers. After meticulous investigation, we have managed to narrow down the list to three potential fathers who were close to Her Grace's mother around the time of her presumed conception. With your permission, I'm ready to call them over to—"

"No," I cut in, a chill running down my spine. "None of that. I'm going to ask Deus if she even cares about her parentage, and if she does, then we'll do a DNA test or something. We're not inviting all three of them over."

"As you wish…" Savir responded dourly, looking almost disappointed.

I couldn't care less, because I was too busy being relieved that we just dodged a bullet. If she brought them in as a 'surprise', it would've been probably too late to stop our vacation from devolving into some hackneyed rom-com jukebox musical. Not that I had anything against those and Swedish pop music, but this beach-episode/training-camp/fishing-trip already had too many sub-plots running in parallel, and I had to draw the line somewhere.

"Moving on. Any other potential family members?"

"Ah, yes…" Savir absent-mindedly readjusted her dress, probably just so that she could collect her thoughts. "I've also learned that Her Grace had an aunt, but she has unfortunately perished in the line of duty. I'm afraid that's all the information I have on her at the moment, at least until Her Grace's grandmother can be contacted and interrogated."

"And there's nobody else."

"Not that I could unearth, no," she concluded and looked at me expectantly.

"I admit this information was at least nominally interesting. Good job." She kept staring, probably expecting that I would tell her that I was only joking about burying her in the sand, but I refrained from doing so and linked my fingers in my lap. "Very well. What's the last piece of information you wished to share."

"Ah… um…" She took a deep breath. "I'm sure you're already aware of the volatile situation unfolding within the Abyss."

"Bel is stirring the pot and now the Abyssal houses are embroiled in a civil war," I stated stoically, and she nodded along as if that much was to be expected.

"Indeed. The head of House Inanna, Noir Irdu Inanna, has declared himself the herald of the Abyssal Emperor, and launched a surprise attack on the Nergals and the Gulas, with the Enlil and Shamash families also joining the fight. With the crippling of House Ashur, and House Ninhursag remaining neutral, it's four against one, and yet the war is still undecided."

"Because Crowey got a power-up," I commented, and she gave me an odd look. "I was referring to Noir."

"Yes, quite," she confirmed. "However, the crucial detail I wished to share with you was that, despite us already acknowledging Bel of the Abyss as the incarnation of their Emperor… they do not."

"Let me guess: they think it's a ploy by you. I mean, the Celest—" I exhaled a groan and tried again. "Us. They think it's a ploy by us." She nodded. "Okay, so the point you're trying to get to is that…?"

"It's something we can take advantage of," she emphasized, her eyes practically shining. "Using agents embedded in Abyssal society, we can further reinforce the idea that we endorse the identity of Bel of the Abyss. By doing so, they will be even more convinced that it's false, and it will further entrench their resistance against House Inanna! Furthermore, we can also leverage the fact that you hold the sister of Noir Irdu Inanna hostage to sow even more confusion among their ranks! If they believe that he's secretly following your designs, it will extend the infighting, theoretically indefinitely, reducing the power base of Bel of the Abyss and potentially allowing us to uproot their menace once and for all! I have already put together a twelve-step plan to exploit this conflict, only requiring two public appearances and one proclamation from you, and I'm ready to put it into action at your earliest convenience."

I waited for the to finish, and once I was sure she had nothing else to add, I let out a shallow sigh.

"First off, you're sounding like Dolion." That comment took her aback, but before she could get a word in, I quickly moved on. "Secondly, Snowy is not my hostage. If I ever hear a peep of that again, I'll have you strung up in public with a sign saying 'I'm stupid' around your neck. Thirdly, we're not going to interfere with the situation in the Abyss. At least not yet. Got it?"

"But…!"

"A sign saying 'I'm stupid and can't keep my mouth shut'," I corrected myself, and she immediately fell silent. "I take that as a 'yes'."

There was another lull in the conversation, during which I evaluated everything we just talked about.

Overall, we had one positive-ish development with the dumb law book, one neutral one I didn't really care about with Angie's parentage, and then there was one annoying bit with the whole Abyssal situation. While future-me didn't write much about that one in the notebook, I could imagine how trying to balance and guide that whole conflict was a pain in the neck. The last thing he/I needed was present-me also meddling with it unnecessarily.

Of course, it was something that had to be dealt with one day, but for now, we were in the middle of our beach episode, so that took priority. Now that I mentioned it, I glanced at the window, and not seeing any sunlight seeping through the blinders, I figured it was time for me to return to the girls and proceed with some light-hearted shenanigans.

"If that's all, then I'll be taking my leave for now. Remember what we discussed regarding Judy, don't do anything stupid, and…" I stood up and flashed an amicable smile at her. "In recognition of your efforts, I promise that I'll bury you in a place where people can eventually find you."

And with those final words, I disappeared from the building, leaving the rest to her imagination. I had more important things to do. Like my girlfriends.

…

Ack. That came out wrong, didn't it?