"Uuu… Uuu…" The not so dead guy groaned even as blood was spilling out of every pore on his body with half his brain flopping out of his skull.

How in the hell is this guy still alive?!

Even his buddies were looking at him with expressions of shock, showing that this was definitely not normal for him. Heck, one of them even threw up at the sight of him.

The only ones who showed no reaction to his current state were Mother, Mary and Sebastian, though I already figured that Mother was the one responsible for this guy's current condition.

"Mommy? What did you do?" I asked, still unable to tear my eyes away from the gruesome sight.

"Ara, ara? What do you mean, my little one? Mama did not do anything at all~"

That's definitely a lie, but I doubt Mother would tell me anyway…

At this point, I thought those friends of the thug would scatter after witnessing their friend meet such a gruesome fate, but I could not be more wrong.

"That bitch killed Ferule!!"

"Fuck! Get her before she does that to all of us!!"

"Kill them!!"

Are you serious? I guess birds of a feather really do flock together.

Even the guy who threw up just wiped his mouth with his sleeve before joining his comrades in charging at us.

With fourteen of them against us, I got ready alongside Odeta and Ardi to fight as well, only for our preparations to turn out to be wasted as Mary and Sebastian leapt towards the crowd faster than we could.

With one swing of his fist, Sebastian had struck one of them in the chest, blowing him back to crash straight into his four comrades behind him before blasting the entire group into the wall.

The ones behind were crushed by the blow and were literally splattered onto the wall while the Mahun who received the blow had his chest completely caved in.

Mary's arm had shifted and transformed itself into what looked like a giant scythe, the Trasif swinging it down without hesitation and decapitating six heads with that single swing.

In less than a second, fourteen thugs had been brought down to only three by these two.

The last three thugs finally realised the situation they had gotten themselves into and started to panic.

The one in the middle raised his hands in surrender, "Wai… Wait! We… We didn't want to do it! But we--"

He wasn't allowed to say anymore as Sebastian punched him across the face.

His body remained where it was but that thug's entire head was practically blown apart, as though a bomb had gone off right beside it and leaving a bloody stump of a neck that spurted blood like a fountain.

The last two saw this and knew they were not going to be allowed any semblance of mercy. Both of them dropped their weapons and tried to make a run for it, only to suddenly fall to the ground as their legs had been separated from their bodies by Mary.

"Wait! Wait!! Please, please!! Don't kill me!!" One of them begged pathetically.

Mother giggled at them, "If you were prepared to take a life, then you should be prepared to have your own life taken in turn~"

Mary then swung her scythe hand once more, cutting off their heads cleanly.

The most impressive thing was the fact that Mary and Sebastian's clothes still looked perfectly clean without even a drop of blood on them. I can't even tell if it's pure skill or it was because of some enchantment, but I am willing to bet on the former.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I noticed that the auction house guard had shuddered slightly but made no other moves than that.

Mary reformed her arm back to normal and rejoined Mother's side with a casual gait, as though she had simply returned after doing some house chores.

Sebastian on the other hand, went straight to the guard and stood over him, "I assume the auction house will take care of this?"

The guard nodded his head quickly, though his gaze remained directed downwards.

Satisfied with his answer, Sebastian moved to rejoin us and Mother led the way out into the main street, stepping over the corpses casually while also picking up the box that contained the rock without missing a step.

Looks like Mother ended up getting the rock after all.

The worst part of all this was that the first guy was still not yet dead… I don't even know if he was able to die at this point…

"What…. What happened there?" Delmare asked from Odeta's back when we got out onto the main street.

"Our Head Maid and Head Butler took care of some troublemakers," Katsuki explained simply.

"No, that's not what I… Is that normal?"

Odeta shook her head quickly, "Definitely not. I know they were strong… But I didn't know they were this strong… Heh… Heh heh… Heh heh heh…"

"No, you will not challenge them to fights, little sister," Ardi warned her with a stern look.

"Ehh?! Why not?!"

"You will just be a bother to them. Train yourself until you can at least serve as a challenge first."

"Tch… Fine!"

I'm not sure what's even scarier, the fact that Odeta believes she could reach Mary's and Sebastian's level of strength, or the fact that I actually think it's possible.

Mother then clapped her hands together to get our attention, "Ufufu~ I believe my little one is hungry now, yes? Shall we find a place to eat?"

Lisa raised her hand quickly, "Oh! I know a place down the road! They have really nice food and decorations back when I used to steal-- I mean… Live around here. I can show you the way if you'd like?"

"Ara, ara? That would be perfect my dear~"

Lisa took the lead and guided us further down the road, walking past several expensive looking boutique shops and specialty stores. The unfortunate thing was that I've yet to see any sweets or patisseries around.

I would be very disappointed if this city actually does not have one…

We ended up at a really upscale looking restaurant with its fanciful white walls and flowers decorating the exterior.

It also looked to be quite popular with the richer clientele seeing that every customer there was well dressed despite it being the middle of the day.

Lisa walked up to the maitre d' who just so happens to be a female Infrid as well, "We would like one of the private alcoves for nine please."

The maitre d' glanced at us, "I am required to let you know that the minimum spending on those seats are at least twenty Creas. Would that be ok?"

Lisa looked at Mother for confirmation and she simply nodded in response. Truth be told, if even I could afford it, I'm sure Mother would be able to as well.

We were shown to a private alcove on the second floor of the restaurant, which seemed to be designed in such a way that only if you were to stand in front and directly facing towards the table would you be able to see its occupants, giving us a private space for dining.

Mary, Sebastian and Katsuki stood by the side as per etiquette dictated, they would eat after our own food had been served first.

With our orders given to the waiter, Mother then propped up her chin with a palm to stare intently at Delmare.

"So~ You are the newest one that my little one has found? Are you interested in my little one?"

Ugh… I should have known that Mother wanted to do this with her… Especially after what happened last night…

The Siren was a little surprised at being addressed directly and needed a moment to comprehend what Mother had asked her.

When she did, her face flushed red as she stuttered, "Ah… Ah… I… I… I li… Like… Aster…"

"Ufufufu~ There's no need to be shy~ Did you already forget that I was in the bath with you as well that night? I saw everything after all~"

Odeta tilted her head, "What happened yesterday in the bath?"

"No… Nothing! Nothing at all!" Delmare quickly cried out. "I… I umm… Really nothing, we just… Ummm… Really!"

Oh gosh, she looks so cute now~

Mother giggled at the flustered Siren, "Ufufufu~ So you like my little one? Are you aware that my dearest child intends on travelling the World and thus would be unlikely to settle down?"

"E… Eh? Ah! Yes!! Aster has told me before and I intend to travel with her!"

"Ufufufu~ That is perfect~ And are you also aware that my little one will also have a harem?"

She nodded quickly, "Ye… Yes… I know… Madam… I would not mind staying with Aster despite that though…"

I was busy trying to hide my face throughout this conversation and I managed to find solace in Lisa hugging me to her chest to pat my head.

Mother leaned forward just a little slightly, "How promising~ But you do know that the fact that you are a Merfolk is rather troubling right?"

That made her sober up quickly, "Yes… I know that I would be a burden on her travels. That's why I intend on finding a way to solve that problem before Aster sets off on her journey."

Eh? I didn't know she was worried about something like this. The fact that she had no legs wasn't even a consideration for me… But I will have to admit that it is indeed a problematic factor…

Mother's smile only got wider, "In that case, I have a suggestion little Delmare~ Since you're already learning under Mary to start school, why don't you learn Somatomancy from her while you're at it as well?"

Oh! Of course! I completely forgot about that! That's a great idea!

That way, Delmare would be able to alter her physical form whenever she wishes and don't need to lose her voice or something like that!

Magic is awesome!