Athena looked out the window.
The sun had completely set.
She turned back to her desk.
And closed her eyes without saying anything.
…..
—————……….
[ Undercity - The Golden Catfish Restaurant ]
“AaaaaaAaaaAA—oh, wait.”
“We’re back?”
In the middle of a group fight inside the second floor’s dining room, the frantic battle between the Chaos Angels… simply stopped.
Across the various hallways, rooms, and balconies of the Golden Catfish, the [parasited] people all simultaneously jolted like being tapped awake from a deep slumber, faint golden lights flashed in their previously hollowed eyes, jumping from person to person like waves, causing each of them to regain their senses.
In the center of the dining room on the second floor, two friends stood facing each other.
Surrounded by the broken furniture, the orange lights from the lanterns, and the smell of spilled alcohol. One of them was currently bruised all over, while the other was standing in front of him holding a chair.
There was a pause.
And then.
“...Sorry?”
“...”
At the nervous look from the person in front of him, the bruised angel raised the wine bottle in his hand…
“I said sorry!”
“...”
—And chased after him.
The Chaos Angel ran out of the dining room and into the hallway, passing by all the other people that were also recovering, as the other Chaos Angel ran after him.
—————……….
[ Undercity - The House of Mistresses ]
Inside the theater room, in the front row of the seating area, facing the grand stage.
“AaaaAaah!”
Miwari woke up, under the dim red lamps that surrounded her. She looked around, only to find that on the seats beside hers, every single one of her sisters would be present.
Roxxi, Rinne, Yue, Xue, Kitsuha, Nana, Linlin, Minjee, Miho, Tsukiyo, Hyong-ran, Kanna, and Frul. Some of them rubbed their eyes tiringly, some groaned, some stretched, moving about in their seats as though they were a bunch of people that woke up after the show that was supposed to be on the stage in front of them ended.
All of their minds were fuzzy, vague memories and blurring shapes.
“I just had a dream of being stared down and defeated in battle by a terrifying presence,” From the right, Linlin said.
“Me too…” From the left, Nana said.
Tsukiyo readjusted her sleeves with a squeamish face. Hyong-ran rubbed her cheek. Miho rubbed her own throat gently. Yue and Xue yawned at the same time.
“It felt… kind of good?” Far from the left, Rinne said, scratching her cheek while frowning and smiling ambiguously.
“““...””” Everyone.
But then, on the other side of the row of seats, a hand, and a voice, was raised.
“Wait.”
It was none other than Roxxi, bringing up her right hand and looking to the side, carefully observing the movements in the backgrounds—or at least, the movements of one very specific thing.
Poof~ Poof~
The lamps flickered. Once, twice.
Poof~
They all looked at each other.
““Lady Lucianna!””
Jumping out of their seats, the 14 angels of House Lucianna rushed to the door of the theater room, to the top of the pagoda.
However…
Unbeknownst to any of them…
—————……….
Mmmmmmmhh…
In the dimly lit room atop the House of Mistresses, accompanying the sounds of rustling bedsheets.
Two hands, one small, one larger, interlocking.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~...”
A black-haired woman in a black eastern attire separated her lips from the person underneath her, and smiled gently.
“Sorry, I’ve been staring at your sleeping face for a while, so I couldn’t really resist it, you know?”
A pair of sharp scarlet eyes narrowed as she smiled.
“But can you really blame me?
“When I woke up, suddenly there was someone this pretty by my side.
“Mhmm...”
A pair of round golden eyes slightly revealed through the barely parted eyelids.
Tracing her outstretched index finger on that perfectly sculpted jawline.
“Suffice it to say I’m very curious about you.
“Little…
“Eden.”
—Unbeknownst to the angels of House Lucianna, their Lady…
—Was currently playing around on a bed with a certain golden-haired human.
…..
A large, rectangular room, on top of the red pagoda of the House of Mistresses, spacious and lavish.
The folding screens were still in place, blocking much of the light from outside, yet everything was still very visible due to the illuminations from the hanging chandelier—the scarlet flames brightened and dimmed as if breathing.
In the middle of decorated walls, ornaments, and ink-scroll paintings, a series of circular bookshelves, surrounding a king-sized bed, sitting in the center.
And in the middle of the king-sized bed.
“Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”
The figure of the goddess with long black-haired and scarlet eyes and the golden-haired Eden—remaining on top of him, showing no sign of moving.
“How did you get in here?”
At the question that was asked even before the first one was answered…
Blinking once and tilting his head ever-so-slightly.
Meeting the gaze of the Goddess of Lust.
“Bery… told Eden… everything.”
“Bery?”
Eden, having exhausted his energy inside the dream earlier, right now, can only wait for himself to recover while responding to the unusually pushy goddess.
—It was quite annoying.
Immediately, from the other side of the room, sitting by a large vase.
“Hong!”
“Aren’t you… Karzio’s little puppy?”
“Hong!”
“Shhhh… the adults are talking, children should keep quiet.”
“Hong???”
The black-furred puppy wags its tail bafflingly.
Lucianna’s attention returned to Eden, shifting the arms that supported her body.
“So…”
Moving closer, right pass the space reserved for personal boundaries.
Until her flawless face was right above his.
“Have you eaten anything recently?”
…The beginning of a barrage of questions.
Somewhat unexpected… questions.
—A finger that was raised.
“Do you have any particular likes or dislikes?”
—A small head tilt.
“Hobbies?”
…..
Slowly.
No, slower than even that, Eden opened his golden eyes a little more and cast a hazy gaze onto the face of the person on top of him.
An uncertain amount of time passed—the tension was boiling the air, exhausting the oxygen, making it hard to breathe.
“Books…”
—Eventually whispered out.
“What kinds of books?”
Rubbing his eyes, Eden answered.
“Dating tips… books?”
“Oh, you’re interested in those kinds of books?”
Lucianna leaned forward.
“The tips in them… are actually somewhat interesting.”
Nodding sleepily, Eden continued to answer.
"Ho-ho-ho-hoo~ Does that mean that you have someone you like?"
Her body slid closer. Her hair hung from her earlobe. And the arms that straightened around the points of contact on the bed.
"Um... “
Her eyes lit up at the soft hum from Eden.
“Who is it?”
“Athena..."
Lucianna nodded her head. "Um-hm, um-hm. And this Athena… Say, is there something you'd like to do with her?"
Moving closer and closer.
"Yes..."
Eden’s answer was very quiet.
The pair of glowing scarlet eyes narrowed.
"Heeeh...? And that thing is?"
Facing that question, Eden looked off to the side.
And blushed slightly.
"Eden wants to... hold her hand."
"..."
A widened gaze that reflected nothing but shock.
After a while.
"I’m keeping you.”
“...Huh?”
“I’m keeping you.”
Her tone was impossibly serious.
"You can't... Eden has to go back… before dinner."
Bang!
—With a loud sound, a group of people burst into the room from the door to the left side of the bed, one that connected to the balcony area outside.
“““Lady Lucianna!”””
The sisters of House Lucianna, each of them panicking, start shouting as soon as they came in.
“““Are you alright?!/What happened?!/Where did you go?/Is everything okay now?”””
“Calm down. Your mother is here. There’s nothing to worry about.” Lucianna sat up a little more straight and turned to address them gently.
Her attitude didn’t seem to mesh with theirs, however.
“Huh?” Roxxi raised her voice and frowned. “What do you mean there’s nothing to worry—”
“Little Eden? How are you here?” Miwari exclaimed at the sight of the golden-haired figure lying on the bed.
At the profoundly bewildered face of Miwari, Eden sat up as well, nodded silently, rubbed his eyes.
“No-no-no, rather than that!”
One of the sisters, Kitsuha, went over past the bed and to the otherside of the room and folded the folding screens, revealing the view of the balcony and the Undercity from atop the House of Mistresses with a creaking sound.
“Look outside!” Kitsuha said with a point.
A flood of light brightened the room.
Far away, the area around the Golden Catfish Restaurant was currently being bombarded with countless ice-shards glowing in pale blue colors.
The massive pair of silver wings contrasted against everything else. Along with multiple large halos of crystallized weapons circling around them. Above the dilapidated buildings and crisscrossing wires and mana antennae.
Earlier, as they were forced to walk around to find another entrance due to the locked front door, they caught a glimpse of the fight between Karzio and Ayar from the top of the pagoda and realized that things weren’t quite settled just yet.
“Oh, looks like they’d caused quite a mess.” Lucianna said while pretending to be surprised, walking up to the railing.
“““Please do something!””” Rinne, Roxxi, and Kitsuha protested.
Besides them, Eden also ran to the railing, looking out into the distance fight.
“—Big Sister Vena… Brother Altarin,” he whispered with an absent-minded look.
Standing next to him, Lucianna’s ears perked up at the names. “Vena, Altarin. Wait, when you said Athena, were you referring to that Athena?”
The Angels looked at Eden at the gesture from Lucianna with immediately more cautious faces. In their minds, a few suspicious points had now been raised further.
But instead of paying attention to or choosing to address any of their questioning eyes, Eden quickly turned around and ran to the middle of the room, pulled out a card from the travelling bag that was hanging off of the main bed along with his hat, and proceeded to rip it in half.
Shh~!
Shhhh~!
The sky outside of the balcony ripped open. Like a tear in the fabric of space, the widening gap swirled into a whirlpool of dark purple, blue, eventually forming into a [hole]...
—Or to be more accurate, a [portal].
“““...!/Ahhh~! W-what’s happening?”””
The angels braced themselves. Lucianna watched calmly.
Due to a gust of wind, an unknown stack of papers on a nearby table flew.
At the appearance of foreign intrusion appearing within her domain, the Goddess of Lust quietly snapped her finger.
Then, out of that portal, a high velocity shadow shot forward, flying above the heads of the watching angels, and landing in the middle of the room right next to Eden…
EEEeeedd~!
—With a drift that left tire marks on the pristine wooden-flooring.
The appearance of the new person was revealed. Along with a large motorcycle with a sidecar attached. Boots, fingerless gloves. A woman with dark purple hair wearing a thick black jacket, riding that motorcycle.
“Yo.”
Under the utter speechlessness of everyone, [Yuu] simply greeted them casually.
“““...”””
A couple of the sisters quickly glanced at Lucianna who remained in place with her eyes closed, touching her chin and frowning.
“Yuu… over there.”
Without waiting, Eden jumped onto the back of Yuu’s motorcycle and pointed at the fighting that was taking place at the horizon.
Yuu looked at Eden, and at the location, and glanced back at Eden again. And then…
“Roger.”
—————……….
Vrooom~!
The motorcycle shot out of the top floor of the gigantic red pagoda. Before disappearing into a newly manifested portal, and reappearing on the roof.
Running along the roof and jumping from building to building, the motorcycle with Eden and Yuu on them traveled closer and closer to their target destination.
However, unexpectedly, the person sitting on the seat of the sidecar was none other than Lucianna.
Since she seemed to have no way to stop Eden from going, she might as well just went with him.
“Yuu Rozana… Aren’t you one of Olivia’s lackey’s daughters—”
Receiving the black-haired woman’s knowing gaze from a glance, Yuu responded immediately.
“Life is tough these days, you know. Everyone got to have a few side gigs here and there.
“I’m all about that hustle. The bustle rustle to the max, you know what I mean?”
“???”
Lucianna suddenly felt like her understanding of the Common Astrea Language had become insufficient.
—————……….
