“How did we miss this?” Ciel spoke the single question the group agreed with.

The family/harem met in the familiar meeting room. It was the same oriental room as the Harriet House. The only difference was Hikari switched the mat from yellow to gray. The group was also dressed in the same color-coordinated yukata. The exception being Betty who switched from blue to a black kimono with blue and red flower embroideries.

The meeting, double as lunch with Amy entering the room with plates of omelet and steamed herbal chicken to serve as lunch, continued with Hikari answering the above question.

“Maybe,” said the Reaper in gray and navy blue. She was looking down on her food, trying to avoid the embarrassing possibility “Was it possible we spent so much time scheming to—”

“Nope,” Betty quickly denied the possibility the scheme to drag her ‘sister’ to bed might have occupied too much of her time. “Maximus pulled a fast one on us, and Etaceh messed up.” She nodded, agreeing with her own lies. “Yes, that must be it.”

Caislean — in her black kimono — followed Betty’s defense. As the person in charge of the Residence well-being, she was the next to take responsibility she wanted to avoid, “Yes, that must be it.” She nodded. “I, for one, never heard the news.”

“Because you are too busily squealing in bed,” the group moral — Amy — threw the gauntlet down on the two irresponsible dolts.

“You speak like you weren’t the raunchiest of us,” Caislean yelled. “Who is it that begged Ciel to punch through the womb and branded—”

“D-Don’t change the subject,” Amy quickly clamped her hand over Caislean’s mouth. “You guys still messed up.”

It was Xia who brought down the order.

“We are getting off-topic,” Xia said sternly.

Ciel added in his input.

“Look,” Ciel said. “I know as the main beneficiary of the…”

Ciel was trailing off as he struggled to find the word for the sexual festival they had been partaking in the last week and a half.

“Reorganization,” Hikari offered.

“Group activities,” Xia suggested.

“Orgies,” Amy got back to the O-word.

“As the recipient of the orgies,” Ciel called what happened for what it was. “I have the least leg to stand on, but first we need to know how this slipped past us.” Ciel coughed. “Who is responsible for intelligence gathering?”

“That would be Hikari,” Xia said.

All eyes turned to her.

“I heard about the troop’s movement a day ago,” Hikari nervously fidgeted. “I believed they would be confronting Etaceh, but I didn’t think the battle would be over so quickly.”

Amy wasn’t letting it go, “Are we circling back to all of us being distracted by the orgies again?”

“Amy, that isn’t helping,” Xia said to avoid turning the conversation back into a melee, and partly because she was the one he green-lighted the ‘reorganization’ that got them caught by surprises. “Hikari, what do you think went wrong?” Ciel said.

Hikari gave the honest thought, “I think the entire Eastern Continent is having an information lag. Usually, information could be easily updated by courier and communication artifact networks.” She looked at her food guiltily. “The courier-system was run by Eleanor, which was destroyed.”

“And the Etaceh is probably jamming the artifact network,” Betty said. “Of course, she would totally do that.”

“We need our information gathering system back in order,” Xia said. “Any ideas?”

“Maybe,” Betty pulled out a rectangular black card decorated with red and blue rose petal. “I had a feeling this might help.”

“Your domain,” Xia said. “I believe you never created one. How would that help us?”

“Let's think about it,” Betty explained. “When you all selected your domain, the abilities go two ways. It is either something heavily associated with us, or something the Residence needed. Xia and Amy fell into the former case. Hikari fell to the latter. The Harriett House has the infinite room option and the recreational facility.” Betty spun the card on her fingertips. “I think the new domain will fix our information problem.”

Xia nodded, “That made sense when you think about it. Where are you planning to make your domain, anyway?”

Betty smiled. “I already have a perfect place in mind.” Realizing she had covered the information screw-up she helped cause, Betty turned the attention back to the more urgent problem. “What are we going to do about Montgomery and Etaceh?” Betty frowned. “You never went into that much detail about Maximus’ Authority. I think you only told Xia about it.”

“Very well,” Ciel unveiled their next challenge. “Maximus’ Authority is called the Lord of Worship. This power comes in two parts. First, he has extreme control over what we call holy power and White Mana. If Maximus isn’t a wimp and fanatic, he could have become the greatest White mage ever live. Luckily for us, Maximus sucked at direct combat, but he made up with Lord of Worship’s other ability — Worship Seed.” Ciel made a face. “I hate that thing. That is why I am going to repeat this again. Do. Not. Go. Near. Maximus.”

“Didn’t you say the same thing once in Eleanor?” Hikari said. “What is so bad about the seed?”

Ciel’s face darkened, “It is a mystic compulsion. Maximus can implant this undetectable mental seed in your psyche and warp you to his will. No matter how smart and paranoid you are, the seed will slowly bend your subconscious in Maximus’ favor, increasing compliance and decreasing skepticism. Long enough exposure will foster unshakable worship in him. You can go to sleep one night as his enemy and wake up to be his flock without knowing any better.”

Silence hung over the room.

“Okay,” Amy said. “That is a very creepy Authority.”

Caislean rolled her eyes, “Thank you for telling us, Ciel. I’m positively disturbed.” 

“Are there any counters?” Hikari got to the point. “Any ways to stop this ‘Seed’?”

Ciel dryly laughed, “I wish. The only known weakness of the Seed of Worship is the Lords are immune to it.”

“Wait,” Betty got a sinking feeling. “What about Apolline?”

Instead of Ciel, it was Xia who answered.

“That is the scary thing about it,” Xia said. “Remember how the Archangels were blessed with White Magic? That is another function of the Seed. It can give people part of Maximus’ power for an increase in control over them.” Xia recalled her negotiation with Apolline on Eleanor’s harbor. “That was how I persuaded Apolline and the Montgomery forces without a problem. Bring up the benefit for Maximus the Grand to the Archangels and you already win half the battle.”

“Apolline isn’t that dumb,” Hikari said. “She would have known she is being controlled.”

Ciel answered that one, “That is the neat part.” He explained further. “It isn’t mind-controlling. Maximus didn’t reprogram her mind. He simply coaxed Apolline’s subconscious into believing any benefit to him is good for her. Every time she obeys Maximus’ directive it sends a wave of belonging and happiness into her brain. Over time, this effect is integrated over part of her psyche.” Ciel huffed. “It will work expectantly well if you went in with an open mind, like hunting for a job inside of Montgomery or applying to become an Archangel.”

Betty facepalmed. She had a feeling Carolina was probably screwed right now.

“Thanks for the explanation,” Betty said. “How do I avoid it?”

“Maximus projected a field that automatically plants this seed in your brain,” Ciel said. “I believe this field is covering the entirety of Mt. Uranus. My advice is to stay the fuck away from the danger zone.”

A dangerous thought occurred to Hikari, “Ciel, is the reason you believe Etaceh couldn’t infiltrate Eleanor is because the entirety of Montgomery is under the Seed’s control?”

“Bull-eyes, Hikari,” Ciel confirmed the worst-case scenario. “Everyone coming and staying on Montgomery is Maximus’ sheep.” Ciel laughed without a sense of humor. “The entire country will fight to the last child for Maximus.” Ciel made a face. “Then there is the goal of the ‘Seed.’”

Caislean got fed-up, “Stop being cryptic, Ciel. What is it you are trying to say?”

Ciel considered how to break the worst news to them, “Seeds sprout into a crop, then it will be reaped to provide the benefit.” Ciel glanced at the ceiling. “That same process also applies to the Seed of Worship.”

Betty was the first to get it, “You mean the ‘Seed’ can be harvested?”

“For real,” Caislean said. “Harvest for what?”

“I don’t think I will like the answer,” Amy said.

“Oh no,” Hikari stumbled upon the terrifying possibility. “Don’t tell me everyone in Montgomery is going to die.”

Xia turned to Ciel. Even she hadn’t heard about this part.

Ciel’s tone wasn’t a happy one. “Congratulations, Hikari and Betty, you two worked out the answer. Maximus’s greatest weapon is the ability to take back the Seed and Power he had given away with interest. This process will ‘reap’ everyone the Seed has taken root. The Archangels are his general and prized cows.” Ciel groaned. “That is the reason both I, and a certain socially stunted dragon, can’t let that fanatic win. If Maximus emerges the victor, every life in the Eastern Continent is forfeit.” Ciel laughed. “And even if he loses, he will be taking Montgomery with him.”

Amy was horrified, “There have to be a million people living in Montgomery.”

“Yeah,” Ciel wished he had a drink. “It is fuck-up, but those millions will die. There is no way to safely remove the Seed, Amy.” Ciel said. “No matter what happens, the Eastern Continent’s death rate will swing when this is over, opening the perfect door for Yulong to invade.”

“Do you have a plan?” Xia said, knowing the answer.

“I have no good ways out of this. No matter what happens, Yulong will invade,” Ciel affirmed. “Either to stop Maximus or Etaceh, at that point the Eastern Continent is effectively gone. Our best option is hopping on a boat and sailing elsewhere.” Ciel sighed. “But I doubt you girls will agree.”

“No way,” Xia said. “I have a score to settle with Etaceh.”

“Same here, sis,” Betty said.

“Yes,” Amy agreed. “And we have to stop Maximus.”

“We still owe Apolline too,” Hikari mused. “Are you sure there isn't any way to save her?”

It was Caislean who concluded the meeting, “Ciel, I believe the entire room wants to go with the harder option.”

Ciel smiled dryly, “Yeah, I should have expected this to come. Okay, we need to beat Etaceh, then Maximus, and then run away from Yulong when they jump us. It will be peachy.”

It was there that Unity Lord joined the war for the Eastern Continent.