[Luna POV]

We spent another day on my island so that I could keep practicing my divine skills.  Out of all of them, the only one that stayed a mystery was Abyssal Blessing.  No matter what I tried, I could never tell what the effect really was.  Domain Creation turned out to be the easiest to use and it was also easy to combine it with Constellation Creation.  As for constellations, I turned one of my extra bows into one as a test and now the sky in my domain had several drawn bows in the sky.  While inside the created domain, I could basically do anything I wanted.  It was basically an entirely different world.

 

{Luna, what are you thinking about that is making you smile like that?}

 

“Fufufu.  Don’t worry about that for now, I’ll tell you later.”

 

{I’m getting the feeling I’m going to like this answer.}

 

Hearing her words, my smile grew wider.

 

“Velvet, I’ve never seen that look on big sis’s face before.  It’s kind of scary.” (Soleil)

 

“I agree, Soleil.  It’s kind of feral.” (Velvet)

 

Ophidia didn’t say anything and just backed a bit away.

 

“Sorry.” I said as I tried to get my thoughts straight.

 

It was then that Skadi spoke up.

 

“Luna, you said the reason that all of you were in Beria was to spend some time by the sea, right?” (Skadi)

 

“Yeah.” (Luna)

 

“I have a proposition for you then.” (Skadi)

 

“I’m listening.” (Luna)

 

“If you give me a month’s supply of your best cooking, I’ll let you spend some time on an island I own.  It has no people and can give this one a run for its money in scenery.” (Skadi)

 

“Deal.  I’ll go and get everything cooked for you then.” (Luna)

 

“When you’re done, I’ll show you to the island and you can teleport everyone there.” (Skadi)

 

I went to the kitchen and started cooking.  It took the rest of the day, but when I finished and handed Skadi the item bags full of food, she had a nice smile on her face.

 

“I’ll show you to the place tomorrow.  Also, mind if I join all of you?” (Skadi)

 

“I don’t mind, what about everyone else?” (Luna)

 

“It’s fine with me.” (Ophidia)

 

“No problem here.” (Velvet)

 

“The more the merrier.” (Soleil)

 

“Then there’s your answer.” (Luna)

 

“Thanks.  It’s been one thing after the other lately and I need a break.” (Skadi)

 

“Velvet did tell me that you were here in the Empire to hunt down some plant things, what was that about?” (Luna)

 

“They were some things from a very long time ago that my mother thought were all gone.  Turns out that they weren’t and were propagating rapidly.  Eventually a cult formed that worshipped them and they were being turned into the things.  Very annoying to fight.” (Skadi)

 

“How’d you finish them?” (Velvet)

 

“They were all connected to a central ‘mind.’  I killed that and the rest followed.  The biggest pain of all of that was that I had to fight the source at the bottom of the sea.  When that was done, I had to figure out how to deal with the cult, then when I finished that, I came to Beria for a break and found out a kraken was around.  The best thing to come of all of this annoying stuff was that I actually made some friends.” (Skadi)

 

“I’m happy that you think about us like that, but I really thought you would have more friends than just us.” (Luna)

 

“I have several acquaintances, but none of them are exactly friends.  Out of all of them, the one I would actually say is a friend is Apollo.” (Skadi)

 

“I also know someone with that name.  He’s an archer that travels around in a party with a dwarf and two other humans.” (Luna)

 

“Does he have any relation to divinity?” (Velvet)

 

“He was the only other demigod in the mortal world.  At leas until Luna came along.” (Skadi)

 

“I knew he was hiding something.” (Luna)

 

“Did we make a bet about that?” (Velvet)

 

“No, our bet was if Jarl is a noble or royalty.” (Luna)

 

“Rrriiiggghhhttt.” (Velvet)

 

“So, he’s been travelling around with a party?  That’s new.  Last I saw him, he was the lone wolf type.” (Skadi)

 

“Maybe he wanted to change it up for a bit.” (Luna)

 

“That’s as good a reason as any.” (Skadi)

 

“Wait.  Did you know about that, Tamamo?” (Luna)

 

{I did, but I promised him I would keep quiet about it.}

 

“When did that happen?” (Luna)

 

{The first day of your journey.  He asked me not to tell you when everyone was asleep.}

 

“Did you get anything out of that, Goddess?” (Soleil)

 

{He owes me a favor now.}

 

“I’ve always wondered this Lady Tamamo, but how many gods and goddesses owe you favors?” (Skadi)

 

{Most of them.  Of course, since Luna came around, I’ve been calling in a few, but that number is negligible.}

 

“How exactly did you manage that?” (Luna)

 

{When you live a long time, you can help a lot of people out and it just naturally happens.  It also helps that I’m one of the few gods that can keep Atmos in check.}

 

“More like only you and Gear can keep her in check.  Old Man Crate is more of an enabler and Grey is mostly hen-pecked.” (Skadi)

 

{You can add Luna to the list of people that can keep her in check.  She’s even better at it than me and Gear combined.}

 

“Teach me your ways.” (Skadi)

 

“Get one or more tails and I think I can help with that.  She is helpless when it comes to fluffy things, and I just so happen to be the pinnacle of all fluff.  I am the Abyss and have the Authority.” (Luna)

 

“Tch.  If only it was that easy to do that.” (Skadi)

 

“If she ever bothers you, just call me over and I’ll help out.” (Luna)

 

After that we all went to our rooms for the night.  The next day Skadi and I went back to Beria, and she led me to her island.  It was really far from the mainland, but still had a large home built on it.

 

“It’s good to be back here.” (Skadi)

 

“What’s the story of this place?” (Luna)

 

“It was me and my father’s home when he was alive.” (Skadi)

 

“Oh.  I thought he would become your mother’s Apostle.” (Luna)

 

“He was offered the position but declined it.  He never told me or mother why though.” (Skadi)

 

“Sorry for bringing it up.” (Luna)

 

“It’s fine, it happened a very long time ago.” (Skadi)

 

“I’ll go get the others then, be right back.” (Luna)

 

“Ok.  When you get back, set up whatever you want on the beach, I’m going to go and get ready myself.” (Skadi)

 

I teleported back to my island to find everyone already in their swimsuits.  Ophidia was wearing a dark green high-leg one-piece.  Velvet had a bikini with a sarong wrapped around her waist that matched Soleil’s hair color.  Soleil had a similar one that matched Velvet.

 

“Are you going to change before we go?” (Velvet)

 

“Just give me a few minutes.” I said as I went to my room to change.

 

My swimsuit was a simple black and white bikini.

 

{So simple, yet it makes you all the more attractive.  How do you manage that?}

 

“No idea.  I just picked something that I thought you would like to see me in.”

 

{Wait, can’t that creep also look at you?}

 

“Hehehe.  Don’t worry about that.  Every time he tries, all he will see is an illusion of what he most fears, then a potion of greater hurting will fall on his head.  I also used some cursing fox fire to curse him to stub his little toe randomly.  He’ll be pretty occupied dealing with that for a while.”

 

{When are you going to go from petty harassment to actual torture?}

 

“When we actually make it to Onigashima.”

 

I left my room and went back to where the others were waiting.

 

“Oh.  You look so good, big sis.” (Soleil)

 

“Soleil is right, master.  I may not really understand the reason for these, but you do look good.” (Ophidia)

 

“I feel like I’ve lost.” (Velvet)

 

“Lost what?” (Luna)

 

“…” (Velvet)

 

Soleil looked at Velvet and back to me.  She did this a few times then got a look like she figured something out.

 

“Don’t worry Velvet, I prefer them your size.” (Soleil)

 

“…” Velvet didn’t say anything and just hugged Soleil while a blush crept up on her face.

 

“Anyway, lets go.” (Luna)

 

Everyone grabbed onto my arms, and I teleported us to Skadi’s island.  When we got there, Skadi was already on the beach.  She was sitting on a towel underneath an umbrella.  The image reminded me of something, but it also was missing something.  I looked through my memories and realized what was missing.

 

“Hey Skadi, take this.” I said as I pulled out a red and white whale plush from my inventory and tossed it to her.

 

“Thanks, but won’t this get ruined by being on the beach?” (Skadi)

 

“No, I made it out of nature-resistant materials.  You could even use this in combat, and it would stay in perfect condition.” (Luna)

 

“Anything you want in return?” (Skadi)

 

“Nah.  I made it as a gift in the first place.” (Luna)

 

“Nn.” (Skadi)

 

The rest of us went about setting up things like our own umbrellas and I laid out a custom made beach chair.  Ophidia pulled a beachball out of her inventory and tossed it at Velvet.  She caught it and then tossed it to Soleil.  I took off my illusion necklace and all of my tails appeared.

 

“Much better.” (Luna)

 

“I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you hide your tails?” (Skadi)

 

“The only kitsune that has more than one tail is Tamamo.  If I walked around with all of mine unhidden, I would draw too much attention to myself and probably be dragged onto a lot of unnecessary things.” (Luna)

 

“Fair enough.  Humans and the other races tend to be annoying like that sometimes.” (Skadi)

 

“How are you with alcohol?” (Luna)

 

“I’ve beaten dwarves in drinking contests before.” (Skadi)

 

I pulled out some stuff and made some margaritas.  I handed Skadi one and we both took a sip.

 

“Fruity.  Can you teach me to make these?” (Skadi)

 

“Sure.” (Luna)

 

I sat on my chair and leaned back and closed my eyes.

 

{I wish I could get a picture of this.}

 

‘Unfortunately, I don’t have a camera.’

 

{What’s a camera?}

 

‘Something that takes pictures without the need for someone to paint them.  You should ask Grey for more details, he could probably explain it better than me.’

 

{I’ll do that then.}

 

‘Oh, before you go do that, make sure you’re free for a few days.’

 

{Luna, I’m always free.}

 

‘Oh yeah.  Well, this is awkward.’

 

{Now I’m curious, why should I be free for the next few days?}

 

‘I learned a few things about my domain creation.  One of them is that it’s basically a separate world from this one.  Do you need me to say anymore?’

 

{Ufufufu.  So, this is the reason you sometimes get that feral looking smile.  Don’t worry Luna, even if I did have plans, I would cancel them all for this.}

 

‘Fufufufufufufufufufu.’

 

Just then the ball that the others were playing with flew over and landed next to me.

 

“Come and join us, big sis.” (Soleil)

 

I picked up the ball and threw it back to them.  I then got up and started walking in their direction.

 

“Want to join as well, Skadi?” (Luna)

 

“Why not, it seems fun.” (Skadi)

 

She stood up as well and we both joined in the circle that they were tossing the ball between.

 

“Let’s make this interesting, the one to let the ball hit the ground has to clean everything up after lunch and dinner.” (Soleil)

 

“You’re on, Soleil.” (Velvet)

 

“Hahahahahahahahahahaha!” (Ophidia)

 

“I guess I’ll have to cook a lot then if we want this competition to be worthwhile then.” (Luna)

 

“I’m looking forward to eating what you cook.” (Skadi)

 

We spent the rest of the day having fun like this.  At one point our competition got so heated that Ophidia was sent flying into the sea, but she managed to keep the ball in the air.  In the end it was Velvet that lost.  After that I made a lunch of skewed meat and shrimp-like things.  Skadi and Ophidia had a small competition to see who could eat more which ended in a draw.  I felt a little bad for Velvet since they left a mountain of skewers behind, so me and Soleil ended up helping her.

 

When we finished cleaning up all of that, we went to our umbrellas and found Ophidia and Skadi napping.

 

“Oh.  This is an interesting development.” (Luna)

 

“Are you thinking what I am thinking, big sis?” (Soleil)

 

“Hmm.  It could happen, but I’m not too sure on the probability of it.” (Luna)

 

“I think the two of you are reading too much into it.” (Velvet)

 

“Hmmmm.  Maybe so.” (Luna)

 

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” (Soleil)

 

We left the two of them alone and went to our own spots.  I got back onto my chair and Velvet and Soleil sat on their beach blanket.

 

“*Yawn*  I can understand why they fell asleep.” (Velvet)

 

“I…agree.  I’m going…to borrow your…shoulder, Velvet.” (Soleil)

 

“You can take my lap if you want.” (Velvet)

 

“Heh.  Don’t mind…if…I…do.” Soleil said as she fell asleep in Velvet’s lap.

 

“I’m letting you know right now that I’m going to go to the mansion right after dinner, Velvet.  I will probably be occupied for a few days, so don’t worry about me.” (Luna)

 

“What are you going to be doing?” (Velvet)

 

“Things.” (Luna)

 

I must have had that smile on my face again because Velvet sighed.

 

“*Sigh*  I think I have an idea, so I’ll just ask you not to get too carried away.  Just because you can make the opportunity to do this, remember that you still have other goals to achieve.” (Velvet)

 

“I know that.  It’s just that I feel if I don’t do this, I’ll go insane.  I don’t think you get just how hard it is for me sometimes.” (Luna)

 

“Really?  You make it seem like it’s no big deal.” (Velvet)

 

“It’s just because I’ve become numb to the fact I only get to be close to Tamamo once a month.  It doesn’t help that Tamamo has a habit of sometimes saying and doing things in suggestive ways.  I mean seriously, who invites their significant other to take a bath in a hot spring with them and then basically invite them to do anything, but both of you know that you won’t have the time?” (Luna)

 

“Calm down Luna.  You’ll wake Soleil up.” (Velvet)

 

“Sorry.” (Luna)

 

“It’s fine.  As for what you were saying earlier, that must have been tough.” (Velvet)

 

“It was even worse after that since I kept seeing the scene every time I closed my eyes.” (Luna)

 

“All I’ll say is have fun.” (Velvet)

 

“Oh, I plan on it.” (Luna)

 

After that we sat in silence for a few minutes.  I was about to talk about something else when I heard more quiet breathing next to me.  I looked over and saw Velvet fell asleep as well.

 

‘I guess I’ll take a nap as well.’

 

I closed my eyes and fell asleep.  When I woke up again, it was late in the afternoon and the others were already awake.  Velvet and Soleil were throwing the ball to each other while waist deep in the water.  Skadi was sitting under her umbrella and reading a book.  Ophidia had made herself a makeshift spear and was going after some fish.  I stood up and stretched, then walked over to everyone.

 

“Anyone hungry?” (Luna)

 

“Can you cook these, master?” Ophidia said as she walked over to me carrying several fish.

 

“Sure thing.” (Luna)

 

I went over to the makeshift grill and stoked the fire.  I prepared the fish Ophidia caught as well as some that she and Velvet bought several days ago.  Once everything was done and we finished eating, I told everyone I was heading back early.  When I teleported back to my room in the mansion, I went and took a bath to get all of the sand off of me then went back to my room.

 

Once I was back in there, I immediately used Domain Creation.  Several minutes later a bright light shone in the middle of the room and Tamamo appeared.

 

{♪Llllluuuuunnnnnaaaa.♪}

 

She moved over next to my bed and I jumped into her arms.  We gave each other a deep kiss and intertwined our tongues.

 

Author's Note:
And that's where we give them some privacy.

Atmos:  Good for them.

Yep, and the next time Tamamo is here, I'll give her the pictures that she wanted.

Atmos: You like taking risks, don't you?

I wouldn't worry about it.  Once I handed them over to Tamamo, I was going to tell Luna to use the thing I gave her yesterday.  I would prefer keeping my eyes.

Atmos: Good idea.  Grey couldn't remember anything from after Luna fell asleep after her fifth tail grew.

Good. I was worried that it might have been too potent.

Atmos: Even if it was, I would just ask Gear to help out.  He is good at memory manipulation after all.

Good to know.

****
Author's Note Extra:
If anyone wants to have a better mental image of what was worn in this chapter.  Soleil and Velvet's swimsuits are based on Akagi and Kaga's from Azur Lane.  Ophidia's is like Projekt Red's, Luna's is based on Platinum's, and Skadi's is Skadi's all from Arknights.  Thanks for reading.