Sitting at the large dinner table with plates of pastries and cups of tea, Etrius smiled as Allysa waved her arms as she told her story. Next to her was Risa, who had a faint smile adding her own details every so often.

 

“And the dragon just started roaring!” Allysa said. “She was like ‘I’ll return to burn your cities into ash!’ and I was like ‘Try it!’ and she flew off in a rage.”

“You know, taunting dragons is never considered to be a good idea.” Etrius said.

“I keep telling her that, but she never listens.” Risa chuckled.

“Oh, what do those lizards have going for them?” Allysa asked. “They aren’t that scary.”

“Giant, god devouring, flying lizards that can breathe fire aren’t scary to you?” Risa asked.

 

Sitting on the opposite side of the table, Satou, Jasmine, and Mary couldn’t help their continued glances at the three of them. Noticing this, Etrius felt that some explanation was due.

 

Clearing it’s throat, Etrius spoke up. “Well, just so your guests know, I should probably introduce myself.”

“Allow me.” Allysa said. “This, our human guests, is Auntie Washington!”

“Technically I’m not your aunt.” Etrius said.

“She’s our great great great great, add a few more greats, grandmother.” Risa said. “We call her Auntie to make things easier.”

“How old are you?” Jasmine couldn’t help but ask.

“Very.” It said.

“She comes to visit us every so often.” Allysa said. “Speaking of which, what might be today’s occasion?”

“Well, two things.” It said.

“Tell us, don’t be shy!” Allysa said.

“I came to pick up these humans and return them to their world.” It said.

“Ah, well that would be a bit troublesome.” Risa said.

“How so?” It asked.

“The speaker of the gods said that they needed humans for something.” She said.

“I’m not sure what for, but I know that it is very important.” Allysa said.

“Is that so?” It asked.

“Unfortunately so.” Risa nodded.

“Is there anything that can be done about it?” It asked.

“Well, we could say that they escaped.” Allysa said. “The gods are distracted at the moment after all.”

“Ah yes, they are, aren't they?” Risa said.

“Distracted?” Mary asked.

“What could distract a god?” Jasmine asked.

“I’m not sure. They are keeping the specifics to themselves.” Allysa said.

“Enough of those false gods, can I take these humans back?” Etrius asked. “I’ll deal with that dragon for you.”

“Oh yes, please do!” Allysa said. “I would be very happy if you did that!”

“Got it.” It said. “There might be some minor damages, but I’ll keep it to a minimum.”

“Thank you for that.” Allysa smiled.

“Is there anything else you need?” Risa asked.

“Just permission to use those crystals of yours to make a portal to get them back.” It said.

“By all means.” Allysa said. “Go right ahead.”

“After dealing with the dragon that is.” It reminded her.

“That goes without saying.” She said. “How long will this dragon business take?”

“It’ll be dead in a week and some more people that I’m bringing with me will be here in about a month.” It said.

“Oh, you’re bringing others?” Risa asked.

“I bet it’s a bunch of maids.” Allysa said.

“That’s exactly who I’m bringing, how did you know?” It asked.

“I knew it!” She said. “It’s maids, always maids!”

“How many of them?” Risa asked, before changing her mind. “You know what, never mind, I don’t want to know.”

“Maids?” Satou asked.

“You got a thing for them?” Jasmine asked.

“It just sort of happened.” It shrugged. “Is it okay if I bring them with me as well?”

“Oh, go for it.” Allysa said. “I’m expecting another wave of migrants in the next few years, so they won’t be missed.”

“I’m sure anyone would be pleased to hear that.” It said.

“I’ll admit, it did sound bad.” Allysa said. “But you know what I mean.”

“Yeah yeah, I got it.” It said, turning towards the humans. “By the way, want to see pictures of these two when they were young?”

“NO!” Allysa shouted.

“STOP!” Risa begged.

“Look at Allysa, she was so fat!” Etrius said, showing off a picture to the humans.

 

Looking at it they saw a picture of Allysa, as a fairly plump child, attempting to pet a sheep.

 

“And this is her playing with some animals!” Etrius said, showing them another picture.

 

This one had Allysa on the floor, having been presumably headbutted by the sheep who looked to be setting up another attack.

 

“Auntie stop it!” Allysa, turning red, covered her face.

“This one is of Risa on a beach trip!” Etrius said, bringing out another picture.

 

Child Risa was standing in a pool of mud up to her knees, stuck and crying, reaching to an older elf woman for safety.

 

“No!” Risa dove across the table, reaching for the picture.

“I got plenty more if you want to see them.” Etrius smiled, lifting the pictures out of reach.

““Auntie!”” The two queens cried out in protest.

“Oh alright.” Etrius gave an exaggerated shrug. “Enough of the pictures.”

 

Hearing this, the two sighed in relief, with Risa settling back down in her chair. Wanting to change the subject, Allysa raised her head.

 

“Speaking of children, Auntie, do you have any?” Allysa asked.

“Well, aside from those succubi that I recently picked up, there is April.” Etrius said. 

“Human, elf, spirit?” Allysa asked.

“She’s a spirit, an angel.” It said.

“Oh, those warlike people?” Risa asked.

“She must be dangerous.” Allysa seemed to agree.

“Oh, she was in her younger days, but she really calmed down recently.” It said.

“Wait, her?” Jasmine asked.

“Oh, you’ve met her?” Allysa asked.

“Well, we didn’t really talk…” Jasmine thought back to their only talk.

“Wanna see a picture of her when she was younger?” Etrius asked.

“Is it an embarrassing one?” Allysa asked.

“I’m sure she would be embarrassed by it.” It said.

“Show me!” She said eagerly.

 

Not refusing to show off it’s kids, Etrius pulled out a photo of April. Though she looked the same as she did when they saw her, her dignified expression was that of a childish grin as she, her armor, her round shield, and fierce looking spear, were covered in blood and gore. Not even her snow white wings were spared. Judging by the fact that she stood on what looked to be a giant, green, and broken face, they could only assume that it was some sort of giant.

 

“Oh, just look at her.” Etrius couldn’t help but smile. “This is her when she killed her first giant. Ah, it was a feral one, so don’t worry.”

“Wait, giants are real?” Mary asked.

“You are really asking that now?” It asked. “After you were kidnapped by elves from another world?”

“I just want the record to show that I did not order this.” Allysa said urgently. “I would never willingly go after anyone under Auntie’s protection.”

“Oh, they aren’t under my protection. I would just prefer to bring them back alive.” It corrected. “Feel free to kick their asses.”

“No, don’t do that.” Satou said.

“No, we won’t bring you any further harm. We don’t want to earn Auntie’s wrath.” Risa admitted.

“Is it that bad?” Satou asked.

“You did see the same severed head that I did, right?” Jasmine asked.

“Oh, right.” Satou nodded.

“Yes, Auntie is very protective of her children, so don’t even think about trying to mess with them.” Allysa said.

“Unless it’s funny.” It added.

“No, even if it’s funny it is still a risk.” Risa said. “Like seriously, don’t even think about it.”

“Yeah, sometimes it feels like she can read people’s minds when it comes to her kids.” Allysa said.

“You seriously think I can read minds?” It asked.

“I’m sure you can.” Allysa said, with Risa nodding in agreement.

“Well that aside,” Mary, feeling as if things might be getting dangerous, said. “How old was April in this photo?”

“Oh, this is when she was forty-six.” It said.

“That young?” Risa said. “She must have gone through some hellish training.”

“Yeah, her parents and grandparents were strict.” Etrius nodded.

“Considering that you’re taking care of her, what happened to her birth parents?” Allysa asked.

“Ambushed by dragons.” It said.

“Ah, that would do it.” Allysa nodded.

“So…” Jasmine started, suddenly suspicious. “What about Sophia and Hanna’s parents?”

 

At this, Risa froze and Allysa’s eyes opened wide, looking at her. Etrius smiled as if was a child who had their prank was exposed. Seeing this, the two queens turned pale and started shivering uncontrollably. Seeing this, Jasmine considered that maybe this wasn’t the best idea, to bring them up.

 

“Auntie I-” Risa started.

“Oh, settle down you two.” Etrius said, suddenly appearing behind them.

 

Tring to calm them down, it put a hand on their shoulders, making them flinch. Despite this, Etrius continued to smile.

 

“T-tt-t-ttt-they didn’t…” Risa stuttered. “say anything, did they?”

“They said lots of things.” Etrius nodded. “That being said, this is between you and them. I’ll just bring them when they are ready.”

“What do you mean when they’re ready!?” She asked. “They want to kill me don’t they!”

“Surprisingly no.” It said. “They just want to beat you up in a fist fight.”

“How long do I have?” She asked urgently.

“A bit over a hundred years.” It said.

“Tell me sooner!” She argued.

“You don’t have long to prepare.” Allysa said seriously.

“I’ll start training right now!” Risa said trying to stand.

“No, stop.” Etrius pushed her back in her chair. “Do you honestly think those two are doing anything to prepare?”

“…” Still a bit pale, Risa nodded to herself. “Right, they are probably stuffing themselves as we speak…”

“They sure do love to eat.” Allysa said.

“Tell me about it.” Etrius sighed. “Those two can eat a normal family out of house and home.”

“I’m… truly sorry for that…” Risa said.

“No it’s fine.” It said. “But you seriously need to stop this whole elf supremacist stuff. You lot aren’t even that strong.”

“Compared to you, everything is weak.” Risa said.

“Then why did you run away from your throne world?” It asked.

“I…” She was unable to make eye contact.
“She’s got you there.” Allysa said.

“And you, I don’t mean to kink shame but what’s with the whole pet thing with your husband?” It asked.

“I’m sorry he looks better on his knees.” She defended.

“Whatever, that doesn’t matter. Just learn from this one and be a better mother.” It said.

“I wasn’t that bad!” Risa said.

“You ordered your husband's execution.” It said.

“What does that have to do with being a mom!?” She asked.

“You made them watch.” It said.

“Wait, you seriously did that!?” Allysa asked, shocked.

“I didn’t know they were there!” She defended.

 

Etrius pulled out it’s phone and played an audio recording.

 

“Fuck it, let em watch.” Risa’s voice sounded out, sounding tired and distracted.

 

“I was drunk!” She argued.

“You are the queen of a throne world, every word you say is taken seriously.” It said.

“It shouldn't!” She said. “You know how terrible of an idea that is!”

“You know, I really thought elves were going to be cooler…” Jasmine muttered.

“We get that a lot.” Allysa sighed.

“If you think these two are weird, wait until you see their dad.” Etrius said.

“Oh please don’t.” Risa sighed. “I don’t want him here.”

“Yeah, it would be troublesome.” Allysa agreed.

“Why?” Jasmine asked.

“Is he that bad?” Mary asked.

“To put it crudely, he’s a whore.” Etrius said.

“Forty-nine wives and twice as many concubines.” Risa sighed.

“It’s actually fifty-two now.” Etrius said.

“Great…” Allysa sighed.

“Do we have any new brothers or sisters?” Risa asked.

“None yet.” It said. “Oh, and speaking of children, I would hold off on having any more until you deal with the twins.”

“What why?” Risa asked, concerned. “Do they hurt them?”

“No, but due to their instruction, I will.” It said.

“Okay, thank you for the warning.” She said, shuttering at the thought.

“Why would you do that?” Jasmine asked.

“Yeah, it’s one thing if they’re actually dangerous, but kids?” Mary asked. “You wouldn’t hurt kids would you?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” It asked.

“Oh, they don’t know.” Allysa realized. “Yeah, Auntie is a robot.”

“No, we know that, but still.” Satou said. “They’re just kids.”

“If you had a bug problem, would you leave the larva alone just because they are young?” It asked. “And if they were capable of thoughts and feelings such as revenge, would you leave them be?”

“Okay, I think I’m understanding how you view us.” Mary muttered.

“Yeah, she even views the gods like that.” Allysa nodded.

“I have strict requirements for what gods are, those beings are not gods.” It said.

“What is a god to you?” Satou asked.

“At the very least, a god cannot be harmed in any way. There are no known beings that fit that generous criteria.” It said.

“What about you?” Risa asked.

“I get harmed regularly, especially from the stalk-” It was cut off as the top half of it’s body was destroyed. “The one who claims to be my spouse.”

“WE ARE MARRIED.” Adriana’s annoyed voice sounded out from nowhere, stressing her words.

“So, I’m far from being anywhere near a god.” It said as it rebuilt its body.

“Are you okay?” Risa couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m perfectly fine.” It said. “I can rebuild myself from this level of damage with no issue.”

“Right…” She said realizing that even if the answer was no, there was nothing that she could do. “Well, thanks for the warnings about kids. I don’t want to be hurt by you.”

“Great, I would hate to hurt you.” It said, smiling as if everything was fine.