The answer arrived half an hour later, she was getting angsty and was thinking about teleporting to the surrounding area, she half expected her [Minions] to have already scouted the area and marked a spot for her to arrive, to be honest.

 

But in the end, she didn't need to do anything at all since Rossie sent a text message back to her "I am already en route back Eli-Eli, I will arrive at the Teleportation Station in five minutes, catch you at the apartment." Was the text message she got back.

 

She of course didn't get depressed at the absence of a [Love you] back from her girlfriend, no sir. The shadows around her didn't shorten nor turn a tad darker.

 

"Love you too Eli-Eli ♥"

 

And of course, she also didn't smile and brighten when a selfie of Rossie smiling at her making a heart with her cute hands on a very expensive-looking sofa arrived, no sir. She was calm as a cucumber, a very happy cucumber.

 

She didn't stop to think about how her girlfriend had taken that picture nor about the surroundings, she just smiled and saved the picture to her private folder for further appreciation at a later date.

 

"Any problem on Rossie's side in her outing?" Elizabeth asked while looking in the direction of the teleportation station.

 

"[None was found during the time Mistress. The reports indicate that she did some work healing and cut ties with former employees, some took offense at this, but Mistress Consort cut the effect of her healing short and demanded twice the pay to restore the damage. That was enough to convince them to let her walk away.]" Answered back one of her Royal Mages from her shadow.

 

They had taken the place to collect and categorize the information from the scouts, and to present it to her when needed, "Mark that as a priority target, if they get any ideas..." Elizabeth started saying, she wouldn't allow anyone to interrupt her daily life.

 

"[Already marked for investigation, any findings will be acted upon and sent to the necessary authorities, Mistress Consort has some information that is ready so we have saved some time on that front.]" The Royal mage answered.

 

Of course Rossie had that already checked, she was a smart girl after all.

 

"Good, inform me of any changes anyway. I may need to prepare another [Villain] persona if we can't get back [The Shadow Empress] working." Elizabeth said as a smile showed on her face, was she really more in tune with being a [Villain]?

 

She didn't think of herself as a [Villain], she wasn't very [Heroic] either, but hadn't actually thought about being a [Villain] or needing a persona in that setting.

 

But then what was she? She needed to think more about that before making her new [Villain] persona.

 

But for now? "[Shadow Step]" She needed to get ready for when Rossie arrived at their apartment, she may as well get her a surprise ♥.

---

"Eli-Eli! I'm back!" Rossie arrived at the apartment and found it brightly illuminated, the table made and ready for eating. "Eli-Eli? You home?"

 

The apartment didn't seem to have anyone, which made the place somewhat creepy, the pink-haired girl seemed more worried by the second, her senses expanding and covering the apartment trying to find the blonde girl that should be there.

 

Rossie knew she should be here already, as the apartment had evidence of someone having been here moments ago, from the table ready for them to eat to the smell of someone having been around.

 

It was the smell of sunflowers on a morning after a rainy night.

 

"Welcome back Rossie..." Then the voice of the blonde girl appeared behind her. "Do you want a bath? Food?...or me?"

 

It was almost comical how quickly the pink-haired girl turned while brandishing her phone with the camera ready, and how quickly the girl's face changed from excitement to disappointment.

 

"What happened Rossie? Did you expect something?" Asked Elizabeth with some mirth in her voice as she looked herself up and down. "Am I missing something?"

 

Elizabeth had rushed back home and prepared everything as fast as possible while commandeering her Shadow Dragons to finish everything, she hadn't had time to change and was dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans and a loose blouse under her apron.

 

Her hair was arranged in a ponytail and since she teleported directly behind the pink-haired girl from the kitchen, she had a towel on her shoulder as she had been washing the dirty frying pans she had used to prepare the food.

 

"...did you do it on purpose?" Asked the pink-haired girl.

 

"I mean... I need to know what you want to do first since that will mean if I leave the food simmering to prepare the bathroom or if you want to indulge me in some snuggle time." Answered Elizabeth, "Or you expected me to know if you were hungry when arriving? I'm not a [Seer] Rossie."

 

"...fine, let's...let's just eat for now," Rossie said while walking towards the table.

 

"Like really, how was I supposed to know if you had eaten or not?" Elizabeth continued grumbling. "Had you let me teleport to you we could have eaten before returning to some nice restaurant or something."

 

"...I'm sorry about that. I didn't want them to know you yet." Said Rossie as she sat and one [Shadow Minion] brought her food. "They will end up learning about you thanks to the exhibition matches of course, but for now it's better this way."

 

"...Fine, but you will need to explain to me why later," Elizabeth said as she sat herself and summoned her own food. "Let me start preparing the bathroom while we eat so you can take a shower after finishing your food."

 

"Thank you Eli-Eli, how was your day?" Said Rossie as she started eating, Elizabeth hadn't too much time to prepare something complex so their food was somewhat simplistic in nature.

 

It was pasta okay, pasta with some fried chicken and some mashed potatoes, she was a simple girl with simple skills!

 

Maybe she could train a shadow dragon into being a cook?

 

"[...do you wish to alter the whole evolution schematic of one of our brethren into a more...domestic use?]" She felt the query at the back of her mind as she was eating her pasta.

 

"Is it possible?" And couldn't help herself but ask inwardly as Rossie seemed to think about something while playing with her mashed potatoes.

 

"[....yes. It is indeed possible to alter the evolution of our brethren into such...roles. Lady Beatrice is a fine example of that, she changed from Valkyrie to Head Maid.]" Answered the royal mage back.

 

"Do it," Elizabeth commanded and felt the mana within the [Shadow Haven] shift ever so slowly.

 

She noticed a part of the central spire seemed to change, some internal floors shifted and four eggs grew from the shadows.

 

"[It's done, we will get four new experimental additions with the required jobs Mistress, should they suffice we will move with making more of this caste.]" Was the answer the royal mage sent her way.

 

She was happy with that and would look forward to having that job delegated, maybe she could make beato back into a Valkyrie too!

 

...She would let the little girl decide that, she didn't want to be like Mother deciding the future of their daughter on her own, even if she thought that would be for the better.

 

"Eli-Eli?" Rossie asked, had she said something? "Is everything okay?"

 

"Ah? Yes. Sorry, was dealing with some of the [Minions]." Elizabeth said as she allowed her consciousness to leave her [Shadow Haven]. "So, how was your day?"

 

"I asked you first, but fine." Rossie laughed at the question and then answered " It was okay, like I said before. I was finishing some stuff I had left over from the vacations we had, made sure some people understood where they stood, and cashed in my wages."

 

Then she brought a banknote and passed it over to Elizabeth, "Took the chance to register you as a co-owner on my bank account too, so you now have spending money."

 

Elizabeth did a double take, then frowned, "I can make money, you didn't need to do this." Of course, she was aware that the scholarship she could get wouldn't be enough to survive while at school.

 

She would need to find time to work, or survive only on mana for a while, she had enough mastery to turn her whole body into mana, so she could survive on that for a while.

 

" I still want you to have it. Money was never a problem for me, and I still get a stipend from my family... This, however, is money I made with my own efforts and I want to share it with you." Rossie pushed the envelope further towards Elizabeth.

 

In the end, Elizabeth couldn't survive against the relentless attack of puppy eyes with tears to the side and ended up taking up the envelope, "I will only use it if I really need it." And said as much.

 

"You will not buy cute clothes for me to look at?" Asked Rossie as if the world was crumbling.

 

"...Fine, just some new clothes." Elizabeth sighed while saying as such.

 

"And underwear for me to ogle...and new skimpy pajamas..." Rossie added while eating more of her pasta, what was that saying...everyone is straight like pasta until they are wet?

 

"...Rossie." Elizabeth glared at her girlfriend, "Fine...I will also buy more underwear and pajamas."

 

"And you do need extra money for food expenses, and in case you want to eat while doing your work on the streets." Rossie added while finishing her food, "And besides, the scholarship doesn't include extra expenses, so if you want to use the arena outside the assigned hours you will need money."

 

...They charged for the use of the arena? "Okay okay, I get it, I will use the money." In the end, Elizabeth accepted her defeat with honor and took the envelope.

 

On it was the emblem of a shield with a golden coin on it, the insides of it included the contract to be mailed after she signed it, a credit card for expenses, and a debit card to store her money.

 

Or their money now, it also had some extra information such as how much money she was able to deposit or withdraw in one go (The limit was in the thousands for some reason). And also a few boxes to be checked if she wanted insurance.

 

She did not want those checked since she had access to the best healer possible (Her girlfriend), so she didn't check those and just signed where she was supposed to. There were too many pages, to be honest, and so she was only speed-reading them while signing them.

 

"...Rossie, it seems you mixed one that wasn't part of the bank paperwork here," Elizabeth said as she took the page out of the bunch.

 

"Oh? Did I? Weird...let me...take that then, no reason for you to bother with it." Said her girlfriend while trying to grab the extra page.

 

"No, it's okay I will safe-keep it for later when you need it." Said Elizabeth as the page sank into her shadow before her girlfriend could even attempt to jump for it. "Really, such a silly mistake."

 

Elizabeth smiled as she saw the beet-red face of her girlfriend, "It's okay, we will speak about that one next year if possible. After dealing with your parents." And said as much as she stored the page in the safest spot possible within her [Shadow Haven].

 

To be guarded against any and all intrusions.

 

"Promise?" Said Rossie as she looked expectantly at Elizabeth.

 

"Of course, by the way...Now that we are speaking about important stuff, at the arena I found Michael and some of our classmates and they told me about the testing at the start of the year." Elizabeth said as she turned the conversation to important things.

 

Not as important as the marriage certificate that Rossie had tried to sneak past her of course (It already had both girl's signatures on it and was only missing the seal from the government to be valid).

 

"Oh..." Rossie said as her mood seemed to plummet, "...did someone record that?"

 

"Not exactly, but I was able to watch it nonetheless..." Elizabeth answered as the pink-haired girl collapsed in the chair, "Rossie...Are you okay?"

 

The girl seemed somewhat confused at the question, "What do you mean?" And so she asked that, followed by "Do you...hate me for hiding that? You are the daughter of [Gods], so you must hate me for having such [Sinful] power."

 

"I mean, do I need to [Kill] a demon for wasting a [Shift] slot," Elizabeth answered the first question, afterward she of course added, "And I would never hate you. You sacrificed so much for me, if Papa or Mama ever want to do anything to you I will make sure they never get anything for Mother's and Father's Day."

 

And since her girlfriend didn't seem to cheer up at that, Elizabeth stood and moved a chair near the pink-haired girl to sit with her, "And if that isn't enough, I will make sure to make them fall from their lofty seat in the sky back into the world of the mortals and make them apologize for making you cry."

 

That at the very least made her girlfriend smile, "Besides, that power isn't [Sinful], you didn't do anything wrong even after being under its influence, unlike me...Who has lost control more often than not." Elizabeth said as she summoned a blob of shadows in front of her.

 

It changed from a dragon figure into a maw, then into an eye, and finally into a shadow dragon scout.

 

"During our first year all the emotions affected my [Shadows], then when I got more stability it was only because a [Shift] was different... And when I managed to get better after the [Merge] it changed all over again when I found out about the [Vestiges] and how they affected me." Elizabeth had found that to be quite intriguing too, the fact that she had somehow inherited the skills that previously [Nyctophagia] held, or some aspect of it.

 

And how that had wanted to change her, "But you? You managed to rein what should have been some very powerful [Instincts] on a whim, without difficulty, and you never had trouble again did you." Elizabeth asked.

 

"That [Shift] has never come up again no, I did get offered a contract with a [Demon], but Agatha told me in no uncertain way that should I accept it. Then the school would move me to a special class that would require my assistance, so I would not be able to care for you." Rossie answered.

 

So that was how Agatha had managed to make Rossie not fall into the [Demon]'s hands?

 

The woman was climbing quite fast at her list of more useful teachers at the school, granted that wasn't a very long list. But still.

 

"See? I needed help from you, my [Minions], Beato, and [Nyx] to deal with the backlash from my own [Skill]!" Elizabeth of course, was exaggerating.

 

The [Minions] hadn't done that much to help besides making sure no other traces of [Nyctophagia] were present, but that was beside the point.

 

"So really, I am bringing this up just to make sure. You didn't get forced into making a [Contract] nor were coerced into anything right?" Elizabeth asked once more, feeling the connection between them and also making sure she had a firm grasp on the part of the [Shadow Haven] that was Rossie's soulscape.

 

"...I'm okay, really. Nothing forced itself into me, and that was more like...an [Awakening], that part had always been inside me and only got brought to light thanks to Akira trying to worm its way into my [Soul]. If anything he made it easier for me to [Crush] him." Rossie answered.

 

She didn't feel any falsehood from their connection nor any alteration in the [Soulscape], but she still felt herself seethe with rage.

 

So that moment in the video when they stared at each other before Rossie [Shifted] into that hot demoness was Akira trying to worm its way into her?

 

No wonder the asshole had got close and personal with Rossie, he didn't want to leave evidence of his blatant attempt at [Soul Tampering]. She was going to castrate that one, that was for sure.

 

"...Okay, so long you are okay. Just...just tell me if you ever need help with that aspect of you." Elizabeth said as she grabbed her girlfriend's hand, "I love all that makes you, so if that part needs pampering I will of course also pamper it."

 

"...Thank you for helping me Eli-Eli." Rossie smiled at her, but unlike her usual sweet and lovely smile this one seemed more...predatory, "But that [Shift] it's called [Cardinal Sin: Tempress of Lust]...are you sure you still want to [pamper] that part of me ♥?"

 

And yes, she wanted to pamper that part of her, but right now, at that moment. Elizabeth felt all the alarms in her mind blare with full strength, something told her that should she say yes. She would not walk away from this apartment in the coming month.

 

And while that would be fun in its own way...

 

"...Let's shelve that for after we meet your parents," She did need to deal with her more immediate problems, "We...we can deal with that after dealing with Akira."

 

"...I will kill that one." Said Rossie with such hate in her voice that if words could kill, Akira would be castrated, his arms and legs would be turned into mush, he would be fed said mush, then impaled and sent straight to the sun with an immortality spell stuck to him just so he would suffer for all eternity.

 

"Not yet Rossie, we need to save Rena first." But alas, Elizabeth was responsible and sensible, "After saving her we can kill Akira."

 

So she of course would save the innocent girl first, then deal with Akira, "But first, how do we deal with his skills?" Said Elizabeth as she summoned the status screen that she had gotten before and expanded on the skill section of Akira.

 

It was time to plan their attack.