First Demonic Dragon

Even the animals had retreated to their dens as if they were preparing for a harsh winter.

So obviously, it was hard to find a place to sit down in, but eventually the girls found one inn with an owner who was just as insane as he was passionate about his craft.

Which was how the two of them ended up sitting in at a small table just by the window; with two cups of tea sitting in front of the both of them.

It was several minutes after the girls\' sat down before Seras even tried to speak.

"…I was going to come home today, you know?"

Lillian remained rather obstinate. "You shouldn\'t have left in the first place."

"I-I know, but I needed… time. I didn\'t want any of you to see me like this." Seras lowered her head.

"And what about what we wanted?? Do you know how hard it was for all of us to watch you leave everything behind??"

"I was doing all of this because of you all!"

"How can you say you did this for us?? When have we ever made you feel like we wanted you to keep your troubles to yourself??!"

"Y-You didn\'t, but… It is all I know how to do." Seras lowered her head.

Lillian could no longer find it within herself to be angry with her.

The two of them fell into silence afterwards, with no clear idea of what they should say next.

"…L-Let\'s try to change gears a bit, shall we?"

Both girls looked at the old man sitting on the end of the table who was shuffling about uncomfortably.

The old vendor wasn\'t expecting for Seras to come find him in his small shack and drag him across the world to play councilor.

He wasn\'t even remotely qualified to help with this sort of thing, but he was honestly just a little afraid of what would happen if he said no.

Besides, he figured it was best to just take it as a repayment for all of the money that he received earlier.

But navigating this situation was harder than he had initially made it out to be.

"L-Let\'s start with you first, Mrs… Money goddess."

Seras unironically accepted her new nickname without making a significant fuss about it.

"Can you tell her why you felt like you had to leave home?" He asked.

Seras spent some time pushing around her spoon inside of her cup. She seemed almost incapable of getting her words out properly.

"I just... felt like I needed a moment so that I didn\'t lose myself in my own head, you know..? I was starting to feel a bit like I\'d atrophied."

Lillian didn\'t seem to be buying her story in the slightest.

And Seras could scarcely say that she blamed her.

"...Did you think that Hajun would not tell us that you saw one of your siblings?"

As soft-spoken as she may have been, Lillian\'s simple revelation still rattled her sister to the core.

If she was honest, she hadn\'t put much thought into her last chat with her father before she left.

Mostly because she was embarrassed by how she reacted.

Perhaps it was also in part due to the fact that they were too closely related to the problem.

"I want to know why you didn\'t tell us." Lillian asked quietly. "Or even our husband."

"...You all wouldn\'t understand."

"Try me."

Seras glanced at the Oldman out of the corner of her eye and found him goading her forward silently.

She couldn\'t help but remember the fate that had befallen her new acquaintance in his own marriage, and she didn\'t want that to happen to her.

"I..."

Over the course of several minutes, Seras divulged all of the words she had kept bound in her chest for the past few days.

Her fears of being seen as weak.

Her fear of losing her independence.

And even her issues with confronting her past.

In all honesty, perhaps Lillian was the best one to listen to all of Seras\' doubts and fears.

The fact that they were literally the same person sometimes aside, Lillian had quite the gift for understanding.

Towards the end of Seras\' confession, Lillian had to wipe away her sister\'s tears that had begun running down her face.

"Tell me something, Seras… Have you ever grown tired of rubbing Bekka\'s stomach after she eats?"

*Sniffle* "…It\'s a little time consuming but the satisfied noises she makes are very cute." Seras admitted.

"And what about when Lailah needs help reaching something on a high shelf but she\'s too lazy to use her magic or shapeshift?"

"… R-Reminding her that she\'s our little short stack isn\'t all bad."

Lillian smiled and touched Seras tenderly on the cheek.

"And what about our husband?

We demand little from him in our relationship, but we have always required that he not hold in the things that trouble him.

How can we ask something of him that we are unwilling to do in return?"

Seras looked as if that were the greatest blow to her of all.

"We know you\'re strong, Seras." Lillian continued. "But the whole reason why any of us decided to get married is because we didn\'t want to be strong all of the time.

Our family\'s bond is rooted in our vulnerability.

You have to trust and know that opening up to us is not supposed to hinder you. It\'s supposed to make us all better as a unit."

The old vendor couldn\'t believe he actually had to come all the way here for this.

The goddess\' conversation was flowing so well he barely even had to open his mouth to say anything.

It was almost like they\'d forgotten that he was here.

"I-I know all of that, Lilli… I\'m just having a hard time taking that first step, you know..?" Seras smiled shyly.

Lillian felt as if she had finally gotten through to her sister.

She stood up and held out her hand for Seras to take.

"Then let\'s go home and we\'ll take it together. Our loved ones are waiting for us."

Seras started to take her hand, but at the last moment she drew it back.

"Are they… mad at me?"

"Well look at this." Lillian snickered. "Fearless Seras is afraid of a little scolding?"

"S-Stop mocking me and answer the damned question!"

"Aww, there\'s the little temper I find so adorable." Lillian gave her sister a small kiss on the top of the head and pulled her out of her seat.

"…I\'m not adorable." Seras grumbled.

She was though. She really really was.

"Worry not, dear. Some of them may be a little bit upset with you but it\'s all out of a sense of concern. I\'m sure you\'ll be able to smooth things over with them in your own way."

Before Seras could voice anymore objections, Lillian began pulling her towards the exit.

"W-Wait! My hearts not ready for this!"

"You\'ll be fine, my love. Come along now."

"L-Let me finish my tea first!"

"Eris will make you something better when you\'re at home."

As a last ditch effort, Seras turned back to the guest she\'d kind of kidnapped.

"M-Mr. Street Vendor! Tell her to stop!"

In response, the weary looking old man held up his cup as if giving his cheers.

"I wish you the best, strange goddess. May your marital troubles be nonexistent from this point forward."

When the two women finally disappeared through the strange opening in the middle of the room, the man finally returned to drinking.

\'What a confusing day… I should have asked for them to give me a ride home before they left.\'

With no other alternative in front of him, the old man finished his drink and began lumbering out of the inn.

-

Time seemed to flow in slow motion for Director Nagumo.

Blood seemed not to be properly circulating within his brain, and even his hearing had long failed him.

He couldn\'t tear his eyes away from the recovered body in front of him.

Unlike most of his other subordinates, he and Fiona were very close.

She too had been discovered by the order when she was young and taken in as a cadet not long after.

Shin in particular spent a considerable amount of time with her. He had a deep fondness for her impish sense of humor and cheap wit.

They were things that he didn\'t get much of a chance to appreciate given the gravity of his responsibilities.

The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to name her as his heir and adopt her as his daughter.

But Fiona was a bit too hotheaded in her desire to execute missions, resulting in elevated reports of collateral damage and a 6% decline in rescues from her unit.

She always saw herself as a blade for cutting down monsters. But the Director of the order had to be a shield focused on protecting others.

So even though he cared about her immensely, he never made her his heir.

He could tell that decision had hurt her a little bit.

And in all honesty, they had never really reconciled.

Now look what\'d happened.

The monsters from below had taken her from him too.

\'I promise you this, sweet girl. I will see you returned to life if it is the last thing I do..!\'