A heavy, suffocating silence gripped the hallway. Nobody dared to utter a single word, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.
Daisy stood frozen near the living room entrance, her brain temporarily short-circuiting as she tried to process the sheer absurdity of the situation. What on earth is happening in my private apartment in the middle of the night?!
Slowly, Daisy untangled herself from her shock, cleared her throat, and crossed her arms, glaring down the group from head to toe with a sharp, intimidating gaze.
Not backing down an inch, Lilith stepped forward, locking eyes with the sector commander. She leaned in close, a dangerous, theatrical smirk playing on her lips. "I am Lilith... Princess of Allesta Village—" She abruptly cut herself off mid-sentence, rolling her eyes. "Tch, wait, no. Forget the princess title. I'm Haruto's wife."
"Hey! You're not his wife yet, you're just his fiancée!" Ivory shouted from the back, cutting in with an indignant flush.
Everyone completely ignored her outburst.
Daisy narrowed her eyes, stepping forward to match Lilith's intense aura. "I am Daisy. Commander of this city."
Without breaking eye contact, Lilith slowly reached out, grabbing Daisy's wrist. She flipped Daisy's hand over and inspected her fingers with hawk-like precision, aggressively checking every inch to see if there was a matching ring hidden anywhere.
Realizing the situation was spiraling completely out of control, Haruto quickly stepped forward and offered a tense, apologetic smile. "S-Sorry about all this—!"
Before he could finish, Lilith snapped her head around, glaring at him. "Haruto!"
Startled by the sharp tone, Haruto instantly straightened up like a soldier reporting for duty. "Yes, ma'am!"
"What were you even doing just now?" Lilith demanded, crossing her arms.
"I was... uh, sleeping," Haruto stammered nervously.
"Alone?" Lilith pressed, her eyes narrowing.
Before Haruto could answer, Daisy chimed in sharply, crossing her arms to match Lilith's defensive posture. "Yes, of course he sleeps alone! What kind of question is that?"
Lilith turned her lethal gaze back onto Daisy, stepping right up to her face. "Then what kind of relationship do you even have with Haruto?"
Daisy opened her mouth to answer, but a sudden wave of hesitation hit her. How was she supposed to explain this? They weren't dating, but they weren't exactly strangers either; they lived together in a secret apartment, trained in underground dungeons, and shared late-night meals. The words completely failed her.
Sensing the impending disaster, Haruto frantically waved his hands from behind Lilith. "W-We're just friends! We're just friends!"
Lilith raised an eyebrow skeptically, glancing between the two of them. "Friends who share a private room together this late at night?"
"Look, you guys literally just got here!" Haruto pleaded, sweating bullets. "Give me two minutes, come inside, and I'll explain the whole story from the beginning! Just step inside, please!"
With frantic hand gestures, Haruto signaled for everyone to move into the apartment before a full-scale war broke out in the hallway.
The group reluctantly began shuffling past the doorway, but right as Philo tried to quietly slip inside while hugging the wall like a shadow, Daisy's eyes locked onto her.
Daisy blinked in sheer disbelief, pointing a finger straight at her. "Wait... what on earth are you doing here?!"
Haruto's eyes widened as he finally noticed the silent figure pressed against the corridor wall. "Oh! Philo, it's you! What do you want?"
Philo looked over at Haruto, her expression turning uncharacteristically shy. She mumbled softly, "Oh... hi, wow, you remember me?" before immediately pulling her hood down over her face, shrinking back and nervously playing with the hem of her cloak like a timid country girl trying to hide from the spotlight.
Lilith stepped between them, crossing her arms as she looked at Philo. "You know Haruto?"
Philo peeked out from beneath her hood and nodded. "Yeah. If I haven't him it would take you years to find him."
Haruto threw his hands up in confusion, staring straight at Philo. "Wait a minute... what did she even do? Why did you guys bring her all the way here?!"
Lilith narrowed her eyes, stepping up right in front of Haruto and crossing her arms. "First, I have some serious questions for you. Who told you to just leave without a word, and how on earth did you end up all the way out here?"
Haruto swallowed hard, quietly gulping down his anxiety.
Before he could stammer out an excuse, Philo peeked past the doorway from the hallway. "Um... can I come inside?"
Daisy let out an exhausted sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're already standing right there anyway. Just get in."
Completely bewildered by how chaotic his life had suddenly become, Haruto gave up trying to make sense of it all and just let them pile into the living room.
The rest of the night turned into an absolute blur. Everyone sat around exchanging stories, filling each other in on what had happened since they last crossed paths. True to form, Lilith refused to let go of Haruto for even a single second, clinging tightly to his arm the entire time.
As the hours dragged on, Haruto finally broke the silence. "By the way... are there any missing persons reports or updates back home?"
Lilith shook her head, leaning her cheek against his shoulder. "Nah, nothing like that."
Just then, little Eterna chimed in, tilting her head with innocent curiosity. "Um, it's been a really long time since I saw you... can I ask something? Is this my papa?"
Haruto's brain completely froze, his jaw dropping as the entire room went dead silent. Everyone stared at him in utter shock.
Daisy's eyes bulged out of her head, and she nearly choked on air. She pointed a trembling finger at Haruto, her voice pitching up in sheer disbelief. "Wait—did you become a father behind my back?!"
Hearing that, Lilith flushed bright red, instantly letting go of Haruto's arm as she stammered defensively, "A-Ah, wait! She's adopted!"
Daisy blinked, taking a slow, deep breath to steady her racing heart. "Oh... I see."
Completely lost and baffled, Haruto stared at the little girl. "Eterna... what are you even saying?"
Eterna just smiled brightly, reaching up to gently touch a strand of his hair. "Your hair is really cool, wow..."
Haruto stared back, completely clueless as to how his wepon-turned-daughter had come up with that conclusion on the spot.
Before Haruto could even process Eterna's comment, Toya suddenly stepped forward, looking entirely panicked. "Haruto! We've got a massive problem!"
Haruto blinked, turning his head. "What is it now?"
"Actually... Eterna found some strange dragon fruit lying around and ate a piece of it," Toya explained, wringing her hands nervously. "And... she completely lost her memories!"
Hearing those words, Haruto felt the color drain entirely from his face, his soul practically leaving his body. Are you kidding me?!
He rushed over, squatting down in front of the little girl. "Eterna! Hey, look at me. Do you remember anything at all?"
Eterna blinked her big, innocent eyes and shook her head slowly. "No... I don't remember anything."
Haruto clutched his head in absolute despair. "You're just a little kid! Whose brilliant idea was it to let her touch a dragon fruit?!"
Everyone immediately pointed straight at Lilith. Realizing she was caught, Lilith shrank back, offering a sheepish, apologetic smile. "Ehe... sorry?"
Groaning, Haruto gently scooped Eterna up into his arms. A wave of heavy panic washed over him as he wondered if her core void repair data was permanently gone for good, leaving him completely helpless to fix it.
Before they could even begin untangling the mess, the first rays of morning light began to filter through the windows. With everything that had happened, the entire night had flown by without a single minute of sleep.
Deciding they couldn't stay cramped in Daisy's secret hideout any longer, the group packed up their things to head to a high-end luxury hotel in the commercial district. Haruto, Philo, and the others stepped out together, with Lilith sticking close to Haruto's side the entire way, determined not to let him out of her sight.
When they finally reached the hotel and said their brief goodbyes to Daisy at the lobby entrance, the sector commander stood by the doorway with a complicated, unreadable expression on her face.
She looked at the group, then at Haruto, before finally letting out a quiet, restrained sigh.
"Well..." Daisy muttered, crossing her arms as she stared down at the floor. "Looks like this is the point where we part ways. You're back with your family now. Time for you to go home. Stay safe."
Haruto opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but before he could get a single word out, Daisy abruptly turned on her heel and slammed the heavy security door right in his face, locking it tight.
Once they settled into their luxurious hotel room, Lilith immediately sidled up close to Haruto, grinning teasingly. "Hey there, my husband~"
Haruto groaned, rubbing his temples. "I told you, I'm not your husband!"
Ignoring his denial, Lilith quickly changed the subject, walking over to the massive panoramic window. "Ah, anyway... isn't this city amazing? Look at how crazy and futuristic everything is from back here."
Ivory, Belloan, and Lustra crowded around the glass right behind her, their eyes wide as they stared at the towering neon skylines. "Whoa... talk about advanced tech," Ivory muttered in awe.
Haruto crossed his arms, his expression turning grim. "Speaking of this city... do you guys even realize who the girl running this place is? It's Daisy."
Lilith blinked, tilting her head. "Oh? Really?"
"Yeah," Haruto said seriously. "And guess what? She's an incarnation, too."
"Ah, we figured as much," Lilith replied casually, though Ivory, Belloan, and Lustra all gasped in surprise.
Lilith smirked, leaning in closer. "Oh, by the way... when I grabbed her hand back at her apartment to check for a ring, I could practically feel her aura. Honestly, if you actually wanted to put a ring on her and tie the knot with her too, I wouldn't have a problem with it."
Haruto choked on air, waving his hands frantically. "What are you even saying?! I was never thinking about anything like that with her!"
Lilith just giggled, waving off his flustered reaction. "Alright, alright, let's head downstairs for now."
Remembering the rest of their group, Haruto looked around anxiously. "Wait... where's Philo? What happened to her?"
"Oh, she's in the adjacent suite with Eterna, Toya, and Rutherford," Lilith answered smoothly.
Haruto's eyes widened. "Wait, is Philo an incarnation too!"
Lilith nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah, figured that out too."
As Haruto tried to wrap his head around how all of them managed to end up reincarnated in this exact sector, he suddenly remembered a crucial detail and looked up. "Wait... you do know that Daisy and Philo are bitter enemies of each other back home, right?"
Lilith gave a light, carefree shrug. "Oh, yeah. Obviously."
Haruto stared at her in disbelief. "Wait, you knew about all of that already?!"
Lilith smirked, leaning against the back of the sofa. "Of course. Philo told me everything. Besides, it's none of our business. Let them work it out on their own."
A wicked, playful glint suddenly flashed in Lilith's eyes as she offered him a dark, teasing smile. "Unless... you actually want to help one of them?"
Haruto quickly shook his head, holding his hands up defensively. "I don't know about it."
Looking around the sprawling, high-tech luxury suite, Haruto let out a long breath, a genuine sense of relief washing over him. "Honestly... it feels really nice here. The environment and the energy in this city suit me way better than back home. Do you think we could just stay here permanently?"
Lilith's expression softened into a warm, affectionate smile as she stepped closer, resting her hands gently on his shoulders. "Abso-lutely. My life and choices belong entirely to you, Haruto. Wherever you want to stay, that's where we'll stay."
Off to the side, Ivory, Belloan, and Lustra crossed their arms, watching the intimate moment with heavily narrowed eyes and thick, palpable jealousy radiating off them.
Noticing the intense glares, Lilith casually grabbed Haruto's arm, pulling him even closer while sticking her tongue out playfully at the trio. "Don't be so jealous~"
Ivory scoffed, turning her head away. "Ignore her. Just walk away before we lose our minds."
Haruto rubbed the back of his neck, his expression turning grave. "Yeah, okay, all of that makes sense... but I've got a really bad feeling about this."
Ivory turned around, raising an eyebrow. "What is it now, Haruto?"
"Think about it," Haruto said, his tone tightening. "Philo and Daisy are bitter enemies back home. But here in this city, they're practically neighbors—they're practically sitting right next to each other in the same district!"
Lilith crossed her arms, nodding thoughtfully. "True. According to Philo, they've been at each other's throats for a while. But remember, the founders who built this entire city left behind a strict throne protocol. They don't want any open turf wars or chaos tearing the streets apart."
"Right," Haruto agreed, pacing across the room. "If those two actually start a full-scale battle here, the collateral damage could completely wreck this entire city. Plus, the public still believes the founders are secretly operating behind the scenes, running things from the shadows. Major corporate buildings tied to the founders are still active all over this sector, and ordinary citizens aren't even allowed near them."
Ivory, Belloan, and Lustra exchanged worried glances as Haruto continued.
"If people see the founders or high-ranking figures like them tearing up the city blocks, panic is going to spread instantly," Haruto warned. "Everyone will terrify themselves over a massive corporate fallout. And if the city gets damaged to the point where it's no longer fit to rule or live in... what happens to everyone here?"
Lilith's smile faded as she realized the gravity of the situation. "You're right... the founders laid down absolute laws specifically to prevent anyone from destroying this sector."
Before Haruto could spiral any further into his worries, Lilith suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders, shoving him backward onto the plush luxury bed. Before he could even protest, she straddled his waist, pinning him down with a playful yet demanding gaze.
"Alright, that's quite enough worrying about city politics!" Lilith huffed, leaning down so her face was just inches from his. "Why are you stressing over them when you should be paying attention to us?"
Her expression softened slightly, a hint of genuine vulnerability flashing in her eyes as she brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. "You've been gone for so long... and we still haven't gotten you back properly. Why on earth did you just take off and go down into those layers all by yourself?"