"Yes. My mother is a fairy." Alicia responded calmly.
"That's... not the 'one-of-a-kind' I meant—but oh. You are half-fairy, half-human?" asked.
Alicia gave a small nod.
"Though Papa said I leaned too heavily into the human side."
But was that really true?
At a glance, she bore human features, yes—but I could not, in good faith, call her one.
"I ruled over the House of Blonde," Alicia said, lifting her chin. "All, except for Papa. He refused to bow."
Well, when he was the Lord of the house... and likely its last thread of dignity...
"He was so shocked by the authority I'd seized, he challenged me to a duel. To settle who deserved to sit at the top."
I should be concerned that Bond challenged a three-year-old to battle...
But we are speaking of Alicia.
"We went into the woods," she said with growing fervor. "Away from the mansion. But once we began throwing hands, we somehow moved back there. Some stones got flung back and struck the mansion. Papa was very upset."
She was excited. No—thrilled, reliving the tale as if it were her coronation.
"But how did you, a newborn, even fight Bond—the same Bond who has been around for centuries?" I asked.
Alicia blinked at me, her face blank.
"Hm? I just ran at him and tried to punch him." She said it as if it were the most obvious course of action.
"But he kept dodging, of course. Each time my fist flew, the forest bowed as if lashed by a storm."
Of course it did.
Bond would not casually suffer a hit like that—not even from his own monstrous child.
"Then Papa started using flashy tricks—presumably magic. I wouldn't have known at the time. Whatever it was, nothing I did worked anymore. By the time our duel ended, half the mansion was a pile of ash."
Poor Bond's mansion.
"I was frustrated. Furious. 'How could a mere insect defeat me?' I thought, holding back tears."
"Alicia," I said with a wry smile, "you were a very dangerous three-year-old."
She raised a brow.
"Come now. I was young. Aren't all three-year-olds like that? Don't they also seek empires?"
I don't think so.
At least, not the mortal ones. Maybe when they reached ten or twelve?
(Note: Levina's outlook was also warped.)
"I gathered myself again, ready for another round." Alicia leaned forward, tone dropping with gravity.
"Papa had turned away, more interested in the wreckage we'd caused. But the moment I asked for another go..."
Her giddy smile shifted. Then one of reverence took its place.
"...Papa looked at me. That was the first time I feared for my life. I thought he was going to kill me... and I started to cry."
"So you were a child after all," I muttered.
"Mama came, scolded Papa, and took me into her arms." Her voice quieted.
"I couldn't sleep that night. The look in Papa's eyes... it burned into my mind. Haunted me. That's when I accepted it: Papa was very powerful."
We both turned our eyes to the distant forest, the wind winding through our hair like imaginary fingers.
"So..." I began, cautiously. "How does that lead to Bond being God?"
Alicia turned to me, as if just remembering.
"Ah, yes. The next day, I went to apologize. And then I asked him why I lost. Because honestly, that just didn't seem like something that should happen."
"How exactly do you view yourself, young lady?!"
"Then Papa told me... he was actually God. He said he walks among humans because of divine political reasons."
...That's got to be a huge lie!!
Though, if I were in Bond's shoes, I'd have done the same—pull rank on a power-drunk three-year-old before she crushed my kingdom with her fists.
"So that's it," Alicia concluded. "That's why Papa's sleeping spell worked on me—"
Huh? Was that what we were talking about?
"—I couldn't move, but I could still hear everything around me—how Ruby made a Pact with Papa to protect me, how he fought against Pluto and put his life on the line too."
Her warm smile returned.
"I was so glad with the adventures; I think I partially broke out of the spell. Then Pluto and Ruben worked together to put me back under. But..."
She leaned in, eyes gleaming with mischief.
"I only pretended to be asleep that time. I resisted the spell with everything I had."
I suppose Master Raven never knew that.
And I don't think I'll be the one to tell him either.
"To dispel Papa's spell initially," Alicia continued, "I must've expelled a large amount of magic unintentional. My vessel began to break. According to Pluto, I would've died unless it was restructured."
Pluto was ready to help her?
What would he gain from that? Master Raven's loyalty, maybe?
"So how did Pluto reinforce your vessel?" I asked, examining her.
"Because your body is preposterously strong now. Like… greater dragon level."
"While they were trying to figure that out," she replied, "some foolish lad—that wasn't even Ruby—tried to touch me. So I burned him with the fires of my will."
"Why?!"
"Later, I realized he was supposed to stabilize my magic and keep it from tearing me apart. So I stopped burning him. But sadly... he'd already become ashes."
"..."
"But all wasn't lost," she added casually. "Pluto used the boy's residues to reinforce my vessel. So his existence wasn't completely wasted. Pluto changed Ruby's appearance and name, and also gave him some equipment—including Bone Saw—then Ruby carried me. Next we left for Pison, where we fought a man named Sarvest, met Miss Dearth, and eventually, you."
"Wait, wait, wait!" I raised a hand, nearly shouting. "Your pacing is too fast! You met Sarvest?!"
So the "overpowered stranger" Master Raven mentioned...
That was Sarvest?!
"How did you all leave his presence without even a permanent wound?" I asked, my voice barely steady, eyes trembling in near disbelief.
"He was a troublesome opponent, I tell you." Alicia said it the way one might complain about a cockroach that simply refused to die.
"He had this broken ability to completely evade perception. But still… Ruby made him feel pain."
"Eh? Really?" I leaned in, curious. "Even I can't fight Sarvest. Nothing I do works, and everything he does goes."
"Heh." Alicia smirked. "Don't even put yourself in the same level as Ruby. After Papa, he's the only one who can bring me to my knees."
"Ehhh?" I groaned. "But I did defeat him though. Albeit... a little difficult."
"Hah! You slithering serpent forever bound to the ground!" Alicia snapped.
"I don't understand why I'm being abused, however."
"Ruby was tired, you see," she explained matter-of-factly. "He'd been carrying me for hours, just finished fighting a very elusive and powerful opponent in Sarvest... then you came around. He had no time to rest."
Oh… but his Prime Value was several times lower than mine when I saw him…
If what Alicia says is true, then Master Raven must know of Prime Value too.
And maybe… just maybe… he knows how to manipulate and conceal his own existential significance.
Heh. That man just keeps getting more fascinating with everything I learn.
Alicia had stopped talking, now munching on some roasted fruits she'd tucked away earlier.
I smiled as I watched her.
My first friend... and (not first in strength, but first in love) rival.
'Maybe I should do something bold now.'
With that reckless spark, I leaned sideways and laid my head on her lap as we sat on the grassy ground.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing?" she asked, cheeks flaring as red as mine felt.
"F-feel free to ignore me." I mumbled, basking in the spicy-sweet scent of her form—like fire and flowers... and scripts(?)
This was… surprisingly good. I might just get addicte—OW-OW-OW!!
"What in the depths of Styx are you doing?!" I cried, clutching my swollen cheek as she yanked it without mercy.
"Hmph." Alicia scoffed, looking away. "Only Ruby is allowed to do that. No one else."
"Then say so!" I snapped, rubbing my poor, abused cheek. "My cheek pains me now—!!"
But before I could finish complaining, Alicia dropped her head on my lap.
Eh?
She was trying so hard to hide it, but that blush gave her away.
"Only Ruby can use me as a lap pillow..." she mumbled. "But I wouldn't mind... using you as my lap pillo—owowow!!"
She squealed as I yanked her up by her cheek.
"What was that for?!" she shrieked, clutching her cheek with watery eyes.
"Where do you get off turning me into a pillow?" I barked. "My lap and body is exclusively for Master Raven!"
Alicia bent her head like a sulking puppy—
Then suddenly lunged, grabbing a fistful of my hair.
I thrusted my arm pulling her's too.
"You damned water leech! Let go!" she screamed.
"You stop pulling first, impudent little brat!" I yelled back, grabbing her arm and yanking hard.
We wrestled, tugging hair, throwing words and dignity into the wind, rolling in the grass like feral cats.
*
Trigger stood at a distance watching the chaos unfold.
"Those two certainly get along, huh?" he said, amused.
"Ara?! Is that... what it looks like?" Tamayō asked, genuinely confused.
'Was fighting just another form of affection? Maybe I should attack my Lord then?'
(Note: Ruben is already in danger from his own ally).
*
Meanwhile, outside Coastelle…
Somewhere in the scorched and cursed land that kissed the edge of the sea, Ruben stood—
Still.
Wide-eyed.
Alert.
And in front of him, four black-clad, human-shaped figures were kneeling—heads bowed low.
To him.