Elizabeth opened her eyes and found a pink-haired girl with her head resting on her shoulder to her right and a red-haired girl resting her head on her shoulder to her left. Both girls seemed to be waiting patiently for her to open her eyes.

  “I’m back Rossie, Rena.” Elizabeth said as she felt her [Heart] beat and flood her body with renewed mana.

  Unlike before when her mana only felt [Heavier] and [Denser], this time it felt more…Hers, almost as if it had always been like this. It was akin to the difference she felt the first time she had needed to purge the ambient mana from [Zaanam]. Only now, it wasn’t like she had purged the mana again.

  It was akin to becoming more her. Elizabeth was happy with her choice; there had been better options, of course, but Rossie and Rena had taken other options too, so why couldn’t Elizabeth?

  “So?” Rossie asked first, “Did you get something nice?”

  “What did you pick Eli?” Rena also asked after Rossie, “Can we see?”

  Elizabeth felt mischievous. She wanted to keep her secret until the last moment, only revealing it when they were about to fight. But seeing the puppy eyes her girlfriends were giving her, she couldn’t.

  That would be straight-up evil, like showing the end result of something but not telling anyone when it will happen. Elizabeth couldn’t do that to even her worst enemies. “Sure, let me…Identify.” Elizabeth said instinctually.

  She felt the skill take hold, and the information blossomed in front of her once more, the [Job]...no. The Job manifested as a black screen.

  Elizabeth nudged the information towards Rossie and Rena, marveling at how the black screen divided into two exact copies with the information so her girlfriends could read it more comfortably.

  “Can you do that for ours, too? We tried sharing it between us, but we couldn’t get the…real ones to come.” Rossie said sheepishly.

  The real ones?

  Oh…Right, these were black screens, not the blue screens normal to Zaanam.

  “Sure, let me just Identify you both,” Elizabeth said, not trying to summon the skill just yet, but even so, her mana seemed to answer to her on its own.

  An extra set of black screens flourished and hovered in front of each girl, so now each girl had two screens to read. Rena had Rossie and Elizabeth's screens, while Rossie had Rena and Elizabeth's screens.

  And finally Eilzabeth had Rossie & Rena’s, the three girls had enough to read for some time. Elizabeth wasn’t sure if she should smile, laugh or kiss her girlfriends. Both had somehow matched with each other, had they planed it?

  Elizabeth hadn’t seen them speak or say anything, though, so even so, both girls had picked the same type of jobs with the same theme. It made Elizabeth jealous; she had two princesses for girlfriends, but she herself hadn’t been able to pick one of such jobs.

  If they had been available, she would have also picked them; who didn’t want to be a princess?!?!?

  But what would she have become? Magic Princess? Shadow Princess? That one sounded shady… Dragon Princess?

  ….

  No, she wouldn’t have picked that one even if it showed. Instead, she had the grown-up variants to pick, and she didn’t want to feed her ego more if possible; she had a bad time with [Pride] running rampart, and while she had the [Gem of Pride] now… She didn’t want to give that one any chance to go wild. Her [Crown of Sin] should help with the management, but even so. She needed to make sure that it was okay.

  [Gluttony] and [Wrath] hadn’t flared after she got them, so [Pride] should be the same.

  “You didn’t have cute options Eli-Eli?” Rossie asked after some time.

  “....Not really. I had some interesting choices, but this was the best I managed. Trust me, if I had a princess job, I would have picked it.” Elizabeth answered Rossie. “I would love to match with you two; they really suit you, my two adorable and cute princesses.”

  They really matched them, even at this moment Elizabeth loved how Rena blushed while pretending to not be elated, how Rossie smiled while pretending to not like the compliment, it was a nice chance of pace from Rossie’s usually domineering ways.

  “Okay, so…how are we doing with the changes?” Elizabeth asked, focusing the conversation on what they had come to do. " Is there any problem with skills?”

  Elizabeth wasn’t sure how their new jobs would interact with the skills. Elizabeth had merely reinforced her job after all, so she didn’t have that much trouble, even if the description implied her work would be easier with new skills available when she needed them.

  “Not here, most of my skills are shifting. I lost the [Demon Slaying Sword] from the normal [Status], but I can still see it in my Status.” Rena said first.

  That was a tongue-twister (and not of the fun type): “So you can’t use it…but you can still use it?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Yes, I can’t use it as Watanabe Rena. But I can use it as…” Rena said, suddenly stopping as her face blushed furiously red, and in a small tone, she said. “I can use it as Rena Starbright.”

  ….Cute.

  “Same here, well, not really. I didn’t lose that many useful things, and most of the things I lost to Rossaline Starbright are things I can still use normally. Even if it means wasting some extra mana.” Rossie said from the side with pride in her voice, it seemed that Rossie really liked her name on the black screen.

  “So when will this name move to the blue screens Eli-Eli?” Rossie asked nonchalantly.

  “... next year, Rossie, we can schedule a nice place for the name change,” Elizabeth answered, trying not to overthink it. The less she thought about it, the better.

  She…had collected now [Wrath], [Gluttony] and [Pride], she…probably would get [Lust] when she turned eighteen that left [Sloth], [Greed] and [Envy]. She….wasn’t looking forward to getting those.

  But her instincts told her that leaving the [Crown] too long without finishing would be bad for her [Heart].

  She would need a way to track those [Sins]. So far, she had gotten lucky. [Gluttony] was fed against her will, [Wrath] was acquired by dumb luck. Pride…she could do without if she was being honest.

  But then again, it had been her hubris the one that brought it to her.

  “Eli-Eli?” Rossie suddenly asked, " Is everything okay? Are your new [Skills] giving you trouble?”

  “Do you need help?” Rena asked from the side, Elizabeth could feel mana pooling in both girl’s hearts.

  “No, everything is okay. I was thinking about how to solve something, but we have time. As for my skills…” Elizabeth said, turning to her own skill list.

  “This, I can deal with just fine.” Elizabeth didn’t notice that much of a change. If anything, the biggest change and the skill that intrigued her the most was… “This one will be the one that I will try to play with.”

  “That? But that just allows you to….you know…” Rena said, looking at Elizabeth weirdly, “I mean, it is a fine skill and what allows us to change into combat clothes faster…It is good that I can have comfortable clothes to fight that have the same durability as body armor. But that’s about i.”

  “Yeah, granted. That thing allows us to change into the…[Sin Shift]. And return to normal. But…will you reveal that?” Rossie said with an undertone of fear in her voice.

  “No.” Elizabeth said firmly, “Not unless I can guarantee that bitch will stay under control.”

  Elizabeth would never forgive that side of her, the one that was willing to discard Rossie and Rena as if they were mere trash.

  “No, I have other plans for this. I think this will allow me more versatility while fighting, I should had thought about this before, since I was already using some aspects of this before.” Really, Elizabeth should have noticed this before. She wasn’t sure why or how Alexanders had given her this.

  Or perhaps this was part of Elizabeth from the beginning? She wasn’t sure. But the idea that wormed into her mind was stuck there, living rent-free now, so she wanted to test it.

  “Anyway, we need to plan for [Shadow Pact].” Elizabeth said, turning serious, “Aura!”

  “Yes, Mistress?” Aura materialized at her call. The purple-haired girl was still somewhat of a mystery to Elizabeth, but she was useful if nothing else.

  “Call Jenna back, please. Also, has [Shadow Pact] been located?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Our Scouts have found the presence of hostile shadows. We are currently trying to find the epicenter of their domain to better locate our target,” Beatrice said, materializing a second after Elizabeth asked. You may go fetch Lady Jenna.”

  Beatrice seemed to have something to say.

  “As you wish, Lady Valkyrie.” Aura said, nodding, “I may take some time digging Jenna out, so excuse me for my tardiness, Mistress.”

  And like that, the purple-haired girl teleported away; Elizabeth could feel her landing near Jenna and just teleporting the blue girl out of the sand. But she decided not to mind that since Beatrice seemed to want to speak with her.

  “Mistress…What do you wish to achieve from this fight against [Shadow Pact]?” And so Beatrice asked. “We don’t need to fight against him; your objective has been fulfilled; you have gotten Lady Alice and Lady Chloe back.”

  Then, turning to Rossie, Beatrice added, “Mother…fighting against a member of the [Nine Stars] after being wounded to such degree….I….I don’t think this course of action….is wise.” Beatrice finished, lowering her head while trembling.

  “Beatrice…” Elizabeth was moved, of course; this was the first time one of her [Minions] had actively gone against one of her instructions while she was fully aware.

  “YOU DARE?!?!?!” The voice of an enraged roar sounded as the shadows within the tent trashed about, and the figure of an enraged shadow dragon materialized, “YOU WOULD DARE TO PRESUME WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR MISTRESS?!?!? YOU?!?!? A MERE HATCHLING?!?!? NOT EVEN ONE WHO EMBRACED THEIR FULL POTENTIAL?!?!? ONE THAT DISCARDED THAT WHICH WOULD MAKE YOU USEFUL?!?!?”

  This…this was new. Nyx wasn’t in his sleek dragon form, no. It was a form covered in red pulsating scales, and his back had a series of spikes that seemed to drip a tar-like substance that hissed as if melting what it touched. His claws were long and curved, and his Maw was open in a perpetual snarl.

  Nyx was seething with rage, Elizabeth could feel it.

  “Nyx…” Elizabeth said in a low voice.

  “YOU WOULD SPIT INTO OUR MISTRESS BENEVOLENT HEART?!?!?” But Nyx was too enraged.

  “NYXFYRE!” So Elizabeth raised her voice, “Calm down, let Beatrice speak.”

  “....hmph… Speak, Minion, and I hope that your excuse is worth it because while our Mistress is the one who decides our positions, you will hold no honor or glory within the [Shadow Haven] without my blessing.” Nyx said as his form shifted to his young dragon's sleek form.

  “Thank you, Lord Nyxfyre.” Beatrice merely said while bowing to Nyx, “As I was saying…We don’t win anything by confronting [Shadow Pact], my advice is to retreat back to either Camelot or the American Federation. To train and master the powers you have acquired here, and then face [Shadow Pact], or if possible, let the [Nine Stars] deal with him. We… we don’t need to be the ones to do it.”

  “And this has nothing to do with how I ended up wounded.” Rossie said from the side, “Speak, Beatrice. Is this because you think I will be a hindrance? Because I will be hurt in the crossfire?”

  Beatrice lowered her head at this accusation, “I…I don’t wish for you to be hurt, Mother. And if our Mistress can’t guarantee that she will not hurt you in the crossfire…I…I don’t want to be stuck again between my loyalty to our Mistress and my loyalty to you, Mother.” The small maid said as tears fell from her eyes.

  “....” Elizabeth…had not thought about that. She had been too focused on how she had suffered, how she had made Rossie and Rena suffer…How she had acted, what she had done.

  “Weakness…Utter foolish weakness.” Nyx sighed as he spoke, “We are Shadow Dragons; even if we are to fall, we will rise once more, for that is our Nature; our Mistress will rule this world from the shadows; what we must do will never change. We will follow our mistress wishes and act as needed.”

  “I…I will of course do that!” Beatrice almost screamed back as she turned with her tear-streaked eyes and glared at Nyx, “But! Mother isn’t a Shadow Dragon! She isn’t…She…. she…. she shouldn’t…She….Should she die…”

  “I will stand by Elizabeth,” Rossie said slowly as she walked towards Beatrice. “You know it, too, don’t you? What would I do if Elizabeth were to die and I wasn’t by her side?”

  Beatrice nodded.

  “You would live a happy life in my honor, of course,” Elizabeth said from behind.

  “Of course I would Eli-Eli!” Rossie smiled mockingly back at Elizabeth, “The same as you would do if something happened to me.”

  “...point taken.” Elizabeth sighed while adding another point to her mental note of plans to make sure Rossie didn’t do something stupid should the worst happen to her, she really needed a way to ensure her girlfriends wouldn’t do something stupid.

  “So hear me out, Beatrice, my lovely daughter,” Rossie said while kneeling in front of the little girl, “Do you know what I would do if something happened to Elizabeth and I wasn’t nearby?”

  “....Yes….” Beatrice nodded. “But Mother!”

  “No buts. I love you like a daughter because of how you were made.” Rossie said with a sad undertone, “But….I love Elizabeth, too.”

  Unsaid was the point that while Beatrice was like a daughter to Rossie…that was about it.

  “....Fine, but…I stand by my point anyway.” Beatrice said, wiping away the tears in her eyes.” There is no reason why we must fight [Shadow Pact] here and now.”

  “You are correct,” Elizabeth said.

  “...Mistress?” Beatrice was confused.

  “Eli-Eli?” So was Rossie.

  “And yet…” Rena said as if to guide the conversation back to the point that Elizabeth wanted to make.

  “We aren’t doing it for me, but because I have a message to give.” Elizabeth said as a shadow lock materialized above her hand, it had the letters [CA] on it, “We are doing it because [Shadow Pact] is near and I need to deliver a message to him from his sister.”

  Elizabeth was keenly aware that if she waited she could probably defeat most of the [Nine Stars], she only needed to grow. The bonus she was getting already was way beyond what any mortal had any right to have.

  She was among the very few who had earned the S—tier at this level. She would be surprised if any of the [Nine Stars] were at this level of power this early. Was it once again her [Hubris]?

  Maybe, but it was a fact that she had grown stronger, and as far as she remembered from the non-glitched status screen she had seen… [Shadow Pact] shouldn’t be as strong as she was right now.

  She should be able to defeat him.

  And if she was able to defeat him, she should be able to safely deliver the message that Chloe had left with her. She only needed to get some sense into her former crush…

  She only needed to make him kneel at her feet and look upon her.

  …Yeah, it was definitely her Ego speaking.

  “....Fine.” Beatrice sighed, “I know that a mere minion doesn’t have an opinion.”

  “Beatrice…” Elizabeth sighed too.

  “I will help you in this endeavor, Mistress, for that is what Mother wishes. But…but if I have earned at least some degree of goodwill…” The little maid said as her fist trembled, “I wish for a boon from you.”

  “Don’t oversteep your boundaries Minion.” Nyx snarled at the back. Was he getting into a phase?

  “Sure, if I can grant it, I will do so, “Elizabeth answered. "I have said this before. Any minion that wishes for something only needs to ask. You all do too much for me.”

  And Elizabeth meant it, she truly wanted her minions to feel cared for. So long she could fulfill their wishes, she didn’t mind doing so. Granted, she couldn’t fulfill all of them, just like how she couldn’t fulfill the desire from Beatrice for them to leave.

  “That is all I ask, I will return to my duties now.” Beatrice said bowing to Elizabeth and Nyx, “I… will see you later….Lady Singh.”

  “*sigh*...” Rossie sighed, “It’s hard being a teenage mom.”

  “Rossie…you are almost eighteen…” Elizabeth said from the side.

  “I will be eigtheen earlier than you Eli-Eli, so you need to listen to me since I am an adult…or will be.” Rossie joked, trying to disperse the bad mood that had been left.

  “I will speak to her later Mistress, this…is unbecoming of a Shadow Dragon,” Nyx said as he glared at the shadow that Beatrice had used to leave.

  “Leave it Nyx, Beatrice is among the most hardworking of the minions, and among the most advanced. I know she means well, both for me and for Rossie.” Elizabeth said, stopping Nyx in its tracks.

  “...As you wish, Mistress. But even so, she should know better. We live to serve, not to command. For that is what we are, we are your minions.” Nyx said before sinking down into the shadows, too.

  “...He needs vacations.” Elizabeth sighed, “We all need vacations!”

  “Mistress? Here is Lady Jenna.” And as soon as Elizabeth screamed for her dearest wish… Aura came with Jenna in tow.

  It was time to prepare for the fight.