Freedom

Kisuke had to use the whole ten minutes to explain that the almost naked and panting little girl is in fact 'Ana'. The little girl in question had to sit on a free couch and only watched silently as Kisuke fiercely defended himself. She likes to watch Kisuke panic more than the two lolis feeding each other.

Even then, they still couldn't believe him completely as there is a precedent known as 'Phis-chan'. They then 'politely' asked Kisuke to stay silent as they interviewed 'Ana'.

"You're Ana... right?" Cleria carefully asked.

"Yes." Medusa nodded without hesitation.

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know... The last thing I remembered is that Kisuke and I entered a certain space and from then on, my memories were hazy at best. I don't even know if it's a dream or not." Medusa replied. It's true that her memories of last night are hazy at best but due to a certain scene that she remembers quite 'clearly', she wanted to brush it off as a dream, 'That's just a dream... right? I couldn't possibly do that! So that must be a dream!'

Cleria and Masaomi wanted to know what happened last night as they couldn't contact Kisuke in that timeframe too, but they didn't ask since they know their boundaries. Now that they confirmed that the little girl is indeed Ana, they immediately apologized to Kisuke.

"It's fine... You did the right thing. It just shows that you care for children." Kisuke didn't really mind their actions as it didn't really hurt him and they were just concerned for a little girl.

Kisuke then faced Medusa and grinned, "I can help you regain your memories. Would you like me to do that?"

Seeing that usual grin, Medusa got a bad premonition and she started blushing and tried not to meet his gaze, "N-no... Please let me remember it on my own..."

This reaction of her prompted the two adults to look at Kisuke strangely. But it didn't really affect Kisuke as he's not doing anything overtly strange to Medusa, "You'll catch a cold if you keep wearing that." Kisuke then took out a set of clothing just a bit bigger than her, "Here. Wear this."

"...Why do you have something like that?" Masaomi asked.

"I'm ready for almost everything~."

"Including a little girl's clothing?"

"Yes." Kisuke answered with a straight face, 'Though it's just a coincidence that her current figure is only a bit smaller than Koneko-chan.'

Cleria and Masaomi decided not to ask anything further as he has an answer for everything. They just joined the two lolis having fun with their snacks.

Medusa returned to the room where she's sleeping to change into the clothes that Kisuke passed her which is a navy blue cardigan, a plain white t-shirt and a pair of long shorts. Fortunately or unfortunately, Kisuke didn't give her a pair of underwear.

Medusa went downstairs after a few minutes and saw that the Cleria already stopped her daughter Claire from eating snacks as it'll spoil her appetite for dinner. Though strangely enough, the other little girl kept eating like there is no tomorrow, 'Is it fine to not stop her?'

Medusa then asked Kisuke what exactly happened inside the Aphaia temple, but she very careful not to touch the topic of her 'attacking' him.

Kisuke only supplemented her with the general idea and Medusa can recall it on her own, although it'll take some time for her to remember everything. After arranging the information inside her head, Medusa asked her final question, "How did I escape that place?"

"I'll tell you about it later, but for now, do your best to recover. The only thing I can tell you now is that you aren't tethered to that place anymore and you can do whatever you want from now own." Out of habit, Kisuke reached out for her head and patted it.

Medusa didn't mind this. In fact, she likes the warmth of his hand. If not for her rationality, she would have asked him to do it more. After hearing his words, however, her eyes widened. But soon after, it changed into a bright smile accompanied by tears as she says, "Thank you."

Kisuke smiled gently and wiped the tears off her face using his hands, "You're welcome."

Medusa couldn't take it anymore and jumped into his arms and buried her face in his stomach, sobbing as she repeats the words 'thank you' over and over again.

After countless years of 'captivity' and 'torture', she's finally free and for the first time, she appreciated that she's alive. Just like what her sisters hoped for her, Medusa's fate has changed for the better. They won the bet and now enjoying their prize.

The Cleria and Masaomi don't know what happened or Medusa's burden, but seeing her like this, they feel warm inside. Claire who doesn't understand what's going is smiling happily. Even Ophis, who seems won't be moved by anything other than her snacks looked over curiously. Something inside her seems to like this scene although she doesn't know what exactly that is. For the time being, all she can do is to remember this sight of Medusa's contrasting actions, crying yet grateful. Slowly but surely, the Dragon God of Infinity is learning what emotion is and its complexity.

Medusa kept sobbing for a few minutes and separated with Kisuke with her eyes red, "...I'm sorry for such display." She tried to wipe her face with her hands but she isn't doing her job right.

Kisuke took out a handkerchief and helped her gently wipe her messed up face, "It's fine... It's okay to be happy. You don't have to hold back anymore."

Medusa's face became red, but this time around, she only stared at his eyes exuding gentleness with a blank expression as she lets him clean her face.

'This lady killer!... No... In this case, loli killer?' Cleria and Masaomi both thought.

Kisuke, on the other hand, isn't aware of what he's doing. All he thinks is that Medusa's genuine happiness is worth the trouble of releasing her and ended up smiling gently.

Medusa recovered from her trance and hurriedly took a distance from Kisuke with a still bright red face, "Ehem... Thank you, but please refrain from doing that... It's really bad for my heart."

Kisuke thought that she's just embarrassed at him cleaning her face so he didn't mind her reaction.

Medusa took several deep breathes before she could regain her complexion and faced Kisuke again, "If I remember it right... You're looking for a maid?" In her memories that are quite clear, is the time when Kisuke appeared in front of her claiming that she is his maid.

"You're correct. Although there is a maid working for me, it's only a temporary thing, and I highly doubt that she'll ever come back."

"Is that so?" Medusa chuckled, 'Figures, I also doubt that any would work for you because of your antics.' She thought.

"Since you said that I can do whatever I want now, can I take that position?"

"I'll be very glad if you do. In fact, I reserved that position for you in case you don't know what to do next. Being granted sudden freedom is a troublesome affair too, after all."

Medusa chuckled for a second time, "Thank you for thinking of my wellbeing. And please take care of me in the future too... Wait, since I'll be serving you, I'll take care of you, master." She put out her right hand in front of Kisuke.

Kisuke accepted her handshake and laughed, "Hahaha, It's going to be hard taking care of me, but please bear with me... And 'master'? Sounds nice~!" He unabashedly accepted her calling him 'master'.

Kisuke then instructed her to rest for a while and she would have to be checked up by him to see if there are other problems that are currently not visible.

Kisuke and Cleria decided to start making dinner for tonight. Medusa joined the other little girls and 'played' with them. Although she doesn't know anything about Ophis, since she's staying at Kisuke's place, it's her duty to entertain her. And lastly, Masaomi had nothing to do and only silently drink his tea.

A few minutes later, Kisuke suddenly felt someone pacing around in front of the house, 'Hmm? A twin-tailed girl? Why does she look familiar?'