"Should I Get More Juice?" Asked A Lamia

MSG – Volume 1 – Chapter 17

Soon, the sky had started to turn dark… meaning that although the party was not yet over, he had to head back.

Sure, no one would rashly breakdown his room's door to enter if he did not answer their voice or knocking but a person could only brood or sleep for so long without showing any signs of life.

Fearing for the worst, those who actually cared for him… and even some of those that do not but obviously for only some political reasons, would like to confirm that all was at least physically well with him and he was not harming himself or worse while under their family's roof.

"Aww…. Shugs!" The Matron seemed a bit irritable and reluctant to see Solon go. She literally jumped on, and hugged, him like she was some koala. "Do you really have to go back? I could conjure up illusion magic and stuff."

"None of them in that house have the ability to sense the difference as they are too weak compared to me." She said, not boasting but simply stating facts.

"Yeah, there's no need for that." He shook his head to emphasize his disapproval of the idea. "Deceiving Mother Ria like that does not really sit well with me."

"Ara~ Ara~ I'm getting jealous!" The Matron threw a tantrum, playfully banging her fists on his lower back, causing him to nearly cough up blood. "Why don't you care about me like that? I've been by your side all this while as well!"

Solon sighed, feeling a bit helpless like he would have if she was indeed a child and his daughter.

"Rowena, seriously..." he trailed off with a sigh.

Both parties went silent as the 'little girl' continued to pout while maintain her iron-like hug around him from behind.

"Should I get more juice?" The silence was finally only broken after about three minutes by Ettie who had actually been at the beck and call of the Matron the entire time, attending to whatever needs she had.

Two faces, of people who had clearly forgotten about the lamia's existence all this while they had been in such a position, turned to her.

"…Right. Sure, I'll have one."

It was the loli who spoke, awkwardly floating down from his back.

"Make that two. One extra so this pie can have something to slurp on while on the road." She added, gesturing at Solon.

"Oh, ok." The lamia nodded and turned around to go get the drinks.

Watching the lamia walk away, her hips swaying involuntarily, as she made her way towards a certain stand manned by a long-eared woman, Rowena had a contemplative look on her face.

"What do you say we bring her into the 'inner circle'?" she asked Solon, her tone serious for the first time since he met her in front of Harley and Ettie's stand.

Glancing down at her from the side for a second, he returned to his neutral stance with folded arms.

By inner circle, she meant the truth behind this gathering of women.

Sure, the Grand Court Mage of the Carrot Kingdom was powerful, as is to be expected of someone holding such a title, but would anyone of their station really be capable of single-handedly providing the resources for things like the teleportation gates and other amenities afforded to the women here?

The answer was obviously a big fat no.

If they were so capable, they would not be shackled to Kingdoms like glorified slaves.

There was something called an Oathstone that was responsible for ensuring their unwilling eternal loyalty to the human race, as well as the respective royal families they are subserved to.

Though, that is a topic for another day.

The point here is that there was a bigger force behind the Matron.

There were 17 other such 'Matrons' across all three continents of the world.

And all 18 of them bowed to one individual, one they called the Patron.

Yeah, some lazy a** naming sense right there.

Whoever came up with that title probably just said the first word that came to his head.

And that person… was the Patron himself whose identity the Matrons knew of but, at the same time did not.

He was supposedly a Prime Minister in the Hammer Kingdom, a powerful individual that had found a way to free himself of the effects of the Hammer King's Oathstone without triggering any of the numerous failsafe.

That was what they knew about him.

A man who did not agree with many of the negative societal norms, chief of which was the Male Supremacy trend, and was working behind the scenes to build a force to change that.

 Solon on the other hand knew a little bit more.

The man's identity came in layers… making one of his nicknames, 'the Onion' a good fit for him.

As for where Solon had heard of that nickname, that was from one of his many talks with Cyanea.

As for why Cyanea would know so much about him, that was because the man was actually one of the Generals of the Demon Army, and although not the most powerful, he was the most elusive and enigmatic one amongst them at that.

He was the only Demon General to live amongst the humans in plain sight for so long, changing appearances over the decades so that he could pass off as his own descendants and continue to stand beside every new King as a Prime Minister.

Apparently, no one but Lilith knows what his original appearance looks like.

'I wonder how things will go down when the Matrons and the numerous women under them come to know of the fact that the hand that fed them all this while is that of a being that is considered the enemy of humanity.'

'Will they choose to side with the humans despite all the injustices they have suffered or will they put their trust in the demons to build a brighter future?'

He shrugged his shoulder internally like it all had nothing to do with him, before opening his mouth to speak;

"That is up to you. You are the Matron, not me." he said.