Side Chapter 15

"Congratulation! Team Fairy Tail A and Fairy Tail B for passing the preliminary competition!"

With a loud and humorous voice, a small stature man wearing a large pumpkin head congratulated the Fairy Tail team...

"Also, congratulation for taking the first and second place respectively!" The pumpkin said jovially.

"Yes! We took first and second place!" Natsu cheered.

Gray and the others also smiled at this... But someone isn't smiling while looking at them.

"...It took you guys five minutes and thirteen seconds just to get here?" A cold voice resounded from above them.

"Who?!" The pumpkin head becomes startled and immediately look above him. But in the next second, as if his words got stuck in his throat, he shut his mouth obediently.

He's feigning ignorance as if he never said anything in the first place...

Irene Scarlet being the Empress of <Earth Land> is not really well known to the public. But the higher ups of each kingdom and country know of her true identity...

And this pumpkin is one of those who know of this piece of information. Just the other day, the Empress herself ordered them to let this scarlet haired woman do as she pleases.

With that Raven Tail case being an example...

He won't be the first one to disobey her order, nope! No thank you!

"Geh! It's the other Erza!" Natsu flinched under her cold gaze.

"That's teacher Erza for you, idiot." Erza H. growled.

"A-Aye sir!"

"Now what's your excuse? To think that it took you this long just to get to the finish line... And that includes you, sister!" Erza H. pointed at Erza S.

"W-Well, I don't want to leave my friends behind... So..." Erza S. replied while sweating a little.

"Tsk." Erza H. scoffed: "I can pardon this incident since it has nothing to do with actual combat... But if any of you were to lose in direct combat with the other guilds then... Heheh, you'll see." She flashed a devilish smile while crackling her knuckles.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" They shouted in unison.

Suddenly, another flash of light appeared not far from them.

Three women and one man appeared from the light.

"Ahhh~. to think that we're late by a few seconds..."

"Too bad, we could've beaten them if it wasn't for elder sis Erza training them..."

"No matter. This match is not really important anyway. We could properly show our skills in an actual battle."

"Great work, everyone."

These newcomers are Sorano, Yukino, Kagura, and Simon.

"Muh? You guys are late as well?" Erza H. mused.

"Well, for you it's not really a challenge but for us, it is a little troublesome, elder sis..." Yukino smiles wryly.

"Our direction becomes disoriented and it becomes harder to navigate through all that maze."

"Huh? How come all of you become disoriented because of that simple maze?" Erza H. frowned.

She then took a deeper look at the maze layout when something clicks inside her mind: "Oh, no wonder... Mum probably did something to your part."

She only sees the maze layout for the other participants after all. She thought all of them have the same layout so she didn't really bother to look into it.

If it was any other participants that had Erza S. and her friends' maze then they won't be able to succeed... The maze is that hard.

"Eh? Mom did?" Erza S. said.

"Meh, just ignore it. This will help you in the long run anyway... Think of it as a training course created by her." Erza H. shrugged.

Soon, another flash of light appeared behind them.

This time it's three male who appeared...

"Oi, Sorano, Yukino! Why did you leave us behind just like that?!"

"What the hell is up with that maze anyway? If it wasn't for the trail Sorano and Yukino left behind then we would've lost our way."

"Anyway, did we get first place?"

"Un?"

The three men become startled seeing so many people already arrived here before them.

"You..." A man with short golden spiky hair pointed his finger at Natsu's group: "You're <Fairy Tail>?"

Natsu's entire group also looked at the opposite party. Then they saw the guild emblem of the other party.

"That is... <Sabertooth>? Are they your guildmates, Sorano, Yukino?" Erza S. asked the two sisters.

"Eh, you could say that. They're so slow that we decided to leave them behind." Sorano said without a care: "Yukino is the one who left behind all those trails though."

"Hey hey hey. Why is the guild who always come at last place these past years already arrived here?" The <Sabertooth> member Orga is scowling while looking at the <Fairy Tail> group: "Also, Yukino and Sorana, you two seem awfully close with them."

"Ehhh, what's it to you if we're close to them anyway?" Sorano scoffed back.

"Don't you remember what our Guild Master ordered? We shouldn't lower ourselves and interact with those who are weaker than our guild!"

"Oh please, you might fear the Guild Master but we couldn't care less of what he thinks." Sorano waved uninterestedly: "Besides... after this tournament ended, we will leave the guild anyway."

"What did you say?! Did you want to betray the guild!?" Orga and the other two shouted.

"Betray? I don't think we're betraying the guild though? Well, if you think that we're betraying the guild then so be it... We have no further interest with your guild anyway." Sorano said with a shrug.

"You!"

"Just for your information, if it wasn't for Erza-chan disappearance then we wouldn't have joined your guild."

"Erza? The Titania?" They frowned before changing their attention to the rumored Titania.

They thought that she and the other well-known <Fairy Tail> members have disappeared...

"...Huh?" They become stupefied at the sight of two Erza: "Wh-Why is there two of them?"

"What are you looking at!?" Erza H. growled at them.

Two of them stepped backward at the intensity of her gaze.

"Sting? Rogue?" Orga said in confusion at his two guildmates.

"Hah? Wh-Why did we suddenly..." The two of them muttered in confusion.

The two of them just felt an oppressive aura that they've never sensed before coming from Erza H.

It's like their whole being is telling them to submit to this Erza...

"Oh, now that we think about it... Those two are <Dragon Slayers>, aren't they? No wonder they instinctively feel fear towards elder sis." Sorano said in realization.

"What? Those two are <Dragon Slayers>? Just like pinky hair little group over there?" Erza H. pointed at Natsu, Laxus, Wendy, and Gajeel.

"That's right! We're <Dragon Slayers>! But we're nothing like them!" Sting raised his voice trying to erase his embarrassment just now.

"Hoo? And just how are you different from them?" Erza H. mused: "If you meant that you're weaker than them then you're right. You're far weaker than them."

"Teacher..." Natsu who was feeling down for being called pinky suddenly felt a little touched.

"That's impossible! They couldn't even defeat Acnologia! We are 'True' Dragon Slayers, we killed the Dragon who taught us the Dragon slaying magic with our two hands!" Sting and Rogue said.

"You... killed your own parents!?" Natsu gnashed his teeth.

"Yeah, no... I don't think so." Erza H. scoffed.

"What do you mean?" The two of them said with a frown.

"'True' Dragon Slayers? More like Dragon Slayer wannabe."

"Why you!"

"You claim that you're a 'True' Dragon Slayers but I couldn't smell a single drop of dragon blood coming from you two." Erza H. pointed out.

"Are you doubting us?" They glared at her.

"Doubt? Just from the fact that you didn't even realize the one who's standing before you is a Dragon already given you two a big minus points for your claim."

"Dragon? What?" They said in confusion.

"That's right..." Erza H. grinned at them before she disappeared from her spot and reappeared behind them: "I am a 'True' Dragon."

"Wha- *BANG!*"

A loud bang resounded clearly...

"GAH!!" Erza H. is holding their head and smashed them to the ground.

"Sting! Rogue! You..." Orga groaned: "Hey referee! Why are you not doing anything! They just attacked us out of nowhere!" He shouted at the pumpkin head.

"..." But the mentioned pumpkin head is looking away from the whole incident as if the whole thing has nothing to do with him. Don't mind me, I didn't see anything... His whole posture looks like he was implying that.

Orga becomes slackjawed at this sight...

"They made elder sis mad." Sorano chuckled.

"Why? Is it because they said that they have slain a Dragon before?" Laxus asked curiously.

"No, if they truly kill a Dragon then she won't really get mad. That just means that they have earned that kill... What she's mad about is that they claimed that they've slain a Dragon even though they never actually done it. She hates it when others lie to her."

"Now come on... Show me your strength. The strength that you used to slay a Dragon." Erza H. said coldly while her Dragon features started to show themselves.

First, it's her horns, her claws, her wings, and lastly, her tail.

"Wh-What the hell?! Are those-!" Orga said in disbelief.

"Mhm, what you're seeing right now is a True Dragon in the flesh." Sorano said simply: "Elder sis Erza over there is a bonafide Dragon."

Orga becomes further dumbfounded at this revelation.

Sting and Rogue who are under Erza H. grasp are also stupefied.

"Come on. Show me what you got." Erza H. repeated herself to the two men.

"D-Don't underestimate us!" They struggled against her grasp and managed to break free with difficulty... Well, more like she let them.

Once they broke free, they immediately took some distance and looked at each other.

"Sting!" Rogue shouted.

"Got it!"

""<Dragon Force>!"" The two of them shouted before a large amount of energy burst out from their bodies.

"Hoo?" Erza H. raised one of her eyebrows.

"With this form... We're able to kill our first Dragon!" Sting said.

"Is that so? Then give me your best shot." Erza H. taunted.

"Tsk! <White Dragon's Holy Breath>!"

"<Shadow Dragon's Shadow Breath>!"

They let out their respective attack towards her.

Erza gives a light smirk before she opened her mouth wide and started sucking their attack right into her mouth.

"..." Sting and Rogue who saw this become rooted on their spot whereas the other onlookers who didn't know about Erza's true capabilities are also in the same state.

*GULP* *GULP* *GULP*

"Fwahhh... Not bad. Sadly, you both are still too green... If you were compared to pinky before trained he's by me then sure, you're more powerful than them. But right now, you would stand no chance against them..." Erza H. said calmly.

"D-Did she just... Swallow Sting and Rogue attack?" Orga said in a daze.

"Yup. That she did." Kagura nodded.

"But... But..."

"Wasn't the <Dragon Slayer> magic works best against a Dragon?" Simon followed up.

Orga nodded at his statement.

"Well, if it were against any other Dragons then it might work but you see... Elder sis Erza herself already said that she's a 'True' Dragon, isn't she? The 'True' here is not implying that she's a 'real' Dragon but rather because she's of a higher class compared to a normal Dragon." Yukino explained.

"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hmm, it would be too difficult to explain it in words but just know that she's far more powerful than all the Dragons recorded in history... Even stronger than Acnologia."

"...Even stronger than Acnologia?"

"Yup. She could probably kill Acnologia with one hand behind her back if she wanted to. That's how big the disparity in their strength is... If big sis is one of the Dragon that wanted to kill all the humans in the past then the human race would've gone extinct already and not the other way around."

"..."

"Now then... Let me show you what a real Dragon's breath looks like." Erza H. grinned at the two Dragon Slayer wannabe.

She took a deep breath making her cheeks slightly puffed up before she huffed lightly.

*PHEW*

A thin line of crimson laser-like beam shoots out from her mouth passing the stupefied duo before it finally landed on the large mountain in the distance...

"BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!*

A large explosion ensues... If it wasn't for the barrier surrounding the city then it probably would've been affected by the explosion blast. And just like what happened to the now disappeared mountain, perhaps this city would also share the same fate...

But thankfully, someone notices her act right before she launches it.

"Er-chan! Be careful with your attack!" A loud scolding voice resounded clearly.

"Oops, sorry mum!" Erza H. said with a sweat. She thought that she already properly lowered her attack power just now... But it looks like it's still too powerful...

"Well, anyway, if you want to fight them then you can fight them at the tournament." Erza H. said while she reverted back to her human form.

They still didn't react to her words since they are too stupefied at the sight of the destruction caused by her dragon breath.

"Th-That whole mountain just... disappeared..." Rogue muttered in shock.

"Stop being so shocked at everything little thing she does."

"You called 'that' little?!"

"Our foster father is even more powerful than her!" Sorano said proudly: "Now you understand why we don't have any interest with your <Sabertooth> guild... We and this other Erza are sisters hence why we're so close with each other."

"So you best remember that you're dead wrong if you think that your guild is the strongest... At most, your guild can only be counted as ants in front of real strength."

"..."

After that, Erza and the others didn't bother with the <Sabertooth> anymore.

Soon the other guilds also arrived at the finish line.

...

After a while, Issei finally decided to put his 'trouble' aside for now. He stood up from the water to meet up with Tamamo and Setsuna since it should be about time to get out of the hot spring now...

As if on cue, Tamamo's cheery and bubbly voice which for some reason becomes a tad higher resounded from the woman's bath side: "Hubby, we're done here~"

"Got it. I'm also done here." Issei responded.

Wo is still behind him waiting for his next command. She's in a seiza position with both of her knees on the ground and both her hands on top of her lap.

Issei turned around and looks at her with a warm gaze: "Thank you, Wo."

"This is what Wo should do for Master." She bowed her head respectfully.

"Nonsense. You've done a good job so you ought to be praised." Issei said before he lifted her chin with his hand.

Their gaze intersected and Wo once again couldn't help but blush at his act...

This warm and fuzzy feeling feels so nice... She thought to herself.

Her old Master can't make them feel this way... To be treated not as a tool but rather as a person... They truly love this newfound feeling of theirs.

They're even given a name by their new Master to which they treasure a lot that they would keep addressing themselves with it.

Issei also couldn't help but smile at her innocent reaction. If it wasn't for Setsuna being nearby then he would've invited her to take a bath together along with Tamamo... After the little "tension" from before, he wanted to pent his desire but he knows now is not the time since his little princess is nearby.

But a little kiss should be fine...

With that thought inside his mind, Issei bends his body slightly and proceed to taste the innocent lips of his little abyssal human.

Wo eyes widened at this since this is the first time that her Master given her a kiss!

The other abyssal human body also froze at the shared sensation that they share with each other.

...

"Hm? What's wrong, Kai?"

Irene asked the abyssal human standing beside her. In her surroundings, there are a bunch of mangled corpses laid on the ground and walls...

They're currently located in the alleyway of a city. Those corpses might look humanoid but their eye sclera is completely black and their pupils are blood red.

Irene is in her classic scarlet witch attire while the abyssal human beside her is an attractive young woman wearing a black dress revealing her bare shoulders.

She also wore what seemed to be two pairs of long, thigh-high white stockings with black rings around them and two high-heel shoes which were black in color. Her most unique feature is that she had two pairs of upward-curving horns on her forehead with a black fade on the tip and long black hair that reached down to below her knees.

The abyssal human whose name is Kai has currently had her face flushed red and she's touching her lips with her fingers.

"Master..." She muttered in response to Irene's inquiry.

"Dad? What's wrong with Dad?" A young girl who's standing nearby asked.

She has red eyes and long red hair that goes past her waist. Her choice of clothing is a white tank top coupled with a black mini jacket and she's also wearing long black jeans and black boots.

She's Irene and Issei's second daughter, Margit Belserion Hyoudou.

"Hmm, seeing her current expression then it's safe to say that your old man just did something to one of her 'sisters'," Irene said in amusement after seeing the flustered look of Kai.

"Dad did? What did he do? Hey, big sis Kai, tell me!"

"Margit, you're still too small for that." Irene smirked.

"Bah! I'm not small!" Margit growled: "I'm already grown up!"

"Just because you and your sister look more mature than your real age entails, that doesn't mean you're an adult, little lady... Anyway, these creatures sure are amusing aren't they..." Irene said while looking at one of the corpses.

"Eh, they look like zombies to me..." Margit said uninterestedly.

"Well, they do keep screaming that they wanted to eat our flesh... As funny as that is." Irene chuckled: "Not like they can pierce our skin with their measly attempt even if we let them hit us anyway. But if it wasn't them being able to talk then even I would also classify them as zombies just like you did."

One of them "managed" to land a hit on Irene's body but the one that broke is the one who attacked instead of the one who's getting attacked...

The utterly dumbfounded face of that thing was truly priceless... Irene thought to herself.

They just arrived in this world to sightsee a little bit before these creatures suddenly jumped out of nowhere and started attacking them. While Irene loves getting into a fight, these creatures which basically act like a completely wild animal won't be able to prove any challenge to her...

She doesn't even bother attacking back and just calmly let Kai and Margit handle them all.

Aside from the one that "managed" to land a hit, the other creature that gets close to her immediately turned into ashes...

"Some of them possess an intriguing thing though... What's this anyway? Some sort of organ? Eww, disgusting..." Margit crouched and lifted a tentacle-like thing sprouting from the creature's back with a pipe that she picked up nearby.

"Don't randomly pick things from the ground. Didn't your dad taught you that?" Irene lightly knocked on her head.

"I didn't touch it with my hands..." Margit pouted while rubbing her head.

"Same thing. What would you do if that thing suddenly becomes alive and started latching onto your body?"

"Tch! There's no way it would come alive after all that so you can stop scaring me, mom." Even though she said that, she does obediently move away from the tentacles...

Irene laughed at her daughter for being so gullible. But soon she set her attention back on the creature's body.

"They have the same physical appearance and intelligence as a human but their diet seems completely different... Their inner body structure is also mostly the same but these 'organ' that they used as a means of attack seems to differentiate them from a normal human..." Irene muttered: "And as far as I can tell, there are more of these creatures lying around this city alongside the normal humans."

Irene analyzed after she sniffed the air a little bit.

She could smell these creatures' scent all over the city.

"Anyway, Kai. Please snap out of it and inform those from the main archive of our finding, would you?" Irene said towards Kai who's still a bit dazed.

"E-Eh? A-Ah, yes mistress." Kai said stutteringly.

"Just what dad did anyway to make the expressionless big sis Kai look like this?" Margit mumbled curiously.

"Things children like you shouldn't know." Irene said with a smirk.

Margit snorted back in response: "I'll just ask dad myself later."

"Good luck with that."

"It's done, mistress." Kai reported while still red-faced.

"Jeez... He's not done yet? Your face is still red..." Irene sighed.

"Master... is..." Kai gasped while her body slouched backward.

Issei is currently hugging Wo's body tightly and savoring her lips to his heart content. Reiji has already kicked out by him from the hot spring...

"Fufu, it's about time he does something to you and your sisters..." Irene chuckled in a low voice: "Anyway, let's go. This world might be not so boring after all... Let's stay here for a few days and see how it goes."

"Ehh... Do we really have to? They're not a threat to us though..." Margit whined.

"No matter how weak your enemies are..."

"Remember to never underestimate them. I know I know... Dad has been teaching us that all the time." Margit sighed.

"And for a very good reason. Your father himself barely able to keep up with his enemies when he first made a contact with the supernatural world but, he managed to defeat most enemies that are stronger than him in the end." Irene chuckled.

"But of course! Dad is the strongest after all." Margit huffed in pride.

"Mhm... Okay, let's go. I feel like I wanted to take a nap."

"But you just took a nap earlier, mom..." Margit deadpanned.

"That's nowhere near enough. Mom at least needs another 8 hours for her beauty nap."

"You might as well call that sleeping!"

The two of them left the alley and Kai once again went inside Margit's shadow...

Moments after their departure, two figures arrived on top of the building right above the alleyway.

"..." The first one is a seemingly tall man with short white hair and red eyes. He hid his mouth with a red iron mask.

The second one looks like a young girl. She wraps her entire body in bandages and she also wears a maroon hooded cloak with droopy ears and a floral scarf around her neck.

"..." The girl also cautiously looks at the scene before them: "I wonder what happened here... I thought it was only our kind having a feast but this sight sure is a surprise."

"...All of them died almost at the same time." The man muttered in a low voice after observing the state of the bodies and their freshness.

And not to mention how their expression is filled with disbelief and confusion... like they didn't even understand how they die even until the end of their lives.

"Meaning that their killer is just that powerful? Well now... who might they be? Is it 'him'? No, he's strong but I doubt he's able to kill all of them with such little time." The girl said in a carefree manner: "And it doesn't seem to be our kind as well. None of them seems to be eaten and these lingering smells... It smells too sweet and enchanting to be a human."

No wonder these fools gathered here... They couldn't resist the smell but looks like it's a 'trap' all along.

"Oh, looks like we have company. Let's leave." The girl notices multiple footsteps coming their way.

The two of them then disappeared from their spot and the group of people wearing a matching outfit which consists of a white professional suit.

Just like the two newcomers from before, they also started speculating about what happened here...

Two opposing races are filled with absolute confusion with the human side thinking that the perpetrator must be from the opposing side... In other words, an internal struggle or something similar.

...

After a while, Issei finally stopped his 'conquest'.

He withdraws his lips and looked at the dazed Wo in his embrace.

"Let's stop here... We don't want to keep them waiting too long now, do we?" Issei said.

Wo who heard his voice finally snapped out of her daze and she almost fainted feeling something hard poking her lower abdomen.

"Maybe we'll continue this later." Issei gives her forehead a peck before he lets go of her body.

Once she has been freed from the Dragon's clutch, Wo immediately hide herself once again. She's too overwhelmed with emotion that she doesn't know what to do...

It's not the first time she and the other abyssal human witnessed their Master's copulating with the mistresses. But seeing is one thing and experiencing it is another thing altogether.

Now they can slightly understand just why their mistresses often went dazed whenever they share a kiss with their Master...

Issei who saw this smiles wryly... Did he take it too far?

He gives a sigh before he went to the changing room...

In the changing room, he saw a little note that says: "Wear this, hubby~���" on top of a pile of clothes.

The clothes are a set of seemingly normal yukata without anything weird attached.

He shook his head before he wears the yukata prepared for him...

...

Chiyuki and the others are also waiting outside and they are amazed at the sight of Tamamo and Setsuna wearing a yukata.

Reiji who's on the side so badly wanted to feast his eyes on them but his last bit of sanity is telling him to not do it.

If it was the him before witnessing the fate of Alphos then perhaps he would take the risk just to leer on Tamamo and Setsuna but now... he doesn't dare to do it anymore.

He keeps looking at the ground after catching a glimpse of Tamamo and Setsuna.

He's afraid if he were to gaze at them for a prolonged period of time then Issei would've crippled him as well. And for him who loves indulging in the flesh of woman, it's the same as a pure nightmare...

He can only curb down his perverse desires on Tamamo and Setsuna... At least for now...

"How pretty... This is the first time I saw a yukata that looks so beautiful..." Kyouka muttered.

"Or better yet, it's been a while ever since we saw a yukata ourselves," Rino said.

"Thank you, these yukatas are created by my sister. Perhaps you can order one if you have the chance at our company, <ECH>." Tamamo advertised with a business smile.

"<ECH>?"

"That's right, <ECH> stands for <Eternal Crimson Heart>, it's a company created by my hubby and our company branches to multiple worlds so make sure to order a few of our products," Tamamo said with a wink.

"This is our business card." Setsuna helpfully distributed the cards for them: "If you want to order something then just type the provided numbers using any sort of communication device... A normal phone would also work. And as for the payment, you could use your world's currency if you want. We will handle the rest."

"O-Oh..." Chiyuki's group smiled wryly at this. Guess anything is possible with magic, huh...

"Ah! Hubby, you're finally here!" Tamamo said giddily seeing Issei who's finally out of the hot spring.

"Mm, sorry to keep you two waiting," Issei said apologetically.

Chiyuki and the others turned around only to froze the next second...

Issei is wearing his yukata which might seem normal but the design is not as normal as he thought since it brings out his charm even more. Especially with how the upper yukata of his seems to be more open than a normal yukata perfectly exposing his upper chest and neckbone.

And the way his slightly moist hair and a droplet of water dripping from his neck to that said collarbone only serve as unnecessary fan service to the poor group of girls wildly beating heart.

Even Sahoko, Rino, and Nao who genuinely love Reiji couldn't help but become dazed at this sight of Issei.

Whereas for the girls who already started to develop some feelings for Issei having it worst... They're having a nosebleed, that's why.

Including Rena who's in the background, all of them are having a nosebleed with their cheeks flushed deeply.

"You look great, hubby!" Tamamo praised with a seductive smile.

"You look outstanding as always, royal father." Setsuna who's at her side also nodded with slightly reddened cheeks.

"Is that so? Thank you then. You two also looks beautiful." Issei smiled back in response: "Anyway... Where should we go next, princess?"

"Oh, we heard that the inn is preparing a feast for us, hubby. We were thinking if we should give their food a try." Tamamo chimed in.

"While Setsuna doubts that there will be a food more delicious than yours, royal father... I think we should at least try them." Setsuna nodded in agreement.

"Okay then. Let's go to the dining room." Issei nodded before the three of them went away leaving behind the dazed group of girls in the background... But soon they also followed after them.

...

"Th-The feast will be prepared soon enough, milord." One of the maids nervously said while looking at the ground. She had to pinch her hips just to regain her thoughts when she first saw Issei and then she doesn't dare to look at him directly anymore.

"Mm." Issei gives a faint nod and the maid hurriedly excuses herself.

"While it's quite disappointing that the inn style is not Japanese, at least the hot spring is quite great," Tamamo said.

"Princess, come." Issei beckoned: "Sit here." Issei pulled out a chair for Setsuna to sit on.

"Royal father?" Setsuna said in confusion but she still follows his words and took a seat.

Issei then took an intricately designed comb out of his dimensional storage and started to gently comb her hair.

"Ah, you don't have to, royal father!" Setsuna becomes startled at his action.

"It's fine. Now stay still."

"..."

"How long has it been again, princess? The last time father combs your hair like this..." Issei said fondly.

"...It has been three months and thirteen days, royal father." She said shyly.

"Oh, really? Sorry, princess... Father has been quite busy in the last few months."

"N-No, it's fine, royal father. Setsuna understands that royal father is busy..."

Tamamo looked warmly at their interaction... If only he's the first man she married to. Would her fate will be different? But there's no use in thinking of the past... What matters is the future that they have together.

Chiyuki and the others looked enviously at Setsuna who's treated so gently by Issei but they're also in disbelief seeing the current Setsuna.

Compared to her who was in the bathroom, she's acting so meek and shy right now.

Reiji inadvertently becomes charmed at her sight once again but thankfully he didn't look at her with a lustful gaze or Issei would've killed him on the spot.

It appears the incident with Alphos from before made him more aware...

Rena gnashed her teeth looking at the harmonious scene before her.

She wanted that for herself! But it's fine... Soon, she will get what she wants.

Chiyuki and Issei's table are separated so they don't share the same table.

Rena won't be participating in the feast since she has her plans.

Soon, the same maid who excused herself a while ago returned with a cart full of food and drinks.

"Excuse us. The food is here." She announced their arrival politely... For some reason, she appears to be wearing more makeup now.

She keeps fluttering her eyes towards Issei's direction along with the other maid. They didn't even put Reiji in their eyes anymore even though he was the most wanted man in the kingdom not long ago...

Issei stopped combing Setsuna's hair and then he also took his seat.

The maid prepared the feast in an orderly fashion...

"It doesn't smell so bad," Tamamo muttered before she glanced at Rena who's observing them from the side.

Seeing the anxious look on Rena's face made Tamamo grinned automatically.

"Mm, it is indeed not bad." Setsuna nodded.

One of the maids step forward and gave a glass of 'liquor' to Issei: "Here's your drink, milord."

Once the food is fully prepared, the maid spoke once again: "If there's anything else, then feel free to call us... We will gladly do 'anything' you want."

She emphasized the word 'anything' with a seductive tone but Issei ignored it.

"Umm... Where's our food?" Chiyuki called out seeing that their food doesn't seem to be here just yet.

"Ah... Oh, we apologize, Chiyuki-sama... Your food is currently being prepared right now as we speak." The maid said in realization.

She couldn't say that they forgot about them now, could she? So she improvised saying that their food is currently being prepared. She signaled one of her co-workers with a wave of her hand behind her back.

They then hurriedly excuse themselves but not before another maid brought a glass of wine to Rena: "Here's your drink, milady."

"Um." Rena is too anxious and impatient to properly pay attention to her drink so she just took it and calmly holds it in her hand.

Her gaze never leaves Issei the whole time.

"Rena, come sit with us," Reiji called out but the former didn't even give him a glance.

Reiji froze at this before he also played along thinking that she doesn't want to be noticed.

"Try the drink, hubby. It's quite good." Tamamo said 'helpfully'.

"Oh?"

When Issei picked up his cup, Rena's whole body tensed up. She's so nervous that she reflexively drink the cup in her hand.

"Cheers, hubby. May our love last forever~" Tamamo said with a smile.

"Mm. Cheers." Issei also smiled back at her: "You too, princess. May you grow strong and more beautiful."

"U-Um... To you as well, royal father."

Once they finished their toast, the three of them drank their respective drinks.

Rena who saw this immediately sprang into action, she put the glass in her hand down and dashed towards Issei's front.

I WON! With this, his heart will be mine!

Or so she thought...

"...What are you doing?" Issei frowned while looking at her who suddenly stand in front of him.

"...Eh?" Rena let out a confused noise before she felt her heart started to beat erratically: "DIEHART!" She called out loudly with her eyes turning bloodshot almost instantly.

Since she doesn't know Issei's name yet, she decided to call him Diehart instead.

Her eyes turned so passionate that it even made Issei feel goosebumps all over.

She then tried to grasp Issei's face with her two extended arms: "Mine! You're mine!"

"Okay~, that's enough~" Tamamo's giggling voice resounded before Rena's body flew backward.

Her fox tail hit the latter away before Issei could react... Which is great because he was about to do more than just 'flung' Rena away.

If Tamamo didn't make her move then perhaps Rena would become crippled, sharing the same fate with her brother since Issei didn't react kindly to whoever would suddenly launch a surprise attack at him... especially when one of his little princesses is nearby.

He doesn't like to hit women but that doesn't mean he won't hit them when the situation calls for it.

"Rena!" Reiji and the others called out in shock. They hurriedly went over to her...

"?" Issei tilted his head before he looks at his smiling fox wife: "What just happened?"

"Ufufufu. She gets what she deserved, that's all." She replied while giggling mischievously.

"She tried to put something in your drinks but Tamamo kaa-chan saw it through, royal father." Setsuna explained.

"...Oh, no wonder." Issei said in realization while looking at the crazed Rena.

"Mine! He's mine!" Even now while she's being held back by Chiyuki's group, Rena still tries to get back up to her feet and her eyes are dead set on Issei.

"Rena, calm down!"

"What's wrong, Rena!"

"A love potion?" Issei guessed.

"Yup," Tamamo confirmed.

"But it won't work on me though?" Issei said.

"I know, hubby. But they don't know that, do they?" Tamamo giggled once again.

What a joke... One of Issei's divinity is <Love>. If a measly Love potion capable of making him head over heels over someone then he might as well kill himself with a piece of tofu!

"Anyway... I'm guessing this is the true reason why you want to have dinner in this place?" Issei sighed.

"That's right." Tamamo readily nodded at his guess.

"What will happen to her?" Setsuna curiously asked since this is the first time she has seen anyone consume a love potion.

"Well... Nothing much. She will become your father's slave for eternity. If he were to tell her to kill herself right now then she would've done so... And at worst case she overdoses on the potion then she would become completely crazy if the target of her love didn't 'relieve' her~" Tamamo explained while hiding her smile with her fan.

"'Relieve'? 'Relieve' how exactly?" Setsuna asked curiously.

She needed to gather more information just in case something similar happened in the future.

"Stop corrupting her." Issei bonked Tamamo's head.

"Ouchie~" Tamamo stuck out her tongue at Issei.

"Let's leave... My appetite is ruined." Issei said with a sigh.

"Sure, hubby~"

The three of them stood up from their chair leaving behind the commotion in the background.

At one point, the situation becomes too dangerous that Chiyuki had to knock Rena out...

Reiji volunteered to carry her but Chiyuki and the others are not having any of it.