DID YOU KNOW? YOU CAN NOW READ THREE TO SIX CHAPTERS AHEAD. CHECK MY PROFILE FOR THE LINK.
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"AFTER EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE KAEDE! I'M GOING TO STOP YOU!"
"STOP ME? HEHEHE! HAHAHAHA! WHO WOULD YOU BE... WITHOUT ME RIMURU?"
"...TIME TO FIND OUT."
[xxx]
"Mother."
"Mother?"
Kaede blinked rapidly, the voice finally pulling her attention back to the present. For several moments, she had been staring at nothing in particular, completely lost in her own thoughts.
"Yeah, what's up, Ari?"
Ari looked at her worriedly. "You were just staring into space. You seemed to be deep in thought. What's on your mind?"
"Nothing, I guess. Just a daydream, is all." Kaede straightened in her chair, though her thoughts remained elsewhere.
'Artificia, what was that? I thought I heard a voice... or voices in my head. It wasn't like the prayers. It felt different. Like a memory.'
<
<>
Kaede frowned slightly. 'It felt so real.' She stared down at her hands, flexing her fingers slowly as she tried to recall what she had heard.
'And so very important. Like I should be expecting something.'
Her brows furrowed.
'Or maybe I should have already received...' She stopped herself. 'I don't know what it is.'
Kaede released a quiet sigh and leaned back in her chair, letting her head rest against the backrest. "It's one thing after another."
The conference room had grown noticeably quieter.
Only Kaede and Ari remained.
The rest of the cabinet had already taken their leave, each departing to carry out the responsibilities Kaede had assigned to them.
Shifu had gathered his squad and was already preparing to depart, taking Kirara and the rest of his elite guards with him. Their objective was simple: hunt down Eugene and any Spirit Riders who had chosen to follow the blonde-haired traitor.
Kaede's expression darkened slightly at the thought.
The fact that the otherworlders that they'd saved had people who genuinely believed that she was some kind of monster destined to destroy humanity was still difficult for her to understand.
She couldn't help but feel sorry for them. So much for human intelligence.
They had been manipulated into believing that the people they should have been cooperating with were their enemies.
But sympathy only went so far. It didn't mean Kaede would spare them. Not this time.
She couldn't afford to give them chances. Not after what had happened before.
The last time she had let down her guard so easily, it had nearly cost her her own life. Worse than that, it had taken Pito from her.
Kaede's fingers slowly curled into fists.
Never again.
She had learned her lesson.
She would not allow herself to be taken advantage of like that again, no matter how convincing someone appeared to be or how much she wanted to believe in them.
Ari noticed the subtle change in her mother's expression but said nothing.
There was no need.
She knew exactly what Kaede was thinking about. "Delta also petitioned to join Shifu's squad," Ari eventually said, breaking the silence.
Kaede blinked before looking at her. "She did?"
Ari nodded. "Apparently, she was quite insistent."
A faint smile appeared on Kaede's face. That sounded like Delta.
"The Faunus has been cooped up in the city for the last few years, after all." Ari continued. "Most of the beasts throughout Jura are no longer much of a challenge for her."
Kaede chuckled softly.
That was certainly true. Delta had grown considerably stronger since the days when she had first joined Maple Tree. Her natural strength, combined with her evolution and years of combat experience, had placed her far beyond the ordinary monsters that roamed the Great Forest of Jura and well into the ranks of the stronger monsters in Maple Tree.
For someone like her, remaining inside the city for years without a proper challenge was practically torture.
"She probably just wants to stretch her legs." Kaede said.
"That was more or less what she said."
Kaede smiled. "Then let her go."
Ari raised an eyebrow. "You're not worried?"
"About Delta?" Kaede shook her head. "She'll be fine." Her smile faded slightly as she looked toward the closed doors of the conference room.
Even with all of that, Kaede still felt the need to go on the hunt herself. With her [Universal Detect], she could comb through entire regions faster than all of them combined, and if she went herself, there was little chance that Eugene or the rogue Spirit Riders would remain hidden for long.
Alas, she had to remain in Maple Tree as its most powerful person and its leader. She couldn't simply leave the nation whenever she felt like it, especially when there were still so many responsibilities that required her attention.
Thankfully, Charlotte had a small portion of the Leaf scouting out the rogue Spirit Riders, so at least Kaede had her own eyes outside of Maple Tree.
It wasn't quite the same as being there herself, but it would have to do.
Kaede leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping idly against the armrest as she thought about the situation.
Then, a familiar presence brushed against her consciousness.
<
"Thanks." Kaede smiled as she accepted the transmission.
"Hey, honey. Did you forget something?" she asked, glancing toward the window. "You haven't been gone for very long."
There was a brief pause before Hanae's voice reached her through the mental connection.
(My apologies, Mother. I did not mean to interrupt you.)
"No more of that, Hanae." Kaede's voice softened, carrying the warmth that only appeared when she spoke to her daughters. "You always have my attention. Each and every one of you."
There was another brief silence.
(You are very kind, Mother.)
Hanae's voice sounded slightly more hesitant when she continued.
(There seems to be an important matter in Tempest, and Rimuru Tempest has sent an invitation.)
Kaede's brows immediately knitted together. "An invitation?" She paused, her fingers tapping once against the armrest. "And he couldn't give me a call because...?"
Hanae seemed to hesitate.
(Tempest is receiving a visit from the Demon Lord Luminous Valentine, alongside her retinue, the Great Saints.)
Kaede's tapping stopped. For a moment, she simply stared ahead. Her expression hadn't changed, but something inside her had gone completely still.
Her fingers resumed tapping against the armrest, though considerably slower than before. "Hinata Sakaguchi."
(It is as you think, Mother.)
Kaede's eyes slowly closed. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and released a long, tired sigh. "Dammit, Rimuru. What are you up to this time?"
Hanae remained silent.
Kaede could already imagine what her daughter was thinking.
She knew exactly why her mother wasn't enthusiastic about the invitation.
It wasn't because of Luminous.
It wasn't even because of Hinata herself.
It was because of Pito.
There was ample evidence that she had been felled by Hinata's hands. In Lubelius.
No matter how much time had passed, Kaede had never forgotten that.
She still remembered the emptiness she had felt when Pito died, and the rage that had followed afterward. She had ignored Hinata to some extent, or at least accepted that there were circumstances surrounding what had happened, but that didn't mean seeing the woman responsible for Pito's death would be comfortable.
And Kaede certainly didn't want her personal feelings turning a diplomatic meeting into a battlefield. "I really don't want to cause a scene." Kaede muttered.
She leaned farther back into her chair, staring at the ceiling.
There was a brief pause before Hanae spoke again.
(Mother, Rimuru did specifically request your presence.)
"I know." Kaede sighed. "And that's what makes this awful."
She glanced toward the documents still scattered across her desk. "I can't exactly ignore an invitation from Rimuru when he's hosting another Demon Lord and the leader of the Ten Great Saints."
Her expression became increasingly troubled. "Especially when that Demon Lord is Luminous Valentine."
Kaede slowly drummed her fingers against the armrest. "So now I have to decide whether attending is worth the headache."
There was another pause.
Then Hanae spoke.
(You could simply avoid fighting her.)
Kaede stared blankly ahead. "...Hanae."
(Yes, Mother. I apologise.)
Kaede sighed again. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I didn't mean to. You're right. I can put my transgression to the side for the moment and see what's actually going on."
"Still, knowing my family, I'm not sure everyone else will be quite as reasonable."
She could already imagine Ari's reaction. And possibly even Shifu if he found out who was going to be there.
Kaede groaned. She rubbed her temples one last time before straightening in her chair.
"Alright." Her expression settled into reluctant determination.
"Tell Rimuru I'll consider his invitation." She paused. "Actually..."
A faint smile appeared on her face. "Tell him I'll come."
Then her smile disappeared almost immediately. "But tell him that he's paying for any damages."
Hanae's voice carried the faintest hint of amusement.
(Understood, Mother.)
"Good." Kaede leaned back in her chair once more.
"Luminous, Hinata, Rimuru..." She sighed. "This is going to be troublesome."