Not long after Lion woke up, the knights who had come with her gradually began to awaken as well.
Compared to the massive overhaul Lion herself had undergone, the cat-eared girls were much simpler to deal with. In only a short time, they had accepted both the memories Bruce and Doraemon had implanted into them and the fact that both their primarch and they themselves had become women.
Of course, accepting it was one thing. Figuring out how to face it was another entirely.
"Children! There is no need to panic! If you truly cannot think of what to do, then eat first! There is always a way forward!"
At the crucial moment, Lion stepped forward and rallied the spirits of her dispirited followers.
"Yes, my liege!"
And so, quite naturally, Bruce invited the cat-eared knights to the banquet hall, where they enjoyed the most lavish meal they had had since waking.
Though it was not the same time, it was the same place and the same host.
A month earlier, it had been here that Bruce had drugged the Dark Angels. And a month later, the knights—now transformed from they into she—were once again seated in the banquet hall, enjoying fine wine and rich food.
And this time, there was no need for restraint. They only had to eat.
"How crude..." Curze muttered disdainfully, swirling the wine in her glass.
From the moment she sat down, Lion had not shown the slightest bit of courtesy toward either Curze or Bruce. She simply ate and ate and ate, not even bothering with utensils. If something looked good, she just grabbed it with her hands.
That terribly inelegant table manner made Curze laugh, but it also left her curious. This new elder brother of hers was so small now—why was she able to eat so much?
"If you can eat, that's a blessing. Then eat as much as you like," Bruce said, continually piling more food into Lion's bowl.
Meanwhile, the cat-eared knights, having had some wine, had begun to behave outrageously—either latching onto the fairy maids and babbling nonsense, or meowing wildly to themselves.
In short... it was utter chaos.
At the very least, compared to that first meal they had shared, the now thoroughly uninhibited Dark Angels really were not much better than the Space Wolves.
"So then, my dear elder brother, what do you plan to do next?" Curze asked.
She coolly laid out the situation for Lion.
"Horus is definitely going to fall to corruption. Even if we set out now, it'll already be too late. You know that as well as I do—the distance is too great."
"But if we go to Holy Terra to warn Father, putting aside whether we could even get an audience with him, Dorn—who's stationed at the Palace—would probably assume we'd all gone mad."
"And then there's your Legion."
"You being like this... they're not going to accept it easily. Not in the short term."
"We'll need to think of a proper solution. Otherwise, it won't be easy to resolve."
"Simple." Lion answered without the slightest pause. "Turn my sons into women as well."
"That way they'll understand my circumstances, and it'll strengthen the bond between us."
Wait—
That straightforwardly?!
When Bruce heard Lion's suggestion, he nearly lost it. He had absolutely been thinking along those lines himself, but hearing Lion say it so decisively was still deeply unsettling.
"Bruce, do you have anything to add?" Lion asked as she continued eating.
Compared to her brother Curze, Lion actually trusted Bruce more. After all, the two of them had been through so much together that their bond as comrades had long since surpassed ordinary family ties.
"The real problem is figuring out how to trick them into drinking it..." Bruce said.
That was the true bottleneck.
Yes, if they could turn the Dark Angels into women, then getting them to fall in line would be easy enough. The problem was that not everyone would be willing to drink the transformation potion.
Lion and the others had fallen for it purely because they had let their guard down. But if they were to suddenly gather everyone and demand they drink it, surely someone would stay wary—or deliberately refuse.
And doing it in batches was even less realistic. Given how cautious the Dark Angels were, any major changes would be noticed immediately.
"Leave it to me. I'll handle it," Lion said, already having a plan.
Then she turned to Bruce. "Bruce, all you need to do is prepare enough of the transformation potion. Can that be done?"
"Doraemon!" Bruce immediately called out to the blue round-bodied cat from the future, who was currently being forced to drink by several clingy cat-eared knights.
"I'll figure something out!" Doraemon shouted back, struggling against the girls trying to feed him wine.
"Waaah! Don't kiss me! Somebody save me!"
"Oh? So you're very confident, big brother," Curze said, watching Lion with mixed emotions.
She really had changed. But such a drastic change... it was hard to get used to.
"Curze." Lion abruptly stopped eating and looked very seriously at her brother.
"?" Curze froze at being addressed in such a solemn tone.
"I owe you an apology."
"Huh?"
"As your elder brother, I should have noticed your mental state sooner. And our war between us could have been avoided as well. But I was too arrogant."
"I have endured the whispers of the Warp myself. I know that sort of pain. I should have taught you earlier how to resist it, instead of treating you as a coward."
"That was my fault."
"I hope from now on we can work together properly—to save Father, and to save the Imperium of Man."
"Will you?" Lion asked at last, smiling gently.
"..."
Curze petrified on the spot, both hands flying to her head as they began to tremble.
Dear... dear heavens. What did I just hear? What did Lion just say?
This—
I—
She?!
"Don't look at me..." Bruce turned his face away, speechless.
That is a huge change, yes. But wasn't this exactly the result we were aiming for? If this were the original Lion, she would have grabbed a knife and attacked everyone the moment they sat down at the table.
There was no way she would have calmly eaten her fill first, then begun radiating the brilliance and charisma befitting the King of Knights.
"That device is terrifying," Curze muttered, goosebumps rising all over her skin. The way she looked at Doraemon shifted completely—from disdain to sober appraisal.
That round-headed blue raccoon-cat thing truly was capable of absurd things. Good thing I didn't kill him back then.
"Hm? Curze? What's your answer?" Lion asked, puzzled by Curze's obvious discomfort.
What's wrong with this child now? Is she hearing whispers from the Warp again?
"I think she needs a moment. That sudden flood of familial affection just hit my father a bit too ha—mph!"
Bruce never got to finish.
Curze kicked him under the table, squarely in the crotch. His power armor rang out with a metallic clang.
"Shut up, recruit!" Curze snapped, face red. "This is a conversation between primarchs. What business do you have interrupting?"
"Sorry... my mistake..." Bruce quickly surrendered, clutching himself in agony.
Thank heavens she hadn't actually put force into it. Otherwise, the rest of his life would never be taking off again.
"Ahem."
After regaining her composure, Curze finally answered Lion.
"My... my own affairs are mine to deal with. You don't need to worry about me."
"I'll manage the Eighth Legion properly. It may not be in good shape right now, but I'm confident I can turn it into a Legion Father himself can be proud of!"
Though Curze had never admitted it aloud, ever since becoming Remilia, her attitude toward the Legion had already begun to change.
What had once been disappointment and neglect had become a desire to make it better—and to shoulder responsibility for it, especially after the Warp's whispers had vanished from her mind.
I will change that future myself. Rather than passively accepting it, I need to take action. That is the duty of the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
"Good. If that's truly how you feel, then I'm relieved." Lion pulled off a piece of pork knuckle and placed it onto Curze's plate.
"You need to eat more. Grow taller and stronger. Right now you look much too small and frail."
"?"
The warm expression on Curze's face instantly froze over.
Excuse me?
What was that supposed to mean?
Are you picking a fight?
"Pffft—"
Bruce finally broke.
"Recruit! What do you mean by that?" Curze demanded furiously, already snatching up a fork and preparing to stab the insolent bastard.
"I meant no disrespect!" Bruce immediately forced his face back into something serious, though the trembling of his shoulders betrayed him utterly.
"I just happened to think of something funny. But more importantly..."
Then, to prove his sincerity, he leaned forward, sliced off a piece of pork knuckle with knife and fork, and held it out before Curze's mouth.
In a soft, careful voice, he said,
"Father, you really do need to eat more. It matters for your health—and for the future of the Legion."
"Living on desserts alone and refusing proper meals isn't good. If you really can't stomach the food the maids make, then I'll cook nutritious meals for you myself."
"..."
Curze looked at Bruce's earnest face, then at the piece of meat on the fork.
A moment later, she opened her mouth, took the bite, chewed it, and swallowed.
"It still doesn't taste as good as what you make," she said.
"You can order whatever you want. I'll make it," Bruce replied, cutting off another piece of meat for her. "The maids are using recipes I gave them, after all."
"In that case, I can accept it." Curze brightened immediately and continued eating.
"..."
Lion's pace of eating gradually slowed.
As she watched Bruce feed Curze bite after bite, for some reason, her appetite suddenly waned.
It felt as though...
...something very important had been stolen from her by Curze.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( Ending )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
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