Licia sighed as she put her back against the wall. As Ticia and Nathalia became friendlier with one another, the discussion took a more… personal direction.
Nathalia began discussing her love for Andrew in front of the man, who did not even seem to understand he was the person she was talking about, and her mother had a true smile on her face throughout the discussion, enjoying herself. But when Nathalia got curious and asked about the parent-children relationship Ticia had with the clones, Licia, who had become slightly bored from listening to the discussion, had a sudden, weird feeling…
If what she felt was true, then… her mother would begin to boast about her and her sisters.
She didn't want to feel embarrassed in front of so many people, so she secretly made her escape before her mother locked her as the center of attention. Of course, one of the ECGs followed her.
Licia's actions had not escaped her little sisters' eyes, but they would not stop her. No, it would be better to say that they did not question her moves, proof that they still lacked in the development of their mind. Those who were left behind would end up becoming the center of attention of Ticia's overwhelming love, not that they would mind about it…
But this was not a matter that Licia could do anything about, so instead, she thanked her sisters in her mind as she closed her eyes, relishing in the calmness.
She had found a spot that seemed unfrequented by people, which might have been because the place was hidden behind giant curtains. She could escape the eyes of the surrounding people here, or so she thought.
“Hm?” She heard faint voices coming from behind the wall, and turning, she realized that she was in fact not standing with her back to a wall, but rather a french window which had been left slightly open.
The outside was now dark, with only a faint light illuminating the balcony, so she could not see much, but she saw the silhouette of ten people: nine men and one woman.
Her attention would have stopped there, if not for what she faintly heard next.
“I've had enough of you, Pellian bitch, let me and my friends enjoy ourselves with your body.”
“N-no! You can’t do that!”
“!!!”
T-that's bad! Licia instantly knew what was happening, and she grew restless. Despite her age, she knew what this sort of talk implicated because of her implanted knowledge. She did not want this kind of incident to happen in front of her eyes, so, without much thought, she opened the door and got on the balcony.
“I won't allow it!” She said out loud, surprising the people present.
Now in full view of the situation, she could see one young man restraining the arms of a young woman with blue hair, while the others were standing there, some with even their hands over their belts. It was just as she had expected, unfortunately.
At least it wasn't too late, though. She said to herself, realizing that nothing had happened yet, but found herself enraged by the situation.
“Release her immediately, or you won't get out of this unharmed!” She said angrily, but her threat did not seem to unfaze the boys.
“...Hey, where did that little midget come from?” One asked.
“Don't know boss. She's lost, perhaps?” Another replied.
“Well, doesn't matter anyway.” The one called boss said, directing a savage smile her way. “Kid, hurry and skidaddle from here before I make you do so…”
“Steve? You're not going to hurt a kid, are you?” The woman being restrained said in a trembling voice, her face becoming even paler and desperate.
“And what if I am?” The man replied, keeping his smile. “Don't worry, I'll take care of you after that.”
“Hey!” Licia shouted, angry she was being ignored. “Didn't you hear what I said? Get away from her, or else…"
"Or else what? What are you gonna do against us, kid?” Steve said back, before looking at one of the other young men. “You, get her out of here, and make sure she never gets in my way again.”
The man seemed to hesitate.
“What? You’re scared?” Steve said back, to which the man finally made a decision in his mind and advanced towards Licia.
“Sorry kid, this might hurt a bit.” He said with sympathy in his eyes.
“Hmph, just try it and you might become an eunuch.” Licia said provocatively, a smile on her face that froze the man in place.
“Th-this brat…” The man trembled in shame, he did not feel any hesitation anymore. “I'm gonna punish you severely!”
But before he could make any move, another person entered the scene.
“Don't make another move.”
““!?!””
The ECG that followed Licia, ECG-046, finally entered the balcony and pointed a pistol towards the men, who paled immediately. She had listened in on the conversation, and decided to jump in when her Prime Sister was threatened.
“H-hey!? Where did that hot chick take out this gun from!?” One said in a panic, guests at parties did not have weapons normally, but it was another thing when talking about bodyguards…
“R-relax, this was only a small discussion, okay?” Steve said, trying to calm down the situation as sweat flowed from his back.
“...” Unfortunately for him, ECG-046 was unaffected by his words.
“Sister, put that gun away, it would only cause unnecessary troubles for mom.”
“Understood.”
Only after Licia said those words did ECG-046 lower the gun and put it in its holster. But the men saw this as an opportunity.
“Hah! Did you really think I would leave you alone!? How could we leave this hot chick alone after she just delivered herself to us?! Go!” Steve ordered as a smile came back to his face, and the man at the front immediately rushed to immobilize ECG-046, but the clone reacted immediately, immobilizing the man instead by placating him to the ground.
“Wha-!?”
““!?!”” The others stood frozen from the quickness of the act.
“Sister, to which degree am I allowed to go?” ECG-046, asked monotonously, sending a gaze towards Licia. Ticia had strictly forbidden the ECGs to call the Null CGs ‘Prime sister’ while they were in public.
“Hmmm… I guess a few broken bones are fine…” Licia said after thinking a bit.
“Permission to break the genital parts?” The ECG suddenly asked, which sent a sense of dread to the man she was holding.
Fortunately for him, Licia shook her head. “No,no, I was only joking. Miss Rika would scold us again if we did this…”
“Understood.” ECG-046 said with… a bit of disappointment? Licia could only be happy that her sister showed feelings, despite the said feelings of disappointment being directed at a very sensible subject…
“Wait, what are you-gah!”
*crack*
“Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!”
““!!!””
ECG-046 disconnected the bones of man’s right arm from his shoulder without hesitation in front of the other people frozen in horror.
“Next.” She said without hesitation, approaching her next target.
“W-wai-” *crunch* “My, aaaaaaarm!”
ECG-046 was merciless, even to those who pleaded or threw themselves on their knees, surrendering to her. The fate of those who tried to defend themselves was even worse… Seeing this scene, Licia had only one thought.
Thank god I closed the door…
Then, after ECG-046 took care of the man who had restrained the woman all this time, only one person was left unharmed.
“How dare you go after me?!” Steve cried out, outraged. “I am backed by the great Doesson family, you know?!”
"Oh?” Licia raised an eyebrow, the discussion she had with her mother when she told her her plans for the party were in her mind. She smiled, now there were even less reasons for her to hold back if the person in front of her was the enemy. “Then it's reason enough for us to make you suffer."
“W-what do you mea-Gyaaaaaaah!” His arm was twisted in an impossible direction before he could even finish his question.
“All enemies neutralized, sister.” ECG-046 said calmly as she came back towards her older sister.
“Yeah, good job holding back.” Licia said, praising her little sister’s job.
“U-uhm…” She heard a voice from the side, which forced her to turn toward the blue haired, blue eyed woman. Now that she had a closer look at the woman, Licia could see that she was younger than she thought, and that she was in fact at the end of her teenage years. Another thing that was also fortunate was that the girl's beautiful blue dress was not damaged by the men.
“Thank you for helping me…” The girl said, bowing her head. Licia could see she was still trembling, probably still under the shock of what just happened, and scared after witnessing such a scene.
“Oh, no worries, I just passed by, and didn't want another problem to pop up for my mother.” She said with a reassuring smile yet easygoing tone.
“Your mother?” The girl raised an eyebrow, before nodding. “I-I see, she must be quite influential…”
“Well, I guess so.” Licia said. It’s Miss Rika who has all the influence, though. “The name's Licia by the way, and you?”
The girl seemed surprised at first, but answered with a low and hesitant voice.
“...Evelyn, Evelyn Mayers.”
“Oh, that's a good name.” Licia said honestly, but Evelyn seemed surprised by this answer.
“Eh? You, you don't know who I am?” She asked in disbelief.
“No, I don’t know. Is it really important, though?” Licia tilted her head in response.
“Uhm, yes, because I-”
“You're not going to stay out of this unscathed, bitches!” Steve suddenly said as he got up, suddenly interrupting their conversation. His arm dangling from his side, but his rage had made him totally forget about the pain. “I'm going to tell everything to my father!” He said, rushing for the entrance to the hall with some of his underlings following after him.
Licia, ECG-046 and Evelyn did not move to intercept them.
“...Sister, what are the chances of us getting scolded for this matter?” ECG-046 asked after a while, a hint of worry in her voice.
“Oh? You're worried about this now?” Licia could not help but comment with a smile on her face. "I see you're growing up, I'm happy. And don't worry, the chances of us receiving a scolding are close to zero, we might even receive praise from mother!"
“That-, I would be happy about that…” The ECG mumbled in a nearly inaudible voice, with a hint of red on her cheeks as she turned her face away. Licia did not miss it though, and her smile deepened.
“...I’m sorry.” Evelyn suddenly apologized.
“Hm? For what?”
“I involved you and your big sister into my personal matters, and now you'll have a lot of problems…” She said, feeling apologetic. ECG-046’s eyebrows twitched at the way she was called, but before she could even correct Evelyn, Licia spoke out.
“Oh, that? Don't worry about it, it's to our advantage anyway.” She said, as if everything that happened was not a big deal.
“Uhm, I'm not sure I'm following…” Evelyn said, unsure, judging from her reaction, Licia guessed that just like she did not know Evelyn, the latter had not seen or knew anything about her mother, or any of her sisters yet.
“Well, if you want to know, then follow me! Things should have heated up by now!” She giggled. “There's gonna be some fireworks real soon!”
She then took the hand of Evelyn and entered the hall.
“Eh? W-wait!”
***
“Father!” Steve shouted loudly as he entered the hall, gathering attention on himself as he searched for his father.
“S-Steve!? What happened to you!?” His father exclaimed as he saw the state of his son.
“Th-the clones! They attacked me!”
““Wha-!?”” Everybody was surprised by his claim, the clones had attacked him? But why?
“This is outrageous! Brigadier-General Rika, do you have anything to say!?” Steve’s father roared in outrage, sending a death glare towards Rika.
“Please calm down. Are you sure you were attacked by clones?” Rika asked calmly as she approached the father and son.
“Of course he was! Are you saying he lied!?”
“That is not what I meant, Mister Ritter, I was just making sure.” Rika said back to the father. “Also, I asked this question to your son, not to you.”
She then turned towards Steve. “I’ll ask again, are you sure it was a clone who did this to you?”
“I’m sure!” He affirmed strongly, and people began to whisper between themselves, if a clone had really done that, then they were dangerous...
“General, I want an explanation imme-”
“And so do I.” Rika cut Mister Ritter’s words before he could finish, she needed to stay in charge of this whole ordeal. “Tell me more about what happened.”
“I was introducing my fiance to my friends, when two clones suddenly barged in and beated us! Look at my arm!” Steve said, showing how hurt he was.
“What happened to my son!? Brigadier-General, I want reparations immediately!”
“Not so fast. Sir.” Ticia jumped in the conversation, standing next to Rika with a serious look.
“Huh!? Who are you!?”
“I am the Clone Mother.” Ticia declared. “I am doubting your testimony, my girls would not just assault anybody like this.”
“Ha! You’re just covering for them! You’re one of them after all!” Mister Ritter said back, his eyes filled with rage, but Ticia ignored him and turned towards Rika.
“General, it would be wise to hear the story from the two sides before making any judgment.” She said, and Rika nodded.
“I agree.”
“General!?” Mister Ritter exclaimed, but then, a voice came from the side.
“General, dear mother.” Licia appeared, followed by Evelyn and ECG-046.
“Oh, Licia? And… who is she?” Rika asked, looking at Evelyn, but before the woman could present herself, a middle aged man with blue hair came out from the crowd that formed around them.
“Evelyn!”
“Father!”
Evelyn’s father hugged her as soon as he reached her, relief on his face that was followed by clear confusion, why was his daughter here?
“She’s my fiance, and this is her father, Henry Mayers.”Steve said to Rika, before approaching Evelyn. “Hey, Evelyn, you were there, tell them what happened!”
“That-” Evelyn seemed hesitant to speak, when suddenly, an angry Licia stood in front of her, facing Steve.
“Do not take a step closer from her, you degenerate!” She shouted.
“Wha-?! Degenerate!? Me!? How dare you, you stupid little clone!” Steve said back.
“C-clone?” Evelyn repeated, seemingly surprised by this fact. She alternated questioning glances between Licia, ECG-046, and the other clones that had gathered.
“Everybody! Calm down!” Rika said with authority, silencing the increasing noise. As the one with the most authority right now, she would judge who was at fault. Although, she did not think Licia had done anything. “I will hear the story from the other side. Ticia, if you will.”
“Understood.” Ticia nodded before looking at her daughter with an expressionless face. “Null CG-01 Licia, what is the reason for all this commotion?”
“It was a tentative of rape, mother.” Licia replied without an ounce of hesitation.
““!?!”” Everyone made surprised expressions at what Licia just said, and Evelyn panicked. Such a thing would usually be said in a less… direct way, but Licia was still too young to truly understand the shame that such a thing could bring to both involved parties.
“H-how dare you accuse my son of such a th-”
“Quiet.” Rika once again silenced Mister Ritter, before looking at Licia with the most serious expression she ever showed. “Null CG-01 Licia, could you please elaborate?”
“Yes.” Licia saluted quickly. “Me and my sister, ECG-046, were about to head to the balcony when I heard a suspicious noise outside. Intrigued, I opened the door, and this man, accompanied by eight others, were restraining this person here. Fortunately, it was before they-”
“You can stop there, Null CG-01, all of us can guess what was about to happen.” Rika stopped her before she got too far.
“Yes, so I immediately took action and warned the group of their wrongdoings, but they did not stop, and instead tried to attack me.” Licia said, understanding that Rika did not want her to talk about that part openly.
“Go on, what happened next?” Ticia pressed for her to continue.
“ECG-046 neutralized all of them before anything could happen.”
“I see.” Ticia nodded, before glancing at ECG-046. “ECG-046, is what your sister said just now true?”
“Yes, although…”
“Although?” Rika raised an eyebrow at the girl’s hesitation.
“...I wanted to punish them according to the crime they were committing, but Null CG-01 stopped me before I could do so.” ECG-046 admitted, looking at Steve with the intention to finish what she had begun. The latter immediately let out a shriek of horror.
“I-I did no such thing!” He managed to utter, but his trembling and scared demeanor did not help in proving his words.
“Hmmm, thank you for the testimony. I think things are obvious now…” Ticia nodded.
“Yes, I did not think your son was such a horrible person after you praised him so much, Mister Ritter.” Rika said with a look of disgust towards Steve.
“What? You’re believing the clones over us!?” Mister Ritter cried out in protest.
“Th-this is favoritism, Brigadier-General! Our side has more witnesses!” Steve exclaimed, pointing at the other injured men who had followed him. All of them nodded.
“Despite that, I still think you’re guilty.” Rika said without pity.
“Even though they’re obviously lying!?”
“How dare you!” Another outburst came, but this time it came from a direction even Rika and Ticia had not expected.
“We clones never lie to our leader! That would be going against our reason to live!” ECG-001 said, an enraged face that was reflected on all the ECGs, it seems like Ritter’s words had managed to make even the ECGs react.
“ECG-001, calm down.” Ticia chided her daughter, even though she was internally happy at this outburst of emotion.
“Apologies, Mother, but I just expressed the feelings of all my sisters.” ECG-001 said back, not retrieving the killing aura she had around her as she stared at the frightened father and son.
“I know, I feel the same after all.” Ticia said truthfully, also sending a stern look towards the Ritter duo.
“The clones were entrusted to me, and they would not dare commit any act without my command.” Rika said after things had calmed down a little. “Are you saying I was the one who ordered this, Mister Ritter?”
“N-no, of course not! How could I ever dare throw mud at you!” The father shook his head as fast as he could, since he was under the Doesson family, his words were of no value, but he just said those to clear his name in front of the surrounding people who were increasingly sending him looks of disgust.
“Very well then, despite having already decided, I will entertain you and listen to the testimony of the concerned person, to make sure of all this.” Rika said, turning towards Evelyn, who flinched.
“C-can’t we do that in a more… private room? Brigadier-General?” Steve suddenly said in a trembling voice, looking at the surrounding people who had their eyes on them.
“Why? Are you scared anything would come out of this party and plummet your reputation?”
“N-no, but-”
“Alright, I get it.” Rika sighed, before sending a stern look at the onlookers. “Everyone, I hope you will keep to yourself the name of the victim and not mention it anywhere, is that clear?”
People nodded, not wanting to anger the Unkillable Valkyrie. Although, from the words she just said, some were able to tell that it was fine to talk about the aggressor… At least the reporters that were allowed to enter the party understood it that way, and that would be enough for them.
“Good, we can now hear your testimony, Miss Mayers”
“Y-yes, uhm…” Evelyn seemed hesitant as all eyes were on her. She looked over at the worried face of her father, and then at the Ritter son and father duo, who were sending her pleading looks with hidden meanings.
She then felt a small warm feeling enveloping her hands, startling her, and when she looked down, she saw Licia sending her a warm smile.
“It’s alright, tell them everything!”
“Null CG-01 Licia, please do not try to influence the victim.” Ticia reprimanded Licia, before moving towards her daughter, but stopped when Evelyn shouted out loud.
“I-I will speak!”
“Evelyn?” Her father looked at her with bewilderment.
“I’m sorry, father, but the truth is, my fiance tried to assault me multiple times ever since we became engaged… And this time, he…nearly succeeded…” She bit her lip as her entire body shivered. Henry took his daughters hands, a painful look on his face.
“... So it is true? They tried to assault you?”
“...Yes. I’m so sorry, father! I tried to keep things low so that it wouldn't get in the way of your plans!” She ended up saying, unable to hold back her tears anymore.
"Eve…” Henry’s face twisted even more with guilt, he was the one who had arranged a marriage partner for his daughter. “Sorry, I should have known better…"
“Ahem.” Rika scraped her throat, gathering attention back on her. “I am sorry to interupt your father-daughter moment, but I do not think it is the right time to do so. I have come up with a decision. Mister Ritter, your son is guilty.”
“No! Y-you can’t trust what she says!” Steve’s father cried out in what could only be called desperation.
“Oh? Why so?”
“B-because they’re Pellians!”
““!?!””
After he said that, the entire atmosphere of the venue changed, attention now on the Mayers, who seemed resigned to themselves after this announcement.
The independent system of Pellia was annexed five years ago, but could not be said to be pacified. Most of its leading class was spared, and those people kept brandishing the idea of independence, with huge support from Pellian citizens. This resulted in resistance movements who made terrorist attacks on Borkians. If the Borkians did not hate the Pellians before the war, they now felt extremely hateful of them, and so did the Pellians.
That is why, the mention of a Pellian family right in the middle of Borkian Prime City raised some eyebrows. Even though it could only mean that they were collaborators, and Henry Mayers was known for his reconciliation efforts after the war, they still felt some wariness towards them…
“...So what?” Rika said, breaking the uneasy silence that had emerged.
““Eh?””
“So what if they’re Pellians? The war ended five years ago, Mister Ritter.” Rika said with a criticizing glare. “The Pellian system is now a region of the Borkian confederation, and Pellians have complete citizenship within our great nation.”
“S-still, they’re trying to undermine us!” Mister Ritter insisted, which only made Rika sigh.
“...This discussion is going nowhere. You clearly have some deep grudges against the Pellians, Mister Ritter. But I do not.” She then looked towards the Mayers, and to the general surprise of everybody, she bowed her head. “Mister Mayers, I apologize for this.”
“N-no, there is nothing for the Unkillable Valkyrie to apologize for…” Henry said, feeling uneasy from the apology.
“I do feel there is, though.” Rika insisted. “The Borkian-Pellian war was a conflict that resulted from the greed of multiple people, and my former family was part of them…” She said with a sad look. “The Pellian system is also where I made my first achievements on the battlefield, and if not for the very clone standing right next to me, I would long be dead.”
“You mean there was a clone close to you for this long?” Henry raised an eyebrow at what Rika just said, while Ticia panicked in her mind, was Rika not saying too much right now!?
“I didn’t know about it at the time, but that is another story, sir, if we could now refocus on what matters?”
“Y-yes, of course.” Henry nodded.
“With my authority as a Brigadier-General of the Borkian confederation’s army, I declare Steve Ritter and his accomplices guilty of sexual assault. They shall be arrested according to the law. Their sentence will be aggravated by the fact that they dared do this during a celebratory party.” Rika declared with authority, making it clear that this was her final verdict.
“There’s no way we will accept this!” Mister Ritter yelled, before sending a death glare towards Rika. “The Doesson won’t accept what you did to us today! You traitor!”
“The Doesson huh?” Rika raised an eyebrow. Truth be told, she already knew the Ritter were sent by her old family, but it’s not like she cared much about it. She had countermeasures to face them.
It was then that Ticia spoke out.
“The Doesson won’t do anything. They have a bigger problem to deal with, after all.”
““Huh?””
“...Ticia?” Rika asked, a frown forming on her face, the smile her friend had told her one thing, Ticia was about to make an unexpected move.
“What do you mean by that!?” Mister Ritter exclaimed, but Ticia only sent him a mysterious smile, before exchanging a glance with ECG-001, who nodded at her mother.
“Everyone, we thank you for the warm welcome and support you have shown us.” Ticia said, addressing everybody present. She then took out a remote control and pushed a button, the curtains to the window opening wide letting people see the night.
“The venue has been arranged so that we will have the best view of tonight’s victory fireworks, I hope everyone can enjoy them together.” She said. “A party cannot be held without some fireworks, after all~.”
Not soon after, fireworks began to illuminate the dark sky. Those were part of the planned festivities, so nobody was shocked. They watched the show, some with a frown on their faces, not understanding why they were conveyed to look at fireworks so suddenly. Until…
*Kaboooom*
They all saw an explosion in the distance, on the ground below the fireworks, surprising them. The explosion started another pack of fireworks, which illuminated the flames and smoke resulting from the explosion.
They were brought back by the voice of Ticia.
“Oh my~, isn’t this coming from Doesson Industries’ warehouses? What could have happened, I wonder~.” She said in a fake shocked tone, which everybody caught on.
“You… What have you done?” Mister Ritter managed to utter as his face paled.
“Me?” Ticia pointed at herself playing innocent. “Absolutely nothing! I am here and not there after all~.”
“Don’t lie! I’m sure you’re involved in this!” Ritter shouted back. “There’s no way those warehouses would explode!”
“Indeed, there is no way they would.” Ticia nodded, before a grin emerged on her face. “If they were really stocking what they said they were, that is…”
“!?! What do you-”
“You should get out of our sight before more problems pop up for you, Mister Ritter.” Ticia said with a serious look, releasing some killing intent, and Ritter immediately ran towards the exit.
“D-dad! Wait for me!” Steve shouted, following after his father. Nobody except their underlings bothered to follow after them. It was their problem, and they would have to deal with it even more once the police would come to take Steve away… No bribe would save him at that time.
Ticia now looked at Rika with a big smile. “Tada~!”
“...” Rika could only be speechless, this was probably the surprise Ticia had talked about.
“How is it? Do you like it?” Ticia asked like a child, feeling like she already knew the answer.
“...Yes, that was quite refreshing.” Rika ended up saying as a heartfelt smile finally appeared on her face.
“Hehe~, I knew it would!” Ticia laughed, before smiling evilly. “This will teach all of them a lesson to not take us lightly.”
“There’s no chance of us getting in trouble for that, right?” Rika asked, just to be sure. They did just make an explosion in the center of Borkian Prime City after all…
“Nope! No chance!” Ticia closed one eye. “That warehouse did not have what the Doesson claimed it had, so they’ll just take everything in the face if they don’t try to cover it up! I wish them luck on that!”
Rika did not know what exactly was in that warehouse, but she could guess from the size of the explosion.
“Now come on! Let’s go see the fireworks instead of just talking!” Ticia said, before pulling Rika by the hand towards the giant windows where everybody else was gathered.
Rika let herself be pulled by her friend, but instead of looking at the fireworks, she looked at Ticia’s gleeful face. She reminded her a lot of the little clones right now…
Was this just Ticia releasing some stress? Or was it simply her friend’s daughters influencing Ticia? Rika had a feeling it was probably both, but that in the end, all of that was just how Ticia was.
And somehow, despite the fact that this personality of hers could cause troubles down the line, Rika had only one thought that came to mind.
“It’s contagious.” She said as she could not help herself from smiling too, excitement piling up.
“Hm? Did you say something? “Ticia asked.
“Nope, nothing at all.” Rika said back as she watched the fireworks with a big smile on her face.
Chauchat
Author's monologue:
Hey there! I'm back with another chapter!
Oh boy, that was a longer one than I first thought, but still I enjoyed writing it (execpt for that firts part...)
I mean, that was my first time writing something like this, so I do wonder if it was ok? did I write too much or not enough? I'm unsure, so if you have some feedbacks about this, please tell me.
Well that's it for today! My monologue has been shortened because I made a small error while writing it, and it passed to the previous page without saving it! I got too lazy, and the chapter is already late enough, so I'm just gonna publish it!
I'll see you all in the next chapter!
Licia sighed as she put her back against the wall. As Ticia and Nathalia became friendlier with one another, the discussion took a more… personal direction.
Nathalia began discussing her love for Andrew in front of the man, who did not even seem to understand he was the person she was talking about, and her mother had a true smile on her face throughout the discussion, enjoying herself. But when Nathalia got curious and asked about the parent-children relationship Ticia had with the clones, Licia, who had become slightly bored from listening to the discussion, had a sudden, weird feeling…
If what she felt was true, then… her mother would begin to boast about her and her sisters.
She didn't want to feel embarrassed in front of so many people, so she secretly made her escape before her mother locked her as the center of attention. Of course, one of the ECGs followed her.
Licia's actions had not escaped her little sisters' eyes, but they would not stop her. No, it would be better to say that they did not question her moves, proof that they still lacked in the development of their mind. Those who were left behind would end up becoming the center of attention of Ticia's overwhelming love, not that they would mind about it…
But this was not a matter that Licia could do anything about, so instead, she thanked her sisters in her mind as she closed her eyes, relishing in the calmness.
She had found a spot that seemed unfrequented by people, which might have been because the place was hidden behind giant curtains. She could escape the eyes of the surrounding people here, or so she thought.
“Hm?” She heard faint voices coming from behind the wall, and turning, she realized that she was in fact not standing with her back to a wall, but rather a french window which had been left slightly open.
The outside was now dark, with only a faint light illuminating the balcony, so she could not see much, but she saw the silhouette of ten people: nine men and one woman.
Her attention would have stopped there, if not for what she faintly heard next.
“I've had enough of you, Pellian bitch, let me and my friends enjoy ourselves with your body.”
“N-no! You can’t do that!”
“!!!”
T-that's bad! Licia instantly knew what was happening, and she grew restless. Despite her age, she knew what this sort of talk implicated because of her implanted knowledge. She did not want this kind of incident to happen in front of her eyes, so, without much thought, she opened the door and got on the balcony.
“I won't allow it!” She said out loud, surprising the people present.
Now in full view of the situation, she could see one young man restraining the arms of a young woman with blue hair, while the others were standing there, some with even their hands over their belts. It was just as she had expected, unfortunately.
At least it wasn't too late, though. She said to herself, realizing that nothing had happened yet, but found herself enraged by the situation.
“Release her immediately, or you won't get out of this unharmed!” She said angrily, but her threat did not seem to unfaze the boys.
“...Hey, where did that little midget come from?” One asked.
“Don't know boss. She's lost, perhaps?” Another replied.
“Well, doesn't matter anyway.” The one called boss said, directing a savage smile her way. “Kid, hurry and skidaddle from here before I make you do so…”
“Steve? You're not going to hurt a kid, are you?” The woman being restrained said in a trembling voice, her face becoming even paler and desperate.
“And what if I am?” The man replied, keeping his smile. “Don't worry, I'll take care of you after that.”
“Hey!” Licia shouted, angry she was being ignored. “Didn't you hear what I said? Get away from her, or else…"
"Or else what? What are you gonna do against us, kid?” Steve said back, before looking at one of the other young men. “You, get her out of here, and make sure she never gets in my way again.”
The man seemed to hesitate.
“What? You’re scared?” Steve said back, to which the man finally made a decision in his mind and advanced towards Licia.
“Sorry kid, this might hurt a bit.” He said with sympathy in his eyes.
“Hmph, just try it and you might become an eunuch.” Licia said provocatively, a smile on her face that froze the man in place.
“Th-this brat…” The man trembled in shame, he did not feel any hesitation anymore. “I'm gonna punish you severely!”
But before he could make any move, another person entered the scene.
“Don't make another move.”
““!?!””
The ECG that followed Licia, ECG-046, finally entered the balcony and pointed a pistol towards the men, who paled immediately. She had listened in on the conversation, and decided to jump in when her Prime Sister was threatened.
“H-hey!? Where did that hot chick take out this gun from!?” One said in a panic, guests at parties did not have weapons normally, but it was another thing when talking about bodyguards…
“R-relax, this was only a small discussion, okay?” Steve said, trying to calm down the situation as sweat flowed from his back.
“...” Unfortunately for him, ECG-046 was unaffected by his words.
“Sister, put that gun away, it would only cause unnecessary troubles for mom.”
“Understood.”
Only after Licia said those words did ECG-046 lower the gun and put it in its holster. But the men saw this as an opportunity.
“Hah! Did you really think I would leave you alone!? How could we leave this hot chick alone after she just delivered herself to us?! Go!” Steve ordered as a smile came back to his face, and the man at the front immediately rushed to immobilize ECG-046, but the clone reacted immediately, immobilizing the man instead by placating him to the ground.
“Wha-!?”
““!?!”” The others stood frozen from the quickness of the act.
“Sister, to which degree am I allowed to go?” ECG-046, asked monotonously, sending a gaze towards Licia. Ticia had strictly forbidden the ECGs to call the Null CGs ‘Prime sister’ while they were in public.
“Hmmm… I guess a few broken bones are fine…” Licia said after thinking a bit.
“Permission to break the genital parts?” The ECG suddenly asked, which sent a sense of dread to the man she was holding.
Fortunately for him, Licia shook her head. “No,no, I was only joking. Miss Rika would scold us again if we did this…”
“Understood.” ECG-046 said with… a bit of disappointment? Licia could only be happy that her sister showed feelings, despite the said feelings of disappointment being directed at a very sensible subject…
“Wait, what are you-gah!”
*crack*
“Aaaaaaaaaaaagh!”
““!!!””
ECG-046 disconnected the bones of man’s right arm from his shoulder without hesitation in front of the other people frozen in horror.
“Next.” She said without hesitation, approaching her next target.
“W-wai-” *crunch* “My, aaaaaaarm!”
ECG-046 was merciless, even to those who pleaded or threw themselves on their knees, surrendering to her. The fate of those who tried to defend themselves was even worse… Seeing this scene, Licia had only one thought.
Thank god I closed the door…
Then, after ECG-046 took care of the man who had restrained the woman all this time, only one person was left unharmed.
“How dare you go after me?!” Steve cried out, outraged. “I am backed by the great Doesson family, you know?!”
"Oh?” Licia raised an eyebrow, the discussion she had with her mother when she told her her plans for the party were in her mind. She smiled, now there were even less reasons for her to hold back if the person in front of her was the enemy. “Then it's reason enough for us to make you suffer."
“W-what do you mea-Gyaaaaaaah!” His arm was twisted in an impossible direction before he could even finish his question.
“All enemies neutralized, sister.” ECG-046 said calmly as she came back towards her older sister.
“Yeah, good job holding back.” Licia said, praising her little sister’s job.
“U-uhm…” She heard a voice from the side, which forced her to turn toward the blue haired, blue eyed woman. Now that she had a closer look at the woman, Licia could see that she was younger than she thought, and that she was in fact at the end of her teenage years. Another thing that was also fortunate was that the girl's beautiful blue dress was not damaged by the men.
“Thank you for helping me…” The girl said, bowing her head. Licia could see she was still trembling, probably still under the shock of what just happened, and scared after witnessing such a scene.
“Oh, no worries, I just passed by, and didn't want another problem to pop up for my mother.” She said with a reassuring smile yet easygoing tone.
“Your mother?” The girl raised an eyebrow, before nodding. “I-I see, she must be quite influential…”
“Well, I guess so.” Licia said. It’s Miss Rika who has all the influence, though. “The name's Licia by the way, and you?”
The girl seemed surprised at first, but answered with a low and hesitant voice.
“...Evelyn, Evelyn Mayers.”
“Oh, that's a good name.” Licia said honestly, but Evelyn seemed surprised by this answer.
“Eh? You, you don't know who I am?” She asked in disbelief.
“No, I don’t know. Is it really important, though?” Licia tilted her head in response.
“Uhm, yes, because I-”
“You're not going to stay out of this unscathed, bitches!” Steve suddenly said as he got up, suddenly interrupting their conversation. His arm dangling from his side, but his rage had made him totally forget about the pain. “I'm going to tell everything to my father!” He said, rushing for the entrance to the hall with some of his underlings following after him.
Licia, ECG-046 and Evelyn did not move to intercept them.
“...Sister, what are the chances of us getting scolded for this matter?” ECG-046 asked after a while, a hint of worry in her voice.
“Oh? You're worried about this now?” Licia could not help but comment with a smile on her face. "I see you're growing up, I'm happy. And don't worry, the chances of us receiving a scolding are close to zero, we might even receive praise from mother!"
“That-, I would be happy about that…” The ECG mumbled in a nearly inaudible voice, with a hint of red on her cheeks as she turned her face away. Licia did not miss it though, and her smile deepened.
“...I’m sorry.” Evelyn suddenly apologized.
“Hm? For what?”
“I involved you and your big sister into my personal matters, and now you'll have a lot of problems…” She said, feeling apologetic. ECG-046’s eyebrows twitched at the way she was called, but before she could even correct Evelyn, Licia spoke out.
“Oh, that? Don't worry about it, it's to our advantage anyway.” She said, as if everything that happened was not a big deal.
“Uhm, I'm not sure I'm following…” Evelyn said, unsure, judging from her reaction, Licia guessed that just like she did not know Evelyn, the latter had not seen or knew anything about her mother, or any of her sisters yet.
“Well, if you want to know, then follow me! Things should have heated up by now!” She giggled. “There's gonna be some fireworks real soon!”
She then took the hand of Evelyn and entered the hall.
“Eh? W-wait!”
***
“Father!” Steve shouted loudly as he entered the hall, gathering attention on himself as he searched for his father.
“S-Steve!? What happened to you!?” His father exclaimed as he saw the state of his son.
“Th-the clones! They attacked me!”
““Wha-!?”” Everybody was surprised by his claim, the clones had attacked him? But why?
“This is outrageous! Brigadier-General Rika, do you have anything to say!?” Steve’s father roared in outrage, sending a death glare towards Rika.
“Please calm down. Are you sure you were attacked by clones?” Rika asked calmly as she approached the father and son.
“Of course he was! Are you saying he lied!?”
“That is not what I meant, Mister Ritter, I was just making sure.” Rika said back to the father. “Also, I asked this question to your son, not to you.”
She then turned towards Steve. “I’ll ask again, are you sure it was a clone who did this to you?”
“I’m sure!” He affirmed strongly, and people began to whisper between themselves, if a clone had really done that, then they were dangerous...
“General, I want an explanation imme-”
“And so do I.” Rika cut Mister Ritter’s words before he could finish, she needed to stay in charge of this whole ordeal. “Tell me more about what happened.”
“I was introducing my fiance to my friends, when two clones suddenly barged in and beated us! Look at my arm!” Steve said, showing how hurt he was.
“What happened to my son!? Brigadier-General, I want reparations immediately!”
“Not so fast. Sir.” Ticia jumped in the conversation, standing next to Rika with a serious look.
“Huh!? Who are you!?”
“I am the Clone Mother.” Ticia declared. “I am doubting your testimony, my girls would not just assault anybody like this.”
“Ha! You’re just covering for them! You’re one of them after all!” Mister Ritter said back, his eyes filled with rage, but Ticia ignored him and turned towards Rika.
“General, it would be wise to hear the story from the two sides before making any judgment.” She said, and Rika nodded.
“I agree.”
“General!?” Mister Ritter exclaimed, but then, a voice came from the side.
“General, dear mother.” Licia appeared, followed by Evelyn and ECG-046.
“Oh, Licia? And… who is she?” Rika asked, looking at Evelyn, but before the woman could present herself, a middle aged man with blue hair came out from the crowd that formed around them.
“Evelyn!”
“Father!”
Evelyn’s father hugged her as soon as he reached her, relief on his face that was followed by clear confusion, why was his daughter here?
“She’s my fiance, and this is her father, Henry Mayers.”Steve said to Rika, before approaching Evelyn. “Hey, Evelyn, you were there, tell them what happened!”
“That-” Evelyn seemed hesitant to speak, when suddenly, an angry Licia stood in front of her, facing Steve.
“Do not take a step closer from her, you degenerate!” She shouted.
“Wha-?! Degenerate!? Me!? How dare you, you stupid little clone!” Steve said back.
“C-clone?” Evelyn repeated, seemingly surprised by this fact. She alternated questioning glances between Licia, ECG-046, and the other clones that had gathered.
“Everybody! Calm down!” Rika said with authority, silencing the increasing noise. As the one with the most authority right now, she would judge who was at fault. Although, she did not think Licia had done anything. “I will hear the story from the other side. Ticia, if you will.”
“Understood.” Ticia nodded before looking at her daughter with an expressionless face. “Null CG-01 Licia, what is the reason for all this commotion?”
“It was a tentative of rape, mother.” Licia replied without an ounce of hesitation.
““!?!”” Everyone made surprised expressions at what Licia just said, and Evelyn panicked. Such a thing would usually be said in a less… direct way, but Licia was still too young to truly understand the shame that such a thing could bring to both involved parties.
“H-how dare you accuse my son of such a th-”
“Quiet.” Rika once again silenced Mister Ritter, before looking at Licia with the most serious expression she ever showed. “Null CG-01 Licia, could you please elaborate?”
“Yes.” Licia saluted quickly. “Me and my sister, ECG-046, were about to head to the balcony when I heard a suspicious noise outside. Intrigued, I opened the door, and this man, accompanied by eight others, were restraining this person here. Fortunately, it was before they-”
“You can stop there, Null CG-01, all of us can guess what was about to happen.” Rika stopped her before she got too far.
“Yes, so I immediately took action and warned the group of their wrongdoings, but they did not stop, and instead tried to attack me.” Licia said, understanding that Rika did not want her to talk about that part openly.
“Go on, what happened next?” Ticia pressed for her to continue.
“ECG-046 neutralized all of them before anything could happen.”
“I see.” Ticia nodded, before glancing at ECG-046. “ECG-046, is what your sister said just now true?”
“Yes, although…”
“Although?” Rika raised an eyebrow at the girl’s hesitation.
“...I wanted to punish them according to the crime they were committing, but Null CG-01 stopped me before I could do so.” ECG-046 admitted, looking at Steve with the intention to finish what she had begun. The latter immediately let out a shriek of horror.
“I-I did no such thing!” He managed to utter, but his trembling and scared demeanor did not help in proving his words.
“Hmmm, thank you for the testimony. I think things are obvious now…” Ticia nodded.
“Yes, I did not think your son was such a horrible person after you praised him so much, Mister Ritter.” Rika said with a look of disgust towards Steve.
“What? You’re believing the clones over us!?” Mister Ritter cried out in protest.
“Th-this is favoritism, Brigadier-General! Our side has more witnesses!” Steve exclaimed, pointing at the other injured men who had followed him. All of them nodded.
“Despite that, I still think you’re guilty.” Rika said without pity.
“Even though they’re obviously lying!?”
“How dare you!” Another outburst came, but this time it came from a direction even Rika and Ticia had not expected.
“We clones never lie to our leader! That would be going against our reason to live!” ECG-001 said, an enraged face that was reflected on all the ECGs, it seems like Ritter’s words had managed to make even the ECGs react.
“ECG-001, calm down.” Ticia chided her daughter, even though she was internally happy at this outburst of emotion.
“Apologies, Mother, but I just expressed the feelings of all my sisters.” ECG-001 said back, not retrieving the killing aura she had around her as she stared at the frightened father and son.
“I know, I feel the same after all.” Ticia said truthfully, also sending a stern look towards the Ritter duo.
“The clones were entrusted to me, and they would not dare commit any act without my command.” Rika said after things had calmed down a little. “Are you saying I was the one who ordered this, Mister Ritter?”
“N-no, of course not! How could I ever dare throw mud at you!” The father shook his head as fast as he could, since he was under the Doesson family, his words were of no value, but he just said those to clear his name in front of the surrounding people who were increasingly sending him looks of disgust.
“Very well then, despite having already decided, I will entertain you and listen to the testimony of the concerned person, to make sure of all this.” Rika said, turning towards Evelyn, who flinched.
“C-can’t we do that in a more… private room? Brigadier-General?” Steve suddenly said in a trembling voice, looking at the surrounding people who had their eyes on them.
“Why? Are you scared anything would come out of this party and plummet your reputation?”
“N-no, but-”
“Alright, I get it.” Rika sighed, before sending a stern look at the onlookers. “Everyone, I hope you will keep to yourself the name of the victim and not mention it anywhere, is that clear?”
People nodded, not wanting to anger the Unkillable Valkyrie. Although, from the words she just said, some were able to tell that it was fine to talk about the aggressor… At least the reporters that were allowed to enter the party understood it that way, and that would be enough for them.
“Good, we can now hear your testimony, Miss Mayers”
“Y-yes, uhm…” Evelyn seemed hesitant as all eyes were on her. She looked over at the worried face of her father, and then at the Ritter son and father duo, who were sending her pleading looks with hidden meanings.
She then felt a small warm feeling enveloping her hands, startling her, and when she looked down, she saw Licia sending her a warm smile.
“It’s alright, tell them everything!”
“Null CG-01 Licia, please do not try to influence the victim.” Ticia reprimanded Licia, before moving towards her daughter, but stopped when Evelyn shouted out loud.
“I-I will speak!”
“Evelyn?” Her father looked at her with bewilderment.
“I’m sorry, father, but the truth is, my fiance tried to assault me multiple times ever since we became engaged… And this time, he…nearly succeeded…” She bit her lip as her entire body shivered. Henry took his daughters hands, a painful look on his face.
“... So it is true? They tried to assault you?”
“...Yes. I’m so sorry, father! I tried to keep things low so that it wouldn't get in the way of your plans!” She ended up saying, unable to hold back her tears anymore.
"Eve…” Henry’s face twisted even more with guilt, he was the one who had arranged a marriage partner for his daughter. “Sorry, I should have known better…"
“Ahem.” Rika scraped her throat, gathering attention back on her. “I am sorry to interupt your father-daughter moment, but I do not think it is the right time to do so. I have come up with a decision. Mister Ritter, your son is guilty.”
“No! Y-you can’t trust what she says!” Steve’s father cried out in what could only be called desperation.
“Oh? Why so?”
“B-because they’re Pellians!”
““!?!””
After he said that, the entire atmosphere of the venue changed, attention now on the Mayers, who seemed resigned to themselves after this announcement.
The independent system of Pellia was annexed five years ago, but could not be said to be pacified. Most of its leading class was spared, and those people kept brandishing the idea of independence, with huge support from Pellian citizens. This resulted in resistance movements who made terrorist attacks on Borkians. If the Borkians did not hate the Pellians before the war, they now felt extremely hateful of them, and so did the Pellians.
That is why, the mention of a Pellian family right in the middle of Borkian Prime City raised some eyebrows. Even though it could only mean that they were collaborators, and Henry Mayers was known for his reconciliation efforts after the war, they still felt some wariness towards them…
“...So what?” Rika said, breaking the uneasy silence that had emerged.
““Eh?””
“So what if they’re Pellians? The war ended five years ago, Mister Ritter.” Rika said with a criticizing glare. “The Pellian system is now a region of the Borkian confederation, and Pellians have complete citizenship within our great nation.”
“S-still, they’re trying to undermine us!” Mister Ritter insisted, which only made Rika sigh.
“...This discussion is going nowhere. You clearly have some deep grudges against the Pellians, Mister Ritter. But I do not.” She then looked towards the Mayers, and to the general surprise of everybody, she bowed her head. “Mister Mayers, I apologize for this.”
“N-no, there is nothing for the Unkillable Valkyrie to apologize for…” Henry said, feeling uneasy from the apology.
“I do feel there is, though.” Rika insisted. “The Borkian-Pellian war was a conflict that resulted from the greed of multiple people, and my former family was part of them…” She said with a sad look. “The Pellian system is also where I made my first achievements on the battlefield, and if not for the very clone standing right next to me, I would long be dead.”
“You mean there was a clone close to you for this long?” Henry raised an eyebrow at what Rika just said, while Ticia panicked in her mind, was Rika not saying too much right now!?
“I didn’t know about it at the time, but that is another story, sir, if we could now refocus on what matters?”
“Y-yes, of course.” Henry nodded.
“With my authority as a Brigadier-General of the Borkian confederation’s army, I declare Steve Ritter and his accomplices guilty of sexual assault. They shall be arrested according to the law. Their sentence will be aggravated by the fact that they dared do this during a celebratory party.” Rika declared with authority, making it clear that this was her final verdict.
“There’s no way we will accept this!” Mister Ritter yelled, before sending a death glare towards Rika. “The Doesson won’t accept what you did to us today! You traitor!”
“The Doesson huh?” Rika raised an eyebrow. Truth be told, she already knew the Ritter were sent by her old family, but it’s not like she cared much about it. She had countermeasures to face them.
It was then that Ticia spoke out.
“The Doesson won’t do anything. They have a bigger problem to deal with, after all.”
““Huh?””
“...Ticia?” Rika asked, a frown forming on her face, the smile her friend had told her one thing, Ticia was about to make an unexpected move.
“What do you mean by that!?” Mister Ritter exclaimed, but Ticia only sent him a mysterious smile, before exchanging a glance with ECG-001, who nodded at her mother.
“Everyone, we thank you for the warm welcome and support you have shown us.” Ticia said, addressing everybody present. She then took out a remote control and pushed a button, the curtains to the window opening wide letting people see the night.
“The venue has been arranged so that we will have the best view of tonight’s victory fireworks, I hope everyone can enjoy them together.” She said. “A party cannot be held without some fireworks, after all~.”
Not soon after, fireworks began to illuminate the dark sky. Those were part of the planned festivities, so nobody was shocked. They watched the show, some with a frown on their faces, not understanding why they were conveyed to look at fireworks so suddenly. Until…
*Kaboooom*
They all saw an explosion in the distance, on the ground below the fireworks, surprising them. The explosion started another pack of fireworks, which illuminated the flames and smoke resulting from the explosion.
They were brought back by the voice of Ticia.
“Oh my~, isn’t this coming from Doesson Industries’ warehouses? What could have happened, I wonder~.” She said in a fake shocked tone, which everybody caught on.
“You… What have you done?” Mister Ritter managed to utter as his face paled.
“Me?” Ticia pointed at herself playing innocent. “Absolutely nothing! I am here and not there after all~.”
“Don’t lie! I’m sure you’re involved in this!” Ritter shouted back. “There’s no way those warehouses would explode!”
“Indeed, there is no way they would.” Ticia nodded, before a grin emerged on her face. “If they were really stocking what they said they were, that is…”
“!?! What do you-”
“You should get out of our sight before more problems pop up for you, Mister Ritter.” Ticia said with a serious look, releasing some killing intent, and Ritter immediately ran towards the exit.
“D-dad! Wait for me!” Steve shouted, following after his father. Nobody except their underlings bothered to follow after them. It was their problem, and they would have to deal with it even more once the police would come to take Steve away… No bribe would save him at that time.
Ticia now looked at Rika with a big smile. “Tada~!”
“...” Rika could only be speechless, this was probably the surprise Ticia had talked about.
“How is it? Do you like it?” Ticia asked like a child, feeling like she already knew the answer.
“...Yes, that was quite refreshing.” Rika ended up saying as a heartfelt smile finally appeared on her face.
“Hehe~, I knew it would!” Ticia laughed, before smiling evilly. “This will teach all of them a lesson to not take us lightly.”
“There’s no chance of us getting in trouble for that, right?” Rika asked, just to be sure. They did just make an explosion in the center of Borkian Prime City after all…
“Nope! No chance!” Ticia closed one eye. “That warehouse did not have what the Doesson claimed it had, so they’ll just take everything in the face if they don’t try to cover it up! I wish them luck on that!”
Rika did not know what exactly was in that warehouse, but she could guess from the size of the explosion.
“Now come on! Let’s go see the fireworks instead of just talking!” Ticia said, before pulling Rika by the hand towards the giant windows where everybody else was gathered.
Rika let herself be pulled by her friend, but instead of looking at the fireworks, she looked at Ticia’s gleeful face. She reminded her a lot of the little clones right now…
Was this just Ticia releasing some stress? Or was it simply her friend’s daughters influencing Ticia? Rika had a feeling it was probably both, but that in the end, all of that was just how Ticia was.
And somehow, despite the fact that this personality of hers could cause troubles down the line, Rika had only one thought that came to mind.
“It’s contagious.” She said as she could not help herself from smiling too, excitement piling up.
“Hm? Did you say something? “Ticia asked.
“Nope, nothing at all.” Rika said back as she watched the fireworks with a big smile on her face.
Chauchat
Author's monologue:
Hey there! I'm back with another chapter!
Oh boy, that was a longer one than I first thought, but still I enjoyed writing it (execpt for that firts part...)
I mean, that was my first time writing something like this, so I do wonder if it was ok? did I write too much or not enough? I'm unsure, so if you have some feedbacks about this, please tell me.
Well that's it for today! My monologue has been shortened because I made a small error while writing it, and it passed to the previous page without saving it! I got too lazy, and the chapter is already late enough, so I'm just gonna publish it!
I'll see you all in the next chapter!
