AN: In this chapter (not part, but chapter. It's in part... 7, I think. Next week), there are some reveals of past cruelties and other things that some people might have issues with, such as incest, rape, child and spousal abuse, and more, so be warned. I've marked that section, for those wanting to skip it. Also, please note that I wrote most of this while extremely ill, so... you may wonder as to what I was thinking at times... but I don't feel like going back and completely rewriting this massive thing, because I'm lazy, and it still does what I wanted it to do... mostly.
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Chapter 7 (1): Meetings with family, part 1
Two weeks after we met with the king, Char's father, Duke Ascham, paid our room a surprise visit. Thankfully, we were studying at the time, not having sex or anything like that, but it was still unexpected. Even so, we - that is to say, Char - invited him inside to talk, and Ver served him some tea. She's quite skilled at brewing and pouring tea, surprisingly. He had a look on his face that said, plain as day, that he was wondering if something was a very good thing or a very bad thing. As if to compliment that feeling, when he spoke, his voice had a bit of an edge to it, despite being a bit... sarcastic? Is that the right word? No, it's more... passive, I guess. You can figure it out, I think.
"So... Charlotte, I heard you met with the king recently. Care to tell me what that was about?" (Duke)
"Well... there were a few reasons, though the main reason I was there was as a friend and support to Ryuu, the girl on my left. One of the big parts there was to explain how she, well... she kinda..." (Char)
"Speak with confidence. Don't use words such as 'kinda', they are unbefitting of a noble such as us" (Duke)
"Very well. Ryuu was there to explain about how she is the master of the eleventh divine beast, formerly a greater wyvern, who is known as Verene. Well, it was more to reveal the existence of Verene more than about the fact that Verene is a tamed beast, and thus has a master" (Char)
The duke choked on his tea as Ver and I hid our smiles, while Mae and Char outright laughed, and Elise just sipped her tea calmly.
"I'm sorry, that was a bit of a shock. So, some random girl, who happens to be your roommate and friend, is the master of a new divine beast? I find that hard to believe" (Duke)
"Oh, it's no joke, though it is quite the surprise to most who hear it, I will admit that much" (Ver)
"Who gave permission to the servant to speak? No, she has a collar... Why is there a slave speaking?" (Duke)
"I may have a collar, but that's not a slave collar. It's the collar I obtained when I entered into my contract with Ryuu. In other words, I'm not a slave, but a tamed beast, so, I shall introduce myself properly. I am the aforementioned eleventh divine beast, the Wyvern Lord Verene" (Ver)
He choked on his tea once again, coughing more than I'd ever heard someone cough at once.
"By the way, what did you think of my tea? I hope you like it, aside from the incident of you choking on it... ah, sorry, I'll wait for your reply until you finish coughing again" (Ver)
"I should have known that the fifth girl in a room of four wouldn't be a simple maid, if one of the girls had tamed a divine beast... but to think I was served tea by a divine beast? I feel honored... however, every time I try to taste it, I wind up getting surprised and thus unable to actually taste it" (Duke)
"Go ahead, taste it. We won't say anything for a while until you do, as I really would like your opinion on it. The only people to have tried it thus far have been young girls, so an adult's take on it, as well as a man's, are both something I am lacking. I truly would like to know how I could improve my skills" (Ver)
"Huh. A pleasant, humble girl, with the right mentality for a servant. Not what I would expect from a divine beast that was once a greater wyvern" (Duke)
He tasted the tea, this time, not choking on it, and his face brightened.
"This is quite impressive. It's better than what I have at home, and to think a girl of maybe fifteen years old is the one to make it. Honestly, I don't know how you could improve on this" (Duke)
"You may wish to make sure you don't have anything in your mouth for this, but... I'm not even three months old at the moment" (Ver)
"I... Thank you for the warning. Any other surprises you wish to reveal to me?" (Duke)
"Well... I suppose there is the bit about my finding myself a lover?" (Char)
The duke's face twitched, and he set down his teacup slowly and deliberately.
"Mind if I ask to meet him? He must be a fascinating man to charm your frigid heart" (Duke)
"No, my lover is not a fascinating man at all. In addition, the two of you have already met, or rather, are in the same room right now" (Char)
"Huh? I... uh... ah... that would explain why you were never interested in the various suitors who came for you... so, which one is it? Not Verene, I hope. She's still just a child, in terms of her age, at least" (Duke)
"That would be me. My name is Ryuu, and I'm an orphaned half-elf from the demon lands, if you wish to know my background. I know you have ties to the church, and dislike demons. I'm not going to waste time trying to change that. Fortunately, my mother was an elf and my father... was not a demon, that much I know. I may have a few friends among the demons... well, one demon and his daughter, a half demon, but I also know the evils that some demons are responsible for. I myself was almost killed by a demon on several different occasions, and I don't approve of the poisoning of the human land's supplies, even as retaliation for the Demon Lord's assassination. That much we agree upon. I'll also tell you that I do have a small harem, as is somewhat common in the demon lands. Char was the second one to join, but I don't intend to have there be any sort of hierarchy among my wives. All I ask for right now is your understanding and acceptance of this" (Ryuu)
"I mean, I have three wives myself, so I'm fine with that. I'm also not one of those radicals who would demand that anyone from the demon lands be executed, nor that would hate someone just because they know a few demons. Now, if you were friends with the Demon Lord, or were a demon yourself, that would change matters somewhat, I'd think..." (Duke)
"I am not friends with the Demon Lord, nor have we really even met. Seen, yes. Conversed with one another, even so much as a one-sided greeting, no. I am also not a demon or half-demon, so that's that... I think my father might have been, like, one quarter demon, but... I mean, one can't choose their ancestors" (Ryuu)
"Fair enough... Well... Great! In that case, I see no problems, especially for one who has the recognition of his majesty and of a divine beast. Shall we announce this to the world, get you used to my noble house, so as to better be a wife of a member of the Ascham family?" (Duke)
That... was fast, and also... it seemed like his biggest concern was about my being a demon or knowing the Demon Lord. By the way, it's true, I have seen myself (well, my reflection and a few portraits), but never spoken with myself.
"I... I think that I will pass on that offer for the moment. I don't really wish to be a noble, though if, through some unfortunate and unlikely series of events, Char becomes the heir to the family, I would probably have to settle down with her as a noble... Though, I might first become the wife of one known as Lars and have to settle down because of that, which I'm also not really looking forward to. I like being an adventurer" (Ryuu)
Once again, he choked on his tea. It's like more of it goes into his lungs than his stomach, now that I think about it.
"Did you say... the wife of Lars? As in, the God of Light Lars?" (Duke)
"I did, but you are not quite right. Lars, as in, one of the most prominent houses in the demon lands, the heir of which happens to be another of my lovers. Her name is Tuareninya Lars. By the way, her family name was around long before the church worshipping the God of the same name was created. Funny, is it not?" (Ryuu)
"I... I suppose. You phrased it that way on purpose, didn't you?" (Duke)
"But of course. I like to see people's reactions to shocking statements, especially ones that are more shocking due to their misunderstandings" (Ryuu)
"Any other surprises in store for me?" (Duke)
"Well, other than my being able to use every element -" (Ryuu)
"Blughot... aachk..." (Duke coughing up his tea)
"- and my having well over a hundred million mana -" (Ryuu)
"Guuaakkk! The hell!?" (Duke)
"- there's only one left, but that will wait until later" (Ryuu)
"I shouldn't have asked... Are you next going to say that you're several thousand years old?" (Duke)
"No, but I'll live that long... probably. Actually, so far, all of my lovers are ones who will live that long, or at least several hundred years normally, but with constant exposure to my aura..." (Ryuu)
"Well, with constant exposure, we've all had explosive growth in strength, speed, reaction timing, and mana pools. I went from 132 mana to 544 in two months" (Mae)
"Mine went from 1650 to about 5000 in the same span of time, actually" (Char)
"Eh? In just a few months... you surpassed me? Is that... what Ryuu's aura and mana can do?" (Duke)
"I mean, it made me into a divine beast, so... yeah, I guess that's true, but just the tip of the iceberg" (Ver)
At that, the duke just threw his hands into the air, said something to the effect of "that's it, I'm done, I'm getting to be too old for this shit" and left the room, before he came back to quickly finish his tea and leave again.
"Well, it's a good thing he didn't ask more about the last surprise. So, what should we do now? We've met Char's father and Mae's father, Ver's and my own are dead, and Elise's parents, as well as Tuare's, are in the demon lands. Should we meet them right after we graduate, or..." (Ryuu)
"I... would like... to have you... meet my mother... soon. My father... can go fuck himself..." (Elise)
"I... I don't think that I've heard that kind of thing from your mouth before... well, now that I think about it, I haven't heard much of anything about your family, so..." (Char)
"My father... didn't see me... as his child... he saw me... as a tool... to build ties... with the demon generals... and other families... the same thing... is true... for my half sisters... my mother... never loved him... neither did I... but... we couldn't escape... from his tyranny... he... has my mother's family... as a hostage... kinda... but I... managed to run away... after the general's heir... that he wanted... me to marry... died. He'd said... I was bad luck... and tried... to rape me... though he failed... I hate him. He's the worst. He should just die" (Elise)
"Well, that's just wrong. Now I want to meet him, so I can punch his stupid face and tell him something" (Ryuu)
"What... would that be?" (Elise)
"I want to say 'Congrats, your daughter is going to be marrying into the Demon Lord's family. Sadly, you won't be alive to see that day. For the crimes you have committed, you shall die a thousand deaths' as I drive all kinds of spells into his various orifices, as well as into the large number of wounds I'd open on his body" (Ryuu)
"I... want to... put arrows... in his eyes... then heal them... and do it again... and again" (Elise)
"Am I the only one wondering what happened to the sweet little girl who used to inhabit Elise's body?" (Mae)
"Nope" (Char)
"She's always been a hidden sadist at heart. It seems that she has a vengeful streak too" (Ver)
"Let's just leave it at that. If this goes on for much longer, we're going to have some problems with not just storming over there, at the cost of skipping school" (Ryuu)
"Oh... right... sorry" (Elise)
"No, it's alright. Now we know why you never talked about your family, and we know what to expect when we do meet your father" (Ryuu)