"You want me to meet someone? Could the person you wish me to meet be among the snacks which seem to be lined up here?"
Claire- or perhaps it was Clarice- chuckled at hearing Berith make this comment.
'Ah.... I see.... she is just like her brother...', Alicia thought as she straightened herself. 'This is the sister of Coran.'
Claire replied promptly while continuing her work.
"Your brother left just a couple of days ago on his mission. That wasp there seems to be the woman who he has settled on. Isn't that great? I was kinda worried about him, you know? He was really serious when I first met him. He only ever cared about you and the antiheroes at first. After you two worked by my side I knew that he had potential but.... I could never really imagine him dealing with other people on his own to be honest. You two seemed like counterparts to each other, you know? He kept you in line, and keeping you in line kept him from going off the rails."
Claire smirked.
"But.... he did work hard. And I could tell that he was motivated. Once he realized that he didn't need to protect you anymore, he was searching for something else to protect. You were always his little sister, but...."
The demonic side of Claire seemed to creep up her arm, covering around 30% of her body, and she spoke in a condescending tone.
"He couldn't view you like that anymore after seeing your true self. Isn't that right, Berith?"
"It's exactly as you say, your eminence. However, I have nothing to complain about. As long as we can serve you and their excellencies, we will always be satisfied- even if we are apart from each other. While our bond as siblings will never be destroyed, we no longer need to be by each others side, as we were before. Because at that time, the only thing we had was each another."
Claire's demonic side seemed to retract at hearing this, and Alicia watched with confusion at seeing the angelic figure become consumed by a demonic persona for just a moment, only for it to retract.
None of the children even blinked an eye, despite being faced with a literal demon, for they didn't feel a single piece of malice aimed at them. They had grown accustomed to sensing whether someone held ill intent for them, and the woman in front of them held no such thing.
"I see! That's great, Berith! Then, I'll continue having you serve as my assistant here until the antiheroes say otherwise. Of course, if you ever want to visit your brother, all you need to do is ask. But that's enough of that. I wanted to introduce you two. Berith, this is Alicia- the slave which your brother seems to have taken in. Next to her are the 30 children which they seem to have adopted together after kidnapping them from a slave factory. And Alicia, this is Berith- the beloved sister of Coran. They were raised together in quite a horrible situation, so they've been through alot together. I hope you two will be able to get along together."
Claire's face seemed to twist with confusion after she said this, and she started whispering to herself.
'Hm? Did I just mention slave factories so casually? Oi! Clarice!! You're making your way into my conversations, aren't you!!'
'Haha.... you caught me!! See? You didn't even blink when Berith made those disturbing statements earlier. Don't you think that you're getting used to the chaos?'
'What do you mean by that!?!? Get out of here!!!'
'Get out? I'm a part of you. Even if I wanted to, it wouldn't be so easy. After all, I'm just being myself. If I make my way into your speech, then all it means is that my persona is closer to your true self.'
'Just be quiet and let me have a regular conversation! And I have to tell Berith off for making such comments about snacks in front of these children!!'
'But the children didn't flinch, did they? They'll be fine!! Haha!! What's wrong with a few jokes here and there?'
'Grr....'
'Alright alright. Get back to your little conversation.'
Claire looked up from her quick debate with Clarice, and smiled once more at the people in front of her.
Alicia was the only one who looked confused and disturbed.
Berith merely chuckled to herself, and the children did not so much as make a sound.
"Anyways..... man.... she really can be persistent sometimes.... so uh, where were we? Ah, right! So Alicia and Berith, I wanted you two to meet each other! Don't mind me, I'll just be working here. And there's no need to be so formal! You can stand up, Berith."
With a grin, Berith replied in a raspy tone.
"Thank you, your eminence."
Standing up, Berith walked over to Alicia, who was by the children.
"Hmm? So you're my older brother's newest plaything, eh? He was never really one to play with his food, so this is a first. Or perhaps their excellencies have made an impact on him? Ally certainly has that tendency."
Berith said this while seeming to crawl all around Alicia, who was frozen stiff at seeing the consuming expression of Berith.
"W-what are you doing?"
"What does it look like?", she whispered. "I'm inspecting you to see if your worthy to be by the side of my brother."
"I....."
Alicia seemed to stumble with her words as Berith started to crackle to herself.
"Hehehe...."
"Is something funny?!"
"Heh heh.... you're so serious and stuck up. Were you a queen or something? You don't seem used to being underneath someone. You don't know how to react."
"The only person I've ever been under is Coran.... of course, he is under your masters, and as such I am under them as well, but...."
"Does he spoil you? You don't really seem too submissive for a slave."
"Spoil me??"
Alicia's face turned with discomfort, and she couldn't find herself looking in the eyes of the strange spider who seemed to be eating her with her four twitching eyes.
"I bet he does, right? So you're his type then? You seem kinda clueless, but if that's what he's into then I guess nothing I can do about it. He was always pretty chivalrous though. He never liked it when I did any of the killing. You should have seen his face when I first killed one of our siblings in front of him.... he was petrified. He was so surprised that I did it before him, that he got pissed at himself for not manning up and doing it himself. But he's probably lost a lot of that chivalry after learning from their excellencies. After all, according to them..... there is no use for something if it doesn't bring you any reward or benefit. Though, I'm sure Coran has held onto at least some fragments of who he was."
Berith then brought her face closer to Alicia's while stroking her own chin with one of her spiderlike arms, grinning mischievously.
"Ah..... you're that type. You're obsessed with him, aren't you?"
"W-what?!"
"You have this dainty look in your eyes. You aren't like us. You gave up everything to be with Coran, didn't you?"
Alicia found herself looking away from Berith as heat flushed to her face.
"So what...."
"I'll tell you here and now. Should I call you sister in law? Or maybe just sister? I'll go with sister."
Berith put her tongue to one of her own fangs, playing around with it before speaking.
"You may have given up everything to be with Coran. But I want you to understand us a little better, so I'll help you out. We came to this place because we had nothing left to lose but one another. And we ended up gaining more than we could imagine. I would tell you something along the lines of 'If I ever find out that you hurt my brother, I will hunt you down and tear you apart.', but I've already seen enough. You're too obsessed with him. All I'll say is to not hold my brother back."
Berith let go of Alicia, who felt as if she had just been on a rollercoaster ride- though she did not know what a rollercoaster was- and moved onto the children.
"So these little snacks over here are my nieces and nephews..... hello, snacks!! I'm your aunt, Berith!"
"Hello, aunt Berith!", the children replied in unison.
"Oh?? They're real well trained. Don't worry, appetizers. I heard all about you guys, and how my brother saved you from the big bad demonic woman. Ah, calling her a demon would be an insult to my master's, wouldn't it?"
Berith walked down the aisle with three sets of her arms folded, smiling deviously as she investigated the children.
"Just make sure to listen to your father. If you don't, then auntie over here might just have to become the new demon in your lives. Heh heh...."
The children seemed slightly worried at hearing Berith say this, but Nathan stood firm.
"With all the respect, aunt Berith, I don't feel that you would ever become as much of a demon as that woman was."
"Oh?? We have a perceptive one over here. You're right tho. I may have a couple screws loose, but I won't work you to death or torture you for weeks and months on end. Maybe only once or twice before I'll eat you. Heh heh...."
"I think that's enough....", Claire said quietly.
"Ah. Forgive me, your eminence. I must have been having too much fun.", Berith said as she bowed to Claire. "Then, I will return to my duties at once. Cya, kids. Bye, little sister."
Berith walked out the corridor, however before she left, Alicia called out to her.
"Wait!"
Turning back, Berith looked over with interest.
"What is it?"
"Um.... I know that you and Coran came from a bad situation.... and that I have no right to say this, having come from such a good situation.... but I won't hold him back! And I certainly won't betray him!"
Berith turned away, laughing sinisterly.
"Keh keh....."
After the door shut, Alicia let out a large sigh.
"Phew..."
She had been holding her breath after making that statement.
'Coran's sister.... she's terrifying..... I can't even make heads or tails of her.... but somehow I feel like I've been judged over and over.... what was with those looks that she gave me?'
Alicia looked over to Claire, but she was currently immersed in her work. She glanced up and gave Alicia a light smile.
"She's a little crazy, but you sorta get used to em. Most people around here are like that...", Claire said kindly.
"You too, nutjob.", Clarice then responded.
"Hey! I told you not to speak!"
"Haha. It's fun messing with you like that."
Alicia was left in confusion at seeing Claire talking to herself.
'First those demons, and now these people....is there nobody regular around here!?'
It was then that a figure appeared in front of the eyes of the group.
A humanoid spider wearing bandaged armor, wielding an entire armory of weapons and a large cloth backpack.
"Oh! Coran! You're back. How did the mission go?", Claire asked.
Coran turned to the Determined with baggy eyes, tired.
"I almost had to rely on plan D.... but not quite."
----
"You look exhausted!! Coran, are you alright!?"
Claire got up immediately on seeing Coran with bags under all four of his eyes.
"Ah... I did get hit by a few attacks..... his excellency said that it didn't matter even if I died, so I gave my all and put myself at a slight risk in order to defeat that man.... he was quite strong for someone like myself, but he was not even worth mentioning to their excellencies. He was arrogant beyond belief.... but I punished him thoroughly for that arrogance."
Claire held Coran up and took a look at the spider arm which had been cut.
"This is.... I can feel some dark energy inside this cut.... did you not use the healing potions that you were given?"
Coran looked at the wound, which seemed to have a slight amount of tarlike fluid around it.
"Ah..... this? Barely even worth mentioning. The poison which courses through me is enough to overcome something like this. I couldn't waste something which his excellency provided for me without good reason. Just give me some time.", Coran said while standing on his own.
Claire looked at Coran like a mother after a child got into a fight.
"Absolutely not!!"
Claire wasn't exactly sure why, but she felt like she could do something about this dark energy.
With her demonic hand, she brought it close to the wound.
"Determined!! If you touch my open wound you will come into contact with some of the substance which flows through me!", Coran shouted while warning Claire, who didn't care.
"Do you think that I can be harmed by your poison? All I have to do is redefine it as harmless."
Claire felt in tune with herself and her abilities.
She felt like she could do something about this wound, and so she touched it.
The dark energy seemed to be sucked up by her hand, and the energy inside her own hand seemed to increase- if only slightly.
"Oh? Taking up some dark energy on your own? I didn't expect that. It may be some fake garbage that was artificially produced, but it still strengthens my side.", Clarice commented.
"If it can help others even a little bit, I'll take on as much dark energy as I need to.", Claire responded promptly.
"I won't take that statement lightly. Heh heh....."
Coran seemed to be refreshed and stood up straight before dropping himself to the ground, kneeling before Claire.
"Thank you, Determined."
"Don't just kneel before me when you were so tired just a moment ago like that! Get up! And get some rest!"
"Eh? But I feel completely refreshed. I am ready to continue the mission at any-"
"GET SOME REST! NOW!"
"I understand. I will get some rest immediately. Alicia, children, come with me."
Coran bowed his head once more before shuffling out of the room quickly, and Alicia reluctantly followed him.
'I didn't even get to ask him what happened....', she thought.
And so, Coran led the children to the tailor shop which him and Berith resided in.
As Alicia and the children walked through the Dictatorship, the sights were something which inspired bits of fear even into the desensitized children.
The walls made of flesh and bone, the organ-like structures about, the ghoulish tiles, and the vessels and nerves that spread all over as piping and wiring.
Everything seemed to glow or pulsate with life.
"This is kinda cool....", one of the young boys said.
"It's a little scary though....", a young girl commented.
"Don't worry.", Coran said while walking forward. "This place is only scary for those who aren't allowed to be here. For us, it's nothing short of a paradise. But for someone who comes in uninvited.... well, I'm sure it's nothing short of a nightmare."
----
Making his way to the tailor shop, Coran entered nonchalantly.
"Welcome to my residence. This is where me and my sister have been staying as the head slaves of their excellencies."
"Dad, your job is a slave?"
"What does a slave do?"
Some of the children seemed to be asking strange questions which were prompted by the strange speech of Coran.
"A slave is someone who is completely and utterly loyal to the one they serve, and follows their every order.", Coran explained tenderly as the children filed into the building. "And to be the head slave is to be number one among all those slaves who serve the master undeniably. It means that the master has chosen you out of all of their loyal assets to lead. Me and my sister have been granted the honor of such a position."
"Wow! You and aunt Berith are really awesome!"
"I want to be a slave too when I grow up!"
Nathan and many of the older children who understood what slavery was found themselves staying silent and biting their tongues as they heard the younger children spout off words which could only come about through brainwashing.
"Oh, don't worry, children. You already are slaves. From the moment I adopted you, you became vassals of my masters. You know that I am already in charge of you all, and everything you do? I am going to be putting you all back to work very soon."
The children froze at hearing this.
"L-like Mrs. Fera?", one of the children asked.
"I don't want to do that work again....", another let out.
At this point, all the children had filed into the building, which was far more upgraded than back when Coran and Berith had first been stationed here.
Now, the entire first floor was a massive tailor shop with machines all over the place that helped Berith mass produce thread. There were also a number of potion racks and magical items which assisted in her own crafts, and sitting in a chair while sewing something was the spider herself.
"If you're scared of going back to work like that, then maybe you all shouldn't have trusted a monster. Heh heh...", Berith said from her corner while continuing her work.
"Is that true? Are we going to have to give up food again?"
"Are we going to have to drink water from the sewers again?"
"Are we not going to be allowed to sleep again?"
"Are we going to be forced to produce unreasonable amounts of equipment again?"
"Are we going to have to work in the fires again?"
"Please don't make us do that, dad...."
Coran rolled his eyes.
"I may be a monster, but I'm not a demon like that woman. No, a demon isn't a good term to describe her. It would be offensive to my masters to even call her such. Hmm.... what word would be most appropriate to describe her?"
Coran looked over to Alicia.
"What do you think, dear?"
"U-um.... what about a bitch?"
"Hmm.... I think were on the right track here. Oh! I got it. She's a witch! That woman is a witch. What do you guys think?"
Berith was chuckling to herself in the corner, and the children were mostly confused by the conversation, but Nathan smiled, closing his eyes.
"Yeah. She's a witch alright."