Claire and Ari stared suspiciously at Ivan, the atmosphere between him and the suddenly clingy Tio, who had been at his side with his arm nestled between her breasts, was all too apparent to them.
They turned to look at the two accompanying the perverts, Canis and Felis. Each of them just shook their heads with equal confusion. As far as they knew Ivan and Tio were just being affectionate, normal to them who considered everyone they lived with family.
'That's normal for a family, ain't it?' Falis words caused Claire's face to twitch, she turned with hidden anger, eyeing each of the two as if to determine who it was that deceived this child.
'So that's what I was forgetting huh…' Ivan was having his own dilemna inwardly, sure he wasn't the one to deceive the sisters but it was a fact they saw something that could cause trouble, and so Tio took it upon herself to deal with them at least until she sorted things out with Yue. Only then would she officially tell them the truth.
For now all the information the girls were left with was 'It's something people do when they really really like each other' and 'only do this with the one you love'.
A platitude Ivan heard often from parents teaching their children the matters of love back in his old world.
Tio on the other hand was too absorbed to take care of the matter any further. That's not to say she didn't feel any guilt, in fact they wouldn't be in this mess if she had just kept her feelings bottled up until she and Ivan were alone.
But she was the princess of the Dragonkin, now that she's come this far she wasn't going to back down without a fight. She was determined to cement her position as Ivan's lover.
"Fufufu~ I have become my master's lover!" And so she sent out a declaration without any heed for the consequences. If the cat was out of the bag now then there was no point in hiding.
"....."
"....."
Ari and Claire only stood there with indescribable expressions on their faces, on one hand they were confused, Tio being a pervert there was a chance her words were just another delusion of hers.
And yet it was Ivan, who didn't bother clearing up the 'misunderstanding', that turned that doubt into concern.
Concern not for Ivan, concern not for their relationship with him either, but concern for Tio who just might've signed her own death warrant. 'W-What's Yue going to think of this…?' The two girls thought, before each turning to the other and seeing the same concern through their eyes.
"Um… Tio, congratulations and all but what about Yue…? Do you really think she's just going to accept you taking her place…?"
Seeing her companion freeze up at the revelation, Claire took it upon herself to approach the daydreaming dragon.
"Of course! After master's heartfelt confession, who was I to refuse~? Hm, ah, are you perhaps jealous? Fufufu~ Don't you worry, it seems Yue has been wanting to talk to me about this matter for quite some time. I have no intentions of replacing Yue, in fact I shall be accompanying her as the master's second wife!"
It was another revelation that stopped the girls in their steps. Only Canis and Felis tilted their heads with visible confusion.
"So let me get this straight… while Ari and I were fighting our mirrored versions to the death, you cemented your relationship with master…? What sort of sorcery is this…?" Claire's eyes turned to Ivan, who had been silent the whole time.
"...Haaah, I have no intention of hiding our relationship. Though I'd like to clear one thing up about what Tio said, what I said to her was not intended to be a confession of love… I only asked that she remain a part of our group to the very end…"
It was at these words Tio slightly nodded, an embarrassed and shy blush adorning her cheeks. But it was her cheeky smile that pissed Claire off all the more.
"From there things escalated, if you want to get technical she attacked me when my guard was down."
Tio's back bolted at the mention, her shyness turning into embarrassment. It was a bit damaging to her pride that she was the one to push for a relationship rather than the other way around like she had hoped.
However in the end it was her love for both Ivan, and his words to her, that pushed her over the edge so suddenly.
"So you said something to her and she turned like this…? If I may ask, what was it that you two were talking about?" Considering the situation it was likely whatever they were talking about was related to the mirrored trial, at least that's what Claire concluded.
"Unless Tio gives the go ahead I'll leave the decision up to her. So, what do you say, Tio?" Ivan looked down beside him, eyeing the dragon princess who had brought up a finger to her chin. Her expression pensive.
"Very well, I shall agree to speak on this matter. As master said, we are a team. To hold information would be a detriment to our relationship. However I shall wait until we are all reunited to speak, that way we can go over everything together."
Claire nodded, not only were they missing Yue but they were still deep inside a dungeon. Lazing around for storytime instead of finishing the trial as quickly as possible may be a bad decision to make.
And then— they heard the faint pitter patters echoing through the hall.
It was Yue, only her clothes were a mess. A testament to how difficult her fight with herself had been. Being a regenerating auto casting mage probably worked against her in this trial. But there was one thing that bothered the others other than the fact that she had been wearing torn clothing despite her ability to repair them with restoration magic, it was the thoughtful expression on her face.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the group until she was right in front of them, and at that point she had merely just walked into Ivan's chest accidentally. Like being snapped out of a trance, she peered upwardly.
"What's wrong, Yue?" Ivan took her actions seriously, whatever happened in the mirrored trial had greatly affected her. But if she was here now then it could only mean she beat the trial. So what exactly happened, he wondered.
She shook her head, a small smile adorned her face as if to relieve his concerns, though she sighed when realizing none of Ivan's concern diminished.
In response she tilted her head forward, nuzzling it into his chest before wrapping her arms around his waist. Ivan hugged her back, tight enough to give her the security she was yearning for.
Little by little, he noticed some of the tension in her body had lessened.
"I'll tell you once we complete the labyrinth…" She muttered in his ear. Ivan nodded, now that she seemed less down than before he was willing to place his faith in her.
They'd have time to talk about it, he knew that for sure. There was only one slight problem.
"But before that… what the hell are you doing, you perverted dragon…?" It seemed Tio's affectionate actions toward Ivan was enough to snap her back into her old self.
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