A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

Yasaka POV

"It's funny; all of this could have been avoided. We're not even a generally warlike people. Sure, we've had our moments in the past, and many of my people can be quick to start throwing punches. But a genuine war, that was not something many of my people had experience with."

Youkai had been too scattered in the past to be too involved in wars. Any conflicts, well, they couldn't really count in the past when compared.

I looked at the Winter Queen.

I sat on a simple chair, a strange contrast to her sitting on her elegant and ethereal throne made of ice and stone.

Her throne room was empty, just the two of us at this moment.

However, the biggest difference between us was freedom.

She was bound by divine chains. She was sealed by so many magical methods that I could see them visibly despite not having any real talent in magic.

She sat there, bound in so many ways that I shuddered to think of myself in that situation. But simply reminding myself of her fault let me breathe a sigh of relief knowing I had a clear conscience.

Of course, we made no effort to heal her either.

Bound, unable to move, and without even her arms, and dozens of iron spikes pushed into her body.

It was certainly a sight for someone of her stature and strength.

"Spies aren't anything new. We have plenty of spies from other factions; it's just how the game is played. I have a handful of spies elsewhere that keep me abreast of others just as well. Now, killing and replacing some of my people, that was a step over the line. But also, it wouldn't have escalated to this kind of situation. Even a half-hearted apology and compensation would have made it go away, albeit reluctantly on my part. As angry as I would have been, it would have been impossible to truly hold you responsible in any meaningful way. Yet, you chose to throw caution to the wind, to launch an invasion on us, for what?"

She still stayed silent, looking at me as if wanting to use her gaze to flay me alive.

I just didn't get it.

I've been told that they simply think and act differently, but am I not a Youkai? We're both inhuman monsters; surely I should be able to make some amount of sense from her actions?

"Maybe things would have been different too if even your people weren't fence-sitters." I said casually, earning a small reaction from her. I could see her gaze harden as if she were confused and upset by what I said. "You have plenty of warriors under you that reached a high enough level that would have made it difficult to fight. But you know, how many of them actually participated? Or should I say, how many of them fought properly and didn't linger around with the bare minimum of effort?"

They had quite a few who were Ultimate Class, but they never made themselves a nuisance during the fight.

Honestly, it's like they were simply putting in a token effort, waiting to see where the wind blew before deciding how to act. Seeing that we had the early momentum and rode it to victory, it's safe to say they decided that the best course of action was to not make us enemies.

And that's not getting into all the high-class individuals they had too. Sure, there were plenty who fought on the battlefield to the death, but even more 'safely retreated.'.

"Do you know the difference between us?" I asked her.

"A thousand years is simply a blink of an eye for me." She harumphed.

I ignored her little jab. "My people actually look up to me. They trust me, and they follow me willingly."

Her only expression change was from a sneer to a faint frown.

"But you're right, a thousand years is short for you." I let out a laugh, letting myself relax.

"What do you find so humorous about your lesser existence?" She sneered again.

"Oh sweetie, I'm not even a thousand years old. In a thousand years, whatever nonsense you kick up, I won't have to deal with it. Go ahead, make your plans in your head, bide your time, scheme your revenge. When you're finally free, and however long it takes you to further gather the courage, you'll find a people who don't even know who you are."

Because that's the biggest blow to her pride.

The fact that in a thousand years, no one will remember her after what happened. She will think about it every day, this humiliation, this blow to her pride, and once she's really free, she'll find out that no one cared enough to remember.

Well, I shouldn't say no one.

It's highly unlikely that Takamagahara would let another situation like this to occur again in the future.

But I decided not to mention that, letting it be a surprise for her to find out if she ever decides she wants some sort of 'revenge.'.

Her glare was pretty intense, but only lightened when the large doors to her throne room opened up, both Raikou and Artoria walking in.

They met her gaze but seemed unperturbed. It was going to take much more than a glare from this queen to shake both of them. One more person quickly followed in behind them, and it actually made the Winter Queen still.

"You." She spoke with no hidden hate.

"It's been a while." Vivian looked back at her.

"Have you come to mock me after helping them?" She scoffed.

Vivian frowned a little. "Don't look at me like that; I didn't help them in any meaningful way. I kept to the treaty we have; I simply followed along."

"You can twist it however you want, but everyone knows how much you care about humans." She scoffed again.

"And you always looked down on them." Vivian replied. "I warned you a long time ago. You shouldn't look down on humans, much less other races outside our home. Your overconfidence and arrogance were your downfall. I hope you consider my words during your punishment."

The Winter Queen was distinctly quiet again, but it was easy to tell she didn't take Vivian's words to heart. To her, it must seem like everyone is against her, so no amount of words would get through.

Vivian, sensing the silent tension, seemed to opt to leave after the few words they exchanged.

I got up from my seat, ignoring her just as well. "Have you settled everything?"

Artoria nodded. "I believe we have managed to secure all who wish to leave this place." She was referring to the non-Fae that had been trapped here. "However, there were plenty that simply wished to end their lives once given the chance."

I let out a sigh, knowing that was an inevitability.

However, the faint laughing coming from the other side of the room really grated on me.

"Did you send Master home?" Raikou asked, looking at me.

It was more turn to nod away. "There wasn't anything more he needed to do, and I didn't want to hold him here dealing with petty matters, so I made him go home a few days ago." We all know that man hates standing still for long periods of time. I could imagine being forced into the confines of this campaign probably had him feel stir-crazy.

It was one matter to explore new things openly and without pressure; it was another when you had expectations and lives on your back. Any enjoyment he had from exploring this place was most likely completely overshadowed by the weight of responsibility he felt.

"And I did tell Say that you're more than welcome to head home too." I gently stroked her hair with a smile. It didn't take much to figure out why Wilhelm enjoys doting on such a skilled and expert killer like her. A stark contrast to her with a vicious smile and covered in blood with corpses at her feet.

Almost bashful.

She just muttered some things and shook her head. She was fine staying here for as long as we needed, simply content to help out with whatever.

"I believe it's time to start pulling back. Have we taken everything worth taking?" I gestured for them to join me as we left. I didn't even want to give the queen the courtesy of a proper goodbye. Honestly, I wanted her to be forced to ask any of her still close confidants if we had left yet. I know that would just make her even more annoyed.

"Yes, we have acquired anything of value we found before packing it away." Artoria said plainly.

"Is Wilhelm rubbing off on you?" I quirked an eyebrow.

Artoria let out a cute little huff. "They have no basic necessity requirements as they are not human, thus I feel no sympathy about sustaining their 'needs.'. Monetary rewards—from the sale or trade of conquered goods—are a healthy part of sustaining a standing force."

"Oh, don't I know it. It's going to be a headache to make sure everyone who participated, and the families of the deceased, are properly compensated." I let out another sigh knowing it was just us now. "How are things on your end?"

Artoria's expression shifted slightly. "223 are dead, and another twenty are missing, presumed dead."

About as expected, unfortunately. It's not like my own forces are coming back unscathed. We also lost about a quarter of ours when it was finally tallied, even if it was more a general estimate.

Well, there are still a good number of humans we need to help escape this place. I'm sure that will be a mood lifter seeing them in high spirits.

Unfortunately, the logistics of this are going to give me a headache.

(Line Break)

Wilhelm POV

I made sure to wipe my cheeks, neck, and lips off as I left Izzy's house.

Despite her getting all 'indignant,' she was most certainly into it just as much as I was. And if you couldn't make out with your goddess girlfriend, what was the point?

I forgot to ask her about Orihime, to be honest. I was caught up in, well, her for the most part. It had been too long since I'd seen her, and I missed her a lot.

But I could guess that she probably called up Gramps and asked for a 'lift,' so to speak. He'd be more than willing to help there until I set up a permanent spot for them to come and go in that world.

Izzy seems quite taken with Orihime; maybe it has to do with how pure and innocent she is, sort of like a younger version of Jeanne. As much as they were similar, Jeanne seemed to be more... hardened? Wise to the world? You don't walk away from years of constant warfare without learning some things and experiencing some life. Regardless, I would make sure to smooth things out there.

I quickly stepped back over to my home, and people were already there waiting for me.

No words needed to be spoken as I wrapped Venelana up in a big hug.

"Hello to you too~ " She laughed, reciprocating happily.

I may or may not have also squeezed her butt. Once more, what was the point in a harem if you couldn't look and touch whenever you wanted? Well, obviously there was more to it than that, but I liked doing so!

She barely even batted an eye and just opted to push my head into her chest.

"Welcome back, dear." She said affectionately with a kiss on my lips.

"Anything important happen while I was away?" I was content to keep resting my head inside her cleavage after. After my time away, this was earned!

She hummed thoughtfully. "Depends on your perspective. We can catch up after you have time to settle back down. Now, you have others to greet too." She playfully pushed me towards Salem, who had been silently waiting too.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

One of the things I loved about Venelana was how thoughtful she was about my other girls. It's like she always made sure they were being treated well and got attention.

Salem was looking aloof, arms crossed as if nothing around concerned her. I was just happy she was here by her own will.

Gently, I took her hand, earning her attention. She pursed her lips but didn't move to stop me as I guided her into a hug.

Our relationship progressed enough that I felt comfortable initiating a kiss without any secondary prompt. Hell, we've done a lot more than a simple kiss, but still. I was always trying to be careful with Salem; I knew she'd had a hard time when it came to stuff like this.

Frankly, it might be easier for her to do sexual things than simply romantic ones.

"I missed you." I made sure she knew. And it was usually the small gestures that had the biggest effect on her. Among my girls, Salem was one of them that needed to be reminded that I care about her in a more blunt approach.

Her lips twitched after breaking the kiss, hearing my words. "I can smell the perfume of several other women on you already." She harumphed.

I found myself smiling because that's just how she answers when she's having trouble with reciprocation. A small jab in lieu of anything else.

"I should add yours to the mix too, don't you think?" I responded cheekily.

"Hmph, and I had to watch you grope your grandmother so openly. Shameless."

"Do you want me to do the same with you to make it fair?"

"I dare you to grab my rear without permission!" She glared, though she lacked quite a bit of heat to it. Honestly, if I wanted to, I'm pretty sure I could do it without any true negativity from her.

But that was for later.

"I missed you a lot." I said again.

Her expression softened. "It has become dull when you don't come to bother me about whatever nonsense you get up to." She replied, then glanced at Venelana. "She has made an effort to keep us…involved and entertained in your absence."

"Oh, I just like doing these sorts of things. It's like second nature." Velenna giggled. It sounded like Salem was saying she liked her in a roundabout way. "You can thank me by giving me some special attention later~" She added.

It always made me happy to see them get along well.

But there was one last person that was waiting patiently.

Salem had nothing on Meridia when it came to aloofness; well, to others, that was the case. Reserved just for me, there was a special warmth in her gaze.

"Did you settle everything?" She asked simply. To her, the time we spent away was infinitely small. To call it a blink of an eye would be an overexaggeration.

"Mostly, just some things to clean up, but for the moment, I'm not needed." I responded, taking her hand into mine.

I'm sure the whole thing must have felt rather insignificant in her eyes. A bunch of children playing around compared to her experience.

But her concern was still met with warmth from me.

"I already talked to them; when the others get back, we're planning on doing a girls get-together." Velenna chimed in.

Meridia's expression read that she wasn't against it either.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I may be going on a little expedition myself soon, so it's not bad timing." I don't think I needed to explicitly say I was planning on exploring a new world once I settled things here.

"If you come back with another woman, I will be upset." Salem said offhandedly.

"He knows not to randomly bring women home." Meridia narrowed her eyes, poking my chest. "Isn't that right?"

"I'll be on my best behavior." I promised.

"Ara, I feel like I may have had a hand in something here." Venelana playfully pretended to be oblivious to her own actions.

"I mostly just plan on using the time to pick up some things and put some effort into mastering some of the magic I've been holding onto. The Wandcraft from the world Kunou is staying at still needs some effort from me to train. And I have some other things to say, speaking of." I put my chin on Meridia's shoulder. "Could I ask you for a favor?"

Meridia raised an eyebrow. "Speak; I will help you if possible with anything."

I took out the tree branch I got from the Mother Fae Tree. "I got this as a token of gratitude. I was wondering if you could help me change its shape into that of a sword without hurting it."

Meridia took it from my hands, examining it. "It's a particularly interesting thing. It's filled with a lot of life energies, specifically within my sphere of influence, so it shouldn't be difficult or a matter that requires me to exert much effort. What do you plan to do with it, simply create another sword for your collection?"

"Not to be used physically." I clarified. "I'm going to turn it into a Mystic Code in the shape of a sword for the purpose of retaining the concept of 'sword' despite not being utilized as one."

"How surprising, with magic at your disposal, you intend not to be a bore and stab your foes with a sharp piece of metal." Salem drawled. "Tell me what you intend to do; I'm curious."

Ah, anything magic, Salem's interest is piqued.

"You've made headway on the wand-based magic books I gave you, yes?" I inquired.

"I have." She smiled proudly. "We can...have a discussion later." She really did enjoy when we talked magic together. "Now, speak of what you want to do."

"Well, you're familiar with Gradation Air, right?" It should have also been one of the books I've given her, the basics of Magecraft. I noticed Venelana being confused, and I didn't want her to feel like an outsider. So, despite Salem nodding, I decided to elaborate further. "Gradation Air is a craft that materializes an image the caster has in their mind through the use of magical energy. It's surprisingly similar to the concept of devil magic in general. But it's extremely difficult to maintain anything solid, and I don't have much of a talent in the craft, so I don't really use it. It's mostly used as a training tool for beginners to learn control and retain a steady mind."

"And what do you plan to do with the magic item you wish to craft?" Salem asked, understanding where I was starting from.

"Right, so I have a lot of swords, and I wanted to make better use of them since they all have unique properties. The Mystic Code I want to craft will essentially create an image around itself of another of my swords and then will replicate itself." This would, of course, require the use of Primordial Runes to facilitate, considering that some of my swords are quite literally divine or Noble Phantasms.

"The copy—or rather the copies—would have a fraction of the power." Salem pointed out. "The numbers would have to make up for that; otherwise, it would be pointless to put so much effort into creating it in the first place."

She realized the issue immediately, but that's fine. "Sure, I'm expecting somewhere between a 5-10% copy on the image, if I'm being generous. But if there were, say, a thousand copies suddenly appearing, that low percentage suddenly becomes rather terrifying."

"I am intrigued." Salem said after giving it a moment of thought.

"I understand what you want." Meridia finally spoke after hearing me talk excitedly about magic stuff. "I can change the shape without it losing its potency rather easily. I assume you want the life energies within the branch to be retained; thus, I will keep it within my true body for a few days. It should amplify it somewhat even if I don't intentionally add any more power."

Right, her body that's made of pure light/life. That would most definitely purify the branch and even amplify it to a higher degree even if it was an afterthought.

But something else grabbed my attention.

"So, you're going to take my sword into yourself?" I asked with a face full of seriousness.

"I will give you the opportunity to reword that statement." She said dryly.

"Oh hey, I almost forgot." I took out two fruits from the same tree, handing one each to Salem and Venelana. "Those are for you both; they should be a small power boost. Though they come with a lifespan increase too, that part seems much less significant for either of you."

"Wilhelm, don't ignore me!" Meridia huffed.

The door slammed open before I had a chance to respond. "I smell a treasure."

"Get out of my house!" I pointed at the shameless dragon. "Why can you even get through the door? I have defenses against intruders set up."

"I was made a guest." Tiamat said with a shrug, her eyes boring down on the fruits.

Why did I immediately get a headache when she appeared? And who made her a guest through my Bounded Fields!?

Damn it, it was probably Jinn.

With a sigh, I took out another fruit and threw it at her.

She caught it happily and stored it away as if someone were going to steal it.

At the very least, she did protect Kyoto in our absence; I wouldn't be stingy with rewards.

She retreated without any more prompt, probably to reorganize her treasury now that she got a new treasure. Though it was only a moment later that the door swung open again, it was someone completely different this time.

"What do you want, old man?" I sighed.

"I can just feel the brotherly love." Odin hummed. "Ladies, it's a wonderful sight as always."

"Stop ogling my girls." I crossed my arms.

"No," he said bluntly, and I admit I admired the shamelessness in how he was so adamant about it, considering that Meridia here could fold him like a pretzel. "Good to see you're back, brat."

"It's good to be back." I did feel much more relaxed all of a sudden.

"As much as I want to catch up and maybe drink a few cups of your wine, this isn't a social call. Been waiting here for a few days' incognito, the skele-boy called for a meeting and said it was important."

I glanced back at my girls, who showed no rejection of his request.

"I just got back, but I have a few minutes." It's always something, I suppose. But Hades isn't one to request an urgent meeting unless it was important.

I could spare an hour or so and then come back and finally relax for a few days before venturing off somewhere else.

(Line Break)

A/N

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