Chapter 82: Intermission

3rd Person POV

While the outside looked like an abandoned building almost ready to collapse under its own weight, a purple-haired young woman wearing a black tank top and tight-fitting jeans slipped inside while holding a box. That sight itself should've looked abnormal and the few people going on their life near the place would normally raise an eyebrow at that, however, no one even remotely reacted.

Entering an abandoned building would normally show you a deserted place devoid of people and objects, however, while not in the best conditions, the building was properly furnished.

The young woman passed by several people, mostly young females of marriage age which slightly bothered the young woman, however, she simply could not bother to retort. She did not dislike those people so it was mostly a problem with her maiden heart. Even so, she did not fail to greet back those who greeted her first.

Passing several rooms, she saw cat-eared young women practicing their hand-to-hand combat against each other, while there were others simply lazing around. That said, the young woman proceeded until she reach what used to be the building's covered parking lot.

Even though many vehicles would surely make anyone wonder which suspicious organization they were running given the wide selection of white vans, bikes, and sports cards lined up. Everything was brand new, everything except a rather conspicuous bike with a blonde-haired young woman wearing an overol.

Widening her eyes immediately, the blonde-haired woman turned her upper body and caught a certain box thrown at her.

"Oi, you have to be careful, these parts are pretty delicate..." Artoria spoke in an irritated tone.

"I am not your servant, but you still made me go pick this up for you." Akiko replied in an equally irritated tone.

"Tsk, wasn't that because it could not be mailed directly to this place? Besides, you were nearby so it was not like you went out of your way. It was on the route you have to take to come back here." Artoria immediately opened the box and carefully pulled out the parts inside of it.

"Look at my face. Carefully. Does it look like I care about your damn bike parts?" Akiko said.

"Getting cocky huh." Artoria put down the bike parts carefully on the ground and stood to face her friend- no, enemy (?)- no, her co-worker. "It seems that all your meek attitude you usually show is not really needed when HE is not here."

Smirking as she tried to taunt her co-worker, Artoria planned to add a couple of words more to irritate the other party, but out of nowhere, she felt a heavy smack on her head. Turning around, there stood a young lady wearing a simple blue dress and holding a book while two dolls holding weapons floated around her.

"Do you have to always pick a fight with others?" Alice sighed. "Nora-onii-sama is not here and the first thing you do is pick fights with others."

At those words and the hit on the head, Artoria... merely lowered her head meekly.

"But..." Artoria wanted to defend herself but she was interrupted.

"No buts, those do not work for me." Alice sternly warned.

"Yes..." Artoria downheartedly lowered her head.

"Heh..." Akiko smirked at that.

Nonetheless, that gesture did not go unnoticed by Alice shot her a glare.

"Akiko-nee-sama should also behave, Onii-sama would be saddened to know that you were picking a fight while he was away." Alice muttered. "Oh, I can see it. My poor Onii-sama comes back after a tiring day at his job only to find trouble at home, oh, poor him, he will be so sad, so disappointed... he might just decide to accept the offer from that Norse Mythology Goddess and live far away."

After hearing that, Akiko got incredibly pale and hung her head sadly.

Sighing at the state of two of the most skilled fighters under Nora, Alice... could understand why he liked to bully them.

"Onee-sama, are you still spending money on your bike?" Alice noticed the box on the ground. "Even after I repeatedly told you to use your money wisely..."

"I used it wisely, it was gotten through proper channels so this time I will not be cheated out of my money..." Artoria smugly patted her chest.

Looking at how that area seemed to grow exponentially by the way, Alice wondered if she had eaten something strange or if Nora had begun trying on one of his forbidden techniques to make the chest grow. Vowing to convince Nora to help her as well, Alice shook her head to focus on the real problem.

"Heh, this is why you should've let Milord use his contacts to help you get the spare parts at that time." Akiko chuckled.

Openly scowling at that, Artoria glared at Akiko.

"Why should I ask the guy who was so against me getting a bike for spare parts?" Artoria mocked. "I don't enjoy pointless banter."

There was quite a bit to retort there given how much Artoria bickered on daily basis with Nora, but Akiko decided to make one point clear.

"...you are aware that it was MILORD who was in favor of buying your current bikes, right?" Akiko asked.

"...nonsense, it was my dear and beloved little sister who had an argument with him and won, finally giving me what I desired." Artoria looked at her sister gratefully.

"...I was the one against it." Alice confessed. "Nora-onii-sama used all sorts of arguments to convince me that you should get that bike."

"Huh?" Artoria furrowed her eyebrows. "He said that you pleaded for that with all your heart."

"There is no way that's true, after riding with you once, I felt like my life span was reduced considerably. Nee-sama, you are bad at driving." Alice said.

Looking visibly shocked, Artoria had a hand on her chest almost like she was grabbing her heart.

"N-No..." Artoria shook her head. "I-It can't be..."

"I think it is safer to ride a rollercoaster without any sort of safety measures." Akiko added.

Losing her balance, Artoria kneel and looked up at the culprits of her state in shock.

"He told me that... you were supportive of my hobby..." Artoria pitifully said.

"I think you should be smart enough to tell that he tricked you there." Alice sighed. "He did not bat an eye when he bought all the expensive equipment you need to modify the bike he also paid for as well as the tools. In fact, he even looked happy when doing so."

Feeling guilt swelling up for never showing a bit of gratitude, Artoria felt like a knife pierced her back.

"I was with him at that time as well." Akiko added. "He was so happy about it that I had no choice but to ask him why. Do you know what he said to me?"

Looking down at Artoria, Akiko seemed angry at the pitiful girl.

"I am happy that she has finally shown interest in anything other than battle." Akiko made a rather accurate imitation of Nora's voice. "I wondered if my presence makes her hesitate to who what fancies her, but I guess she finally could not hold herself back. I am very grateful for all the help she has given me so returning the favor is a must. That said... I believe she would throw a fit if she finds out I got her stuff so I hope you can keep it a secret."

Another imaginary knife stabbed Artoria.

"Hopeless." Akiko clicked her tongue. "Where is your usual backbone?"

"Akiko-nee-sama, leave her alone." Alice muttered.

Raising her head, Artoria's eyes looked at her sibling with gratitude.

"She is denser than steel so this probably came as a huge shock to her." Alice said. "We must at least give her 24 hours for her to digest the information we just revealed."

This time, Artoria felt like a sword impaled her back.

"Very well, but I have many things I have to tell her." Akiko obediently retreated.

"Could you go and have a talk with those girls Tamamo-nee-sama brought? One of them is easy to talk with but the other only listens to Onii-sama..." Alice sighed.

"...I actually had to run an errand, if you will excuse me." Akiko escaped.

"Hey!" Alice yelled but it was in vain. "...Onii-sama, I know I deserve some punishment for selling your belongings without your permission, but this is a bit too cruel. None of these people follow proper commands..."

Depressed, Alice looked at Artoria who was worse than her, and shook her head.

"Hohoho, you seem like you could use a hand... No, it should be a paw."

Standing on two paws while the other two were crossed in front of her chest, a very smug-looking pink fox suddenly appeared.

"...Miko-nee-sama. I didn't know you were here as well, I believe Nora-onii-sama left you in Urakyoto." Alice mumbled.

"He did not leave me." Miko said. "He has never ordered me so do not make that mistake again, young one."

"Sorry." Alice obediently apologized.

Miko did not sound annoyed but Alice did not want to test her luck.

"It was kind of boring so I left Ei alone to take care of everything in my stead. Besides, Yasaka and Kasen also remained back there so everything should be ok." Miko commented. "That said, I can tell you seem troubled."

"...I feel sorry for Ei-nee-sama." Alice mumbled.

"Did you say something?" Miko asked.

"Not at all, Ma'am." Alice shook her head hastily.

"Good." Miko chuckled.

Sweating coldly inwardly, Alice felt like going home.

"...I heard you and this child went to the Pendragon Household." Miko suddenly asked.

"...yeah, thanks to Nora-onii-sama and Artoria-nee-sama, I also got the Pendragon surname despite not sharing their blood." Alice smiled. "We went through a lot, but they are not bad people."

"Is that so?" Miko nodded. "They offered you to stay with them and to receive education fitting for a Pendragon, did they not?"

"It is scary how you found out about that, did he-" Alice asked.

"I bribed Akiko by handing her some pictures of a shirtless Nora." Miko shamelessly replied.

Speechless, Alice could only-

"I would like to buy whatever you have." Alice pulled a large stack of money.

Exchanging it with a stack of pictures, Miko took the money.

"...for your own use?" Miko inquired.

"No comment." Alice did not explain any further.

"So?" Miko pressed.

Looking at her sister, Alice lifted Miko and walked away. She continued walking until she reached the roof of the building where no one else was.

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"...there was a time I thought I was just a burden for my sister. I continued to think the same when I arrived at his house. Part of me... just thought it would be a temporary place, my sister and I could simply make use of him." Alice honestly confessed. "I was pretty rude while concealing everything with a smile so I deserve getting glared at by you."

Warding off the ill-filled glare, Alice honestly confessed without getting scared despite Miko's unusual animosity.

"Little by little, I began to lower my guard and started to like the place. Seeing how Artoria could actually eat her fill every meal, I cried at night. The life she had to live with me always made her starve  just because she gave me her food." Alice muttered. "We lived in harsh environments just to escape the pursuit of the church agents, and if they found us we would have to fight until we had the opening to escape. We traveled to many countries, but sometimes we were unable to understand the language and would get lost in the wild for days. Getting sick under those conditions was definitely a death sentence so I believe being alive until now can only be called luck."

Settling down her emotions, Miko just listened.

"I am not trying to make you pity me. You can point your bloodlust at me if you want, I do deserve it." Alice giggled. "I guess I am just trying to show off how amazing my sister is. She carries me for days this one time I was sick and could not move. It was difficult to cross the mountain pass but in order to get the medicine to treat me, we had to go through it. However, she carried me all the way."

"...she is tenacious." Miko praised.

"Haha, yes. She likes to eat a lot but she had to settle with tree bark, bugs, and dirt. Which is why you see her eating heartedly Nora's food." Alice smiled wryly.

"...does he know about it?" Miko asked.

"You should know how much care he shows to everyone's health. He guessed about it with one look at her." Alice chuckled. "He works as hard as he does to make Kuroka and Shirone's meals when he cooks for my sister."

"That is surprising." Miko expressed her surprise.

Furrowing her eyebrows, the pink fox found it hard to believe.

"That face tells me you cannot believe me." Alice muttered. "I happened to ask him once about it and he replied with something rather simple."

Holding her hand on her throat, Alice pressed lightly.

"She must've been through a lot for your sake. My cat is a silly older sister who might look hopeless, but her sister's power is amazing. Just like I respect my cat, your sister has earned my respect. She will never ever have to starve as long as she is with me, I promise you that much." Alice made a convincing impression of Nora.

"That sounds just like something he would say." Miko chuckled. "If he said so, you can bet he will never break his promise."

"I know. He is that sort of guy." Alice said. "Which is why... there was a time I thought I would just cause him trouble by living with him. I considered that he would take care of my sister's depression and prepared to escape one night. However, he was already waiting for me at the exit of Urakyoto."

"So he calmly convinced you to go back?" Miko asked.

Blushing like mad, Alice put her hands on her rear.

"He wrapped me in a blanket, dragged me to my room, and spanked me." Alice shyly said.

"...yeah, savage as usual." Miko's eyebrow twitched. 

"After that... he simply told me one thing." Alice chuckled. "If you want to leave this house, do it through the front door during the day. I will not stop you."

"Shouldn't he try to convince you to not run?" Miko retorted.

"I think it was a way of telling me to not run away." Alice smiled.

"How so?" Miko curiously inquired.

"My sister would never let me run away alone, and she would follow me or she would not let me go, but Nora would not allow her to run away given that she is 'his' property like they both say." Alice muttered. "So I will not be able to escape during the day... but at night is just as impossible."

"Ah... so he is indirectly telling you to stay." Miko nodded.

"I remember I cursed him right there since I immediately got the meaning." Alice bitterly said. "He spanked me again."

"...sorry, we adults should give him a talk about that." Miko felt like she needed to have a talk with Yasaka for not teaching him manners.

"...it is ok." Alice blushed. "Those who get spanked by him all end up liking it."

Fearing the answer to the question, Miko did not ask if she was among those so she let Alice continue talking.

"Once he was done, he told me to cut it out. He would figure out how to deal with our problems and a kid like me should only lose sleep when I think what kind of sweets I will eat the next day." Alice said.

"...Somehow, Ei fits that description despite being past that age..." Miko sighed.

"Cursing him again and telling him that he did not understand me proved to be a bad choice." Alice awkwardly ignored the fox's sigh.

"...he spanked you again?" Miko asked.

"Real hard." Alice mumbled. "...in hindsight, I guess I got slightly hooked."

Ignoring that, Miko felt like Nora was growing to be more sinful every day.

"Ahem, he told me to go and ask everyone's story, but not his." Alice said. "He said... you know nothing either, what gives you the right to speak that way when you are the same."

"...was he really trying to make you stay?" Miko was confused. "I guess the first thing you did was to ask about his story?"

"I did." Alice smiled bitterly. "My first thoughts were... along the lines of, this has to be a lie."

"His life is outstanding enough to make you think it is a fantasy story." Miko agreed. 

"Yeah..." Alice sighed. "I was... a bad child back then."

"...acting like a naughty child will not get you more spankings with Nora." Miko said. "He no longer sees you as a child."

"Who said kids are the only ones you spank?" Alice gave the fox a hard-to-read smile.

"You and I... could get along." Miko smirked.

"This needs further dialog, but we should finish the previous topic." Alice said.

The duo nodded as they inwardly swore to find out what motives the other side had.

"After I learned about everyone... Nora appeared before me and told me something." Alice changed her voice again. "Now that you know, you can actually have an opinion, but I doubt with your half-hearted knowledge of the world you will get far."

"Indeed, despite your experiences showing you how to survive during tough times, as a child you are bound to be ignorant of many things." Miko added.

"Which is why he began instructing me on topics of all kinds at an incredible speed. I love to read so I had the basic education of my age and some grades higher than me covered, but that did not stop him from teaching everything from scratch." Alice chuckled. "Not only that, he forced me to learn self-defense and survival skills that were honestly quite scary and nasty."

"...yeah. He made Ei do the same." Miko shared a faraway look with Alice.

"Even now, he would sometimes drag me to teach me something new." Alice chuckled.

"You no longer want to leave, do you?" Miko asked.

"We both know that." Alice said. "However, he will not stop teaching me things and I will not stop him."

"Aren't you a cheeky girl?" Miko sighed. "Not sure which one is worse."

"I appreciate his actions, dearly." Alice muttered. "That is why I will not leave his side."

"Yet you were complaining about dealing with the group." Miko spoke.

"Urgh, you know how to poke where it hurts." Alice sighed.

Thinking about how to deal with all the women in the building, Alice felt like running was not a bad option after all.

"Let's see... from a simple survey as I walked around, I guess you are troubled about that girl sitting over there and her sister." Miko directed one paw to point out someone below the roof.

A girl sat alone with eyes lost in thought below the shade of a tree. She looked so peaceful that birds were perched on her shoulder as sat in seiza with a lunch box resting on her lap.

"...she is waiting for the time. She is the child of Okita, a famous swordsman in Japanese history. She and her sister wanted to join under Nora's command so here they are." Alice sighed.

"The tanned one looks very calm compared to the other one." Miko compared the contrasting sisters.

"One got the father's dark complexion while the other the mother's. They both look alike in the face but their personalities are way off." Alice said.

"The other one is pretty cheerful." Miko nodded.

"It is hard to make the follow orders." Alice complained.

"Just bribe them." Miko suggested.

"...and I thought I was nasty." Alice looked at Miko rather surprised.

The fox simply pointed at another figure a little distance away from the first one.

"You could easily bribe that one... she kind of looks like Artoria though." Miko said.

From the duo's point of view, an Artoria look-alike wearing glasses was eating a mountain of Japanese sweets while another blonde girl tried to clean the mess she was making.

"...they are Pendragon family members that were sent as assistants." Alice spoke in a lifeless tone.

"You sound tired." Miko muttered.

"Morgan Le Fae, contrary to her name, she is a very nice girl who tries to take care of her cousin. Code name, Ecchan, the girl who absolutely does not want to be called anything else after Nora called her that." Alice held her forehead.

"There are more trouble children, right...?" Miko asked.

"You have no idea..." Alice slumped her shoulders. "They are all here to assist Nora."

"Is something big going to happen?" Miko inquired.

"Not sure, Nora said that we should get ready before he disappeared." Alice spoke in an uncertain tone. "He usually knows what he deals with, but this time he did not leave specific instructions."

"Hoho? Is that so?" Miko nodded. "Very well, just like I was taught not to be taken advantage of, let me teach you a few things."

This small chat would bring both benefits and headaches to Nora, but that would be a story for another time. The duo continued to talk until the sun went down and they were both satisfied. 

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