“What do you suppose the enemy wants with them?” asked Kaguya.
“Who knows?” replied Shakti, closing her eyes.
“Are they building something?” asked Lyra.
“I don’t know that, either.”
“Well, some good we are, then. I hate bein’ kept in the dark. What does it say that neither us nor the watch have an answer for this?”
As harsh as they were, Lyra’s words came from a place of genuine concern more than anything else. That didn’t stop Lyu and the other familia members from stiffening up when she spoke her mind so frankly.
“…I’ll report this information to the Guild, and advise them to bolster their security,” said Shakti after a moment of silence. “I’ll inform Loki Familia, too.”
“Let’s beef up patrols around the city,” Alize added. “We don’t need to know all the details of our enemy’s plan to stop it from happening.”
As the two familia captains compared their plans, a third voice chimed in.
“The remaining Evils have all been rounded up, sis.”
Cute was the word that came to mind upon seeing Shakti’s younger sibling. The tomboy cut of her pale blue hair lent her less of the adult beauty of her elder sister and more of a childlike innocence. She was also more amply endowed than the likes of Lyu and Alize, with a petite build that was apparent even under layers of clothing. Her blue battle gear, however, was similar to Shakti’s.
But the captain seemed to take issue with her sister’s casual tone. “Ardee,” she said. “I thought I told you not to call me that in front of others.”
“Oh yeah. Sorry, sis,” Ardee replied, sticking out her tongue. Shakti sighed and left it at that.
“We’ll take things from here,” she said, turning to Alize. “We’ll keep the Guild appraised, so you can all go home and rest.”
“Really? We’ll take you up on that, then,” replied Alize with a smile. “Neze! Go tell the others we’re pulling out!”
“You got it!” came the wolf girl’s eager reply, and she ran off to relay her captain’s orders. Just as the rest of Astrea Familia turned to leave, Ardee piped up.
“See you soon, Leon.”
“Indeed. See you soon.”
Lyu gave a friendly smile before turning to leave. Alize took one last look at her comrades and declared, “Justice has been served! Let us return triumphant into the arms of our Lady Astrea!”
By the time Astrea Familia left the destroyed factory, it was already night. Thick clouds were gathering in the moonless skies above, allowing only a smattering of starlight to filter through. It was this scant light that illuminated the way home for Lyu and the others. Though quite some time had passed since the end of the battle at the burning factory, there were still grateful citizens in the streets who congratulated them as they passed. Lyu was awkward and unsociable at the best of times and never knew how to act at times like these. She hid behind her comrades, allowing them to bask in praise instead.
After leaving the main street and passing down several side roads, the group arrived at last in a quiet little neighborhood in the northern part of Orario.
This was where the members of Astrea Familia called home—Stardust Garden.
It was an elegant white mansion, but by no means extravagant. When they entered the lobby, a charming goddess greeted them.
“Welcome back, everyone,” she said.
It was clear to all who saw her that this was a woman of grace, warmth, and compassion. Such was the purity and dignity with which she composed herself. Long walnut hair flowed down her shoulders, and her eyes were a deep blue, like a sea of stars, with a fascinating clarity even more striking than Lyu’s.
Her smooth yet supple skin was wrapped in a pure white robe that had never seen a stain in its life, and she moved and spoke with perfect modesty. The only feature that might tempt a man to sin was the deep ravine that ran between her breasts.
The word goddess was invented for women like her. Such was her beauty, her grace, her magnificence.
She was Astrea, patron deity of Astrea Familia and goddess of justice.
“Lady Astrea!”
Upon seeing her divine mistress, Alize let out a cry of elation. The captain of the familia was so full of love and respect that she looked like a little girl running into the arms of her mother.
Afterward, the other members of the familia walked through the door, one at a time.
“It’s good to see you again, Lady Astrea,” said Lyu simply.
“Sorry to come back all at once like kids,” said Lyra. “What’s for dinner? Just kiddin’.”
“My, for our Lady herself to greet us at the door. What did we do to deserve this honor?” asked Kaguya.
While everyone had something different to say, all of them shared the same joy when they laid eyes on their goddess.
“Must it be an honor, Kaguya?” replied Astrea. “I am always happy to see your safe return. Celebrating that is universal, whether god or mortal.”
A benevolent smile played on her lips. Surely, Lyu thought, this was what everyone imagined a goddess to be, back before the Age of Gods began.
“Especially in times like these,” Astrea went on. “To see my beloved children all come back safe, it makes my heart soar like a newlywed virgin!” she added with a playful smile.
“A—a newlywed…virgin?! Lady Astrea, you sure know how to get the blood pumping!”
“And what’s got you all hot under the collar, Neze?” retorted the industrious and no-nonsense Lyu with a sigh.
Astrea gave a lovely smile before looking over the members of her familia.
“You are all weary, I expect? Would you like some supper? Or a bath?”
“Or you, Lady Astrea?” said Kaguya with a grin, casting her eye toward Astrea’s bust—the largest of the group by far save for Maryu’s.
“K-Kaguya?! You lecherous, impudent…”
Lyu confronted the troublemaker in a display of that famous elf temper.
“Oh? What’s got you so bothered?” Kaguya retorted. “Don’t tell me a pure and upstanding elf such as yourself took my innocent words as something scandalous?”
“Y-you…!”
A smug smile spread across Kaguya’s lips as Lyu fell right into her trap. The look in her eyes said “Come on, let’s hear what you were thinking, you trash pixie!” Lyu could do nothing but tremble in rage and grit her teeth as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“I guess I’ll take a bath first!” said Alize, ignorant of the war being waged right under her nose.
“That’s our captain for ya,” remarked Lyra. “Doesn’t read the mood at all!” Then, with a tired sigh, she exited the lobby. It was a day like any other in the Astrea Familia household.
“Oh yeah, why don’t you join us, Lady Astrea? Then I get to make my bath time my you time as well!”
“““?!”””
Every member of the familia—even Lyra, who was halfway out the door—turned and stared in shock.
“Oh my. It seems none of you are so forward as our Alize here,” Astrea chuckled. Alize bounded over to her and, with an energetic smile, took her hand.
“Come with me, Lady Astrea! Let’s get you—”
“““No!! You can’t!!”””
The other girls shouted out in anger, and yet another of their daily quarrels began.
“Now that we’ve finished with our baths and our dinner, it’s time for the debriefing! Let’s go over what we’ve learned today!”
The night was drawing on, and the familia members gathered in a spacious meeting room, seated in a circle on couches and armchairs. Alize, her skin still glossy from her bath, led the proceedings in a rousing and energetic manner, earning resentful glares from her exhausted compatriots.
“How can she stand up there after what she just did…?” asked Lyra, slung over the armrest of her couch.
“It is quite a punchable face,” agreed Kaguya with a smirk.
“Don’t hate me just because I’m the perfect cutie on the inside as well as the outside!” came Alize’s reply. “Don’t worry, though, you’re plenty pretty yourself! Wink!”
“Grrrh…!” growled Kaguya, her smile struggling to stay on her face.
“You’re going to pop a blood vessel if you aren’t careful,” offered Lyu, but the far-eastern girl either didn’t hear or was willfully ignoring the elf’s words.
“Tee-hee,” giggled Astrea, sitting down in her prepared seat. “I shall never tire of watching your lovely banter, but I fear we must be pressing on. Alize, do you have anything to report?”