Still stunned by the events, they hastily agreed to Ranbolg’s proposal. Al’s hands were tied; he was dealing with a prince who commanded an army of eight thousand. He couldn’t possibly have turned him down.
Given Ranbolg’s previous display, Al worried that he’d cause trouble if he were to interact with a normal maid, so he asked Lilicia to show him to his room. As a succubus, she should have been able to handle him well—maybe a bit too well—but Al hoped everything would go off without a hitch regardless.
After dealing with all that, all he wanted was a breather, but...
Sharon’s been looking paler than the moon ever since she saw Ranbolg.
“Sharon, why don’t you go and lie down for a bit?” he asked.
“Seriously!? You want to send me out while you have fun here with everyone else!?”
Al tried to be nice, but he was quickly shot down.
So annoying!
Despite his irritation with Sharon, Al was getting fidgety on his throne while thinking of his next guest. He couldn’t wait to meet her again, yet at the same time, he wished they’d never meet again after how they separated the last time.
“To be honest, I’d rather not meet her while, well...”
He was surrounded by four Divas, all wearing maid uniforms. To any outsider, he must’ve seemed like a perverted king indulging in his fetishes behind the closed doors of the castle.
“I have to get them out of here...”
Asking them to leave the room had historically been proven to be ineffective, and asking them to leave him completely alone, which was what he really wanted, even more so.
“Pardon me. Distania’s Diva has arrived,” Lilicia said from the other side of the door.
“Huhhh!?” Al could barely decipher her words. After all, it had only been a few minutes since he asked her to guide Ranbolg to his room.
“You really didn’t have to hurry so much...”
All Al wanted was more time; he wasn’t prepared to welcome her at all. For a moment, he considered asking Lilicia why she was a living, breathing monkey’s paw, but her answer simply would be “Because I’m a succubus”, so he gave up on that desire. Instead, he settled with gazing sharply at the door, knowing deep down that she was giggling on the other side.
“Please—Ah!” Her carefree, happy voice was suddenly interrupted by the door bursting open. Both Al and the Divas looked toward it, and his nostrils caught a familiar aroma.
“A-Al!”
Then, his ears were filled with a familiar voice. Al opened his eyes wide upon seeing his guest. Her hair was much longer than it had been the last time they’d met, but her strong, optimistic eyes hadn’t changed one bit.
“Al!” She called his name again and rushed toward him.
“Let her through!”
The Divas tried to stop her, but Al raised a hand to make sure no harm was done to her. He was relieved that they actually listened to him for once, but that blissful feeling was short-lived. He had nearly forgotten a crucial detail.
“Don’t run, Luna!” he shouted while jumping up from his throne. “You’ll—”
“Kyah!”
He was too late, making him wonder if one could outgrow their tardiness. Just like the first time they met, she tripped on her dress and tumbled to the floor.
Or so he had expected.
“Ahh!”
Luna’s spirited yell filled the room, pulling Al back to reality. There, he watched as she pulled her legs in and used the momentum of the fall to roll forward, stopping right in front of him. She hopped up from the ground and waved her index finger in front of him with a smug smile.
“Hehehe! Don’t think I’m the same ditzy girl I used to be! I’m improving every waking moment of my life!”
“Why are you working so hard on your landing!? If you want to improve, first make sure you don’t fall!” he said in a worried tone, but he was fighting hard to stifle his laughter.
It really is Luna!
Al’s heart was racing and his cheeks were heating up, all while he was trying his best to ignore the Divas’ sharp stares.
“I-I’m glad you’re here,” he said shyly. It had been nearly a decade since that incident, but that didn’t change the fact that Luna had almost been murdered, so it was surprising that she didn’t have a convoy guarding her.
“Thank you! I didn’t even get lost on the way!”
That’s not what I meant...
He decided to let her silly answer fly.
“Haah... I’m glad to see you haven’t changed.”
“Nope, sure haven’t,” Luna answered Al’s awkward look with a brimming smile. A pleasant warmth filled his heart; he almost felt like he had been teleported back to their very first meeting.
“Al, I’m happy to see that you two are on the same wavelength, but would you maybe mind introducing her to us anytime soon?” Sharon apparently didn’t enjoy being ignored, as she stared at them with judging eyes and crossed arms. Al honestly couldn’t decide whether it was nice that she was finally back to her usual self.
“P-Pleasure to meet you all, I’m Luna! Ah! I’m Distan—Aah! I bit my tongue again!” She timidly introduced herself to Sharon, biting her tongue in the process. However, there was proof of her strong-mindedness in her greeting. Not many people could take Sharon’s powerful glare head-on, much less with a smile, but Luna was doing just that.
“She’s a Diva, just like you, from Distania. Luna, you must be tired. Should we get you seated?” Al introduced her and tried to arrange some comfort for her while sitting back in his throne.
“Oh my, it’s rare for him to be so thoughtful.”
“She smells like a threat to our marriage.”
He heard trouble brewing between the other Divas, but he decided to let it slide.
“So, what brings you here?” Despite both of them holding important positions in their respective countries, Al didn’t feel like taking a formal tone with her.
“Ah! I totally forgot! Come in!” She completely ignored the question and stretched her arm out toward the door. A girl was standing there, hiding in plain sight. She was like a miniature Luna, albeit with different hair and eye colors. She jogged up to Luna, while the Divas who’d been sending death stares toward Al calmed down.
It’s almost as if she’s trying to avoid revealing the reason for her visit, Al thought. But before he could take the time to ask Luna again...
“Al, this is Distania’s Diva, as well as my personal bodyguard!”
“I see... What!?” He was completely stunned. Isn’t Luna Distania’s Diva? he screamed to himself.
Al gazed at the girl who was bashfully peeking out from behind Luna’s back. Her dark-green hair was skillfully made into two braids, and her dark eyes were playfully darting around, checking every nook and cranny of the room. For all intents and purposes, she was like Luna ten years ago.
She’s a little girl, through and through! He was suddenly overcome with disappointment, but not because he’d just lost his chance to do Heavenly Surge with Luna. At least, he hoped it wasn’t that. Anyway, is she going to be all right?
“Wooow! She’s adorable! Is she your daughter?”
“Oh my, look how much you’ve grown, Luna!”
“Hello there, I’m Kanon. Can you tell us your name? How old are you?”
“What an eyesore. One day, I’ll bless Al with a much cuter daughter.”
Oblivious to Al’s inner turmoil, the Divas excitedly circled around their newest guests.
“Umm...”
“Saaya, listen to me. As part of the royalty, it’s your duty to introduce yourself when visiting others. I won’t do it for—Ah, shoot! I said your name!”