Chapter 481: A very big family.
"...Okay, I'll go to the human world now."
When Victor spoke, everyone present in this place remembered to breathe.
Everyone had unconsciously stopped breathing when they saw Victor acting like that.
"He is dangerous, extremely dangerous..." Lacus whispered; she knew that Victor was dangerous; after all, he was a talented monster who was sometimes the target of her envy, but instead of wasting time brooding over these feelings, she preferred to work hard.
After all, her mother always beat into all of her disciples that envy was the key to ruin for any being.
But... That level of danger was entirely on another level.
'Can't he settle a war without lifting a finger like that?' Lacus thought he could just go into enemy territory and win over the leaders' wives, right? That way, he could end a war before it even started!
Pepper and Nero couldn't help but agree with Lacus.
What Victor had done now was something extremely dangerous for a woman. That attitude, coupled with his handsome appearance and melodious tone, would make any woman beg him to fuck her.
Unconsciously, newfound respect grew in the girls' hearts towards Scathach, a woman who could take it and not give in. She honestly deserved the title of strongest woman!
...If they only knew that Scathach was barely holding back...
Even though Ophis didn't understand what happened, she still felt that her father's attitude had changed.
And to be honest, she didn't like that change at all; it was like her father was someone else simultaneously.
'I like my father, but wasn't he my father?' Ophis was extremely confused now.
"Mizuki, when I get back, I want an answer."
"…Eh?" Mizuki woke up from her stupor.
Victor narrowed his eyes and spoke in a stern tone:
"Fighting a war without necessary motivation is the key to dying like a fool."
"And that's something I won't let happen to you, even if I have to hold you captive in a basement with a rope until you come to your senses."
Mizuki swallowed hard when she heard Victor's serious tone.
'...He wouldn't do that, right...?' But, seeing the serious look on his face, she quickly dismissed those naive thoughts; he was definitely going to do that.
She didn't know whether to be thrilled that Victor was worried about her or annoyed that he was so authoritative.
One thing she knew; was that she had complex feelings about this matter.
Scathach raised her eyebrows when she heard what Victor said, and from the few words she'd heard and with the information she had previously, she was able to deduce the problem.
Mizuki wanted to meddle in the war but was going to do so without any real motivation.
She couldn't help but narrow her eyes when she realized this. She'd seen it happen many times in the past, young people with a great sense of 'justice' fighting for something, not even sure if that's what they wanted or not.
And the result of that act?
All of them died prematurely.
And those who survived were just the most talented, but those people's journey wouldn't go that far with that kind of mindset.
Looking at Victor, who was looking at Mizuki, Scathach thought:
'Should I leave this to my disciple?' She asked herself. To be honest, she wasn't in the mood to help Mizuki, and she was her former enemy. Despite having great talent and having talked about training her only in the basics, this was more of a whim of Scathach's because she was waiting for Victor to return.
She wouldn't go out of her way to help someone even if they were very talented; after all, if it was a matter of talent, she was already very satisfied with the current batch of her disciple Victor, his Maids, and her daughters.
In the end, she left everything to her disciple; he already seemed to be in the process of helping her in any way he could.
Seeing Mizuki silent, Victor turned his attention to Scathach. If she didn't want to say anything, okay. It was her decision, but he definitely wasn't going to let it go.
"Scathach, will you go with me?"
"...Sure...I need to talk to my daughter too." Scathach spoke in a neutral tone. She didn't even seem anxious; she managed to perfectly mask her emotions.
She was fully aware that the rooms in Victor's house were soundproof and resistant, which meant she could...
A small smile appeared on her face.
To everyone on the outside, it looked like she was happy to be reunited with her daughter.
...If they only knew her thoughts...
"Nero, Ophis, do you want to come too?"
"Mm/Yes." Nero and Ophis spoke with different responses.
"Pepper, Lacus?"
"Hmm... As our training is practically over, we should just train what we already know... I want to go... I also want to watch my anime..." Pepper replied for Lacus and herself.
"... Why didn't you ask for my opinion?" Lacus raised an eyebrow at her sister.
"Come on, I know you will." Pepper rolled her eyes.
"You're correct, but... Ugh, whatever, I'll come too."
"Good, let's go, I have a lot of things to do." Victor took hold of his Odachi with a hand gesture while Natalia opened a portal again.
"Mizuki."
"Hmm?"
"Morgana and Jeanne are here. This is a good time if you want to train with them."
"…are they competent?"
"A Former General of Lilith's Army, and a literal Saint... If they're not competent, I don't know what they are." Victor laughed in amusement.
"You can go to Eleanor too. She knows my basic training; she will help you while I'm gone." Scathach spoke.
"When I get back, I'll check your progress."
"... Thanks." That was all she could say as she watched the group pass through the portal.
At that moment, a spirit left Mizuki's body and spoke:
"I may not like the man very much, but he's right, you know? Fighting a war without motivation is sheer foolishness."
"...." Mizuki looked at the old traitor that ran away the first moment he saw Scathach.
Ignoring the accusatory look on Mizuki's face, he spoke:
"Whether you like it or not, you've found a troublesome companion. He already considers you a friend, and he won't let you go to your death if he can help it, even if, in the process, it means you'll hate him. He's really nosy." He laughed in a jovial tone.
'...Oni or not, he's a really good friend.' Abe-No-Seimei could tell that Victor had no lustful desires for Mizuki's body. On the contrary, he was doing it willingly. It was simply that Victor couldn't help but care for her after everything the two of them had been through.
"Tsk, you and that man are treating me like a child; that's annoying." She turned away, but only she knew of the slight warmth she felt in her heart. She was grateful for Victor's concern, even if it didn't show it.
"Physical age aside, every time I see that man talking, I feel like his mental age is much older than you think." The spirit continued.
"Well, he must be pretty precocious then." Mizuki rolled her eyes as she walked towards Victor's quarters which was also her room.
'... You don't understand, silly disciple... What I mean is that he acts much older than he really is. He has that look that only people who have lived a long time should have.' The spirit commented to itself but did not voice its thoughts.
...
When the portal appeared in the room where the group was having a meeting, Ruby got up from the couch and spoke:
"They arrived."
The first person to go through the portal was Victor:
"Sup, boys and girls…." He smiled a little, and his smile grew a little when he looked at Adam:
"And old bag."
A vein bulged on Adam's head; he'd really forgotten how annoying this brat could be.
"Vic, you're late for the party," Ruby commented with a small smile and tone that could only be described as melodious.
"Hey? Is it a costume party? Damn, I forgot my straw hat and my caveman clothes." Victor wrapped his arms around Ruby's waist and kissed her mouth lightly.
"...." Edward and Fred raised their eyebrows when they heard Victor make a straw hat joke.
They looked at each other:
"Don't tell me..." They spoke simultaneously with a look that could have a thousand meanings.
On the other hand, Adam had several veins bulging in his head. Somehow he thought Victor was teasing him again with the fantasy story. After all, Victor always called him 'old'.
"....." Leona's eyes gleamed faintly a light blue, and a slight growl came out of her mouth, a reaction her father and brother noticed.
'...As expected, she still hasn't forgotten him, huh...' Edward thought.
'If it wasn't for the promise of brothers, would Victor go after my sister?' The moment Edward thought that he understood that he wouldn't.
Victor was many things, but he wasn't a liar or broke his promises, at least not to people he considered friends.
And that thought also disappeared from his mind when his protective feeling toward his sister was activated; Victor would never have his little sister! Never!
On the other hand, Adam's thoughts were beyond annoyance; it was pure disapproval:
'Absolutely not, especially now that he's a Vampire' He was determined.
In some ways, Leona was quite unlucky and lucky to be born into an overprotective family like hers.
"Mother..." Nero lightly touched Ruby's shirt.
Ruby, at that moment, separated from Victor and looked at Nero; her eyes became more tender, and she smiled gently:
"I missed you, Nero." Then, she crouched down and hugged Nero.
Of all the people close to Victor, she was definitely closest to Ruby, and of all the women, she liked Ruby the most too.
... Although nothing beat her father.
"Heh~, my daughter was a mother, and I didn't even know."
"Mother! Pepper and Lacus, too; what are you doing here?" Ruby was surprised; she hadn't expected her mother and sisters to come here. Shouldn't her mother be training the royal guards?
"We needed a little modernity." Lacus spoke for her and her mother.
"Indeed, indeed." Pepper waved several times:
"I need to catch up with my anime!" Pepper pulled Lacus and led the girl out into the hallway.
"Oh?" Fred looked curiously at the red-haired girl. He felt like talking to her. However, the moment he was going to follow the girl, he was stopped with just a look from Liena.
"She is the daughter of Scathach, do not approach her, or you will die." It was no lie; Scathach would actually do this for her daughters who hadn't reached adulthood.
Victor really was a special case.
"...." He swallowed, but he still wanted to talk to a fellow cultured person.
Liena nodded in satisfaction and looked back at Victor.
"Fufu, many things have happened." Scathach laughed gently and hugged her daughter.
"I missed you."
"Me too."
Victor kindly laughed at this scene and took Ophis in his lap. Then, he took her towards Anna and Aphrodite:
"Mother, this is Ophis Tepes, my other daughter."
"...." Anna pursed her lips.
"Isn't she too big to be your daughter?"
"Who said family should only be defined by those related by blood?" Victor smiled even wider.
"...Sharp tongue, I wonder who taught you."
"Wasn't it you?" Victor rolled his eyes.
"I didn't teach you to be shameless!" She huffed and puffed like an angry child.
"So I inherited it from you."
"..." A vein bulged on Anna's head:
"I am not shameless!"
"Cough." At that moment, Renata coughed; it was as if she had heard the biggest bullshit in the world.
"What?"
"It's nothing, I just thought I would die now from your lack of shame." Renata rolled her eyes.
"Oy!"
"...Mother?" At that moment, Ophis, who was watching everything, spoke.
"Wrong, she is not my wife. She is my mother, that is, she is your grandmother."
"...."
"...Grandmother..." To Ophis, it was a completely new word.
Turning her attention to Ophis, Anna felt an arrow go through her chest; she was so cute!
"Give her to me; I want to talk to my granddaughter!" Her maternal instincts were acting crazy; she'd always wanted a daughter!
"Sure, sure~" Victor chuckled and handed Ophis over.
Victor looked at the blonde woman beside Anna and approached her.
The woman flashed a small smile; she got up from the couch and hugged Victor.
Victor didn't ignore the voluptuous woman, the disguised Goddess of Beauty, and returned her hug.
A kind of bubble invisible to everyone covered the two of them, Victor noticed this bubble with his eyes, but it didn't feel awkward. On the contrary, he'd seen her use it before when talking to her about important information.
"I felt you using my blessing, even though it was only for a few seconds."
"Oh? I must have done it unconsciously..."
"What happened?"
"Many things."
"Humpf, keep your secret then."
"Hahaha~"
They separate, and Renata looked at Victor, her eyes glowing a neon pink, and she said:
"Loki and Freya are in town." Then, slowly, she began to control herself, and her neon pink eyes reverted to their standard disguised color.
"... We'll talk later," Victor spoke in a serious tone.
"Mm." She felt like hugging him again and suffocating him with her scent, but she held on and pulled away. She must act normally.
Separating from Renata, Victor realized that the bubble around him had disappeared. He looked at his lovely Maids, the ones present at least, and gave a small smile.
The Maids' moods visibly brightened, but they still remained in place. They were visibly holding back, not approaching Victor.
"I see that introductions must be made."
..........
