"Don't you think you're getting a little full of yourself?" Trigger growled.
"Ara, must you be referring to me?" The fox responded, not even bothering to look his way. "I don't recall giving you permission to address me."
'Ah, of course. There it is.'
"We are in the presence of the Supreme Lord. Show the proper respect."
'Supreme what?'
As Trigger said this, the rest of the wolves bared their fangs, low growls rumbling through the air as they prepared to pounce.
Wait! They weren't about to fight, were they?!
"Of course, I respect the Supreme Lord—" the Fox Spirit said smoothly.
And who's this Supreme Lord again?
"—I wouldn't have answered the call if I didn't. Or did you expect me to hastily grovel like you lowly mutts? I see our views are as far apart as our category."
Her dark eyes gleamed, shifting into an ominous violet as multiple dark pupils surfaced within a single eye.
Oh, they really wanted to turn this into a full-blown conflict.
Before I could start begging everyone to calm down—maybe even tempt them with the promise of sweet fruit from the forests of Coastelle—
{Both of you, kneel.}
Calm.
Firm.
Absolute.
Platform's voice, for the first time, carried weight beyond anything I'd ever heard from it.
And also for the first time, her voice reached other people other than me.
Both of them—no, everyone present—flinched violently. As if something primal gripped their very souls, they bowed, sinking to the ground in submission.
Even the Fox.
{You would dare act out of line in the presence of the Supreme Lord? I will not hear a single word from either of you until you are permitted to speak. And I will not repeat myself.}
"Understood! Mistress!" they all echoed in perfect harmony.
...Mistress…?
Moreover, they all assumed Platform was female too. Not that I blamed them—her voice was strangely comforting, almost motherly.
But I never thought of her as a person, let alone someone—or something—with a gender.
{I appreciate your compliments, Master.}
Wh—wha—WHAT?!
I nearly choked.
I guess I'll have to think more quietly now.
(Eh…ehhh? I didn't know anyone else was aware of your presence, though.)
{If I wish to, I can communicate with others through Magic Conversion.}
(Then you're definitely not an ability! You weirdo!)
By the way, Magic Conversion was a technique used to bridge the gap between languages and races.
By using magic, it identified the thoughts behind words or intentions and converted them into something the listener could understand.
Likewise, the speaker's own intentions were transformed into magic-based words that their audience could comprehend.
A complex yet deceptively simple technique.
That was how Levi had been able to communicate with both Alicia and me.
I should probably teach it to Alicia too. Pison's language would likely be vastly different from anything she understood.
Anyway—
"Okay, you all can raise your heads," I commanded.
My voice, however, utterly lacked the power and menace from before.
Pluto, I curse you!
Even with magic, I couldn't replicate the same force behind my words.
"I'm impressed with all of you, really," I said as they began to hesitantly raise their heads.
The Fox Spirit was the quickest, though.
"I'm not the tyrannical type of... Lord. At least, I don't want to be. I... want us all to be… uh… friends?"
Their expressions ranged from amazement to confusion.
Trigger, in particular, looked like he had something to say—
"…"
Oh. Platform had shut them up.
I turned to him. "Do you want to say something?"
"Are… are we being tested?" he asked, hesitantly.
"Of course not! I thought you were all mindless shadows that only followed orders, but you're surprisingly diverse. So I want us to get along, okay? You too, Tamayo."
Yes, I shortened her name. Now I won't have to call her "Nine-tail," like some deranged Deadman Demon lord.
And I wasn't about to keep calling her Tamami-no-Mae every time. Even if it would be a great way to get back at the author by making him write it all out constantly.
Tamayo paused, staring at me for a long moment before finally bowing.
"I… I don't know why you'd choose to coexist with us or grant us any level of freedom… But you're an interesting Supreme Lord, so I'll accept the name Tamayo."
'...I still feel like I'm being looked down upon though.'
Also—could they drop the "Supreme"?
I gave them another glance.
Trigger and Tamayo were locked in a full-blown glare-off, with Shizuka adding fuel to the fire like the little agent of chaos she was.
Hachiman, on the other hand, was being a good boy. Actually, he'd been the quietest one here.
Awww.
(Come.)
That earned him another pat.
Judging by the enormous spike in bloodlust, that definitely grated on Tamayo's nerves.
Honestly, I was surprised Levi hadn't barged in yet, fully armed for large-scale war.
I really hoped these guys would be helpful in the future…
But I had a sinking feeling it would be the reverse—with me constantly begging them to hold back.
Especially Shizuka and Tamayo, who were only keeping the peace right now out of primal fear for the Dark Empress Platform.
I guess I'm done for now.
I'd introduce them all to Levi tomorrow.
For now? Time to indulge in the luxury of slumber!
With everything wrapped up, the summons returned to the Shadow Realm—wherever that was—and I headed back to the cave.
*
'Ahhhh, these ladies do get along, huh?'
I returned to the wholesome sight of my companions clinging to each other like mutually benefiting parasites.
Yeah. I was not sleeping in the middle of that.
Before I'd get assaulted, I wisely settled closer to the entrance.
The next morning—at least when the night was fading away—a loud BOOM! And a small cry attempted to wake me.
But as I turned to see Alicia was still asleep, I let it pass and went back to sleep…
WAIT!!!!!!
Are we under attack?!