After finishing the conversation, the exhaustion was starting to catch up to me, so I quickly gave last orders and passed the command to Amber before promptly collapsing. When I woke up, I found myself in the Kreios's on-board infirmary, with Mei and Maria by my side.
-"Finally woke up, my Idiot Lord."-Maria smiled at me even while speaking harshly.
-"Sorry for making you worry. How are you all?"-I didn't mind her words, as I knew that I went overboard back there.
-"Everyone is fine. Bronya and Kiana are on board the Hyperion, meeting Headmistress Teresa. Angelia is in her room here on Kreios. You know her… even though she chose to believe you, she still has some trouble facing current Mei."
-"I see. It's good that you are all fine."
-"Then take more care of yourself, Eno."-Mei spoke up, sounding more like her previous self than the Herrscher.
-"Mei?"-I looked at her, both happy and worried.
Seeing my care, she smiled and explained.-"I'm ok. She… I mean, my second personality explained to me that we are one and the same, but due to her birth, she was in control to prevent me from being destroyed by Honkai. She said that we would slowly merge into one, with my normal personality as the core, with her emerging more as I used the power of the Herrscher."
-"Good, while I found her assertiveness and dominance quite charming, I still missed my gentle Mei."
-"Mhmm."-She smiled and kissed my cheek.-"Now, both are just for you."
-"Ehem, please spare my lone heart from your flirting."-Maria looked at us with a strained smile.-"Lord, I have some follow-up orders from Bishop. Would you like to hear them?"
-"Please."-I nodded.
-"Two matters require your attention. Your promotion to S-Rank Warrior and the new responsibilities you'll take over."
-"I understand the first, but what's the second one? Responsibilities to take over?"
-"Yes. Bishop Otto ordered the gradual takeover of the responsibilities of Head of House Schariac. The current head agreed due to his old age slowly catching up to him, but it would seem that there was also some kind of agreement between the Family and Bishop."
-"This thing, huh? So be it."-I sighed, not exactly enthusiastic about that.-"What is the reaction of the rest of the family?"
-"Neutral. A few branches are opposed to an 'outsider' taking over, but all major elders support you."
-"Is that so? May I know why?"
-"As you are aware, the House of Schariac is divided into eight branches, five minor and three major. The three major branches currently are the lineage of Eleanor Schariac, the first Saintes; the lineage of Cecilia Schariac, who was a Saintes before you; and the lineage that produced a Saintes about a hundred years ago. Other branches hold much less power; some exist purely for the control of the family business."
-"So I imagine the three major branches would oppose me the most; why isn't that a case?"
-"It's quite easy, actually. The oldest branch of Saintes Eleanor has only one candidate, but she is too weak to contend for the position right now. The branch of the current head, the father of Cecilia Schariac, has two candidates: me and my sister, but both of us are your supporters, so their hands are tied. The last branch is already in poor state, close to becoming a minor one, so as long as the next head isn't from any minor branch, they don't care."
-"Thank you. What about the minor branches?"
-"The two that oppose you are traditionalists responsible for the church side of Schicksal. They don't hold much power, be it military or financial, but have some voice in the governments, so you'll need to deal with them somehow. The business branch is neutral, but they never took part in such matters; as for the two minor military branches, they support you due to your title of Saint."
-"I thought they didn't recognize it before?"
-"They didn't until you led this operation. Now your Saint title is recognized by the whole Schicksal."
-"Sigh, so much mess, and all that only for a family of what? 300?"
-"416 recognized members of all branches, spread through 4 generations."
-"Thank you."
-"No need, Lord. I now recognize you from the bottom of my heart, so please, use me as you wish, Lord."-Maria knelt on one knee, performing an old ceremony still existing in families such as Schariac.
-"Rise up; you are my teammate and someone I can leave my back to. Don't pollute our relationship with such formalities."-I tried to stop her.
-"Thank you, Lord, but it's important to me."-Maria didn't budge this time.-"I, Maria of House Schariac, vow upon the Holy Blood: my body shall exist in the service of the Saint, my lance the extension of his will."
-"I accept your pledge."-I stood up from the bed and extended my hand to her.
Hearing my acceptance, she took and kissed my hand before rising up.
-"Please take care of me for years to come, my little Lord."
After that little episode, I spent the remaining week with Mei, Bronya, and Kiana, as they would be leaving for St. Freya soon. With Mei returning to her mostly usual self, she got along well with two of them. Kiana's liveliness and Bronya's seriousness helped her to adapt to the new reality, allowing her to regain that graceful confidence she had as Miss Raiden.
But a week was only a week, so it passed before one could notice. On the last night, Mei once again came to my room, staying with me as long as she could. In the end, we made a promise to exchange messages regularly and that after two years, she would return to be my second in command. When they left, I also ordered Kreios to head back; it was time to return to HQ.
And the first thing I did there was to meet with Bianka. After not seeing her for more than a year, we had countless subjects to talk about. She was especially happy to tell me about her adventure in the sea of Quanta, explaining various fantastical things she experienced. While listening to her story, I also noticed the changes in her.
Let alone the physical growth during those 2 years, she now exuded an aura of confidence and charisma few could match. From the way she spoke, even though her childishness still remained in some places, she noticeably matured in her convictions and sense of responsibility. She now truly possessed the aura of a knight.
Another thing that changed was her relationship with Rita. Previously, while not distant, there was still some barrier between them, mostly due to Bianka not trusting Rita fully; now this barrier disappeared, with Rita being even more caring about Bianka, and Bianka accepting most of her actions. And Rita herself was still charming as always, though the eyes she looked at me with changed slightly, looking like something between someone watching a TV drama they enjoy and a sister trying to stop her brother from making a mess.
But that didn't change how we got along, often having to work after hours due to Bianka being incompatible with paperwork of any type. I came to enjoy our quiet work evenings, especially the sweets Rita would prepare for our working sessions. And indeed, there was a lot of work to do.
Leaving aside me becoming the real Young Head of House Schariac, the things I needed to take care as the Captain of Kerios often made me stay up late, all that despite Maria and Rita helping me where they could. The most problematic were the matters connected with our squad, the Immortal Blades, as the reports and other work required to keep everyone and everything functioning properly required a lot of time.
With Bianka, Rita, and me becoming S-Rank, Immortal Blades fully became the elite strike team, being deployed against major threats such as Eruptions or powerful Honkai beasts. This caused our squad to often be deployed on short but intense missions instead of regular patrols or long-term assignments, causing increased pressure on logistics and maintenance, all of which fell on me as Captain of Kerios.
At some point, due to Bianka treating Honkai-empowered lances as one-time consumables, I made her sweep the bridge to repay the gap in the finances she caused. This resulted in a troubling cycle of Bianka making some mistake, then expecting me to punish her; she didn't exactly enjoy being punished, but rather tried to show that she wasn't undermining my authority as her equal in her awkward way.
With us being two Captains, one operational, the other strategic, she felt troubled that everyone else seemed to respect her more. This caused her to try to show that we were equal, but all her actions seemed to only make others 'respect' her more. This created a somewhat vicious cycle, with her spiraling into more and more outrageous attempts to correct this perceived inequality.
But what she couldn't see was that this matter wasn't an issue of respect; all members of the squad and battleship personnel respected me very much. The matter at hand was purely a misunderstanding due to her being treated as a mascot of the team, causing others to spoil her. What she didn't notice was that all the 'leftover women' on the team would also 'spoil' me in their own way, often resulting in punishment for impropriety and public intoxication. All that was hidden from the 'official wife's' eyes, so Bianka was unaware of everything.
This was something that I found truly annoying, as even though my body started to grow rapidly, I still was two years younger than Bianka, so while she was treated almost like a child by everyone, I, for some reason, was pushed into the position of communal lover, if not even husband. A few times I wondered if, if I truly grew up, they would still dare to tease me like that, but after little thought, they would and even do much more.
In such a manner, time continued to pass, and soon, over a year flew by. With my sudden growth spurt, I now stood at a respectable 1.63m, finally starting to outgrow some of the women around me. Sadly, my pink-white hair that reached my lower back when bound into a ponytail, still made me look feminine, leading to many misunderstandings.
To add insult to injury, while Bianka was looking more and more heroic, my facial structure seemed to do everything in opposition to my wishes, not only continuing to be delicate, even in Bianka's careful wording: I appeared more and more like a fairy or an angel from myths and stories. Rita also shared her opinion, sometimes complaining that she would kill for a complexion like mine, which was, in her words, flawless.
I got annoyed to the point that I even wished to cut my hair short, but was forcefully stopped by everyone, and I mean everyone, as even a Schicksal-wide petition arrived on my desk pleading with me not to cut it. In the end, after being threatened by Otto, Bianka, Mei, and even my Master, I decided to let them grow naturally, though I noted their actions and will take revenge in the future.
-"Eno!"-Bianka's voice brought me back from my thoughts.-"Are you listening?"
-"Sorry, got lost while looking at you."
-"You…"-My answer choked her complaint, making her face show an enchanting blush.-"Be serious."
-"Sorry, sorry. Please continue."
-"Ehem. Lord Bishop ordered Rita to perform a mission in London, and she suggested for us to take a vacation there. I already agreed, so I hope you can go there with me."-She looked at me with anticipation
-"Why not? I'll make some time. But not for free."
-"This… What do you want?"-She tilted her head.
-"A date. We will go on a real and true date."
-"Date?!"-Once again, her face flushed, but she agreed quickly and enthusiastically.-"OK."
-"My, my, Lord Eno is starting to get carnivorous; should I warn others?"-Rita covered her mouth and acted shocked.
I felt my eye twitch, but I didn't grace her with a response.
-"Then, don't be late tomorrow; we'll depart at ten!"-Bianka told me, then dragged smiling Rita away from my office.
-"Sigh. Where did you go bad, my Lord?"-Maria looked at me with mock disappointment.
-"I grew with all of you, so I suggest looking inward."-I rolled my eyes.-"Don't be jealous; I'll take you out later as well."
-"It's a promise, but don't forget about my sister."-Maria returned to her usual smile.
-"I'll spend an evening playing with her."-I agreed, as this was only right.
-"You should also invite Rita later."-She continued.
-"I'll prepare cake and tea when she is free."-I nodded.
-"Lady Mei's graduation exams are also approaching."
-"I've already made plans for it."
-"Miss Kiana and Miss Bronya would also be happy to spend some time with you."
-"I get Kiana; she would definitely enjoy eating on my dime, but Bronya? I doubt that."
-"I believe Miss Bronya is just socially awkward, but she very much enjoys your presence. There is also Ana; you know that she is powerless before orders from the family.
-"She indeed suffered from an unwarranted catastrophe. I'll check when her squad is free and visit her, given the chance."
-"Lady Teres…"
-"You are doing it on purpose, aren't you?!"-I couldn't remain calm anymore.
-"Ehem. I wouldn't dare."-She tried to look normal.
-"You would."-I corrected her with full certainty.-"But you have some merit in reminding me of all that. I'll have to talk with the old man to arrange something."
-"With Lord Bishop?"
-"Yes, but that's not important now. How is the thing I asked to be investigated?"
-"That man you saved with Ana has indeed joined some criminal syndicate."-Maria shook her head.-"They promised him a cure for the Honkai infection…"
-"Fool."-I also shook my head.-"Try to make him our informant."
-"Sure. Should I pass this information to Ana?"
-"No need. To be honest, she doesn't even remember him."
-"Didn't he give her something? A proof of love?"-She tried to get a reaction from me.
-"Heh, as my fiancé, do you think she took it? Even if it's only a nominal title forced by the family, she still treats it in a very serious manner."
-"That's kind of sweet. I truly don't understand how you deserve such a great girl."-Maria lamented the fate of her fellow Schariac.
-"Tell me that when your part of the family stops pushing you to do the same."
-"How do you know I hadn't agreed?"-She looked at me, trying to see my reaction.
-"If you did, I'd feel blessed."-I looked at her.-"But I doubt you did that."
-"Oh? Why is that so?"
-"If you wished to clarify our relationship, you'd do it directly, not hiding behind family orders."
Maria watched me for a while longer, before looking away and smiling more naturally.
-"It's unfair with that face."-She laughed softly.-"In this world where men are an endangered species, you truly are a magnet for women."
-"Don't poke where it hurts."-I massaged my forehead.-"Can't you girls be more restrained?"
-"No can do. When one can die every day, you don't have the luxury of waiting for the future."
-"Those stigmatas…"-I looked at my hands.-"I'll find the way to change their fate."
-"Heh, and gain more admirers?"-She gave me a side eye.
-"Shut it."-I laughed, but my mind was made.