Her expression was robotic. Eyes blank. Smile twitching.
Alice.
The little brocon pretended not to notice.
Instead of facing any possible allegations, she leaned deeper into Kaiden’s chest like a cat trying to vanish into a pillow. She tugged his coat forward with her dainty fingers, attempting to bury her face in it completely.
But this time, Kaiden wasn’t going to play along for even a second.
He sighed and reached down under her chin.
Alice instantly went stiff.
His finger gently pressed up.
But Alice wasn’t moving.
A full-blown power struggle had begun.
In her head, an entire civil war unfolded.
"Do not lift that chin! If you lift it, you’re gonna get scolded!"
"But it’s Kai! I don’t want to go against his wishes!"
"Doesn’t matter! He’s gonna be disappointed in you!"
"But... but he’ll pet my head after, if I apologize properly, maybe!"
"You taught a young, innocent child how to ritualistically murder dolls, you absolute maniac! What headpats are you expecting?!"
On the outside, her neck trembled with the tension of a medieval drawbridge caught between two armies. Her lips quivered. Her shoulders inched up defensively as if she could physically hide from consequence.
Yes, she was stronger than he. A higher-level awakened, faster, sharper, more potent.
But this was Kaiden.
Her brother.
And if he wanted her to lift her chin...
She would.
With agonizing reluctance, she let him guide her head up until her eyes met his. Slowly, painfully, greatly resembling a guilty kitten who got caught on the kitchen counter.
Before he could even start lecturing her, she blurted out her defense case like a child who’d been cooking it up the whole day.
"I only wanted to get closer to... t-to... to the family member... of... of your l-l-l-" her lips contorted in physical agony, "l-l-lov-"
"Just say it," Luna muttered flatly.
"Lo-ver!" Alice gagged the word out like it was acid on her tongue, then immediately turned her head.
The other girls watched this whole exchange with deadpan stares.
Nyx gave a slow thumbs-up. "I mean... A+ for effort."
Aria didn’t know how to react. Her anger had vanished from the sheer lunacy Alice put up by her mere existence. "I... I guess it’s okay this once...?"
Kaiden exhaled through his nose, eyes still focused on Alice.
"I appreciate you wanting to bond with Lux. But teaching her how to stab dolls at her age isn’t ideal. Especially not without her guardian’s permission."
Alice sniffed like a chastised puppy.
"I understand..." she mumbled, eyes watering.
Kaiden gave her hair a gentle pat in forgiveness.
She instantly leaned into it.
Meanwhile, Lux stood beside them, still holding her poor, decapitated plush, now upside down.
"Are we not stabbing anymore?" she asked innocently.
...
They lingered at the Ashborn residence for a little longer, mostly to soothe the riot of emotions Alice kept hurling in every direction when she felt it in the very air itself that Kaiden’s departure was nearing.
There were snacks involved. Some quiet apologies. A few more plush dolls may or may not have been stabbed in secret.
But eventually, time ran out.
Alice clung to Kaiden’s arm like a particularly determined limpet, refusing to let go until she secured a new treaty of sibling interaction.
"One call a day," she sniffled, eyes glimmering with sheer drama. "Minimum. Or I’m not letting go."
"Fine."
"And you’ll visit me whenever I demand-uh, I mean... whenever you can."
"Sure."
She paused. Calculated. Then leaned in with sparkling eyes.
"Also... if I ever wish to visit you, then I may... correct?"
Kaiden gave a soft chuckle. "We’ll talk about it. But yeah, I don’t see why not."
That was enough.
She squealed into his coat, hugged him one final time, then let him go with the solemn dignity of a yandere empress who had graciously allowed her subject of obsession temporary leave.
They stepped out into the outer gardens of the estate, where trimmed hedges, moonlit cobblestones, and marble fountains awaited them.
Waiting awkwardly by the transport platform, looking vaguely like detained suspects at a border checkpoint, stood Rae and Riven.
The Artificer Twins.
Riven looked impassive, fiddling with something on her tablet. Probably planning a new prototype or researching.
Rae, meanwhile, looked like she might combust with unsaid thoughts.
The chaotic, tanned girl bounced in place as she was busy fangirling. "How was the boss lady, Kaiden? I mean, I know you’ve met her before, but still... Damn, you’re so lucky! Also, what was that shadowy outburst? Even from here, we felt it."
Luna was more than happy to answer. "Her children were rude to Kaiden, so basically she suplexed them into the shadow realm, or something along those lines."
Rae paused in her hops and turned toward the Storm Valkyrie. "The fuckin’ mana goddess from hell?! Did she really suplex her own kids to defend Kaiden?!"
Kaiden gave the chaotic pair a look. "... Not exactly a suplex. And there werewas definitely no shadow realms involved. She just gave them a little slap on the wrist."
"I think I’m in love," Rae breathed.
"I wanted to ask a few things as well," Riven chimed in, while clicking a million times a second on her tablet. "But now isn’t the time."
"Damn right it isn’t," Nyx agreed. "Let’s get our butts back to the househome."
Rae also calmed down, knowing it was time to get to work. "Let’s move."
She activated the artifact vehicle, and everyone but her boarded, settling into their seats.
As the engine pulsed to life, the towering Ashborn manor quickly grew smaller behind them.
Alice could be seen from one of the balconies.
She waved. Fiercely. Almost angrily.
Like she was trying to punch the distance with affection.
The journey back to the bunker was uneventful, but anticipation built with every kilometer crossed.
Why?
Because it was time for them to focus on getting the [Fangirl Bottleneck] quest sorted now, which would reward them with 2 Upgrade Points and a strange thing called the Fangirl Management Interface.
And if that wasn’t enough to get them excited, the fact that they were very close to ranking up the system, thus getting brand new abilities, sure was.
It was time to grind.