Earlier that morning.

Alex and his friends were still asleep. Alex and Lea were sleeping together in the same bed while Sal slept with the blanket covering half of her body and slumped on the floor. Sal’s sleeping position was outstretched, and her mouth slightly drooling.

Lea had her arm over Alex’s waist with a peaceful smile on her face, humming in comfort from feeling his warmth.

Are you awake, Boy?

“Mhh…” Alex lightly groaned from hearing the voice in his head. “What is it, Peina? I’m slowly waking up from your voice.” He thought as he stirred and shifted a bit. “Mh…?” He felt something on his waist. His hand trailed and stopping to Lea’s as he stiffened, eyes immediately shot open as he turned his head.

“Zzz…” Lea snored with a peaceful look on her face.

“L-Lea…?” He attempted to remove her hand off of him but her hand went back on his waist. Lea letting a bit of a light groan and her sleeping face winced a bit from being moved. “C’mon, Lea. Let go.”

“Is this what you woke me up for?” He responded to Peina as he started to shift more but Lea unconsciously clinged onto him whenever he tried to escape. “Lea! Let go already! I’m not your pillow damnit!”

Not quite. I’m detecting her presence once again. She’s slowly approaching into the hallway. My...niece.

“Ngha…” Sal groggily groaned as she slowly stood up. “What’s with all the noise?” She tiredly looked over to see Alex trying to remove Lea off of him but Lea keeps coming back to embrace him. Sal felt adrenaline run through her and promptly hopped out of her bed, going towards the two with a smile on her face. “You guys having fun without me?!” She stretched her arms out and tackled them down to the floor.

“Uahh!—” Alex and Lea both groaned from the tackle as Lea fully woke up from having the weight of the tanned fighter on top of her as Alex felt the weight of the two of them on him, his nightcap on the floor caused by the tackle.

“Aha! I expected myself to sleep beside Sharky, but Lea? I thought I was dreaming for a second!” Sal chuckled while locking her arms around Alex and Lea’s neck, choking both of them.

“A-Ahck!—” Lea choked out while gripping on Sal’s arm. “W-What’s happening? W-Why’s Sal choking us s-so early in the morning?! U-uncle uncle! Let go!” She tapped on her arm frantically while kicking.

“Hck!—B-beats me! L-Let go you muscle-brained freak!” Alex attempted to pull her arm off of his neck only for the hold to tighten and make him choke again. “Ack!—LET GO SAL!”

Knock knock. Sal’s hold on them weakened for a second when the door suddenly knocked. Not wasting any time, Alex immediately pulled her arm off of him and rolled out of the floor and stood up.

“I’m free! And coming!” Alex walked over to the door while Lea reached her hand to him.

“H-help me!” Lea cried out as Sal wrapped both her arms around Lea. “Eep!” She squeaked in response. “A-Alex!”

Alex opened the door. “Yes?” He looked down to see a small girl with an eyepatch. “Ah, It’s you. Morning, Celia.” Alex said with a smile as Celia weakly waved at him.

“good morning, Fryma.” Alex winced a bit from the mention of that nickname. “i am here to acquire your torn clothing so that they are repaired by my sowing.” Her voice blank and lacking life as usual.

“R-right. Sal, stop trying to crush Lea, please?” He turned to them as Lea kept struggling and gasping for air from Sal’s hold on her.

“Mhh...you gotta have to make me first!” Sal smiled as Lea gripped on Sal’s arm as she breathed out, “S-soothe!” Sal’s body was immediately outlined with blue light before feeling her whole body stiffen and suddenly loosened like a knot being untied.

“O-oi! That’s cheating!” Sal cried out as she struggled to move a single muscle, but to no avail, as Lea pushed her arm away and gasped for fresh air.

“Haa!—” She clutched her throat while taking a deep breath. “There’s no such thing as cheating in survival! You almost killed me! Why the heck were you choking me and Alex anyway?”

“Lea.”

“Y-Yeah?” She stuttered while rubbing her throat. “What is it.”

“Mind taking off that shirt?” Alex pointed at the tattered shirt that had holes. “Celia’s here to fix it.”

“She’s here already…?” Lea leaned over to see Celia do a light wave at her, which Lea waved back in response. “Well...alright.” Lea walked over to the two as she raised the shirt, handing her his shirt back as she’s now only in her bra and shorts. “Here, it felt a bit itchy when the blood dried up.”

“That’s why I said you should just get a clean one, that and Celia’s going to fix it too.” He took the shirt from her.

“why is she wearing your shirt, Fryma?” Celia’s blank tone had curiosity in it as if her blank expression is compensated with the tone of her voice.

“Ah, that.” He looked at Lea getting dressed into her normal outfit. “She told me that there was this weird method where you can be tougher if you wear clothes from someone who’s tough. So she wears the clothes I wear before going to bed sometimes.”

“that is a method that i never heard of. regardless, i also require your pants, Fryma.”

“Yeah, hold on.” Alex scurried back into the room to pull out his tattered pants near his bed. “Again, thanks for doing this, Celia.” He said while walking back as Celia grabbed his pants once within reach.

“it is not worth of mention, Fryma. we will meet eachother again at breakfast. i expect offerings once you three arrive.”

Alex held back his flight response of anything that involved with her and food, he hesitantly nodded in agreement at her. “M-mhh… You’ll be getting fries from both of us as thanks…”

“hooray…” Celia raised her arms up in the air as she walked out of the hallway to leave the three alone.

“See you there!” Alex leaned over a bit to see her walk out the door and going downstairs, the door in front of them opened to see Michel coming out with a tired look on his face and wearing a suit and tie. “Woah…” Alex said with surprise in his voice.

“...What?” Alex felt his spine shiver when Michel’s eyes turned to him like a flick of a switch; fast and mentally hearing a snap from the sudden gaze.

“Nothing...mornin’ Uncle Michel.” Alex said with a bit of a forced smile. “...Going to work?”

“Why do you think I’m wearing this?” Michel closed the door behind them. “Forced to wear this stupid suit because I’m stuck in office duty than doing Official shit like killing demons or monsters...”

“Well, that’s what you get for always ditching work to crash in my house.”

“Hmph…” Michel fixed his tie and walked out. “You better get an easy mission because the fodders at the guild will be taking them all and leave only the hard ones.” He slammed the door of the hallway as Alex turned back to see Lea placing her staff on Sal.

“Remove Soothe.” Sal’s body was outlined with a blue glow as her body twitched. “There, now get dressed. That goes for you too, Alex.” Lea was already fully dressed, sitting on her and Sal’s bed.

“On it.” Alex walked to their bag and pulling out his clothes to get changed in them. “By the way, Lea.”

“Yes?”

“Why were you on my bed?”

Sal was also getting dressed, removing her casual clothes and putting on her usual attire which was a leather armor with some armored padding. “Yeah. I woke up and saw you clinging on Sharky like he was some sort of body pillow.”

Lea crossed her arms and lifted one of them to point at Sal. “You!”

“M-me?” Sal pointed at herself.

“You! You keep hogging all the space in the bed. Not only that, but you also keep pushing my face with your fist and kicked me at the sides in your sleep! Compared to Alex who doesn’t move alot in his sleep. Swapping beds was inevitable!” She retracted her arm back and turned her head.

“Hmph! Not only that, Alex is so warm that I unconsciously hugged him to be comfy.”

“I’m surprised you can say that without blushing…” Alex’s cheeks were flushed red from being complimented of his warmth. He slid in his gloves which was the last thing he put on to be fully dressed.

Once Sal got fully dressed, she nervously scratched the back of her head. “Ah—my bad… Guess I don’t move much when it’s the three of us together.” She placed her arm around Alex’s neck, hand on his shoulder as she pulled him closer. “But I can agree on what you said, Lea. Sharky’s so warm on the bed it’s like having an electric blanket wrapped on a body pillow!”

“O-oi!” His cheeks were red as a tomato as Sal chuckled while pushing his cheeks with the hand that wrapped around him.

“Haha! I don’t know this feeling inside me, but whenever I turn those cheeks of yours red, it’s making me want to see it go redder. Especially how hard it is for me to make them red lately.”

“There’s a limit to how much embarrassment a man can tolerate living together with two girls since childhood. Add the factor that he knows you well enough that your advancement and teasing doesn’t do much.”

“That’s true. I’ve been beginning to think that I’m no longer sexy and Sharky preferred his girls to be young since he gets real red when I get close to him when we were kids. The last time he had my tits up on his face there wasn’t a hint of pink or red to be seen at all!”

“O-okay you already embarrassed me enough!” Alex pushed her arm off while walking into the bathroom to cool down the heat that developed from his face.

Lea stood up from the bed as she walked out the door. “I’ll be waiting for you guys downstairs.”

“We’ll meet you there, Lea!” Sal smiled and waved goodbye. Sal walking to the bathroom and leaned against the frame. “Hey, wanna make it a quick one? I’ve been practicing~”

Water splashed against Alex’s face as steamed sizzled on his face. “Ahh…” He sighed out as he splashed again, the mirror becoming foggy and misty as his blushing weakened. “You already crossed the line and it’s no longer embarrassing.”

Sal snapped her fingers. “Darn. Guess I tried too hard on that one. Well, See you down for breakfast, Sharky!” She walked out and left the room, leaving himself and his sword alone.

How entertaining. Compared to witnessing memories similar to events like these, seeing real ones happen gives that specific form of unpredictability.

“Glad you find my embarrassment amusing for you.”

As a devil, it very much pleases my innate sadism~ I am curious as to how sexual advancements do not phase you yet simple compliments make you redder than blood.

“I-it’s because Sal overuses that sexy card on me way too many times that it’s annoying than embarrassing. And unlike Sal’s bluffs, they’re pointing out facts about me that are actually true…” Splash. Sizzle.

“Anyway...I was too tired from last night to properly listen...so about...Celia”

What about my niece?

“I was getting to that. How do you know she’s your niece?” Alex picked up a towel to wipe off the hot water on his face.

She emits a disgusting presence to that of your holy demi-god presence that I once thought to myself have gotten used to, but became sick the moment I sensed her. She emits a mixture of holy and unholy energy that swirls around like a vortex.

A human example would be that it is witnessing a balanced swirl of oil and water going together than canceling one another. Unnatural, disorienting, nauseous...yet somehow alluring and appetizing...Ahem. Apologies. My hunger seeped out there for a moment.

“Your hunger sure doesn’t discriminate.”

It does not. But other than her presence. I detected that her unholy energy is descended from one of my siblings. Using the memories of your grandfather. Is the Demon God of Greed; the Devil of Avarice; my brother Crystallion.

“The Devil of Greed himself...I don’t know much about the war, only knowing that it ended when I was born. Alot of people died and it was all caused by a Demon...or better yet, a Devil.”

And databanks from your grandfather and yours. He has been defeated and peace is slowly returning to the world. It appears he had succeeded in passing down his genes on a Hunter with a perfect mixture of both opposing powers.

“What do you mean by that?”

Would you like to share the memories of your grandfather, involving the war and my brothers...failures…?

“Much as I would like to say yes and know more, but Sal and Lea are waiting for me.”

Then just know that my niece used to have older siblings that died in the war. Though I wouldn’t call them my niece or nephews nor would I let them call me Aunt.

“Why is that?” Alex walked out of the bathroom as he left their room, locking the door with the key as he walked downstairs.

The raw, primordial power of a Devil against the measly divine powers of a demi-god do not mix well. Our genes override the DNA of the other parent much greater than you Hunters overriding whatever race you impregnate and walk amongst the soil.

“Gross, but I get what you’re saying. Mom and Dad told me about how the children of a Hunter will always be a Hunter themselves. And they were literal about it.”

Imagine a Devil’s being always squared. It will overpower and take over, resulting in just a Devilspawn with no divine power.

“Freaky...maybe I should keep quiet about this until Celia decides to bring it up. She hasn’t revealed herself as a Demon to us, so I guess she doesn’t mean harm…?”

I find it hard to believe considering who’s the father.

“Speaking of brother, are you on good terms with your brothers and sisters, P?”

Throwing back your statement of how you would like to know more but you have your companions waiting for you.

“Right, right. Tonight then?”

Perhaps. Maybe watching this…”anime” version of this picture book I am reading and some of those crispy treats that are thinner than paper and that melt in one’s mouth...potato chips if am not wrong?

“Good thing this room came with a TV…Also it’s a good thing I’m good at remembering and imagining the taste of junk food”

Very helpful. While it does not give me the power to aid you, it is very pleasing and satisfying to have constructs of meals created from your imagination. However please remember to link your taste buds whenever you eat.

“I won’t.” He smiled as he looked down the stairs to see the two looking at him with a smile. “C’mon you two. Let’s go eat breakfast!”