“So, what’s the plan?”

“The plan is pretty simple. Do magic,” I replied. Nothing complex, really.

“That doesn’t sound like you thought about it all,” Princess Laura says with a raised eyebrow. “Are you going forward with the massive plans my Ancestors made? You will need to manage them. And how can you do that if—”

“I mean, Stanimal said he didn’t want anything to do with politics, right? So, I’ll delegate most stuff to him. I’ll just take care of some ideas here and there. I’ve already explained my problem with this whole operation to him. He said that if I ever needed to go abroad to exterminate entire races, he could take care of things here. Plus, I do need a home, right? I might as well have it here. And before we go, I came up with my own little plan.”

The white pig I have in my arms squeals in approval. Princess Bianca was mightily angry with me for having ignored her during my magic practice. Therefore, she requested I bring her along in my future endeavors. Whatever they are.

How did she tell me that? She had Stan translate it. Yep, Stanimal speaks pig.

Anyway, the fact that Stan was planning to build what one could easily call a castle rattled me. But, at the same time, I came up with a solution. My greatest fear in embarking on the magical path is losing all the people I had bonded with throughout my brief experience in Amorium. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, they were my support net. Without Camilla and Flaminia, I’d be feeling a bit lonely. I liked Lucillus and Antoninus, but I shared more of a ‘bro’ bond with them. It wasn’t the same friendship I had with the two girls—Camilla, especially.

That’s why I decided that I wanted them both closer to me. I wanted them to work with me.

Arriving at the Three Roses back office, where I first met the three girls, I see Flaminia and Clodia waiting at the entrance. They are talking. Clodia, as usual, looks pissed. Flaminia, instead, just curious.

I asked Princess Laura to come with me. It’s a bit bad on my part, but I needed the intimidation factor that royalty would have on my potential business partners. Yeah, I want to buy out Happy and the Three Roses. And I’m pretty sure Clodia will try to beat me up for it.

Flaminia, sharp as the most wicked blade, narrows her eyes at me. She’s wearing loose baking garbs, stained with chocolate all over. Apparently, she has practiced so much that even her enchantments failed to keep the stains away.

The fact that both her and Camilla have pink hair – even though Flaminia’s is dyed, and Camilla’s is just natural pale pink – is funny. It’s like they were made to be a mirror image of each other. Heterozygote twin sisters.

As soon as they see the Princess at my side, they break into curtsies. Clodia is wonderfully agile and graceful in hers. This is the most hilarious thing today, and I just can’t manage to stifle a bit of laughter.

“You have something to say, Luciani?” Clodia growls.

“The two most beautiful Elves are here with me; I’m just enjoying the sight,” I smile.

I can feel Laura’s eyes on me, but I ignore the fact that I might have just offended her a bit. The Princess, for all she’s really prone to change and whatnot, is also a bit vain. She knows she’s beautiful. And she’s not happy about my fake compliment to the other girls. In turn, that makes both Flaminia and Clodia quite proud. I just got the ire of a Princess to tell them they are both beautiful. But since it’s them I need to woo today, that’s all part of the plan.

“Camilla and her sisters are inside?” I ask.

“Yes. Clodia was a bit angry about something Camilla said, and I told her we better wait outside.”

“That little kid, I’ll rip her stupid little head—”

Well, typical Clodia. Looking at her ripped arms, I wonder if she could really hold true to her threat.

Probably.

As we enter the place, I find all three sisters conferring among themselves. There’s animosity in their voice.

“I said that is in our interest—”

Camilla goes silent as soon as she sees me.

She narrows her eyes in the same way Flaminia did.

Have I leaked something without knowing? Why do I feel like they already know why I’m here?

“Is that a pig?” Amelia, the older sister, and Clodia’s current lover, asks.

Said ‘pig’ squeals in outrage, pointing a leg at the woman. With her disgusted gaze, she seems to say, ‘you are the pig, young lady.’

Flavia, the sister that doesn’t talk much, pokes Amelia’s side.

“Wait, is that the…” Amelia looks at Laura with wide eyes.

“Your Highness,” Camilla nods at my escort before her sister can ask the obvious question.

“Well, ladies, what a beautiful morning to do business with all these gorgeous—”

“Luciani, cut the crap—pardon my language, Your Highness. What the hell do you want? Is it true that you want to buy both our businesses?”

Here we go.

How do they know?

“Who told you?” I ask, incredulous.

“It’s a secret,” Camilla winks.

“That idiot of my cousin did,” Clodia says without missing a beat.

“Goddamn, Lucillus, you broody, wide-mouthed [Gossip].”

“So, is it true?” Clodia presses me.

“I mean, yes? But it’s more elaborate than simply buying—”

“I ain’t selling to no damn Human, Luciani,” Clodia says. “You better start running back to your bakery before I can—”

Hell breaks loose with Camilla telling Clodia to shut her trap and Flaminia getting drawn into the fight by Flavia making a remark about Happy.

Princess Bianca, in the meanwhile, taps on my hand, requesting I put her down. I oblige. There’s one girl I don’t mess with in this room, and that’s the Wallorian Treasurer. As soon as I put her on a chair, she squeals so loud that I believe I went deaf for a second.

Everyone falls silent and turns to the little white pig. Said animal turns to me and waves her front leg. That’s my cue to speak, I guess.

“Thanks, Princess Bianca. As I was saying…”