“Dammit, where are those two?” Bellona asked in a frustrated voice.

“Why are we always having to wait on one of them?” Eir asked while crossing her arms.

The Templarians stood amongst one of the many shopping districts of Inamura as the crowds of people chattered around them. Yet the Templarian soldiers could do nothing but wait impatiently for the human and the Titan who were always conveniently late for their plans.

“Arylos is always so peculiar about time yet since he started living with Iris, he’s been nothing but late,” Bellona complained while grumbling deep in her chest.

“Maybe she’s dragging him somewhere and they’re wasting their time at a shop or something?” Eir suggested while tapping her foot impatiently.

“Arylos really should learn when to say no,” Bellona growled while pacing around. “I guarantee you he has not told her no once. He’s just a neutered dog now.”

“A pushover,” Eir grumbled.

“A spineless little cuck,” Bellona growled.

“A yes man who is too much of a wimp to say no,” Eir said with a sigh.

“A little bitch is what he is now,” Bellona said with an exacerbated sigh. “The Arylos I knew told Anoron to eat shit, both with his words and with his fists. Now it’s all ‘yes, little girl’.”

“He’s wrapped around her finger, really,” Eir grumbled with angry eyes.

“More like she’s got him by the balls and says she’ll cut them off,” Bellona said with an angry groan.

“He’s a Titan, right? A living force of nature? God of gods?” Eir asked while her foot tapping increased in tempo. “How the hell does a human girl do him in? You’d think she has some kind of dirt on him or something.”

“Gah! Sometimes, I can’t believe him!” Bellona howled while her pacing quickened.

“Are the two of you alright?” a familiar woman’s voice called out.

Eir and Bellona directed their attention to the voice and saw Iris in a lightly padded white yokui adorned with blue flowers and gold adornments and sash that gave her a gentle appearance. The collar of the yokui came up to her neck with her hair draped down her chest and around her neck. Her innocent and sweet smile caught Eir off guard as most of her irritation faded.

Yet Bellona was persistent like a bull. “And where were you this whole time?! You’re like an hour late!”

“I’m sorry, I got distracted,” Iris said with a soft smile and a nervous chuckle. “I saw this really pretty shop on our way here and I kind of lost track of time.”

“I knew it!” Eir said triumphantly.

“Yeah well, where’s your boyfriend? We kind of need the finances guy,” Bellona growled.

“Oh, he’s handling something for me, but he entrusted me with the money we’ll need,” Iris said while digging out an envelope from one of the pockets in her yokui.

“Great, so he only left us a portion of the money,” Bellona grumbled while crossing her arms.

“Oh, that was my idea,” Iris said while keeping her smile sweet yet Eir could feel a threatening energy behind it. “We can’t go overboard so we’ll have to be smart with our spending. And what we don’t spend can be used for later, and I intend to use it later.”

“Alright alright,” Bellona said while waving her arms. She kept her hands up as she approached Iris and reached for the envelope. “Then why don’t we go ahead and–”

Before Bellona could finish, Iris had pulled out a knife and held it to Bellona’s throat. Bellona could feel sweat drip down as she realised Iris kept her eyes closed and her smile intact all the while a threatening aura began to drown Bellona. She slowly realised how scary Iris could be.

Bellona could feel the shiver down her spine as she watched Iris; never feeling so afraid of her before. Her smile was sweet and her laugh was innocent, yet something in her voice stirred her. Bellona could feel the murderous aura come from Iris like the waves of an ocean. In that moment, the Templarian was terrified of the human girl, remembering how angry she was when Bellona blew their budget with the swimsuits and accessories.

This is why Arylos doesn’t tell her no; she’s fucking terrifying when she’s mad, both Templarians realised at the same time.

“W-Where did you get that?” Bellona asked while trying her best not to move.

“A yokui has plenty of pockets; a woman should always be prepared, right?” Iris said with her soft voice and a chuckle.

“Heheheh, right,” Bellona said while letting go of the envelope and backing away.

“Good that we’re in agreement,” Iris cheered while putting the knife in the sash on her back and resuming her happy smile. “I’ll keep a hold on the money and we’ll divide it three ways, okay?”

“Fine, I guess it’s fair,” Bellona said nervously.

“Are you suicidal or something?” Eir whispered angrily to Bellona. “Did you not learn from your thousand push-ups?”

“Arylos would make me suffer; I didn’t think Iris would just kill me outright,” Bellona whispered in return while trying to control her fear.

“Oh not kill you; just maim you physically and scar you mentally,” Iris said while giving Bellona a crazed glare. “Ask Arylos about the two idiots who broke into our house.”

“H-He told me about that,” Bellona said nervously.

Iris nodded while handing Bellona a series of bills from the envelope. As she did, she gave Bellona crazy eyes and a wicked smile. “Who do you think told him to kill them?”

Bellona felt nervous as she nodded. She realised that was all before the two became a couple; when they were just friends. Bellona couldn’t help but imagine the future where they stay together. The future with Iris atop a throne as queen with her loyal Titan at her side, destroying everyone who dared oppose her. Iris had the makings of an evil queen now; the army of Templarius wouldn’t be able to oppose her if she so pleased.

Iris was the first person to bring the Titan to his knees, and that truly scared Bellona.

“Here you go Eir!” Iris said in a cheery voice as she handed Eir some bills from the envelope. “I’ve distributed our shares; twenty thousand Marks each. That should be enough for our little shopping spree.”

“That’s like two hundred Templarian Gold coins; that’s not very generous of your boyfriend,” Bellona said nervously.

“Be smart with your allowance then; we’re not paying for everything,” Iris said with a smile while patting Bellona on the shoulder.

Bellona sighed as she lowered her head closer to Iris. “Why do I get the idea that this is your idea of revenge?”

“Revenge for what?” Iris answered with a smile.

Bellona sighed before something caught her eye. As the wind moved Iris’s hair, she could see something on her neck; a small mark on her neck. It took Bellona a while to realise it was a bruise, a bite mark. Bellona was confused for a moment until she put the pieces together in her mind; she now had the ammo for the gun she could point at Iris.

“Oh~, so the two of you have done it, have you?” Bellona asked in an insinuating voice.

“Done what?” Iris asked in confusion.

Bellona laughed and reached for Iris’s hair and pulled it aside before Iris could react, showing the full length of the dark blue and black bite mark and spots where there were others hiding. “What else when a man and woman love each other very much?” Bellona teased with a heavy laugh.

Iris blushed as she pulled her hair back down to hide her neck. “I-It’s not what it looks like!” she squealed while trying to hide her bruises.

Eir blinked several times before the realisation came to her as well. “Wait, does that mean that–”

“Arylos and Iris consummated their relationship,” Bellona said with an evil smile. “It looks like we were right; they just couldn’t contain themselves.”

“Ohh, so that’s why she cancelled our beach trip today; she’s covered in love marks from her boyfriend,” Eir said while laughing.

Iris could say nothing as she moved her hair to cover her face as it continued to go red. “You two are cruel, you know that?” she said softly.

“Noice; not even a week after they got together,” Bellona said triumphantly.

“Dammit, you guys couldn’t have waited another week?” Eir grumbled while taking a few of the bills and handing it to Bellona.

“Wait, you two were taking bets on us?!” Iris asked furiously.

“Oh come on, can you blame us?” Eir said, returning Iris’s tone. “You two are all lovey dovey yet get nowhere. Do you have any idea how long we’ve been waiting for this?”

“I hate the two of you,” Iris said while returning to the shelter of her long hair, curling the strands in her fingers.

“Hey, we’ll stop teasing you, but you’ll have to buy our silence,” Bellona said with a big smile.

Iris looked over to them and thought about the situation for a moment. “What do you want?” she asked nervously.

“Wha~t?” Bellona said while pointing her ear towards Iris, keeping her smile.

Iris growled under her breath as she realised she was backed into a corner. “What do I need to give you in order for you two to shut up about this?”

“Ohh, I think twenty thousand Marks is a bit cheap, don’t you think Eir?” Bellona said while waving the bills in the air.

“Oh I agree; maybe another ten thousand?” Eir said with an evil chuckle.

“Ten thousand each? But that takes all of my share!” Iris said at the top of her lungs.

“Oh but your boyfriend can afford whatever you want to buy, right?” Bellona said with a teasing smile.

“You said it yourself; all you have to do is bat your eyes and he gets you whatever you want,” Eir said while chuckling.

Iris grumbled as she slowly approached the Templarians and gave them the remaining bills. “Fine, just shut up,” Iris grumbled, admitting defeat.

“One question; was it your first time?” Eir jumped in quickly.

“What?! No! Why would you ask that?” Iris shouted as her face went solid red.

“Oh? Not your first time with him or in general?” Eir asked while putting her fingers to her lips and winking.

“Will you shut up?! I’ll be taking those bills back if you don’t!” Iris shouted while failing to mask her embarrassment.

“Oh come on, we want all of the juicy details,” Bellona said while reaching for Iris’s head to pat her but stopped at the last minute, remembering what happened last time.

“There are no juicy details for you two!” Iris howled while reaching for the knife in her sash.

“I swear, why are you girls always so loud when I turn my back?” a familiar voice growled. The trio turned and saw Arylos approach wearing a loose white shirt and ripped black pants that suited his style well. However, the women saw a red necktie wrapped around his neck that was out of place against the rest of his attire.

“Ohhh? And why the tie?” Bellona asked in a teasing voice.

“This? I just thought it looked good and the wind had a little chill to it,” Arylos said innocently while tugging on the tie.

“Honey, they know; you can drop the act,” Iris said softly in defeat.

Arylos looked at Iris for a moment as he slowly realised that the cat was now out of the bag. “Well that was fucking quick. Oh well, we tried,” Arylos said in a cheery voice as he swiftly pulled the tie off and the women could make out similar bruises on his neck, some that were deep where the skin was punctured.

“Wow, you two are a lot kinkier than I gave you credit for,” Bellona said with a laugh. “So, tell us; was it good for you two? Was it her first time? Are you able to, and I know you know what I mean, perform for Iris with that body?”

Arylos chuckled nervously before Iris came to his side and tugged on his sleeve. “I gave them all of the money you gave me to shut them up and they still won’t shut up,” she mumbled softly with a sad look in her eyes.

Arylos’s expression changed to a dark anger as his eyes shone a bright light and the air hummed, carrying with it a violent wind. Before Bellona and Eir could react, the money was violently ripped from their hands and carried through the air back to Arylos’s hand.

“Quite frankly, Bellona, what Iris and I do in the privacy of our bedroom is none of your business,” Arylos growled as he handed all sixty thousand Marks back to Iris which brought a smile back to her face. “Therefore, the girl keeps the money.”

Bellona and Eir grumbled as Bellona realised her imagination wasn’t far off. Iris had brought the mighty Titan to kneel and would obey her command. All she had to do was pout and Arylos returned to what Bellona remembered him to be; an otherworldly monster full of anger and hatred. Iris didn’t quite neuter the Titan; she put a leash on him.

Bellona secretly wanted Iris to teach her how she accomplished this and feared what they would do. Templarius’s army really stands no chance if she takes the last Titan of fire off of his leash.