Simultaneously, within the beauty wellness center adjacent to Keystone Gate's ground-floor shopping district, a certain silver-haired princess—laden with numerous shopping bags—emerged through entrance doors accompanied by the receptionist's gentle farewells.
Behind her followed the War Dancer, equally burdened with multiple packages.
How to phrase this... Sayaka Kirasaka currently existed within somewhat strained emotional territory.
Single-sentence summary: simultaneously radiating glowing complexion while wearing troubled expressions.
The glowing complexion stemmed from La Folia forcibly dragging her through complete beauty massage treatment packages moments prior.
Though... mm, genuinely comfortable admittedly. Plus, beauty establishments staffed exclusively with fragrant young women—zero handsy male presence.
Simultaneously, unavoidable concerns persisted: when exactly would they return home?
"Hey, Lady La Folia..."
Outside the wellness center, observing the forward silver-haired princess—still surveying surroundings enthusiastically as if calculating subsequent destination targets—Sayaka attempted tentative vocalization helplessly.
"Should we... perhaps head back now?"
This question had occupied the War Dancer's mind for two-and-a-half hours continuously.
Their descent had supposedly targeted medication purchases—La Folia claiming Kanon felt unwell today, requiring cold medicine since household supplies were depleted. Convenient timing with grocery shopping errands.
For Sayaka's personality, both objectives combined demanded thirty minutes maximum before returning home.
Except they'd been outside nearly three full hours currently!
Three hours!
Beyond other considerations—wasn't Kanon supposedly bedridden, suffering illness presently?
Logically, urgent medication delivery plus patient consumption constituted obvious priorities, right?
Instead, their 8:00 AM departure had encompassed shopping mall browsing, beauty treatments, full-body massages... approaching 11:00 AM now.
"Mm~"
La Folia pivoted, index finger touching her mouth corner while observing the War Dancer's apparent urgency. She shrugged gently.
"There's something I haven't mentioned, Sayaka—actually, Kanon's illness was fabricated. She's perfectly healthy. Early morning departure with Rias-san's group toward school occurred normally."
...Huh?
Sayaka froze completely.
W-wait? What does "fabricated illness" mean? Why descend for medication purchases then?
Moreover... before departure, she'd distinctly observed Kanon lying in bedroom bedding!
Though regarding these details, La Folia apparently possessed zero explanation intentions. Maintaining her finger-touching-corner posture, she rotated back toward forward directions—muttering as if self-conversing quietly.
"Well, calculating elapsed time suggests adequate completion now probably. Mom and Bokue-kun should be finishing approximately..."
????
Despite capturing only fragmentary muttering from the silver-haired princess, sufficient information triggered instantaneous eye-widening from the War Dancer.
Stop, stop, stop! What are you saying—something about Bokue and Queen Polyphonia... finishing? Finishing what exactly??
"Um... Lady La Folia, this 'finishing' you mentioned refers to...?"
"Hm?"
La Folia turned back toward the War Dancer—whose features broadcast incredulity mixed with slight hope—suddenly tilting her head before displaying radiant smiles.
"Ah, right—Sayaka-san doesn't know yet! Actually, Mom possesses feelings toward Bokue-kun... mm, so today I arranged Mom's disguise as Kanon-chan, then messaged Bokue-kun requesting he 'monitor' her during my household absence."
"...Eh?"
By this conversational juncture, comprehension regarding "monitoring" implications became unavoidable for Sayaka.
This this this this—isn't this explosively outrageous??
"Ahaha~ I understand this proves difficult accepting for Sayaka-san probably."
Observing the War Dancer's facial expressions undergoing gradual transformations, La Folia tilted her head with graceful smiles.
"Though within our Aldegian Kingdom, this constitutes nothing unusual! The saying goes: 'When daughters and mothers share the battlefield together—that is glory!'"
Your battlefield isn't THAT battlefield!!
Internal screaming erupted within the War Dancer's consciousness.
"So this situation... is common in Aldegian Kingdom?"
"Mm~ calling it 'common' seems excessive."
La Folia tilted her head with serious contemplation.
"Honestly, I've never witnessed secondary examples personally. Just palace serving maids—who attended me previously—described things this way."
"..."
What kind of palace maids does your kingdom employ?? Constant corruption of youth!!
Sayaka felt vague situational comprehension crystallizing.
"Though personally, I'm not particularly bothered."
La Folia pressed one hand against her chest with gentle smile.
"Because Dad passed early, while Mom—as Aldegian Kingdom's queen—handles extensive governmental affairs daily. Particularly during my childhood, when Aldegian Kingdom frequently clashed with the bordering War King's Domain. Warfare even reached the royal capital Weltres once. Mom managed everything single-handedly throughout."
"I suspect Mom's Itogami Island visit happened because—after Bokue-kun disciplined the War King's Domain previously—they've finally maintained complete docility. Otherwise, even critical matters like stray royal bloodline wouldn't have been delegated solely to me for resolution."
"Mom raised me through considerable hardship. So regarding this matter at minimum, as her daughter, naturally I should support her happiness... Alright, regardless—that's the situation summary. Mom and Bokue-kun should be finishing now. We should head back."
The silver-haired princess bowed apologetically.
"Forgive me, Sayaka-san. I genuinely deceived you regarding this matter. So now I'm explaining complete truth transparently. Truly sorry."
"N-no problem..."
Sayaka's mouth twitched involuntarily.
After all, alternative facial expressions seemed equally inappropriate currently.
Scene transition—minutes later, having consumed an entire morning near ground-floor shopping districts, both girls finally returned to Keystone Gate's summit level.
Stepping through entrance thresholds revealed—within the spacious, immediately-visible living area—Bokue reclining leisurely on sofa cushions, already awaiting their return. Within his embrace sat the queen—changed into clean bathrobe attire, features flushed crimson.
Spotting La Folia's external return, Polyphonia raised one hand with slight bashful wave.
"La Folia-chan, plus Sayaka-san... you've returned..."
"Mm-hm~"
La Folia observed the sofa's intimately-positioned pair with satisfied nodding.
"The operation appears remarkably successful. This makes everyone genuinely family now. Tonight, after Kanon-chan returns—everyone should celebrate together properly... Oh, naturally, Sayaka-san isn't escaping either!"
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