[OP: ]

"So.. you mean there will be a time when I will have to protect Celes with my life from creatures that are as strong as the divine beasts?"

[[ I am saying some of them are divine beasts themselves. The Queen exists above all the creatures that aren't liberated from the chains of restrictions. ]]

"Hmmm.."

Eon thought about Ray's words deeply for a moment, looked at his Celes, and then, shook his head with a smile on his face.

"Well, when I accepted her as my companion, I accepted everything that was and will become of her. I knew she was more special than the other beats but now that I know she is far more special than I had known, I am even more determined to protect her with whatever I have and all that I will have going forward."

He caressed her tiny heart with his finger with a warm smile and Celes could feel the determination that he had right now so she also waved her wings excitedly.

[[ Don't worry master~. I will make sure all those bad people who want to bully us will pay the price to even think of such a bad thing~! ]]

She was cheerful even after knowing so many new things about her and her kind and her powers that she must have never known about.. not that all these complicated things mattered much to this aloof butterfly, but as Ray said, there was a constant threat to their life from beings of beyond this world, beings that would be as strong as the gods that the people worshiped. Or, perhaps even stronger than them.

Both of them knew they weren't even nearly close to that level yet. They could, even with all their current strength, only go against a creature of (Purple) rank. There was no way they could even defeat a prominent offensive power origin creature who knew how to use their skills as well as Celes did.

They were stronger than they were some years ago however they were still nowhere near even the level of some of their own family members.

"Welp, we will deal with them when the time comes."

"Yes, I will help in any way I can as well master. Please use me however you see fit."

"Aaaaaaa! You startled me, Moon!"

"Ah, apologies young Lady Zoe. I did not mean to do that."

Zoe was acting, she knew that very well. She had seen just how special of a being Zoe was in their yesterday's outing so, she wasn't surprised even after knowing she was joining about being surprised.

If anything, she doubted Zoe had noticed her presence long before she had even crossed the set parameter of this whole establishment.

And after her, her master Eon, Rein, and Sir Zhen noticed her unique stealth.

"Did I miss something important?" She asked as she stopped before Eon and passed him a piece of paper which he burned with his magic after only taking a glance at it.

"Not much. But it looks like you already know the gist of the things that we have talked about until now so, could you please get filled on the details from Grandpa Zhen later?"

"Of course master. Oh, right. I must report something urgent to you."

Their discussion had suddenly come to a haunt after her arrival and the look on her face when she said she had something urgent that she must report to him as soon as possible was a serious one that Carla, Alf, and Chry weren't much familiar with.

"Hmmm? Yes, Miss Moon?"

"I noticed signs of a pink entangle in the place I was investigating the thing. I think-"

"We already know about her Miss Moon. She seems to have laid eggs in the far northeastern parts around some cliff. The headmaster knows about that as well now and he asked us to keep it a secret until he evaluates the the creatures and the things around it.

Keep it a secret everyone. There's a very special creature currently residing on this island's outskirts-"

"And we are going to have it~!"

"Perhaps. We do not know yet."

"Yessss~! Let's keep it a secret everyone~!"

"Yes, brother Lucifer."

-Smack.

"Since when has Lucifer become your brother little brother?"

Alf slipped up for a moment there and addressed Eon the way he usually does. Thankfully though he called him Lucifer and not Axion or Eon. They could still make some excuse and put things straight.

Quin still didn't know about their identities as Eon and Rein and they wanted to keep it that way so they had asked these three to be extra careful when she was around but Alf slipped up this time, and earned a smack from his big sister.

"W-well! Lucifer is older than me and he helped me a while back a few times I think we are close enough for me to address him as 'brother'. Do you mind me calling you brother, Lucifer?"

There was sweat covering his forehead.

He was good when it came to hiding things and especially better when it came to keeping secrets but perhaps it was because of the natural sitting arrangement that they had right now, or perhaps it was because of his meeting with Princess Bell a while ago but he made a mistake this time, and even though his attempt to make things right was sincere, a mistake was a mistake.

"Yes, I do mind you calling me brother, master Alfred.

A brother is much more to me than just someone more than a close friend.

A brother.. is a more serious title than you make it out to be even though you are from a prominent aristocratic family, master Alfred Theophelious Hazel Bell. You should be careful when calling someone 'brother'.

We might be as close as being real brothers but still, I still do not deserve to be called your brother. Not after we have only known each other for a week. Neither do I deserve it, nor could I stand being called brother by someone who makes such mistakes.

I believe you understand, right?

I polonaise but, the burden of being called brother is something I am not ready for yet. Perhaps in the future if fate allows it, but, not now. Not like this."

His words were harsh, even Carla thought they were too harsh for something as small as this.

"A-aren't you being too harsh? He didn't do anything that serious to deserve that kind of serious response, Lucifer."

Even Quin herself thought this was a little too much. She felt it was weird that Alf was calling him brother out of nowhere but, to think he would critique someone just because they called them brother.. she was seeing Lucy in a new light in this moment.

She never knew he could be as serious as this.

Even Med was shocked when she heard Alfred call someone other than Eon 'brother'. She had yet to officially meet Axion, the master of countless inventions and businesses, the genius who was well known through the land for all the revolutionary things he had done in the last few years and he was notorious for the stunt he had pulled a while back at his coming of age ceremony.

Both Reinelle Atraxia and he were still the talk of the town and aside from their families, no one knew where they had gone.

And, in time like this, Alf was calling a normal.. an abnormal person that he had only known for a short while 'brother'.

It was suspicious to her, but, the kind of criticism she had heard from this person she had known for the past few days was a first even for her.

N0v3l--B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

She didn't know he could be serious about something like this and she had never seen that kind of seriousness in those blue eyes of his.

He really meant it when he said he was bothered by someone, even his own close friend, calling him brother. It was her first time seeing someone react like this to such a trivial thing.

She couldn't believe it for a moment, but, when she looked at Alf's heavy expression, she knew he also knew just how serious this was for Lucifer.

"Don't worry about this time. I understand it was a slip of the tongue. However, please be careful next time."

His eyes were sharp. He was serious. Alf had seen this side of him countless times when they were training so Alf, Carla, and Chry were familiar with this serious side of him.

He was ruthless when it came to things that mattered this much to not just him and people around him, but to all of them equally.

He had spent a month being this serious and shouting at them when he was teaching them the true telekinesis magic. Carla had the most difficulty since she was doing it with Aura but, she managed to pass through that hellish training.

Chry had seen this serious side of him the most when he trained him personally.

He had heard the most curses from Eon as well so he knew just how serious he could be when he needed to be.

And, the situation right now demanded his seriousness.

The people around them were trustworthy but, he wasn't Eon but Lucifer on this island. The two of them had promised him they would keep the secret and that's why he asked them not to take the oaths.

They had to do it without the help;p of those things and they were doing pretty well until now, but, he made a mistake for the first time.

So, he deserved his harsh words which were the greatest forms of punishment to Alf.

"It was a mistake, however, I still think of you as someone closer to a brother than a friend. I will keep this time in mind and wish to see the day I can call you 'brother'."

Alf knew his mistake, and he accepted it. But, he really had no regrets.

Even though he was in disguise, he was still his big brother. And that fact would not change.

[[ Alright alright everyone! Let's end this useless thing already! Let's move on to the next topic at hand! ]]

Rayray attracted everyone's attention when Alf was smiling at Eon and Lucifer was looking at his friend with a helpless expression.

The two of them were vice captains so they had a great responsibility on their shoulders. And..

They are going to have fun going at each other without the restriction of their yet-unformed brotherhood.

"Alright, everyone. What is the next topic again? Things about my darling or something or things about you Rayray?"

[[ No. now that you all know about Celes, let us talk about Lucifer, her master. ]]

"Alright~."

The discussion would continue like this under the serene moonlight gracing them from the glass window before them.

Thankfully though.. the discussion wouldn't last as long as we all think.