[Third Person's PoV]
"So, what plan do you have in mind, Mr. Sha— I mean, Merlin, sir?" Yukime asked, assuming that since Merlin wanted to cooperate with her, he must already have a plan in the works.
Merlin smirked as he twirled the wine glass in his hands. "We start by destroying the trust people have in both companies," he said, taking a sip of wine.
"And how do we do that?" she wondered, curious.
Merlin continued to smirk as he snapped his fingers, conjuring two stacks of bills: one belonging to Mitsugoshi and the other to the Great Merchant Union.
"We make counterfeit bills," he said, as if it were common knowledge.
Yukime was surprised to see so many bills. She got up and reached out to take hold of them, but her hands just went through them.
"These are merely illusions. I'm giving you the idea; I need you to execute it," Merlin said, his charming smile never leaving his face.
Yukime put a hand on her chin. "Counterfeit banknotes, huh… I see, so they won't really have any value."
"Oh, but they do," Merlin said, putting down the glass and interlocking his fingers. "As long as everyone else believes they have value, then they are the most valuable thing in the world."
Merlin reached out his hand towards her, which took her by surprise. He spun her a bit before sitting her on his lap. Holding her chin, he whispered, "Want to hear a saying I firmly believe in?"
Yukime's tail swayed back and forth as she nodded, her mother looking at her with a small smile.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"To those who know better, these sheets of paper are just that—sheets of paper. But to someone else, that sheet of paper may hold the same weight as gold."
"Now then, the same goes for deposit receipts. If you print too many of them, people will start to question their origin…"
"They will begin to ask questions like, 'Does the bank really have enough gold to pay us all back?' And when everyone demands all of their gold back at once, the trust will crumble, and both Mitsugoshi and the Great Merchant Union will go bankrupt after issuing all those banknotes," Merlin explained with a sinister chuckle, which caused Yukime to shudder with sadistic pleasure.
'What a frightening man to be able to think of this plan. I'm truly glad I'm not his enemy. I don't even want to think what would have happened if I hadn't met him earlier.'
Yukime smirked as she raised her wine glass towards him. "I understand. Let's make these counterfeit bills. You can leave the production and circulation to me, and I guess I'll leave dealing with those who start sniffing around to you."
Merlin smiled as he grabbed his own glass, and they did a little cheer before both downing the rest of the wine.
"I'm sure you already know—"
Before Yukime could continue, Merlin nodded. "You must be talking about Gettan, right? And how he's one of the main people behind it."
Yukime laid her head on Merlin's shoulder. "Nothing ever escapes your eyes, does it?"
As she rested her hand on his chest, she then said something that had been plaguing her mind, "I honestly don't know what to do with him."
"On one hand, he killed my mother and almost killed me if it wasn't for your interference, but on the other, I'm alive and reunited with my mother, so I don't see the need to continue carrying this hate for him inside me," Yukime said.
Yukihime scoffed, "You may not carry any hate for him, but I do. If you're not going to kill him, I will. You, my daughter, have too kind of a heart.
"It amazes me you've grown to this point. When you have an enemy or someone that opposes you, you end them, and don't think about giving them second chances. Like my lord once said and taught the others, a good enemy is a dead enemy."
Yukime let out a sigh, "I understand what you mean, I truly do. I guess what's holding me back is the memories we once shared. Gettan wasn't always the way he is today, which is why I'm hesitant."
Yukihime simply scoffed as she sat down, crossing her arms.
---
The Great Merchant Union Headquarters:
"So one of the Four Leaves was slain?" a blind wolf beastman asked as he sat arrogantly in his chair, looking down at the chubby, brown-haired informant.
The informant was kneeling, unable to look Gettan in the eyes as sweat rolled down the side of his face. "Yes, he was on a mission to raid Mitsugoshi's carriage while disguised as a bandit, but was attacked during the process. They all appeared to be slain in one sword strike…"
"Well, spill it out, you want to say something else, don't you?" Gettan asked irritably. Although he was blind, his heightened senses allowed him to perceive things invisible to the naked eye.
"Umm… Well, they also appeared like husks when we found them, as if a vampire had sucked them dry," the informant added.
'The incident at Lawless Town wasn't too long ago. Could it have been vampires that intervened?'
"Did you see any bite marks on their necks?" Gettan questioned, a hand on his chin as he pondered.
"That's the thing, sir, there weren't any. The only wounds they had were singular slash wounds."
A magical pressure bore down on the informant, causing the floor to crack around him and pressuring him to the ground. "If it had nothing to do with vampires, why bring them up in the first place?" Gettan asked through gritted teeth, letting out a growl.
With great strain, the informant began to apologize. "Forgive me, sir. It was all to give you a visual of what occurred. Please have mercy, I have more to inform you."
Hearing this, Gettan lowered the pressure, allowing the informant to let out a sigh of relief. "The Leaf that went out wasn't fully recuperated after fighting the monsters that spawned. That may have led to his defeat."
Gettan put a hand on his chin as he began to ponder. "Are the others getting the physical treatment they need?" Gettan asked.
The informant nodded his head. "Yes, Lord Gettan."
"Would they be able to recuperate in time for a mission right now?"
This time, the informant shook his head. "I'm afraid not, my lord. They wouldn't be able to perform at full strength during their mission."
"I see… It looks like I need to make some calls if I want this to work. It shouldn't lower my chances of getting a seat at the Round Table. If it works, we will be able to dispose of a thorn in our side," Gettan mumbled before standing up.
"You are dismissed. I have something to do," Gettan said as he exited the room, leaving the informant behind. The informant let out another sigh of relief, thankful he gets to live another day.
[Third Person's PoV]
Cid was walking through the capital with a baby carrier on his chest, while Baby Celeste held his finger as they explored together.
'Woah! It really is a whole other world!' Celeste excitedly thought.
As she held Cid's finger, she looked at it for a bit. 'Suddenly I have this urge to…'
*Nom*
Cid looked down and saw Celeste chewing on his finger, which made him chuckle and caress her cheek.
"BOSSU!!"
Cid turned towards the voice and saw Delta waving excitedly before rushing toward him.
She jumped on Cid, hugging him from behind. "Hey Bossu!" She then patted Celeste on the head. "Hey, puppy."
Celeste looked at Delta while chewing on Cid's finger, then chose to ignore her.
"Bossu, let's go hunting. Pretty please?" Delta asked, looking at Cid with puppy eyes.
With his free hand, Cid started to pet Delta's head. "Sure, but we'll have to wait until Celeste goes to sleep later tonight."
Delta tilted her head in confusion. "Why not bring her with us? It could be her first hunt," Delta said, getting excited about the idea.
"Because she's still a baby, Delta, and it isn't something a girl her age should be seeing," Cid briefly explained.
Celeste looked at Cid in confusion, wondering what he was talking about, then disregarded it and focused on exploring the capital with their new company.
"But Bossu—" Delta began to protest, but Cid gave her a look, and Delta knew to drop it, causing her ears to flop down sadly.
Seeing that, Cid sighed and started to pat her head and kiss her forehead. "Think of it like a date, Delta. It'll just be you and me hunting with no one else around."
Hearing this, Delta's ears perked up and her tail started to wag excitedly once more. "Really, Bossu!? You mean it?"
Seeing Cid nod, Delta threw her arms in the air and started to howl and run in circles around them, causing some of the civilians to look at them strangely.
Cid and Delta then continued to show Celeste the sights until she started to get hungry. They turned a corner and sank into their shadows, reappearing in front of Aurora, who was sitting on Cid's childhood bed reading a book.
Seeing them appear, Aurora put her book down. "What's wrong?"
"Someone is getting tired and hungry," Cid said as he rubbed the top of Celeste's head.
Aurora stretched out her hands and started making baby faces and noises. "Aww, is my widdle baby hungwy? Come to mama."
As Aurora started breastfeeding, she saw Cid and Delta change into their Shadow Garden outfits. "And where are you two going?"
"Delta wanted to go hunting," Shadow explained as they both disappeared into his shadow.
They appeared near the entrance of the forest, and as they did, Delta immediately started sniffing the air.
She then did a dramatic turn and pointed deeper into the forest. "Over there, I smell prey."
Delta got on all fours and started to run, climbing up a tree and jumping from branch to branch. Shadow followed close behind, letting Delta do her own thing.
Shadow stopped and leaned on a tree, watching Delta jump down from the trees. Gauntlets made of stone formed on her hands, and as she punched the ground, some of the trees started to uproot while the ground caved in, causing everyone around her to lose their footing and fall.
Shadow felt indifferent to the sounds of screaming and pleading for mercy.
He watched as Delta grabbed one of the fallen figures, lifted them into the air, and ripped them in half as if they were sheets of paper. She moved to the next person, obliterating them with her fist, painting the ground and several feet ahead of her with blood.
Delta then turned toward the last person, grinning madly. The person crawled back into a standing tree, holding out his hand. "Wait, wait, wait! Please don't kill me!"
"Delta doesn't like to be told to wait," she said savagely, ready to throw her punch.
"Sarah! You're Sarah, right?" the man desperately yelled.
Delta stopped as the man lowered his black hood.
"Y-You r-remember me, right?" he stuttered. "It's me, your brother!"
Delta took a whiff. "You smell like Dad," she nodded, agreeing with his statement. "But I have no memory of you."
The wolf man nervously laughed. "Haha, I see. It's been a long time after all… I heard our dad hunted you down after you became 'possessed.' It's a surprise you're still alive."
Delta continued to look at him coldly, her eyes narrowing. "Delta is a master of the hide-and-go-seek."
"Delta? Is that the name you go by now? Huh? But thank goodness, as far as I can tell, your 'possession' seems to have gone away, right?"
He then started to gain a confident expression, thinking that Delta would let him live due to their family ties. "I can ask Dad to let you join back in the pack. We both know how amazingly talented you were, so I'm sure he would agree with just a few words of persuasion."
"So put your gauntlet down, okay?" he said with a friendly smile, motioning for her to lower her fist.
Delta's expression soured as her hands blurred, grabbing the wolf-man by his throat. "Delta could have come back if she wanted to!!"
"Ughhh!!" The man screamed, putting a hand on hers to stop her from crushing his throat. "Okay! Okay! No Pack! No Pack! How about I introduce you to a new master, a master worthy of your talents!?" he desperately tried to change her mind.
"Right now, I work for Lord Gettan, known as 'the Legendary Wolf.' He's the most powerful warrior among all the wolves. I'm sure you could even become his concub—"
His words were cut short by Shadow, who flew down and caved his face in, breaking his jaw and all his teeth. Pressing his foot down, Shadow looked at the man with cold eyes.
"My wife is no one's concubine," he said coldly.
What followed were muffled screams and cries as the wolf-man tried to get Shadow's foot out of his mouth. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked toward Delta for help.
But Delta wasn't even paying attention to him; her entire focus was on Shadow. Her hands were close together as her tail swayed back and forth.
"Hehehe, did Bossu get jealous for Delta?" she asked with a cheeky grin.
Shadow just scoffed and looked to the side. Delta walked around to his side and started poking at him.
"You did, didn't you? Hehehe, Bossu got jealous for Delta," she sang merrily while circling him.
"Bossu got jealous for Delta," she continued to sing.
She then wrapped her arms around his waist and started to shake her tush while making kissy faces at Shadow.
"Don't worry, Bossu, hehehe, Delta's heart belongs to only you." She said with a large toothy grin, causing Shadow to blush a bit and look away.
Delta's good mood was interrupted by the sound of whimpering. She looked down to see her 'brother' looking up at her with pleading eyes.
She ignored him, pretending he didn't even exist.
"Bossu? Why are you still stepping on trash? Want Delta to kill him for you?" she asked, tilting her head up toward Shadow.
Shadow lifted his foot, causing blood and teeth to fall. The wolf-man let out a breath of relief before Shadow slammed his foot down with greater force, killing him for good.
"Just wanted to see if you had anything else to say to him," Shadow said.
Delta, still with her arms wrapped around Shadow, put a claw on his chest armor and started moving her finger in circles, looking at him with lustful eyes.
"Since Bossu was jealous for Delta, how about Delta rewards Bossu so he won't have those feelings? hehehe"
Shadow sighed as he grabbed Delta's face, lowered his, and kissed her lips. Her tail began wagging happily.
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GOT IT