I don't care, and neither does anybody else.

That's the conclusion we reached, after an incredibly awkward half hour or whatever of just sitting there sipping tea.

Which was actually good, even though I don't really like tea. I never did have a taste for it.

Okay, well, I guess Lyra cares, but that's fine. She's apparently the only "normal" person here, between the literal prince, allegedly evil hero, and the maid who could probably slaughter the whole plane – probably with just a few of her duplicates.

"Soooo… are we good then?"

I half glare at Joy. "I guess. Do what you want, it's not like your mother would let me do otherwise anyway. She'd probably clobber me in the night or something."

He furrows his furry brow. "Hmm, no, I don't actually think she would… probably not anyway."

And now I offer the full glare.

"P-probably!"

"Yeah, whatever. Alice?"

"Yes, young miss," six identical voices reply in unison, giving them a particularly eerie quality.

Which from their poorly hidden smug expressions was probably the intent.

"You're not going to stop pestering me to just move here permanently, are you?"

"I indeed will not."

I sigh. "Fine. It's a pain to have to keep turning you down, and I'm sure you'll find some way to manipulate me into staying at some point in the future. It's not like I have much to move anyway, especially since you can just fetch whatever you want from my room without me saying anything. It's not like I didn't notice my nightgown appearing here out of thin air."

"Thank you, young miss," the stheno replies, almost looking relieved. "My work will be significantly easier if you remain here, rather than outside this space."

"Well, I'm not just going to stay here, you know. I have classes and need to get stronger and… well, a lot of things that don't involve staying here."

Alice nods sagely in reply.

"And I want my mom here too."

…

That is finally enough to make her bristle, at least for a moment.

"No complaints. She's my family – my only family, to my knowledge… well, other Tristan who doesn't need this, and grandma who doesn't count as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, I want mom here. If you don't want to follow her around like you do me then fine. Just… her, here, not being hurt or maimed or killed by you, alright? Or anyone or anything else here!" I quickly add, realizing the conniving stheno might find an excuse to just 'accidentally' leave a deadly spike trap somewhere for her.

…

…

My maid finally breaks the silence by saying, "I suppose I have no choice but to comply. If it is truly what you wish for, then it will be so."

***

"Oh please, please I beg of you, don't hurt my daughter! I'll offer you anything, even my life, please!"

I sigh as my mother prostrates herself on the wooden floorboards before my household servant… Alice, however, does much more than sigh.

Instead, she glares derisively down her nose as though at an entire nest of cockroaches.

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"Get off the ground this instant, you sniveling worm! Your foolishness and cowardice reflect poorly on the young miss, who did passionately entreat for your admittance here! CorReCT tHIs iMmeDIAtelY!"

Her distorted voice echoes in the small room before finally trailing off.

"Yes ma'am," mom bleats while snapping to her knees in a respectful position.

Huh. I've never actually seen her act… servile? Not like this, anyway. Nothing like this.

"And now, the rest of the way, you fool. Despite my means to slay everyone present, I am a mere household servant and shall carry myself thus. Unless the young miss should wish it, you shall not be harmed."

I can't help but notice the unspoken fact that Nemesis could override me at any time… the only reason Alice listens to me at all is because she told her to.

But I think I'll take the hint and not say anything. Nothing good would come of that anyway…

It takes a while for mom to acclimate to her 'new home'… or, well. Actually I guess she hasn't acclimated at all, instead becoming one more unwitting member of the wrapped-around-to-resignation club. At least she's accepted one of the many bedrooms here…

It actually looks like it was intended to be a room for some kind of servant, but I'm pretty sure it isn't for Alice… actually, does she even sleep? I think she still just stands in the corner of my room and waits for me to need something, as eerie as that is. I doubt I'll ever sleep well like this. I'm sure that Nemesis expects me to just implicitly trust the stheno at some point, but it might never happen.

(Safe,) Olive again intones, and as much as I feel inclined to trust her judgment in the evil god's stead, I'm not sure I even can.

But I'll try. Maybe.

We'll see.

And true to her word – or mine I guess, since I set the condition to win her over – Alice hasn't bothered assigning one of herself to my mother's care. She's mostly on her own, which she seems to prefer anyway… considering she's understandably terrified of the understandably terrifying maid.

Oddly enough, that same terrifying maid also prepared a room for Lyra for some reason… so I asked her.

"Per Her Highness' wishes, your future party members are welcome here."

"Future party member?" I ask skeptically. "You think Lyra is going to be in my party?"

Alice smiles. "Of course she is. She presently has no party, and considering she has no specialization is unlikely to find one."

Wait, no specialization?

…Or did she mean party?

"Do you… mean… a party or a specialization?"

"Either."

"Huh."

I can't help but notice that she's gradually getting less formal with me, which is probably for the best. The situation is already tense enough considering she's two orders of magnitude above my level. She could breathe and I'd be a smear on the wall.

Shuddering at the thought, I decide I should probably just ask Lyra herself about it… come to think of it, I don't actually know anything about her, other than that she's a human and given her build is probably some kind of mage or something. I only ponder it long enough to reach her room, disrupting myself by knocking.

"W-who is it?" comes her timid reply.

She's probably studying, considering that's what she's usually doing whenever I'm around. Well, when she isn't cowering anyway.

"It's me. I just wanted to ask you a couple things, nothing too serious. If we're going to be living together we should probably know each other a little bit better, and. Um. You already know a lot of things about me I guess… That's probably better too, because I'm not sure how long I could've kept already being a hero apparently under wraps… and it would've sucked to keep a secret like that from someone I'm supposed to live with and probably trust."

Her door creaks open just the tiniest bit, one eye peering out just enough to land on Alice before it slams shut again.

A sigh escapes me. "Would you give me five minutes? I know you're completely aware of anything I do in here anyway. Right? Dungeon boss or whatever?"

"Very well, young miss."

As my loyal…ish maid vanishes into wisps of shadow, I try again.

And this time finally, Lyra opens the door just enough to let me in before she quickly slams it shut again.

"You… do realize that won't keep her out, right?" I ask, one faintly scaled eyebrow raised.

"Don't remind me, gods dammit! Give me at least some sense of safety, even if it's fake!"

I sigh again. "My Assistant insists she's safe, and apparently Olive used to be Nemesis'… or rather, Ravona's System Assistant, so I'd at least hope she knows her enough to know that she wouldn't just send an assassin or something to kill us off. Oh, that brings me to the first question."

No reply… well, nothing but the dead look in her eyes.

"Okay," I continue, "Alice said she's giving you the same royalish treatment she gives me because she's expecting you're going to join my party. Is that something you're okay with?"

Oh good, incredulity.

"Wh-what!?"

"Well, I mean. Think about it. I'm already a hero, apparently… that'd probably be a leg up in our classes at least, right? And the headmaster seems to be okay with doing whatever kind of collaboration he's got going with Nemesis… and since I'm the demon empress' hero, odds are good she's not just going to kill me off. Right?"

…

…

"I… guess that makes sense… in a twisted way…"

"A twisted kind of sense, huh? Yeah. That's about right. All of this makes a twisted kind of sense. I'm still not sure why exactly she picked me, but whatever I guess. I don't have any control over what the gods do, no more than you do."

…

"Huh."

"Yeah. So. Are you in or not?"

My dormmate looks at me for a moment, clearly deep in thought…

And then finally says, "Okay."

Then that's that.

…

Although…

"Come to think of it… what's your Class? Or, what do you do? I've never seen you do anything but study."

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