The vacation in Japan ended up being surprisingly short.
The moment Fran said anything about the Disvinadiya girl, Anathasia somehow lost her appetite entirely. Which ultimately resulted in us flying back home almost immediately afterward.
The second we got back, Fran headed straight upstairs to her room.
She was smiling.
And she was holding her phone just a little too close to her chest. Meanwhile, Anathasia watched her go with absolutely zero subtlety.
"That's..."
She stopped halfway through her sentence before immediately turning toward me and pointing at the staircase Fran had just disappeared up.
"Wasn't she just complaining about getting too many confessions like a month ago?"
Her finger jabbed accusingly toward the second floor.
"What the hell is *that*?"
I sighed and glanced toward the stairs before looking back at the white-haired woman standing in front of me.
"Girl... isn't that normal?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"Your daughter's already at that age—"
"We were twenty-nine when we met during the previous Era!"
She immediately cut me off.
Still pointing at the stairs.
"And we didn't start dating until we were eighteen in this timeline!"
She held up a finger dramatically.
"Eighteen!"
My hand drifted to my temple as she continued pacing.
"She's still seventeen," Anathasia added.
"Seventeen!"
She pointed toward the ceiling this time.
"That's way too young, isn't it??"
My gaze wandered around the room.
It settled briefly on the phone lying on the coffee table before shifting back to Anathasia, who was now muttering to herself.
"This is unacceptable..."
She folded her arms tightly.
"She's far too young..."
"Hold on."
I finally spoke up. That immediately made her stop and turn toward me. Arms still crossed.
"What?"
"How are you so sure Fran even has a crush on the Disvinadiya girl?"
I gestured toward her with an open palm.
"What if it's just friendship?"
"Like... an actual platonic friendship?"
For the first time since we'd gotten home, Anathasia paused.
Then she sat down.
Actually sat down and thought about it.
Her gaze lowered toward the coffee table as silence settled between us. A breath of relief escaped me. At least she wasn't spiraling anymore.
"Who knows?" I continued with a shrug.
Her eyes slowly lifted toward me.
"Maybe it's something like what Lena and Egrathiel have."
"Friendship."
"You know Fran."
I leaned back slightly.
"She doesn't just let anyone into her circle."
A brief pause followed.
"And honestly?"
I shrugged again.
"This might be good for her."
Anathasia remained quiet.
"It's an opportunity to make a friend."
My thoughts drifted back toward the video we'd watched before.
"And looking back at that Disvinadiya girl's video..."
"She seems practical."
"Maybe a little strict."
"But she also seems like someone Fran could get along with."
Leaning forward, I clasped my hands together and rested my chin against them. A small smile tugged at my lips.
"Just trust your daughter, alright?"
I held her gaze.
"Fran's going to grow up eventually."
"Just like Lena's already starting to live her own life."
A quiet sigh escaped me.
"It's normal."
"We stopped relying on Mom and Dad after graduation too, didn't we?"
"The best thing we can do now is guide her."
"Not control her."
I stood and walked around the coffee table before sitting beside her. My hand moved behind her head as I gently stroked her hair.
"That's what parents do."
My voice softened.
"Things change."
"And that's okay."
She stiffened for a moment.
Then gradually relaxed.
A second later, her head settled against my shoulder. She stared silently at the coffee table while I continued absentmindedly playing with her hair.
Silence filled the room.
A comfortable one.
Eventually, she spoke.
"I'm not used to this..."
"And that's okay."
I pressed a gentle kiss against her temple. For a few moments, she didn't respond.
Then—
"I'm sorry for overreacting."
Her voice had become noticeably quieter.
"I was just... confused."
My smile softened.
She buried her face against my shoulder and fell silent again. And for what felt like several minutes, we simply stayed like that. Neither of us saying anything, just enjoying the quiet.
At least—
Until voices drifted in from outside. Followed by the sound of the front door unlocking.
"Not too bad, Lena."
Liscia's voice came first.
"You have better taste than your aunts."
A pause.
"They don't understand the masterpiece that is mint chocolate chip."
Another pause.
"And your Mom isn't any better."
"Or maybe she just has different tastes...?"
Lena's voice followed soon after.
"She said it tasted like toothpaste—"
"That's exactly what I mean."
Liscia sounded genuinely offended.
"Your Mom's a complete child."
"She can't even handle a little spice."
Their footsteps echoed across the floorboards as they made their way toward the living room.
Beside me, Anathasia visibly tensed. Her grip on my arm tightened for some reason. Then she slowly lifted her head from my shoulder and turned toward the doorway.
A second later, Liscia finally stepped into the living room with an ice cream cone in hand. Lena followed close behind, quietly licking at her own cone while Egrathiel trailed beside her carrying a paper bag full of churros.
The moment Anathasia's eyes landed on Liscia, she froze.
Liscia stopped in her tracks almost immediately.
Then she raised a single eyebrow.
For a few seconds, neither of them said a word.
Meanwhile, Lena and Egrathiel silently slipped past the invisible battlefield and flickered onto the couch across from us as though they'd both witnessed this exact scenario hundreds of times before.
My gaze followed them.
Lena casually handed me a popsicle.
Watermelon flavored.
Honestly, I liked those more than the usual chocolate or vanilla ones.
"Thanks."
I flashed her a smile while tearing open the wrapper.
She simply smiled back.
"Where were you guys anyway?"
Behind me, I could already hear Anathasia and Liscia beginning their usual routine. The first insults had barely left their mouths.
'Dollface.'
'Uncultured western ghost.'
Ah.
There it was.
Business as usual.
Egrathiel sat down and immediately started munching on a churro. At some point she offered me one.
I politely declined.
"Mhm, okay."
Without the slightest hint of offense, she simply took another bite herself.
Her eyes drifted toward the empty air nearby, seemingly watching some imaginary words float around the room while the two women continued arguing in the background.
"Mint chocolate chip is peak! You're just childish, childish Anathasia Veridielle Augthoria!"
"Oh yeah? You enjoy eating toothpaste? We have plenty of toothpaste at home. I could feed you some right now!"
The sound of shuffling clothes followed shortly afterward.
Then several muffled insults.
Then more shuffling.
Deciding my continued survival was more important than getting involved, I focused on my popsicle instead. Lena did the same with her ice cream. Egrathiel remained fully committed to her churros.
"Aunt Liscia actually asked us to come with her earlier after we got back from Apoche," Lena explained. "She wanted to stop by an ice cream shop."
I nodded.
"She said Mom finally paid back the one hundred pesos she owed her."
"...The what?"
"The one hundred peso debt."
Lena nodded seriously.
"So Aunt Liscia figured it'd be a good idea to treat us after all the Image drifting we did the other day."
The crunch of Egrathiel's churro briefly drowned out another round of bickering behind us. Then she spoke up as well.
"Miss Liscia also got accepted into a middle management position at a consulting firm, Mr. Kyle."
She took another bite. Apparently the churro was more important than maintaining dramatic timing.
"She said she couldn't let Miss Anathasia beat her at paying taxes."
At those words, I nearly choked on my own spit, a cough escaping me. Then another. Once I'd recovered, I slowly turned toward the source of all my problems.
Or rather—
The sources.
The two women who had somehow become approximately thirty centimeters tall and were now sitting across from each other playing an intensely competitive game of chess.
Which was probably why they'd gone suspiciously quiet midway through our conversation. My gaze drifted back toward Egrathiel. Then Lena. Then back again.
"Liscia?"
I paused.
"Taxes?"
The two of them nodded at exactly the same time. Lena even leaned closer as she added:
"And she doesn't want allowance from Mom anymore."
"..."
"So she got a job."
My brain stopped functioning for a solid five seconds. A complete shutdown. No thoughts. No processing. Just nothing. Then everything slowly restarted.
"A job..."
My eyes narrowed immediately.
"What about her credentials?"
I looked at Lena.
Then Egrathiel.
The two exchanged a glance before shrugging in perfect synchronization. Egrathiel continued eating her churro, completely unbothered by everything happening around her.
I glanced over my shoulder again, just in time to see Liscia throw both arms into the air before regrowing into her usual form. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked down triumphantly at the thirty-centimeter-tall Anathasia, who was still staring at the chessboard in front of her.
"Nyehahahaha! That's what you get, Anathasia Veridielle Augthoria!" Liscia declared. "Childish. Incompetent. Defeated!"
Anathasia slowly lifted her head and looked up at her. As her own form gradually returned to normal, her hand clenched into a fist while the chess set between them vanished without a trace.
The air immediately grew tense. But before either of them could continue—
"Liscia..." I called out flatly.
Both women turned toward me at once. Liscia blinked, tilting her head slightly.
"Yeah?"
"Did you falsify your credentials?"
Silence.
Complete and utter silence.
Lena froze on the couch.
Egrathiel stopped chewing mid-bite and slowly turned her head toward Liscia. Even Anathasia gradually shifted her gaze from me to Liscia, her jaw hanging slightly open.
And as for Liscia herself—
Her eyes widened.
The confidence, the smugness, the victory from moments ago. All of it evaporated instantly.
For several long seconds, she just stared at me as if her brain had completely stopped functioning.
"…Eh?"