"Forget it. Kids shouldn't be seeing this. Come train with me."
The moment the atmosphere froze, the fierce tiger girl, completely oblivious to awkward silences, acted like the big boss she was. She raised a hand and patted little Altera, who was standing beside her staring blankly out at the sea, expressionless and silent. As she spoke, she reached out to pull the child toward the training room.
"No. She stays. Inspiration just struck me, and I've thought of a new song. We already agreed she'd stay and help me adjust the lighting, and while she's at it, she can be my audience and enjoy my voice, which rivals Apollo's."
Seeing her only loyal listener, the one with maxed-out resistance and immunity to every kind of poison, about to be lured away, Nero instantly forgot all about bickering with her mortal enemy Tamamo-no-Mae. She grabbed little Altera's other hand and tried to pull her back under control.
"Stop, stop, stop! Both of you stop right now! She stays with me. Don't go corrupting children!"
Seeing an innocent little lamb about to be dragged down two completely crooked roads, the fox spirit, who had a slight obsession with women becoming good wives and loving mothers, finally snapped. She yanked little Altera out of the clutches of the fierce tiger girl and the soul singer and pulled her protectively behind herself.
After a long round of arguing, it was only when Tamamo-no-Mae invoked her status as temporary guardian and made it clear she was ready to report the other two's misdeeds at any time that Nero and Penthesilea reluctantly backed down.
Samael, you heartless bastard! Dumping a whole pile of troublemakers on me. This is fox abuse!
Having finally subdued the two disasters, Tamamo-no-Mae was utterly drained. She rushed to the ship's rail, looked out toward the Argo at the front, and ground her teeth as she leveled her accusation at a certain man.
Earlier, the first openly exposed problem child, Nero, had already been neatly packaged and handed off by her to Holo for supervision.
The result was that in less than a day, that dumb dog, who loved peace and quiet, sleeping, and good food, got driven halfway to a nervous breakdown by the hyperactive little menace who spent all day climbing over everything in the yard and howling from morning till night.
The moment Samael returned, he was caught red-handed by Holo, who had fled up the mountain clutching her blanket for refuge and spent the night blocking the entrance to the Hall of State Affairs.
The once-wise divine wolf was now hugging her little brother's leg with snot and tears running down her face, refusing to let go. Half-crying, she demanded a return and absolutely refused to keep watching over Nero, that walking disaster, for one second longer.
Tamamo-no-Mae had barely had time to enjoy the show, let alone mock that dumb dog for failing to keep even a single brat under control, before the burden was dumped straight into her lap and she became Nero's second temporary guardian.
As a bonus, the Amazon warriors assigned to guard the Rose Emperor were also transferred onto the same warship, meaning they too fell under Tamamo-no-Mae's command.
And since Penthesilea, the Amazon queen-in-waiting, was their commander, she naturally ended up mixed together with Nero and entrusted to Tamamo-no-Mae's care as well.
And that still was not the end of it. For some reason, the Holy King seemed to have taken leave of his senses and declared that she, Nero, and little Altera were a perfect fit together, so he insisted on stuffing child-regressed Altera onto this ship too.
As a result, the Roman faction she had been assigned to had turned into something like a floating nursery, leaving this fox spirit, who prided herself on being a virtuous and proper lady, completely overwhelmed.
Damn that bastard! He dumped me before anything even started. What is wrong with him?!
Now that she had finally gotten rid of Penthesilea and Nero and could focus on taking care of little Altera, the fox-wife was filled with grief, fury, and resentment, her silver teeth grinding audibly.
But as she looked out over the fleet's overall structure, Tamamo-no-Mae could only fall resentfully silent again.
The great fleet looked unified, but within that unity there was separation. Based on military strength and how familiar the people within each force were with one another, it had in fact been divided into three major modules, each keeping its own structure.
She, the Rose Emperor Nero, Penthesilea, the Amazon queen-in-waiting, and little Altera, the King of the Huns, these newer acquaintances, could broadly be lumped together as the "Roman group," stationed at the rear of the fleet to bring up the back.
Meanwhile, the "Norse faction," Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Skadi, the Winter Goddess, Holo the Wise Wolf, the Valkyrie Brynhildr, and the rest, together with the Athenian navy and the Deep Sea Fleet, were positioned in the center and formed the main body of the army.
And naturally, far out in front and leaving the rest behind, were the members of the "Greek faction," people like the Argonauts and the Serpent Goddess Medusa. They had all shared one adventure after another with the Holy King, ties forged through life-and-death trials.
So right now, that Holy King was not lingering on the Viking flagship or the Deep Sea warship. He was on the Argo, catching up with old friends and cozying up to that Greek serpent goddess.
From the simple factional split and the way the fleet had been arranged, Tamamo-no-Mae, a fox with a thousand years of experience, could tell at a glance, more or less, who stood where in that man's heart.
Clearly, in the eyes of the Holy King, she was probably nothing more than a useful tool-fox.
Still, the way things stood now did not necessarily decide the future. If anyone expected her to meekly remain a tool-fox forever, they were dreaming.
Stealing someone away, barging in as the third wheel, steadily increasing her weight in the target's heart. Those were her specialties.
Back in the day, if she wanted to leave those rulers utterly smitten and hanging on her every word, palace intrigue with the other consorts had been required study.
And after surviving the rise and fall of five dynasties, her level was unquestionably king-tier.
She had already invested quite a bit in cultivating this soul. A fox stealing a chicken did not let go halfway through. Once she picked a target, she had to get something out of it. Otherwise the loss would only be greater.
After giving herself a little pep talk and reigniting her fighting spirit, Tamamo-no-Mae looked at the people around her, counted them carefully, and immediately wilted again.
Tch. A blank-faced little girl who spends all day staring into space, a narcissistic brat who lives to cause trouble, and a fierce tiger girl produced by Amazon-style education...
What kind of lineup is this?
Even if her own level was high, it was hard to deal with teammates who were all walking disasters.
If she really had to lead this childish bunch from the Roman side into some kind of competition against the Norse faction and the Greek faction, it would be hell-mode difficulty.
Besides, nowhere else was the composition this chaotic. Just keeping these brats under control was already enough to leave her at wit's end.
Tamamo-no-Mae withdrew her hand, looked at the few strands of golden-red hair left on her palm, and immediately darkened, sucking in a cold breath with a wounded expression.
Tch... shedding already... how am I supposed to live like this from now on?
The fox spirit slumped weakly against the rail, but the moment her eyes landed on the Viking flagship ahead, she perked right back up. The corners of her lips rose, and a strange gleam flashed through her golden eyes.
If you can't beat them, join them.
...
Meanwhile, aboard the Viking flagship, inside a room before a dressing mirror.
Skadi, holding a crimson demonic spear, dressed in a warrior's bodysuit with a veil draped over her hair, and Scáthach, wearing a silver crown and a cool, elegant dress, looked at one another with interest, searching each other for differences and similarities.
The more Skadi studied that face, identical to her own, the more she found herself drifting into thought. In the end, she frowned and shook her head.
Sure enough, just as that woman had said, she still could not accept the existence of someone exactly like herself, whether acting in her place or lying in another man's arms with a face so similar to her own.
So in that case, it was better to let her have...
Just as Skadi let out a helpless snort, she suddenly felt a chill wash over her. Frowning slightly, she opened the window to let in fresh air and sunlight.
But directly ahead on the sea, there stood a fast wooden ship ringed by hundreds of floating halos.
A frosty expression came over the Winter Goddess's face, and her soft lips unconsciously pressed together.
The Argo...