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She had originally been brought back as a maid, so of course she was expected to obey her master.
In ancient times, getting whipped for disobedience would hardly have been unusual.
Today, Tiamat realized something important.
Maybe the human body was not as fragile as she had always imagined.
A body that could defeat her in a direct fight might well be what people meant by a humanoid dragon.
...
The next day.
"Tiamat."
Anos held out his hand.
Standing behind him, Tiamat wore a deeply unwilling expression as she handed over a cup of coffee. He had trained her very successfully.
She was not completely obedient yet, but when it came to small things like this, she was already doing them almost naturally.
"Thanks."
Anos smiled.
He had to admit, taming a Dragon King and turning her into a maid really was a lot of fun.
"What exactly are you researching?"
After watching him study something for a long time, Tiamat still had no idea what he was working on.
"Me? I'm researching something that may be tied to the fate of this world."
Anos did not hide it. He simply let her see.
In any case, with Tiamat's background, there was no way she would understand it.
"You're not messing with me, are you?"
After thinking about it for a while, Tiamat ultimately swallowed the complaint.
His training had worked well enough that she no longer wanted to openly go against him.
"This thing... is it a sword... or some kind of magic formation?"
All Tiamat could vaguely make out was the shape of a blade, mixed with symbols that looked like a formation.
"Mm... You could call it a sword."
Anos thought for a moment, then decided that was the best way to define it.
The instant he said those words, a warm pulse spread from the spirit crest on his hand.
Est was responding to him.
"Well, if you say it's a sword, then it's a sword."
Tiamat kept the complaint to herself.
"Hmm?"
A little later, Anos lifted his head and looked at her.
"Tiamat, go to the Underworld and bring me a Dragon Apple."
He casually assigned work to his head maid.
For now, since there was only one maid, Tiamat had rather gloriously been promoted straight to head maid.
"Dragon Apple? You mean the ones in Tannin's territory?"
Tiamat raised a brow.
What did this man want with a Dragon Apple? Was he planning to shove it in her mouth or something?
Maybe because his methods had been a little too forceful, Tiamat's train of thought had started going in strange directions.
"That's right. A Dragon Apple from the domain of Tannin, the Dragon of Dragons."
"I need one for an experiment, so go fetch it for me."
"Or what? You're scared to go because Tannin is there?"
Anos smiled.
"Tch! Fine, I'll be back before you know it."
Tiamat always reacted to that kind of bait.
The moment he finished speaking, she turned and left without hesitation.
Tannin? Please, she would happily beat Tannin around a little while she was there.
Her thinking was simple. Compared to getting beaten down by Anos and molded into his shape again, she would much rather go trade blows with someone like Tannin, whose strength was at least in the same league as hers.
She could grab the Dragon Apple and get a fight out of it too.
Really, there was no downside.
After only a little thought, Tiamat left at once.
Watching her go, Anos simply smiled and shook his head.
Of course, he did not actually need a Dragon Apple.
He only sent her away because guests were about to arrive, and if Tiamat said the wrong thing in front of them, it would become troublesome.
As he opened the house's spatial permissions, a magic circle bearing the crest of House Gremory lit up inside his room.
Just a moment earlier, that same transfer circle had tried to force its way into his home.
Unfortunately, Anos had only just upgraded the formations in the house yesterday, and he had not yet set any personal exceptions for who could or could not pass through the spatial barriers.
As the circle unfolded, a red-haired girl appeared before him.
Rias Gremory.
Rias was her given name. Gremory was her house.
And now, to fight against the fate attached to that name, she had come here.
"Hmm?"
The red-haired girl opened her eyes, looking a little confused. She clearly remembered trying to use the transfer spell twice and failing both times. So why had it suddenly worked on the third attempt?
Then what had caused the first two failures?
Rias absolutely did not believe she could fail a transfer spell twice in a row.
Still, after only the briefest pause, she threw the thought aside.
There was something more important to deal with right now.
She turned in a circle inside Anos's room, then finally saw him watching her.
"Anos..."
The moment she saw him, Rias froze.
He looked different somehow.
More attractive than before. More confident. More composed.
As if all the light in the world naturally wanted to gather around him.
The more she looked, the more lost she became.
"Rias? Rias?"
It took Anos lightly shaking her before she came back to herself.
The instant she realized what she had just done, her cheeks turned the color of her hair.
"Anos, there's something I want to ask you."
Once she recovered, she remembered why she had come. She was here for something important.
"What is it?"
Anos could already guess most of it, so he did not bother using Absolute Dichotomy to confirm it.
"..."
Rias wanted to speak, but stopped halfway.
She was still wondering whether what she was about to do was really something she should do.
Was Anos someone she could trust that far?
Was Riser really that unbearable?
Did she truly need to resist her fate this badly?
After thinking through all of it, she arrived at her answer.
At least from everything she could see, Anos surpassed that man named Riser in every way imaginable. Talent, ability, character, even appearance. There was not a single point of comparison.
And was there really a need to go this far?
Of course, there was.
Once she had sorted that out inside herself, all her hesitation vanished.
She stepped forward, reached out to him, and naturally leaned into his arms.
Like a cat.
A cat sneaking around after stealing cream.
"Anos... will you hold me?"
Her voice was very quiet.
In truth, this was a little different from what Anos had expected. He had thought Rias would be bolder than this.
"Hold you?"
He was fairly sure he understood exactly what the word meant. This was Japan, after all. It did not only mean a simple embrace.
"Rias, can you tell me what you're thinking?"
Anos wrapped his arms around her lightly and asked in a low voice beside her ear.
He already mostly knew the answer, but he still wanted her to say it herself. That way, she could sort through her own feelings too.
Rias took a quiet breath.
"Do you think I'm not good enough? If I'm not good enough, then would Sona be?"
That answer surprised even Anos a little.
At first glance, it sounded like she was avoiding the question. But on second thought, she really was answering it.
"No, of course that isn't what I mean..."
"Then hold me. You're not the kind of boy who would take everything and then refuse to take responsibility, are you?"
Rias cut him off.
"..."
Anos let out a helpless smile.
No, he was not that kind of person.
And in truth, one bowl was hardly ever enough for him anyway.
But right now, are there not more important things to discuss?
"Then hold me. There isn't much time left. This is the only solution."
After looking into his eyes, Rias began what she had come here to do.
She was quick enough when it came to taking off her own clothes, but the moment it came to touching Anos, her movements suddenly turned slow and awkward.
"Rias, is this because of what I told you before?"
Seeing how clumsy she was, Anos finally decided to help.
"Yes. I thought about it for so long, and in the end, this still seemed like the only way."
"If we do this, then you'll have the right standing to help me, won't you?"
"And if it disgusts that man Riser enough to make him abandon the engagement himself, then even better."
Rias spoke with a determination that made what she was doing feel like a moth flying straight into fire.
Truthfully, Anos suspected she already knew that even if they crossed that line, the engagement with Riser still would not actually disappear.
She had simply reached the point where she was willing to try anything.
Which meant someone had probably placed quite a bit of pressure on her recently.
"Rias, do you even know what you're doing?"
Watching her awkward attempts, Anos could only laugh softly.
At least the first time he ever crossed this line, he had done his homework thoroughly. He knew everything he needed to know by heart.
Rias, on the other hand, was shockingly unskilled.
"Of course I do. I've had biology lessons, you know. Don't underestimate me, Anos."
Apparently feeling insulted that he thought so little of her, Rias flushed and shot back at him.
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