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nRin wiped the sweat off her brow with a towel and then stared at the wall monitor. Hana stared back, copying Rin’s movements. Even so, the avatar seemed lively enough that it was almost like she had been dancing with a partner in real life.

nShe smiled and said, “Thanks for the good work, Hana.”

nSeeing the bright smile stare back, Rin felt happy.

nRin stretched and said, “Still… I wonder where Mister John’s at?” She glanced at the digital clock display and said, “It’s been a couple of hours now-“

n*Ding.*

nThe soft chime of the elevator.

nRin jumped, the sudden sound startling her. Then she placed her hand on her chest and let out a sigh before turning to the elevator. “Mister John, you really do show up at the- Eh?”

nShe started talking because she thought he had come back. But instead of the familiar blonde young man, two other people were there. No, not just two people, but two women.

n“Confirmed.” The first, a beautiful woman with short black hair tied in twin tails with rainbow ribbons stepped in and locked eyes with Rin. As she did, Rin noticed that the woman’s eyes were a beautiful and unnatural shade of red, like pure rubies.

n“Is this ‘Rin’ in good condition, Eldest Sister?” That was from another woman, just as beautiful, who had long crimson hair and glowing orange eyes.

nSeeing them made Rin subconsciously hold her breath. She couldn’t help it.

nThe two women were wearing matching outfits, a frilly white blouse with a short black skirt. A little fancy, but nothing too unusual. Even so, paired with their striking beauty, an ambiguous mix of Western and Eastern features, it was breathtaking, even for Rin.

nThe black-haired woman stepped forward and tilted her head. “This Rin appears a little exhausted. Her physique is not up to par, thus she appears to have exhausted her energy resources.”

nThe crimson-haired woman walked over to Rin and stared at her.

nFaced with that gaze, Rin finally regained her composure and said, “W-Who are you two? How did you get in here?” Saying that, she looked at the black-haired woman and then the crimson-haired woman.

n“Beta. Introductions.”

nThe crimson-haired woman blinked. “Why am I first?”

n“You are closest.”

n“But-“

n“…”

nBeta shook her head and then placed her hands in front of her and bowed. “Greetings, Miss Rin. Master sent us to protect and serve you in his absence.”

n“Master?” Rin blinked and then remembered what Mister John had mentioned. Still… She frowned, giving the women a skeptical look. “Is your Master’s name John?”

nBeta raised her body and nodded. “That is one of his many-“

n“Beta.”

nBeta froze and looked to the other woman. “My apologies, Eldest Sister.”

nThe black-haired woman sighed and then stepped forward. Like Beta, she bowed and said, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rin. My name is Alpha.”

nRin blinked, looking between the two strange foreign women.

n“We do indeed come on the behalf of Master John Smith.” That said, she raised her head. “Like my younger sister said, we have come to protect and aid you in our Master’s absence.”

nBeta flushed. “Y-Yes. As my Eldest Sister has said.”

nMaster? Alpha? Beta?

nRin’s head was spinning at the sudden development. “W-Wait a moment.” She spun around and then crouched, massaging her head, closing her eyes in thought.

n‘Mister John has two beautiful foreign woman calling him Master. He sent them here to protect me and help me since he can’t be here right now. Then does that mean…?’

nA sudden lightbulb. Rin jumped to her feet and said, “Are you two foreign idols from Mister John’s overseas companies that he brought to help train me?!”

nAlpha blinked. “Foreign… idols?”

nBeta smiled. “How adorable.” She turned to Alpha and said, “Eldest Sister, the girl believes that we are- E-Eldest Sister?!”

nBefore Beta could say another word, Alpha had already grabbed a hold of Rin’s hands, her crimson eyes glittering with ambition.

nSeeing that, Beta called out. “E-Eldest Sister! What are you doing?!”

n“Cute.”

nRin flushed. “E-Eh?!”

nAlpha nodded. “I approve. Idols… It is a first.” She nodded again and said, “I truly approve.”

nBeta stepped forward, holding out her hand. “O-One moment. Eldest Sister, I do not believe that such a role is within our-“

n“It is fine.” She turned to Beta and said, “You patrol the building. I will aid Miss Rin in her practice.”

n“But your combat capabilities are-“

nAlpha narrowed her eyes.

n“…Understood, Eldest Sister.” Beta sighed and then walked back into the elevator, heading down.

nRin blinked. “Combat capabilities?”

nAlpha let go of Rin’s hands and stepped back. “Ignore my younger sister. She lacks tact… a feature shared by our Master. Now, shall I show you the skill of a ‘foreign idol?'”

nIt was a good thing that John caught Yuuki as he was heading out. He had almost forgotten to address the contract with NHK for Rin, so it was perfectly convenient timing.

nWhich meant that the necklace that Eternal Emperor Abstinence gave him was at least doing something. It was way too coincidental to not be a result of some karmic tampering.

nBut that made him wonder why it wasn’t working on other things. Like the whole incident with Chef Miyamoto’s granddaughter.

nJohn sighed and undid the formations at the office’s front doors before walking in. “Maybe it’s because I left without her? I suppose that could cause some bad karma…”

nConsidering the bond they shared and all the time they spent together, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to just drop everything and leave.

nThen again, he did tell her ahead of time that he never intended to stick around in the Three Realms…

nJohn shook his head and pressed the elevator button to go up to the studio.

nBut just as he did-

n“Eh? Master, you have returned?”

n-A cool female voice called out to him.

nJohn paused, registering the person standing in front of him.

nA pure white blouse, delicately crafted features, flowing crimson hair and glowing orange eyes…

n“Beta?” He blinked and said, “What are you doing here?”

nBeta stepped out of the elevator and said, “You brought Eldest Sister and I out earlier to protect and serve- I mean, aid this ‘Rin’, did you not?”

nJohn paused, reflecting on his actions.

nIn a rush, he rummaged around his Heavenly Realm and grabbed the first two automatons he could, so then-

n“Oh. That makes sense.”

nSince it was in a rush, he probably just reached for the two that he was most familiar with. As a result, he pulled out the pair of trusty combat maid dolls that he made near the time he started to set off on his Dao of Accumulation-

nWait.

n“Hold on.” John pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “What were you two even doing in my Heavenly Realm to begin with? Didn’t I tell you to watch over the sect?”

nHe could have sworn that he left Alpha and Beta back to make sure that the other Emperors didn’t start anything when he left.

nBeta bowed her head. “Those were indeed your orders, yes.”

n“Then what are you doing here?”

nBeta shrugged. “Mistress felt you would soon do something idiotic to avoid your responsibilities and ordered us to keep an eye on you. Since you were in a rush, it was a simple matter to blend in amongst your other possessions and come along with you to your home when you started packing.”

nJohn paused. “…But that was ten trillion years ago. Wouldn’t you have been bored?”

nBeta gave John a blank stare.

nSeeing that, he nodded. “Oh, right. Sentient puppet crafted out of divine materials. Well… I guess it’s nice having a familiar face around?”

nBeta smiled. “It is nice to see you as well, Master.”

nHe smiled back… And then realized something. “Wait. If you’re here… and you said that I brought out your Eldest Sister earlier…”

nA chill ran down his spine. “Th-Then… does that mean that Alpha is with Rin right now? Up in the dance studio?”

n“Dance… studio?” Beta frowned. “I am uncertain what Master calls a dance studio, but they are on the top floor.” Her frown deepened. “Eldest Sister ordered me down to patrol this building after Miss Rin called her a foreign idol.”

nJohn paused. Then, he slowly reached for the necklace around his neck.

n“Master?”

nWith one movement, he wrenched it off and threw it to the side. “I knew it! That fat buddha didn’t want to help me at all! This thing’s cursed, not blessed!” Saying that, he ran to the elevator and forcibly sent it flying back to the top floor at high speeds.

nBeta watched her master leave and then walked over to pick up the necklace that he tossed aside. Staring at the necklace carefully, she frowned and said, “…Did Master forget? He used the true Chain of Abstinence to upgrade my body after the last incident and made this one to fool Eternal Emperor Abstinence should he visit the sect…”

nBeta sighed and then placed the necklace into her blouse to hold onto it.

nIt wouldn’t do for *another* incident to occur because Master carelessly left around one of his belongings…

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