While the intense fight between John’s adopted sisters occurred in a pocket dimension near the Myth Inc. HQ, three beautiful young girls were relaxing in Alpha’s room.

The first was Alphy, sitting on her couch in a plain white dress shirt and jeans.

The second was Meggie, sitting at the countertop in the room and working her way through a box of chocolate chip cookies. Like her older sister, Meggie was wearing jeans. But unlike Alphy, she was wearing a loose gray hoodie.

As for the last person, it was Suzume. Still wearing her slightly worn high school uniform, she sat next to Alpha and stared at a tablet with wide eyes.

Alphy smiled and said, “Are you excited, Suzu?”

Suzume shook her head. “I’m going to be doing this too, Miss Alphy?”

“Mmhm!” Alphy nodded and said, “And I’m sure that you’ll be just as cute as Hana when you debut!”

Meggie huffed and stuffed a cookie in her mouth. “Hana isn’t that cute.”

Alphy laughed and leaned back on the couch, staring at Meggie. “You should be more honest with yourself, Meggie.”

“Hmph.” Meggie grabbed another cookie and then frowned. “Why do I have to be here anyway? I wanted to spend more time with Tsuki.”

Alphy shook her head. “Didn’t you hear what Auntie Xuannu said? Tsuki’s dad is spending time with her today to make up for yesterday.”

“Yeah, well Kai should have been a better dad in the first place then. Even Dad checks up on us more than that guy does for Tsuki.” Meggie chomped on her cookie and said, “Stupid bas-“

“Meggie!”

“What?”

Alphy sighed and then turned towards Suzume. “Sorry about that, Suzu.”

“Oh. It’s fine. But um…” Suzume looked between Meggie and Alphy and said, “Are you sure it’s alright for me to stay here? If it is too much trouble, I can go find other lodgings…”

Alphy quickly waved her hands. “No, no. It’s snowing outside right now. It’s not good to go out in this weather, especially when you don’t even have a coat! Besides, Papa already said you’re going to be part of Project MirAIs, so it’s fine!”

“But…” Suzume looked at Meggie and said, “Your little sister doesn’t seem too happy about me being here.”

Meggie stuffed another cookie in her mouth and said, “That’s because I thought I’d be spending time with my Onee-chan, not some stranger.”

Suzume flinched and quickly bowed her head. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to intrude… If it bothers you that much, I will… I suppose I cannot leave, but I can remain silent in the corner. Please, just pretend that I do not exist.”

Meggie flinched as well at Suzume’s response and then shook her head. “Stupid. Don’t apologize for something like that. I’m just… It’s weird being around strangers, okay?” She finished with a mumble, hiding her face with a cookie.

Suzume raised her head and let out a relieved smile. “In that case… I should introduce myself.” She stood up and turned towards Meggie before bowing her head. “My name is Akairo Suzume. Akairo is my family name and Suzume if my given name… But if you wish, you may call me Suzu.”

Meggie paused in the middle of grabbing another cookie. She looked at Suzume and then put the cookie down. Brushing her hands off, Meggie nodded and said, “My name is Ex Nihilo Omega… But it’s a mouthful, so you can just call me Meggie.”

Suzume gasped. “You have such a noble name!”

Meggie blushed and averted her gaze. “You don’t have to flatter me… I know my name’s awkward and pretentious…”

Suzume shook her head and then said, “That’s not true! You have a wonderful name! One that suits a beautiful young girl with such a regal demeanor!”

Meggie blinked. “R-Regal? Me?”

Suzume nodded. “Yes! I thought that Meggie looked like a beautiful young princess. Such a noble name proves it, does it not?”

Meggie averted her gaze again and mumbled. “W-Well I *am* the daughter of one, so-“

“Amazing!” Suzume’s eyes lit up, staring at Meggie with genuine admiration.

Seeing that, Alphy laughed.

Meggie narrowed her eyes and said, “What’s so funny, Onee-chan?”

“Nothing.” Alphy smiled and said, “Just musing on how similar you are to your mother.”

Meggie blinked. “…I am?”

“Ah!” Suzume clasped her hands together and turned back towards Alphy. “My apologies, Miss Alphy! Are you a noble as well? Have I been treating you poorly? If so, you have my humblest apologies!” She finished her words with a deep bow.

Alphy shook her head. “It’s fine, Suzu. I’m not a princess or royalty… and even if I was, someone as elegant and beautiful as you bowing to me isn’t right.”

Meggie nodded and said, “Listen to Onee-chan, Suzu. Someone like you should hold your head up high! In fact… I’ve decided!” Meggie hopped out of her chair and pointed at Suzu. “I’m appointing you as my royal handmaiden!”

Suzume gasped and turned around to look at Meggie. “Truly?!”

“Of course!” Meggie smiled and patted her chest. “I don’t go back on my words!”

Alphy laughed. “I suppose you take after Papa a lot as well, Meggie.”

Meggie froze and then swung her hand down. “And what’s that supposed to mean?!”

Alphy smiled. “Nothing~! But remember, we’re just normal people here. You can’t really make Suzu your handmaiden.”

Meggie paused and then hopped back into her chair. “That’s right… I forgot about that.”

Suzume giggled. “It’s fine. I’m honored that someone like yourself would even consider a lowly peasant like myself as a handmaiden.”

Meggie frowned. “…You don’t look like a peasant though. And where are you from anyway? Your name sounds like it comes from this land, but you don’t look anything like the other mortals.”

“Meggie! You’re being rude!”

“A-Ah.” Meggie coughed and muttered, “Sorry.”

Suzume smiled. “It’s fine. We’re friends now, right?”

Alphy nodded. “Of course!”

Meggie looked away and mumbled. “I-I guess so…”

Suzume giggled again and said, “Then I don’t mind talking about myself a bit.” She looked at Meggie and said, “You are correct, Meggie. I do not hail from this land, but the kind couple that raised me do. As for my name… I’m not sure. I only know that I have had it as long as I can remember.”

Meggie frowned, carefully staring at Suzume. “…Suspicious.”

Alphy sighed. “Be nice, Meggie.”

“But it is, isn’t it, Onee-chan?” Meggie looked back at Suzume and said, “How did you even find out about the job? No, how did you even get here?”

“Ah.” Suzume hummed. “It’s a long story. Prior to arriving in this city, I was studying to be a shrine maiden in the mountains. But before I could finish my training, I felt something call me here, so I took a long pilgrimage to arrive here.”

Meggie blinked and then tilted her head. “…You’re kind of stupid, huh?”

Alphy covered her face and let out a deep sigh.

Suzume giggled. “I suppose that’s true. But…” She placed her hand over her heart and said, “I couldn’t help myself.”

Meggie was quiet for a bit and then nodded. “Well… I guess you got here safe and met us all, so that’s fine. But a shrine maiden… I guess that explains why you’re elegant enough to be my handmaiden.”

Suzume smiled. “Thank you. But I’m still far from a proper shrine maiden- Ah. That is to say, I still have far to go in both my speech and mannerisms.”

“Mmhm.” Meggie nodded. “A real shrine maiden wouldn’t just run to town on a whim in the middle of their training after all.”

“Meg-gie.” Alphy stood up and crossed her arms.

“What?! It’s true!”

“Even so, you should be more tactful! Talking like that won’t make you many friends!”

“S-So what? I have Tsuki, you, Betty, and now Suzu! I don’t need any more friends!”

Alphy shook her head. “But you’ll make enemies if you keep talking like that.”

“…Fine.” Meggie grumbled and stuffed another cookie in her mouth. “…I’ll be more careful.”

Suzume looked at Alphy and Meggie and smiled. “You two are quite close, aren’t you?”

Meggie blushed and looked away. “N-No. Why would I care about that mean Onee-chan who keeps teasing me?”

Alphy laughed. “That’s only because you’re super cute when you’re flustered, Meggie.” She paused and then placed a hand on her chin. “…Is this how Betty feels when she teases me?”

Meggie huffed. “I’m not cute. Onee-chan’s still cuter…”

Alphy let out a happy squeal and then ran over to hug Meggie. “No, you’re cuter! My cute and lovely baby sister!”

“S-Stop that! I’m not a baby! L-Let go!” Meggie squirmed and then finally managed to get out of Alphy’s grip.

Alphy laughed again and then let her be. After that, she turned to Suzume. “Meggie’s cute, right?”

“Oneeeee-chan! Stop embarrassing me!”

Suzume giggled and nodded. “Of course!”

“Argh… Whatever.” Meggie spun around on her chair to face the wall and went back to eating her cookies. “I hate you two.”

Alphy smiled and then turned her attention back to Suzume. “Anyway… Are your parents fine with you spending the night here, Suzu? I’m happy you want to, and I’m super happy to have a friend to talk to… but won’t they worry?”

Suzume waved her hand. “It will be fine. The kind couple that adopted me frequently spend time traveling around the world to fulfill my adoptive father’s dreams. They are probably still away from home at the moment.”

Alphy frowned. “…In that case, where did you plan on staying, Suzu? Do you even have any money?”

Suzume shook her head. “I do not. But that is why I wanted to audition.” She placed her hand over her heart and said, “It’s true that I felt drawn to the job… But it’s also true that I needed resources. And the flier said that it was a job that provided a lot of money with no experience needed.” She smiled and said, “It was exactly what I needed, so everything worked out.”

“Dummy!”

Suzume blinked. “P-Pardon?”

Meggie hopped off her chair and pointed at Suzume. “You need to be more careful! Advertisements like that are always bad! Especially for a beautiful young woman like Suzu!”

“Hm?” Suzume tilted her head. “Why?”

Meggie froze. “T-That’s because… Um… W-Well….” She coughed and said, “Th-They’ll make you do bad things!”

“Like what?”

Meggie started to sweat and then looked at Alphy. “Onee-chan! Tell her!”

Alphy frowned and then nodded. “Meggie’s right, Suzu. Job fliers like that are usually from bad people who will take advantage of you and make you work long hours without rest. That’s bad.”

Meggie blinked and stared at Alphy.

Alphy stared back. “What is it, Meggie?”

Meggie frowned. “…Are you joking, Onee-chan?”

“Hm?”

Meggie sighed. “Of course. The big sister I thought was pure and innocent turns out to be worse than our father and the one I thought knew how terrible the world was is sweet and naïve”

Alphy tilted her head.

—–AI|IA—–

John’s office. There, three men were seated across from each other at a table.

On one side, Bai and Qing, the two divine beasts, both dressed in suits.

On the other, John, wearing a casual sweatshirt and jeans. Looking at the two men across from him, he shook his head and said, “And that’s the end of our discussion.”

Bai growled and said, “You’re not listening!”

“I am. And I did.” John stood up and then turned his back on Bai and Qing. “Like I said, add Miss Akairo to our roster and send me the lineup for the other candidates. I’ll sort through them after the concert.”

Qing stood up as well and said, “That isn’t the issue here, John. The issue is-!”

“I’m leaving. Don’t bother me with this again.”

A gust of wind and a spatial distortion as John vanished.

Bai slammed his fist on the table. “Dammit!”

Qing sighed and slumped back into his seat. “…Why won’t you listen, John?”