Melissa still refused to answer why she was forcing contact between her daughter and me, going as far as to include her in a dangerous plan, but at least I got her to answer something else.
As soon as Mia left, Melissa brought the topic back to my other question, telling me about the thing she stopped Mia from saying.
Melissa: "The mark she was referring to is called [Mark of the Beast Lord]. It's a skill that becomes available to everyone who's a leader of a tribe of beastmen or who has the potential to become one..."
She stopped for a second, letting an exasperated sigh.
Melissa: "The mark only strengthens the user physically, but it's seen as a symbol of leadership."
She looked at me with the corner of her eye, avoiding fully meeting my gaze.
Miwen: "So the beastmen refuse to follow someone who doesn't have the mark?"
Melissa: "Yes, that's generally the case."
No wonder Mia had a complex about it, then.
As the Chieftainess' daughter, that was a constant reminder, not only that she was behind her mother, but that she might not even be able to follow in her footsteps.
Still, she must've been agitated earlier, because unless the mark provided an immense buff, I couldn't see her winning against the harpy.
Melissa: "I cut her off not because I wanted to hide that from you, but because I know that this is an awkward topic for her, so before she said something she'd regret, I decided to intervene."
Surprisingly motherly, but I already expected her to have these kinds of feelings for Mia. Even though Mia was usually the one looking up to her, I'd sometimes catch Melissa glimpsing her way with more affection than she'd ever admit.
However, that only made me more unsettled about Melissa's decisions.
Be it my case or the Angel's, she was exposing her daughter to too much unnecessary risk.
She had to be seeing something I wasn't... Maybe she was serious about the marriage thing?
Nah...
No way...?
Miwen: "I see. Looking at your skills, I can confirm that you indeed have this [Mark of the Beast Lord]."
Her level was too high for my appraisal to work without her letting me, and since she had so many of them, I had yet to check everything.
I made a mental note to start paying more attention to that during my visits from now on.
Melissa: "I wouldn't lie to you."
I could believe that.
But only because she had other ways of fooling me.
Miwen: "You'd keep the truth from me, though."
Melissa: "For now."
Her lips curled into a small smile as she carved a wooden piece with her nail.
Still, her words gave me just enough motivation that I could keep playing the long game.
Miwen: "Well, since Mia took the items with her, I guess there's nothing left for me to do here."
Melissa: "Hm? Don't you wanna know about the Angel's execution?"
Her smile grew wider. Dangerously wider.
I didn't feel threatened, but I also didn't feel like prolonging it.
Miwen: "If he's dead, there's nothing for me to complain about."
I had little interest in his execution.
I wasn't feeling guilty about his death or anything like that. He was an enemy, fighting in a war. He should've accepted the possibility of dying the moment he left his home.
But at the same time, I wasn't a sadist. If he had done something to me personally, it'd be a different story. I'd be happy to hear about or even watch his execution.
However, I hardly knew him, so I wasn't about to enjoy his death.
Rather than dwelling on what happened, I'd much rather plan my next steps.
Miwen: "Instead, why don't you tell me the state of the war right now?"
Melissa: "Mhm... The enemy must've noticed the absence of their general; there was no attempt to disembark, and no ships were seen at all. They must've taken the day to rethink their strategy, resupply, or rest."
Miwen: "That's good then, it probably means that we dealt a surprise blow to them."
Every day we bought allowed me to contribute more to Melissa's war effort, but since the gacha was so random, I couldn't predict how long it would take me to arm her tribe with good weapons.
Still, more time meant more opportunities.
Miwen: "I guess the next step is to deal with the Seven Rainbow Miracles."
Melissa: "Do you have a plan for her?"
I wanted to break her poker face, but unfortunately...
Miwen: "...Not yet. Her position is much more secure."
That general refused to step on the island, and that alone was immensely limiting to me.
Furthermore, her Gift suggested seven different abilities, but the only effect we knew about was the barriers she could create. Even if I could somehow get her in a trap, she was too unpredictable, and the chances of her breaking out were too high for my liking.
Still, we would have to deal with her barriers sooner or later, at the very least.
For now, the best plan I had was to counter her with good long-range weapons, bombing her until a breakthrough happened, but... That would depend on the gacha giving me the perfect items, which was a bit unlikely.
Melissa: "That's fine. What you've accomplished is already a massive victory for us."
She looked a little happy about that, and I didn't pretend I wasn't proud either.
The Angel was causing a lot of damage to her army; getting rid of him was a good step in the right direction.
I told Melissa I'd think a little more about what we could do to strengthen her position, and after saying goodbye, I returned to the Kingdom.
As Melissa disappeared from my sight, I felt the scent of fresh grass filling my nostrils.
After taking in the Kingdom's air, I closed the window of my house and headed downstairs.
Miwen: "So you're awake, Claire? I thought I'd need to wait until tomorrow to talk with you."
Claire: "Don't give me that, I asked for permission to enter, no way I could do that while sleeping."
She was in a bad mood, tapping her crossed arms with her index finger.
It also seemed like she was a bit tired, with her eyes twitching closed, so perhaps it hadn't been too long since she got up.
Miwen: "That's true. But since you came here on your own, you should already know what I want to talk about, right?"
Claire: "I know. Is it about me not waking up right? But listen, it's not like you needed me anyway, and I swear it was just this one time, so, can you let this one pass?"
She spoke fast, almost trampling one word with another.
Still, she got it right. But her argument was shaky at best.
It would be a problem if I needed her and she couldn't come because she was too tired after sleeping late watching movies.
Even though I wasn't planning on scolding her for something so minor, I decided to give her a warning for her sake.
Miwen: "Listen, just between you and me, I don't think that this is that serious, so I won't scold you for it or anything like that. But sleeping late is bad for your health, will dampen your mood, and ruin your energy for the day, alright? So try to be moderate, at the very least."
Claire: "Fine, Dad."
She spoke in a monotonous tone, rolling her eyes.
Miwen: "C'mon, don't be like that."
Claire: "Should I call you daddy then?"
That scared me a little.
What kind of movie was she watching?
Did Licia know?
Did Licia let her???
Worse, was it Licia who-
Claire: "I'm just kidding, ok? It's just that the last person I talked to before I... well, you know, meeting you and all of that, was my dad. He was also reprimanding me at the time..."
She lowered her head a little, avoiding my eyes.
Claire: "It made me quite nostalgic."
She was probably talking about something that happened right before her death.
It wasn't something I was comfortable listening to, but...
Miwen: "...Do you wanna talk about it?"
It would be a small sacrifice.
Claire: "It's fine. Like this time, it was deserved after all. I don't really wanna talk about it though. And you don't need to worry, I'll refrain from troubling you more than this."
She forced a smile.
I had yet to know how Licia and Claire met their ends, but even though I got some clues, it was never a topic I could touch on.
Making them awaken these memories always made me feel a little bad, so I decided to lighten the mood a little.
Miwen: "Look, let's compromise, alright? If you really wanna do it, then you can choose a day per week when you can watch as much as you want or do anything, really, just tell me beforehand. Also, if I need you, then you'd better come, even if it's your day off."
Raiding Dungeons was a new experience for me, so I was more than happy to go every day. However, this wasn't necessarily the case for the girls, who were already used to it from their past lives.
Hell, Licia was an adventurer, so for her, this was just like being demoted from her job and having to start all over.
Since it was like this, giving them a day off felt fair.
Maybe even weekends off after getting a little stronger...
Claire: "Really? Yay! Then I'll take today off!"
She threw her hands in the air, clearly planning to waste another night sleeping late.
Miwen: "No, you've already spent this week's day off."
Like a good dad, I gave her an exercise in moderation.
Claire: "Huh? But I didn't even-"
Miwen: "If you complain too much, I'll take away your days off. Or better yet, I'll give them all to Licia."
Even though I had just given them to her, I was already threatening to take them away.
I thought she'd call that out, but just like a kid who had their candy taken, she was too desperate to think about anything other than pleading.
Claire: "Nonono, please, I'm sorry, ok? I'll take one next week."
She was acting as if I overworked her when I just made sure that she was ready to work every day, whenever I needed them.
In a cold and dark space... Risking her life every day...
Without a day off until now...
Huh.
Actually, maybe I was a pretty bad employer.
But they were having it easy since the [Event] started, so at least they had vacations.
And we had a lot of fun in the Dungeons, too, so it was more like a hobby than work. Or maybe a social activity.
Yeah, a fun little team activity without pay and security, that's what it was.
Miwen: "You can go now. Just remember to tell me about your day off beforehand."
Claire: "Will do!"
Thinking about it, I should've done this earlier.
Giving them days off would be the perfect excuse to hang out. I'd be able to explain a lot more about Earth, while also enjoying their company.
Claire would definitely enjoy the cinema, too.
Even though Claire had manipulated me to get a massive win and avoid the sermon, I was happy to see her excited.
The only problem was how I'd explain to Licia that my mission to scold Claire somehow ended with me giving her even more leeway.
Just imagining her scolding makes me think I should've left it to her in the first place. She was way better than I at it.