Yuki's gaze remained fixated on Natsumi, looking her up and down for some reason. The fact that she just stared without saying a word made Natsumi a bit uncomfortable, which Yuki could not care less about. She then nudged Phoebe towards Natsumi, looking at Yamato with a slight smirk. As if to say "Watch me", which Yamato of course did.
"Look, who came to visit, Phoebe, just for you!", Yuki said in a warm and motherly voice.
"Hey, Phoebe, it's been a while!"
"Aunt Natsumi! Phoebe missed you!"
"Aww, I missed you too!"
Yuki put on hand on Natsumi's shoulder and one on phoebe's head, as she stepped herself them.
"Hey, Phoebe, I've got an idea! How about, since auntie Natsumi doesn't yet know how smart you've gotten, you go tell her about all the things you've learned the past couple of months or so? I'm sure she'd love to hear every detail. Especially the times when you take breaks and what kind of games you play!"
"W-well, actually I came for—"
"Phoebe's gonna tell you all about her success in her secret cave! Misses maid, quick to the super hidden hideout!"
Said cave was in fact just stacked pillows and sheets forming a formidable fortress, in Yamato and Yuki's bedroom of the upper section of the Cube.
Watching Phoebe drag Natsumi out, she emerged victorious in her ultimate goal to be alone with Yamato, having gotten rid of both Natsumi and Phoebe, Petrisha naturally following after Phoebe. As the door closed, she gave Yamato an expectant look.
"…So much for family time…"
"So much for forgetting about Natsumi."
"Touche…"
"And now what?"
"…I guess you win."
"That's right~. And now you have to do whatever I want!"
"When did I agree to that…?"
"When we where in bed and cuddled, before Natsumi interrupted us. You said, "later today whenever we're alone I'll do whatever you want, super promise". And don't say you can't remember!"
"I can't tell if you genuinely try to convince me of that or just expect me to play along…"
"Does it matter?"
"What do you want me to do anyway?"
"Hm… I wanna go lie down on a couch and cuddle."
"Careful, Phoebe might lose her title of sloth to you…"
"Hey! I was productive today! And if you find me lacking motivation for physical activities, I could think of a thing or two for us to do~…"
"Okay, let's make a deal…"
"I don't need to make deals to get what I want, boo~…"
As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he could feel being pulled in not just physically, but by all his senses. Her face suddenly much closer, and her eyes much clearer, their beautiful blue shine was even more captivating than usual due to the atmosphere. Her soft touch inviting him to sink into her, and her guidance of his body luring him closer.
"You already took the day off, y'know…?"
"I think you will like my deal though."
"Mhm… Will I~? I don't know… I don't think there's a benefit in postponing this that'd be worth the wait."
"What about…"
He leaned in to whisper into her ear, giving her a taste of her own medicine. While she was dismissive at first, she quickly became invested in whatever he told her. The fact that he was so close to her ear making her quite excited as well, although it was not that uncommon. Though it was hard to tell if the contents of the conversation were the reason she started breathing heavier or if it really was just the mood and position she already created up to this point.
"And if I do that you promise we can do that thing?"
"Promised."
"Ah… I really can't say no to that… Fine. I guess I will be off then…"
"Stay safe, boo."
As he gave her a couple of head pats, she gave him a big smooch. If she had not already agreed to Yamato's conditions, he might have given in to that.
As she reluctantly parted ways with his lips, she teleported away, though she remained on the same floor, appearing in front of a door leading to one of the many guest rooms of the Cube. Straightening her hair and clothes, in case anything got messed up just now, she remained standing in front of the door for a couple of moments before gently knocking.
"Hey, it's me, Yuki, may I come in?"
"Yes, of course, please come inside!"
Satomi responded quickly. As far as Yuki knew, she was not very busy most of the time, and spend most of her time on the piano. Which she could not be blamed for, since she was told to wait and do nothing more. This waa of course not decided by Yamato without reason, but intended to have the Naru Empire give up the search for her, hence the wait. Though there was much more than that behind it, that was all she had been told.
"I'm so glad you came by to visit me! Though the last time we spoke hasn't been that long, has it? Like… Six months, maybe a bit more?"
"Yeah, so basically yesterday, am I right?"
"Elven sense of time is even weirder than that of an angel, and we live far longer lives… A day, let alone six months with no talk to Yamato might bring me to the edge of insanity, and she just brushes it off like it was literally nothing…"
"Totally! So, what brings you by? Has there been a development in helping my people? Do you need my help, perchance?"
"Something like that… Y'know, we think it's time consider using military force to resolve this whole situation. For that we'd like some information you'd find useful to such an endeavor."
"You're asking me to help invade my own land…?"
"Please, let's not call it that. It's a liberation, through and through. We won't be taking over after we've won or anything. I thought we established that already?"
"R-right… Sorry… I was just caught of guard. Could you be a bit more specific about what you want from me?"
"Well, aside from general stuff, I'd like to learn about your culture. For example, elves are very religious, yes?"
"Uh… Well that depends? I think your definition of god varies a lot from the one the average elf has. But all in all, the idea of a higher power is very central to the identity as an elf."
"Would you tell me more about that?"
"Certainly! The main difference for us is that there is no god as individual or group, but rather everything that doesn't fall under that category. We belief as life was created, we became sentient pieces within the great structure that is god. In a sense, all that is, you, me and even this table and chair are part of god. As such, we must treat everything and everyone with respect. But it is also commonly believed that things, and people, that are beautiful, are favored by god, or rather the world, and this can lead to a but of arrogance… We sadly tend to make exceptions to this equality rule for that very reason, or when we find someone lacking that appreciation for life, causing us to be pretty hypocritical when it comes down to it… I jate that about us, and I say us because besides myself, I really have never met another elf woth that opinion… I thought about it a lot and I came to the conclusion that most find offense in the lack of shared belief of others… Or rather, the very act of disagreeing being perceived as disrespectful and opposing.
I just want everyone to get along, because I think that's what brings us closet to god. But I'm no expert, and of course don't know everything. So best not take my word for anything, haha."
"Interesting… And how do you deal with the fact that I'm an literal angel and say Yamato is god?"
"Well… Like I said, I just want everyone to get along. Besides that, I don't really care who is seen as god and who is not. I hope that doesn't bother you too much."
"Hm… Interesting. And what I'm hearing is that you're more or less alone with that kind of thinking?"
"Yeah, most are more traditional, as in how I described it earlier."
"That was very informative, thank you very much."
"Are you leaving already?"
"I can come by again sometimes, if you want?"
"Yes, please!—… I-I mean… Yes, I'd like that."
"…Okay. Bye!"
Yuki went out the door and began thinking about how one would turn that kind of population into Absolute Church members, as that was all she wanted of them in the first place. After all, if it is sentient, it can and should believe in a god named Yamato. But why not just obliterate and kill all races that seem like their beliefs are incompatible with the Absolute Church, one might wonder. A heartless monster would maybe consider such a thing. Yuki on the other hand, of course never even had the thought cross her mind. Because she was kind and generous, wanting everyone to have an equal chance at worshipping herself and Yamato, as surely nothing else could possibly fulfill a life more.
That said, further investigations were in order for her to successfully make an impact. Although, Yamato said he had that covered already, and she only needed to take care of the military aspects when the time came, it was only natural for her to try and cook something up anyway.
Using advanced illusion magic known as Absolute Disguise of the 8th Tier, she gave herself long and pointy ears, despite hating the idea of altering anything about her flawless appearance. But it was not just that. Elves, mermaids, cat-people and what not, she hated them all. Not only were they lesser life forms, as was life besides Yamato in general, but something about them just repulsed her. There was no clear logic behind it, nor was it racism in the traditional sense, though treatment of the target could appear identical. It was as simple as this:
She herself, was beautiful. Yamato, was beautiful. Anything that did not resemble the two, was therefore repulsive.
Interestingly enough, resemblence, such as black hair just like Yamato's, could also have the opposite effect on her. Because how dare they, an otherwise lesser being, share a feature with her beloved Yamato, or herself?
So in short, it turned out, as so often, she hated everyone. But how did her relationship with Phoebe work? Though according to her own words Phoebe did not mean much to her, it was undeniable that she was not exactly "repulsive" either. As she wondered about that, she teleported into the elven capital, where Yamato and her journey had started a while ago, ready to pretend being an elf and get a picture of their religious flexibility. She had no doubt she was the most beautiful elf to ever step foot in this town, or just ever, so talking to a species valuing beauty should not be too hard.