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"Everyone's promotion went perfectly. From now on, get used to the power that comes with the Queen class."
Minato looked at the girls and smiled. "Your strength should be way higher now compared to before."
The girls didn't say anything—just nodded instinctively.
They were all feeling the changes in their power.
The lower their previous rank was, the more obvious the boost felt.
Compared to before, their strength might've multiplied several times.
Minato didn't bother them and instead walked over to Lilliana and Irisviel. "Alright, it's about time you two became my familiars too."
"I've been waiting for this day forever."
Without hesitation, Irisviel reached behind her back and unfastened her clasp.
Her chest spilled free from its restraints, rippling slightly.
"Th-thank you for your gift, my King..."
Lilliana knelt on one knee and took off her outer robe.
She held it in both hands, her cheeks burning red.
Even though she'd already mentally prepared herself...
Actually doing it still felt way too embarrassing.
She took a deep breath and asked with a trembling voice, "My King... is this okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine."
Minato nodded and pressed two devil pieces onto their bodies.
"Mmgh…"
Irisviel barely reacted, but Lilliana shivered a little.
Even though they were just chess pieces, being touched like that still got to her.
Her skin felt like rippling water as the demon pieces slowly sank into their bodies.
Thump! Thump-thump!
The sound of their hearts beating started echoing clearly through the palace.
Irisviel and Lilliana finally understood what that strange feeling inside the magic circle had been.
Their hearts sped up, their blood felt like it was boiling, and their flesh and bones seemed to be getting completely restructured.
"My tail… it's coming out!"
"Hngh... So this is a demon tail... This is so... so embarrassing..."
Their breathing got heavier as they felt a strange itch at their lower backs.
Shff! Shfff!
In the next moment, demon wings and tails burst out of their bodies.
Lilliana looked at the symbol on her tail, blushing hard.
It just felt...
Way too embarrassing.
Compared to her, Irisviel was more curious than anything.
She brought her tail around to the front and gave it a little pinch.
"Mn..."
Her pupils shrank, her breath caught, and her legs tensed up all of a sudden.
This feeling... this was just like...
Her eyes lit up. She tried it a couple more times and let out a soft moan.
No wonder Lord Minato liked his familiars' tails so much.
Her eyes sparkled mischievously as her tail slowly reached out toward Minato, wrapping around...
"Hisss!"
Minato sucked in a breath.
This woman… really knows what she's doing.
He had never tried something like that before.
Where the hell did she even learn this?
Lilliana stared wide-eyed at the scene and quickly stood up.
I'm literally right here! she thought.
This is way too bold!
"Iris! Can you please chill?!"
Artoria quietly stepped closer. "Sakura and Rin are still here, you know."
"Ah!"
Irisviel froze, quickly pulling her tail back.
Crap, she totally forgot about them.
"What's wrong, Iris?"
Little Sakura peeked out from behind Artoria, blinking her big eyes. "Did we do something?"
"Don't worry about it, Sakura."
Rin, cheeks red, quickly pulled her away. "Don't ask stuff like that."
They didn't really know what just happened...
But Rin had a strong gut feeling: Don't dig into it.
Making sure the two hadn't seen anything, Irisviel smiled like nothing happened. "It's nothing, really. Just ignore it."
Phew...
Minato let out a tiny sigh of regret.
Oh well.
They're all his girls anyway.
He could try whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
At night—
Artoria had already taken the two girls and left.
Once the class advancements were done, it was time to hand out blessings again. Minato got busy all over again.
"Utaha, don't you already have a blessing?"
"I just used it up, see? It's gone now."
"Master-kun! Try testing my new skills—I've got this whole Flame God thing down now~"
"Master! I can use my powers too! Meow~"
"Master, my ability's the complete opposite of Utaha's!"
"Y-you guys are cheating! My Muramasa doesn't even work on Master!"
"Lord Minato—"
The girls' voices echoed from all over the palace.
This palace, which belonged solely to Minato, was unusually lively today.
The original throne in the hall had already been replaced by a custom, extra-large version.
Even with over ten people sitting on it, it still felt roomy.
Minato leaned back in the throne, guiding Esdeath and Utaha in how to use their Teigu powers.
The Demon Essence and the Flame God's Essence.
Two totally opposite powers—and honestly, they were both awesome.
"Master~ Meow... I'm tired... I need to replenish my mana..."
The cat-eared girl snuggled over, and Minato turned to fulfill his duties as a good Master.
And then—
He looked at poor little Akame, who looked like she was begging for attention, and finally gave her a blessing too.
Come to think of it...
How many blessings had he handed out by now?
They really didn't know how to ration these, huh.
Every time he gave a blessing, it cost him some of his magic power—what a pain.
[Origin 1][Origin 3]
Minato glanced at the system notifications floating in front of him and couldn't help showing a weird expression.
He hadn't expected the way the girls used their powers to actually give him some Origin Points. Nice surprise bonus there.
To be fair...
The first ones who asked him for blessings were Irisviel and Medusa.
But they didn't realize how insanely strong Minato already was—he was a god-slayer at this point.
So after learning how to use the blessings, they had no choice but to go back and train seriously.
Then came Esdeath and the others.
With Utaha going full burst up close using the Flame God's blessing, everyone else got inspired too.
One blessing wasn't enough?
Then they went back to beg Minato for another.
They had to show off how much they'd improved to him.
After all...
They were some of his longest-standing familiars.
Even the usually quiet and innocent Akame had started developing a competitive streak.
"....."