"Lord Damien, please leave these matters to me."
Justeaze stepped forward confidently, saying, "I have some experience with environmental planning."
She had contributed to the construction of the Einzbern estate in the past.
Now, tasked with a similar project, she could easily adapt with a bit of familiarity.
"That would be a great help." Damien replied.
Damien had little knowledge of town planning, let alone environmental design.
With a professional like Justeaze offering assistance, he had no reason to refuse.
"Lord Damien~~"
"My lord!"
As Damien stepped out of his courtyard, he was greeted by a crowd gathered at his doorstep.
They were still buzzing with excitement from the recent battle against Gilgamesh.
Seeing Damien return, they erupted into cheers.
"Make way, don't crowd so close... it'll trouble our lord!" Shion called out, stepping forward to maintain order. Then, she swiftly grabbed Damien's arm. "Shuna has already sent someone to prepare the banquet."
With that, Shion pulled Damien toward the hot springs.
First a bath, then dinner.
"Boop!"
Ogerpon leaped out from the void, trailing behind Damien.
Snow Empress and Ice Empress were there too.
They had initially planned to join him.
But seeing the large crowd, the two felt a bit shy and could only watch from a distance as the group led Damien away.
"Shion's so shameless." Ice Empress muttered.
"Ahem!" Snow Empress's cheeks flushed slightly. "Don't speak recklessly, Ice Empress."
They were, of course, referring to the hot springs.
In the eyes of the majin, Damien was their supreme ruler, their king.
And naturally, a king would have women attending to him.
However, there were many women but few opportunities.
The town was filled with beautiful female majin.
If Damien ever expressed a need, there would be no shortage of volunteers.
"Snow…" Ice Empress's tone shifted suddenly. "Shouldn't we be a bit more proactive?"
"Hm?" Snow Empress looked at Ice Empress in surprise, hardly believing her ears.
"No, I mean…" Ice Empress clarified, "Look at how assertive Shion and Shuna are. Sooner or later, our master will fall to them."
"If that happens, the kijin's status will surely rise."
Even as Damien's martial souls, Ice Empress refused to be outdone by others.
Being conquered by Damien was one thing... she had no choice in that.
But anyone else, besides Snow Empress, she wouldn't accept!
"So, Ice Empress, are you saying you'll take the lead?" Snow Empress teased.
"Me? No, no, I can't!" Ice Empress protested.
Despite her bold words, the two, hailing from the land of Douluo, were quite innocent when it came to romance.
If Damien made a request, they might not refuse.
But taking the initiative? That was far too embarrassing.
"I'm suddenly a bit jealous of Ogerpon. What's with that?" Ice Empress sighed, watching Ogerpon casually follow Damien and Shion into the hot spring pavilion.
Then there were Sakura and Illya.
It was the advantage of being a little girl... neither too forward nor too reserved, just natural.
"Let's not overthink it." Snow Empress said. "We're Damien's martial souls. No matter where he goes, he'll always take us with him."
Their position by Damien's side was unshakable.
Snow Empress felt that Ice Empress's personality had changed.
In the past, she never cared about others' opinions.
But now, Ice Empress was actually competing with Shuna and Shion for favor.
'It's not a bad change,' Snow Empress thought.
She much preferred this lively life compared to the monotonous icy plains of their past.
But Ice Empress's next words nearly broke her composure.
"Snow, aren't you worried that our master might ask you to serve him in bed?"
"Ice!" Snow Empress snapped, blushing furiously as she flicked Ice Empress's forehead. "Speak nonsense again, and I'll discipline you on our master's behalf!"
Despite her words, Ice Empress's teasing had sparked a flurry of thoughts.
As an ice and snow elemental, Snow Empress felt her body inexplicably heat up.
But if Damien truly made such a request, would she refuse?
'What am I thinking?!' Snow Empress quickly banished the thought, then grabbed Ice Empress's hand in frustration. "Come with me!"
"What for?!" Ice Empress yelped.
To calm her racing mind, Snow Empress decided to put Ice Empress through some intense training.
Fortunately, Ice Empress was quick to escape.
Otherwise, a thorough beating would have been inevitable.
"What's her deal?" Ice Empress grumbled, stopping after fleeing dozens of kilometers. "It was just a joke. Why did Snow Empress take it so seriously?"
She hadn't expected the aloof and pure Snow Empress to actually entertain such mortal thoughts because of her words.
It was inevitable... Damien's bond with the two was growing stronger by the day.
Unknowingly, they had come to see him as the most important person in their lives.
"But… if Damien really did have those kinds of thoughts about us…" Ice Empress leaned against a tree, arms crossed, lost in thought. "Would I refuse?"
"Eek!" The thought startled her. "I-I'm actually hesitating?"
Such a thing should be firmly refused, no question!
"But… why…" Ice Empress faltered.
Just as she began to ponder her relationship with Damien, a strange sound of combat caught her attention.
"What's that noise?"
"Is someone fighting nearby? A beast in the forest?"
Interrupted, Ice Empress frowned, displeased.
Whoosh!
Her perception barrier expanded instantly, and she teleported to the source of the conflict.
"Hm?"
In a sea of flowers surrounded by the forest, she saw two majin locked in battle... one large, one small.
The larger was a tiger-like majin, fierce and menacing.
The smaller was a jet-black beetle, about half a person's height.
"A majin?" Ice Empress wondered.
"No, that's not right."
She quickly noticed something unusual about the beetle.
Behind it stood a teary-eyed bee-like majin.
"Is it fighting to protect its companion?" Ice Empress realized, her eyes narrowing.
She recalled Damien's command to subdue all intelligent majin in the Jura Forest.
Having encountered these two, there was no reason to let them go.
Observing the battle, she noted the beetle was no weaker than the tiger but was already battered from previous fights, covered in wounds.
If the fight continued, the beetle would likely be gravely injured.
"Fine, I'll lend you a hand." Ice Empress decided.
Without hesitation, as the tiger knocked the beetle back once more, she raised her hand and froze the tiger into a solid block of ice.
***
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