Chapter 57: A Necklace, A Nightmare, and a Coming War


    <hr>


    The morning after Danielle’s grand debut was an absolute mess.


    And, as usual, I was the cause of it.


    <hr>


    The Team Reacts


    We gathered in the war room, though it felt less like a strategy meeting and more like an intervention.


    Iris had her arms crossed, still glaring at me like I had personally betrayed her ancestors.


    Emilia sat beside her, looking less angry but equally exasperated.


    Darius sighed. "Alright. Let’s break this down rationally."


    Zephyr smirked. "Why start now?"


    Raika snorted. "Yeah, this is definitely not the weirdest thing Tatsuya’s done."


    I groaned, rubbing my temples. "Look, I didn’t mean to create her."


    Danielle, lounging across my shoulders in liquid-metal form, traced lazy circles on my collarbone.


    "Oh, but you wanted me, Master~."


    Iris’s eye twitched. "I’m going to rip her off you."


    Danielle smirked. "Mmm~ I dare you."


    The room temperature dropped.


    I swallowed. "Okay, let’s all calm down—"


    "CALM?!" Iris snapped. "YOUR JEWELRY IS FLIRTING WITH YOU."


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Raika chuckled. "To be fair, it’s kind of impressive. Dude literally dream-forged a girlfriend."


    Zephyr leaned in. "So, do we… count this as a harem addition?"


    Emilia choked. "D-Don’t phrase it like that!"


    Darius massaged his forehead. "Focus."


    I sighed. "Okay, look. She’s here now. We just have to deal with it."


    Danielle grinned. "Mmm~ I do love the idea of being ‘dealt with.’"


    Iris threw a dagger into the table.


    <hr>


    Managing the ‘Problem’


    After ten minutes of arguing, we finally broke it down:


    <ul>


    <li>Danielle’s abilities were incredibly useful.</li>


    <li>She could shift between armor, weapons, or water-based attacks.</li>


    <li>She was a living enhancement, amplifying my physical abilities the more direct contact we had.</li>


    </ul>


    (Which made Iris even angrier.)


    Darius nodded. "As much as this is a problem… we’d be stupid not to use it."


    Iris grumbled. "Fine. But if she gets too touchy, I’m ripping her off."


    Danielle smirked. "Oh, sweetheart, I love it rough."


    Iris lunged at me.


    Emilia had to hold her back.


    Zephyr was laughing so hard he nearly fell out of his chair.


    Raika sipped her tea, totally unfazed. "Best meeting ever."


    I sighed.


    This was my life now.


    <hr>


    The Impending Attack


    Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, a scout burst into the room.


    His face was pale.


    His voice shook.


    "Commander, we have a problem."


    Darius immediately straightened. "Report."


    The scout swallowed. "The Black Gull is moving. A strike force—large, coordinated. They’ll be here in less than a day."


    The room fell silent.


    The laughter, the bickering—all of it vanished.


    I rose to my feet, gripping Gwaine.


    Danielle hummed against my neck. "Mmm~ time for action? Good. I was getting bored."


    Iris pulled out her blades.


    Emilia’s magic flared.


    Zephyr smirked. "Well, at least we have a fun warm-up coming."


    Raika cracked her knuckles. "Finally, a chance to kill something."


    Darius nodded, already preparing for battle.


    I exhaled.


    The Black Gull thought they could take us down?


    They had no idea what we had become.


    I smirked.


    "Let them come."