"Out of place?" Anathasia tilted her head slightly. "Meaning?"
"The blonde girl in Rania's history class..."
"You went to the academy to spy on Rania?" Anathasia cut in casually.
Roselia immediately shook her head, raising her hands in front of her.
"No! That's... that's not why I was there," she cleared her throat, a faint blush rising before fading just as quickly.
"I was picking up my nephew."
Anathasia paused, shooting me a look like she'd just heard something unbelievable. Then she turned back.
"You have a nephew?" she let out a small whistle. "So you really are that rich aunt archetype, huh?"
I nudged her lightly.
She glanced at me, her smirk slipping into a slight pout before she looked back at Roselia.
"I was just messing around..." she muttered, crossing her arms.
After a brief pause, Roselia continued.
"Yes. I do have a nephew. From House Ataraxia-a county family that has been under the Nutriscus for over six hundred years in Aegea."
She shook her head slightly.
"But regarding what I noticed... it was a blonde girl sitting next to my nephew, Lucian."
"Her soul felt... displaced. As if it never truly belonged to Aegea's continuum or causal flow."
A small pause.
"Essentially... an alien."
I absentmindedly stroked Grace's pink hair as Roselia's gaze drifted toward the patterned flower vase on the table.
"Are you talking about Reina?" Anathasia spoke up.
Roselia stiffened, then nodded.
"Yes... how did you-"
"We met her a few days ago during our visit," Anathasia waved it off. "She's a reincarnator. Probably got tangled up with the Continuum Swimmers I made a few months back."
"And somehow ended up in Aegea."
She shrugged lightly, brushing a strand of hair aside.
"Of course she feels out of place. She's not from there to begin with."
"She's from Earth. Probably a high schooler... or a young adult."
Her gaze drifted off, expression flattening slightly.
"And if she ends up becoming a god after what she saw..."
Roselia and I both looked at her immediately.
She continued, almost absentmindedly-
"...then I guess that's fine. It's her choice if she wants to transcend human limitations."
A small pause as she idly played with her hair.
"She could still live for a century after that... before going poof. If she's lucky, maybe she turns into a Demiurge."
Another pause.
"...though she'd stop being human entirely."
She leaned back against the couch, head tilting slightly as her eyes drifted toward the flower vase.
"Then again... transcendence is always a pain to deal with..."
A quiet breath.
"What's so great about having power anyway...?"
The room went still after that.
All of us staring elsewhere. Roselia's gaze glued to the flower vase, Anathasia yawning occasionally before burying her face into a pillow, while I looked down at Grace sleeping soundly on my lap.
"Either way... whether she turns into something or stays human, both are fine. For us, or for her. Depends on how you look at it," Anathasia continued, her eyes half-lidded as she shifted across the couch and leaned against my shoulder.
"If she stays human... good for her. If she becomes a Demiurge..." she let out another soft yawn, her gaze settling on Grace as she gently brushed through her pink hair.
"Then good for us..."
"More helpers, less management... running infinite realities and existence itself takes a *lot* of effort. Just having power doesn't mean everything runs smoothly."
She shifted slightly against me, resting her chin on my shoulder as she stared at the hallway.
Her eyes still heavy.
"Infinite power is basically a curse, if you ask me..."
"Why are you suddenly rambling about that...?" I murmured, glancing at her as I felt her breath against my neck.
Anathasia looked away, a small sigh slipping out.
"I just felt like ranting."
Silence settled over us again.
Roselia slowly dozed off where she sat, while Anathasia and Grace both used me as their pillow.
For some reason.
-
A little over an hour later, Lena walked into the living room.
She stopped mid-step.
Her gaze moved from Roselia sprawled across the couch... to Anathasia and Grace practically wrapped around me.
"...Um, Dad?"
"Yeah..." I sighed, gently running my hand through their hair.
"It's the usual."
Lena stood there for a second, brows knitting together before her eyes settled on the pink-haired girl resting on my lap.
She hesitated.
"...That's Grace, right? The one Mom made from... whatever weird material she got her hands on?"
I nodded slowly, glancing between her and Grace.
"Yeah... basically your youngest sister."
She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly as her arms crossed.
"I see...?"
"She can get rid of Cosmic Gods in an instant," I added.
Lena froze.
Slowly, she turned her head.
Behind her, Egrathiel stood by the doorway. Her blue eyes meeting Lena's red ones.
Before Egrathiel could even speak, Lena had already stepped in front of her.
"She... kills Cosmic Gods...?" she murmured, her voice trembling slightly as she shielded her.
"Lena...?" Egrathiel's soft voice came from behind her, trying to peek past. "Is something wrong?"
Lena didn't answer. She stayed where she was, arm slightly spread as she stared at Grace sleeping on my lap.
Egrathiel leaned a little to the side, her gaze settling on the pink-haired girl.
"Who's that...?"
I watched Lena for a moment, a hand coming up to rub my temple.
Why the sudden protectiveness...?
Then it hit me.
Anathasia's words echoed clearly in my head-
"They're more like... eldritch abominations labeled as gods."
"Others develop a 'self' over time. Like Egrathiel."
My gaze shifted to the white-haired girl with blue eyes peeking from behind Lena and instinctively, I pulled Grace a little closer.
Crap...
I completely forgot. Egrathiel's a Cosmic God...
For a few long seconds, none of us spoke. We just stared at each other until Anathasia finally stirred.
Her eyes fluttered open as she squinted slightly.
"Who...?"
"Mom..." Lena blurted out, stepping back just enough to push Egrathiel further behind her.
I glanced at Anathasia beside me. She rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep, then stretched her arms overhead with a quiet yawn.
"Lena...? Welcome home..."
She tilted her head slightly, her white hair shifting as she looked around.
"What's going on?"
Lena didn't move from where she stood. Slowly, she raised her hand and pointed at Grace.
"Is it true... Mom?"
"That... that pink head kills Cosmic Gods instantly...?"
Pink head...?
"Pink..." Anathasia muttered between yawns. "...head?"
Her eyelids blinked once. Then twice.
Slowly, she turned to Grace, still asleep on my lap. Then her gaze shifted back to Lena, standing by the doorway with Egrathiel trying to peek from behind her.
"...Ah?"
She went quiet for a second.
"That..."
"Mnn~"
Anathasia stretched her arms over her head, another yawn slipping out as her shoulders slumped and her arms fell back to her sides.
"Egrathiel... Grace..."
"Cosmic Gods... right."
She gave her head a small shake and pinched her cheek lightly, letting out a breath.
"That's nothing to worry about," she said, gesturing lazily toward Grace, who was beginning to stir. "Her hazardous nature only applies to Cosmic Gods that run purely on instinct."
"The ones that go around destroying star systems and eating entire galaxies, y'know?"
Her gaze shifted toward Egrathiel, who had finally managed to slip past Lena slightly.
"Egrathiel isn't like that, so she's safe."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Grace sat up.
She rubbed her eyes slowly, then opened them. Immediately locking onto Egrathiel.
"...?"
"Who?"
We all turned toward her.
Her hair began to grow. Slowly at first, then faster, stretching down her back until it reached her waist. At the same time, her body shifted, growing taller until she stood nearly at Lena's height.
No one spoke.
She stood there, pink hair cascading behind her, her lips parting as another yawn slipped out.
"Mhm... right..."
She turned to us, a faint, lopsided smile forming.
"Mornin... Mom, Dad."
We both raised an eyebrow.
[...Her demeanor changed?]
[Why do I feel like she got this from someone?]
On the other couch, Roselia began to stir.
Our attention shifted to her as she pushed herself up slightly, rubbing her eyes and squinting.
"...? Grace?"
"Ah, yes." Grace turned toward her, pink hair swaying softly. "You too, Aunt Roselia."
Roselia continued rubbing her eyes, a quiet yawn slipping out before her vision cleared.
Her gaze settled on the girl in front of her.
She looked her over, slowly, from head to toe.
Then paused.
A flicker of confusion crossed her face.
"Wait... who is this...?" she murmured.
A brief beat.
"...And why does she have my exact posture...?"
Anathasia and I exchanged a glance.
Then nodded.
[She got it from her.]
[Yeah...]