"I'm not going! You can forget about making me go to the moon!"
Sirin started throwing a fit the moment she woke up.
Kiana thought she had it rough, but Sirin was the one who felt truly wronged.
Digging rivers on Earth was one thing, but why did she have to go to the moon to build a palace for Kiana?
We're both K-423, so why do you get to be the Crown Princess while I'm the manual laborer?
Anyone would find that unbearable. In the past, Sirin couldn't really compete with Kiana. She hadn't received much of an education, and Kiana learned much faster than she did.
But now, those gaps had been bridged! Sirin felt that even if she wasn't as good, the difference in their treatment shouldn't be this huge.
"No way! Absolutely not!"
Sirin went on strike then and there. She was a human hero who had defeated the Twelfth Herrscher, wasn't she? Why should she build a palace for some white-haired idiot who just sat at home playing video games?!
How could something so ridiculous even happen?!
"You should listen to me! It's not like you can't live there. We'll all move to the moon and be royalty together!"
Kiana's attempt at comfort was like twisting the knife.
Even Sirin knew that in history, there was no such thing as a second prince building a palace for the crown prince.
This would automatically put her a rank below Kiana, wouldn't it? She could tolerate being disciplined by Noldrei, but bowing her head to Kiana? Sirin would never agree to that!
"Kiana! I'm telling you! We're both K-423! I am absolutely not going to be your little worker bee! You can forget about me building you a palace. If you've got a problem with that, then take the Herrscher of the Void powers and the Herrscher of Stars Core and build your own damn palace! Don't tell me you can't do it yourself, can you?"
Sirin's face was filled with scorn, which immediately made Kiana see red.
What was that supposed to mean? Was she mocking her for doing nothing in the rear lines?
Heaven have mercy! Kiana had already exhausted herself just trying to understand the inner workings of Academy City's power structure. The interpersonal relationships were even more complicated.
"You've got a problem with me, huh? Fine, you do the work then! If you can identify all those genetic scams and weed out all those damn troublemakers, I'll give you my position!"
The fact that Kiana could say something like that showed just how furious she was.
Bronya watched them argue endlessly, worrying that they might actually start a fight right there in the house.
"Bro, they've been arguing all day. With Sirin's and Kiana's physical abilities, when is this fight ever going to end?"
Bronya took a handful of sunflower seeds from Noldrei. She had already put out a bid for the new moon palace and was just waiting for a specialized construction company to submit their proposal.
The plan was to use Anti-Entropy's modular construction standards, then have Sirin transport the components to the moon for final assembly.
Having finally managed to get Seele out of the way, Bronya sidled up to Noldrei and asked quietly, "So, should we just let them argue for now? Do you have time tonight?"
"I know, I'll come find you later." Noldrei readily agreed. He knew what Bronya wanted.
"What I mean is, can you try turning into a man? Not Seele's form... well, Seele's form is fine too, but could you try turning into a male version of Seele?"
Bronya was getting quite creative, even coming up with an idea like this.
"Hm? I thought you were rather conservative. Why don't you care about things like this anymore?" Noldrei was curious about what Bronya had been up to while he was away.
"I secretly asked Seele if she could accept a gender-bent version of herself. She's even more conservative than I am. I figured it would be better to ask you. We've already done everything anyway, so being conservative is completely meaningless, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Noldrei gave Bronya a thoughtful look and said with satisfaction, "I didn't expect you to have grown so much!"
Bronya's cheeks flushed slightly. She was too embarrassed to admit that Seele was the most conservative one. Even the other Seele, Veliona, was so innocent she would blush at the sight of a doujinshi.
Bronya felt too shy to voice any other ideas to Seele, feeling that if she did, it would ruin her image in Seele's eyes.
"Schicksal's quantum communication technology has been further developed. We can now fully handle communications between Earth and the moon. Even making calls and playing mobile games together will be no problem."
Bronya switched the topic back to work, wondering if she had already been... corrupted. This definitely wasn't her inner Slaanesh demon tempting her to do these things.
It's all his fault! I didn't want to become like this.
Noldrei was oblivious to the subtle, almost doujinshi-protagonist-like changes happening in Bronya's mind. He was still munching on his snacks, enjoying the show and waiting for Kiana and Sirin to settle their dispute.
The argument between Sirin and Kiana moved from the sofa to the dining table, from the dining table to the front of the TV, and finally, they were still at it in front of the game console.
An internal conflict had erupted within the K-423s. They were determined to establish a clear hierarchy of domestic status.
"This is hilarious. What's there to even fight about? Right, Ana?" Noldrei stroked Ana Schariac's beautiful mane and asked, "Have you been out to play with Mahiru and Mei recently?"
Ana felt a little strange, but she had gotten used to her life of occasionally turning into a pony.
Her favorite thing to do was to turn into a pony with Mei and Mahiru and sunbathe in the yard.
So, even though she was being held by Noldrei in her pony form, she didn't find it uncomfortable.
"Me? Can I talk too? Kiana never does her chores. She always turns into a pink slime and just rolls over the dishes, calling it 'washing' them. Even though we know they're technically clean, we can't help but picture that when we use them. She's so bad! And she loves looking at pretty girls and making us wear weird clothes."
Ana's complaint brought Kiana and Sirin's argument to a screeching halt. Kiana's face turned beet red, and she stammered, unable to come up with a single word of defense.
Noldrei looked at Kiana in surprise, then turned to Mahiru and asked, "Is that really true? Don't we have a dishwasher?"
Mahiru didn't know what to say. She explained, "Because we split the chores, and she's always slacking off. She's too lazy to even press the button on the dishwasher."
Noldrei clicked his tongue in amazement. "Kiana, oh Kiana! Your laziness is beyond my imagination. Even I'm not that lazy."