— Daniel's House - Envy Room —
Daniel was now in a pinch, yes, he was in a pinch as he was sitting on a steel chair behind a steel desk with just an old light bulb hanging on his head. In the Room, Envy looked sternly at Daniel. Greed, who came here because of a call from Envy, also joined in.
Envy had turned her room into an interrogation room, like in a detective drama.
"Okay, gentlemen, can you explain how you managed to get your hands on extinct species such as dragons and behemoths?" Envy interrogated.
This situation was the result of bringing Envy and the guest to the Clockwork Enclosure. Envy had seen many extinct creatures there, including dragons, behemoths, and even a legendary Lernean Hydra! And to top it off, Daniel also had a Kalydonian boar. What did he have next? A cosmic dragon!?
Envy knew that if this news got out about Daniel having extinct species, all the mages would surely go to war over this!
"If I said I'm cloning them, would you believe me?" Daniel asked with a wry smile, testing the waters.
Envy responded with a knowing smile. "Oh? Then where did you get their DNA from?"
"Um, it's from this," Daniel said as he took out the 'Dominus Omnium Signet' ring and showed it to Envy. [Sorry, Albert.] Daniel apologized to Albert in his mind, knowing he couldn't tell Envy that he had simply actualized it from his card. This information was too sensitive, and he planned to take it to his grave.
"Wait, you mean you got the DNA from that guy's vault!?" Envy's eyes flared as if she were about to spit fire.
"Err... What's the deal with that guy? He's not that bad... I think?" Daniel hesitated, recalling how calculating that man was. Even Daniel wasn't spared from his schemes and was shocked to suddenly find himself in possession of that troublesome ring.
Envy let out a long sigh. "Haaaa, really, Danny. You usually hate complicated things, and now you've gone and made things complicated for yourself."
"How so?" Daniel was confused.
"Haven't you studied the history of the Curtained World? Didn't I teach you about magical creatures?"
"You did, but I didn't know they were already extinct!" Daniel defended himself.
To make matters worse, some of the feces and feathers fell into the portal's energy ramp, requiring them to shut down the power grid on that entire level to clean it up.
However, the special bonus payment that accompanied their efforts was something they loved. In just six hours of intensive cleaning, they earned a bonus equal to three months' pay.
In the end, the situation concluded with only a few hiccups, and the cleaning staff celebrated their fat paycheck. But if someone were to ask if they'd want to go through that again... well, it's hard to say.
"Come with me if you don't want to be late," Will, the SD-850-I robot series built by Nexus Prime, said in his iconic unfeeling voice as he picked up Sylvana for a piggyback ride and walked toward the car parked outside.
Today was the first day Will had full responsibility for protecting little Sylvana and taking her to school instead of Michaela. Michaela had been reassigned by Daniel to protect Penthesilea, as her stomach had begun to expand slightly. With Daniel's paranoia, he absolutely wouldn't leave Penthesilea unprotected.
Meanwhile, Daniel was reading the news and sipping his morning coffee alongside a light breakfast of bacon, fried eggs, and bread, a simple way to start the day. Envy served breakfast to the family like a traditional wife, and since Greed was staying with them for a while, she also enjoyed the rich meals Envy prepared at every mealtime.
"Master, you should see this—some stupid primates are acting up," Nexus Prime's artificial voice spoke from the speaker Daniel had installed in the kitchen. He had transformed his house into a smart home and let Nexus Prime take on the role of a butler.
At that moment, Nexus Prime suddenly changed the channel to the news, earning boos from Michaela, Greed, and Penthesilea—mostly from Michaela. She immediately transformed into her archangel form and was about to fly to Nexus Prime's core to give him a piece of her mind.
The TV showed a live broadcast from the Seraphine Isles. The speaker was, of course, the supreme ruler of the Seraphine Isles, Juan Carlos de Almeida. Standing beside him were Verus Justius, the illegitimate son of Pious Justtius, and the last royal family of the Tessia Kingdom.
The live broadcast seemed to have missed the opening, but it didn't matter; Daniel wasn't interested in the introduction anyway. He was only curious about what this Juan Carlos guy was going to say.
"People call me many things—hero, general, supreme leader—but none of them are thieves!" Juan Carlos spoke with a heated demeanor.
"Of course, because anyone who dared to do so has already been sent to meet their maker," Daniel sneered. He knew how shameless Juan Carlos really was.
In truth, Juan Carlos deserved the moniker of "thief" more than anyone else. About 12 years ago, the Seraphine Isles were on the brink of positive change, with the first democratic government elected by a landslide.
And what happened? The moment the winner was declared, tanks rolled out onto the streets, and soldiers marched from their barracks, claiming that, for the sake of fairness, they needed to investigate the election process. Unsurprisingly, they announced that the election was corrupted because the people's party won by a landslide.
The people revolted but were met with harsh suppression. They were greeted with a hail of bullets, and the election ended in bloodshed, with both supporters and protesters swiftly silenced. Meanwhile, Juan Carlos's rival political party met their demise under the firing squad.
Since then, the Seraphine Isles, which should have been the Jewel of Southeast Asia, had become a country ruled with an iron fist. Juan Carlos, fearing for his power, wagged his tail at the Qing Empire, hoping to gain their help in subduing all resistance groups in his country.