"Ah!" I gasped, jolting awake.

Fuck...it happened again...

I panted under the covers, feeling my sweaty skin stick to my pajamas. This is uncomfortable. Guess I should get ready for the day.

I sat up in my large bed. Ever since I was forcefully dragged into the Aegis Mansion this has become my room. My room is about the size of my whole former apartment too...

The difference between the rich and the poor, huh?

I stretched my body, and as I was about to get out of bed I noticed something. A bulge under the blankets to my left.

Don't tell me-?!

I pulled the covers down to find a sleeping Iris sprawled across the left side of my bed.

Fuck me sideways...

I flicked her on the forehead. Her blue eyes slowly opened, looking at my frowning figure. She happily smiled at me.

"Hey Ken..." She sleepily greeted.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I was sleeping with you!" Iris brightly smiled.

Not even going to try and deny it, huh?

Iris yawned, sitting up. Her pajama shirt dropped down, revealing one of her bare shoulders. Her hair cascaded onto her shoulders, but it didn't cover them.

Dangerous! This girl's dangerous!

I quickly stood up, turning around. "Go back to your own room!" I demanded.

Down soldier, down! Damned teenage hormones!

"Fine..." She groaned, standing up.

She then walked out of my room in her pajamas and with her hair everywhere. I had never seen bed hair quite like it.

And then my door was suddenly slammed open.

"I just saw a messy Iris come out of your room! Did you-?!" Gasped Irene.

"No, we didn't do it!" I yelled, cutting her off. "She snuck into my room in the middle of the night."

"Oh, that's a relief." Irene sighed. "Wait...that's a good idea..."

"Get out!" I yelled at her.

"Okay, okay..." Replied Irene, exiting my room and closing the door behind her.

I'm going to need to lock my door from now on. Maybe even put a chair in front of it. Or should I just place the whole closet in front?

I'll put the chair tonight, and see if more drastic measures are needed.

Taking off my clothes, I changed into a short sleeved shirt and some shorts. Did my stomach become firmer? This must be because of all of the exercise I've been doing.

I then continued to get ready for the day, brushing my teeth, washing my face, and doing any other morning essentials.

I exited my room into the hallway. Now it's time for breakfast, and they've been forcing me to eat with them...

I walked into the dining room where Isabella, Irene, and Iris all sat. Something odd though was that Iris and Irene had changed their hairstyles.

Iris had her hair free. It now went down to her lower back. Quite long. She also had part of her hair braided so it looked like a headband.

Irene had also changed her hairstyle, swapping out the bun in the back for a ponytail that went down to her shoulders.

"New hairstyles?" I asked as I sat down at the table.

"Yeah. Do you...like it?" Iris shyly asked while blushing.

Cute.

"Ken. How is my hairstyle?" Irene also asked, but much more bluntly.

Beautiful.

"They both look good." I replied.

You might be thinking 'don't encourage the yanderes!' Well, at this point there isn't really anything I can do about it. So I'll just be nice. It'll make this more enjoyable than being a jerk to them anyways.

"Ara Ara~ Ken, what about my hairstyle?" Isabella asked.

"Yours is the same as always." I sweatdropped.

Her's really was the same as always. It's similar to Iris', where her hair is let loose and cascades down her back.

A butler walked over, placing down multiple trays of food out in front of us. And this was breakfast on a normal day.

I usually just have a protein bar.

I ate my food which consisted of fancy eggs and bacon. It was very good.

"Ken. It is time." Irene stated.

"Hm? For what?" I asked.

"Your bodyguarding reward. The research." Irene revealed.

Oh, that's right! Irene has already given me plenty of money but she hasn't shown me the research yet.

"Right. Lead the way." I said, standing up from my seat.

Irene nodded. "It is downstairs."

Huh?

"There's a downstairs!?" I exclaimed

"Yes." Isabella replied. "The Aegis Mansion has multiple floors. Two above ground but also multiple underground floors. We have a pool, a training area, a weight room, a laboratory, and more."

I just stared at them, wide eyed and mouth open.

My whole place was as large as my bedroom, and my bedroom is only a fraction of the size of this place. How rich are you guys?!

"Come." Irene said, grabbing my hand. "Let's go."

"Don't drag me!" I replied. "I can walk myself."

"Let me come too!" Iris added, grabbing onto my right arm.

"Ara~, I guess Mommy should come as well." Isabella stated, standing up from her own seat.

Why has this happened to me?

What did I do to anger you, God?

"Hm? Me?" Loki mumbled, sounding like he had just woken up.

No, not you. And how the hell can you sleep inside of my head?

"I can do many things in here. I often eat popcorn while you fight." Loki stated.

I'm not even going to ask.

We walked to an elevator, which I had no idea existed inside this house. Irene held onto my hand while Iris hung onto my arm with Isabella following us.

This family of elves is going to drive me crazy.

We entered the elevator, mostly filling it up. Irene pressed one of the buttons. The doors closed, and shortly we started moving downwards.

A couple of seconds later the elevator opened up to a hallway. The hallway had large windows on the walls that revealed the scientists working.

"Woah..." I gasped, staring at all of the researchers and scientific equipment.

"This is the Aegis Laboratory. We have a team of researchers who study Arcana's and Monsters." Irene stated. "We discovered that using a powerful Monster drop as a catalyst can increase an Arcana's rank and properties."

A Monster drop. Monsters fade away fairly quickly, but there's a rare chance that they can leave behind drops. Good examples would be an orc's ear or a Minotaur's horn.

"You successfully increased a D Rank Arcana to C Rank, right?" I asked. "What did you need to use as the catalyst."

"An A Rank Dragon's fang." Irene stated.

"Seriously?!" I exclaimed. "To increase a D Rank to C Rank?!"

"Yes." Irene nodded. "When we tried the dragon fang with a C Rank it wouldn't increase their rank to B. We believe a higher catalyst must be obtained."

"That's crazy..." I muttered.

"Indeed." Irene nodded. "Theoretically, we might even be able to increase an Arcana's rank to one higher than S Rank."

"That's unheard of." I replied. "Do you really think a Rank above S is real?"

"I'm not sure." Irene responded. "But if it is possible, then the wielder would be incredibly powerful."

A Rank above S? That never happened in the anime. Could it really be possible? If so, whoever could do that would become a monster.

"Wait, you also mentioned that it changed the Arcana's properties. What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"As you know, the base power and the potential of an Arcana is increased as the rank moves up. When we upgraded the Arcana, it increased his overall power." Irene explained.

"It increased the strength of his Arcana while also strengthening his skills. He had one skill which increased his strength. Before he could lift a car. Now he can lift a truck." Irene continued.

"And this is without any training." I added.

"Exactly." Irene nodded. "So with training, he can become even stronger and likely lift a bus after a while."

"This is insane. To think that this is possible..." I muttered.

"The Arcana System is still mostly a mystery, but this is another step to unlocking it." Irene stated.

My phone then vibrated, distracting me. I pulled it out, seeing a text from Lily. From Lily? I have her number, but I don't think she's ever texted me before.

Lily: I need your help with something. Can you meet me at the park in an hour?

I suddenly felt two dangerous stares pierce my back.

"Is that a girl?" I heard Irene ask with a sharp tone.

"Who is she, Ken?" Iris coldly asked.

"Calm down! It's just Lily!" I quickly responded.

"Oh, that's good then." Iris smiled. "She likes Eric."

"That is good," Irene agreed. "For a second I though we'd have to tie you up and interrogate you."

Please don't.

"Lily asked for some help." I stated. I then texted her back.

Me: I'll be there.