MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

When Adam came back from his room after his discussion with Yui had come to an end, he could see that midnight was almost upon them and things were starting to wind down at the party.

Most of the food was already cleaned up and he could hear the explosive laughter coming from Makarov followed by a few more bouts of laughter from the others.

Approaching further, he could see that Viktor was currently conducting an arm wrestling match with Makoto. They were really going at it from the looks of it.

"Hahaha~ Dear Grandson. Don't disappoint me."

"What is happening here?"

He spoke to Susanne who was watching the fight and smiling every now and then from the sides.

"Mister made a bet with the Director and this is the result. The one who loses will have to clean everything by themselves."

"Oh. Is Prana involved in the match?"

Obviously, even in her base form, Makoto was stronger than any adult male had the right to be. But the same went for Viktor as a person from the supernatural side of the world.

Sadly, if internal reinforcement was allowed then Viktor had zero chance of winning this bout.

"Nah. This is just for fun and he said they might destroy the backyard if they went at it with Prana."

The arm wrestling was fun to watch and in the end, Viktor managed to take the victory by a hair's breadth.

After all, though she was stronger overall, Makoto was primarily using some techniques to keep up with Viktor till the very end but she was not able to beat Brawn with her skills alone, unfortunate as that may be.

Seeing a dainty and frail woman like Makoto nearly beat a muscular young man like Viktor was quite a surreal sight for everyone but Adam was used to it by now.

"Adam, you wanna join?"

"Haha, nah. I am alright."

He had sealed most of his strength for today and he didn't want to have to use it just for wrestling another person.

Refusing Viktor in a small tone, he gave a look at Susanne who was staring at him.

"Anything the matter?"

She shook her head and placed a finger at her temple. "I just received a message."

Thanks to working with the church now, she also upgraded her equipment to the latest model and was able to use the state-of-the-art VR technology that worked on lenses.

"The saintess said she wanted to speak to you later in the week if you had some time for her."

Adam remembered the dagger he was given by her and wondered if she had noticed that it had been destroyed already.

Either way, all the discussion with Elysia had been quite delightful up to now and so he had no reticence about meeting with her again.

It was also helpful in knowing a little more about the church and how it worked. The more understanding he had of the various powers of the supernatural world, the more he could prepare for any off chance where he had to antagonize such organizations.

"Well. Now that the match has been decided already, why don't we start?"

Even though Viktor had won, he was the first one to start working on cleaning things up.

Adam shrugged his shoulders and he started helping as well to lighten the burden of the two.

It didn't take long for others to come and give a hand in the cleaning process as well. It was nothing big but it made them feel a little more close to each other as they worked together to tidy everything up. Group activities were always the best to help each other mingle after all.

While Adam was working on cleaning up the barbecue, Theresa approached him from a distance with light and pronounced steps, letting him know of her arrival.

"You seem rather weak today. Were you wounded somehow? You should be more careful out there, you know?"

Even though her tone was brisk, she was clearly asking him out of the worry she felt for his well-being and this was enough to make Adam smile. It was always delightful to interact with family after all.

"I am alright. I am just consciously restraining my powers for today."

"I see. You are quite talented to be able to do so to such a degree. It almost feels like you're a normal human right now."

Theresa nodded to herself after hearing him out. Though she did not say anything more, her eyes never left his visage; as if trying to fuse his image in her mind.

"Hmm…"

"What is it?"

"You are staring at me…"

"I know."

"....It's making me a little uncomfortable, to be honest. I'd like it if you stopped doing that."

"Why? Do you not like being stared at by a beautiful woman like me?"

She tilted her head out of genuine wonder which rendered Adam absolutely speechless. This shamelessness reminded him of Cecilia and made him realize once again that those two didn't only have their appearances in common. It seemed like Theresa had also picked up some of his mother's more annoying set of abilities.

"Speaking of beauty and whatnot, I suppose you won't tell me how my dear sister became so young and strong all of a sudden?"

Her eyebrow rose along with a playful smirk to which Adam merely shook his head in response, "It isn't a secret or anything. I can tell you, of course. I have Miss Freud to thank for mother's improved condition."

"Oh… I knew that she was a young genius who created many new kinds of medicine but I would have never thought she was that good."

Adam nearly laughed out loud at the title of 'Young Genius' that was being thrown around to describe her but he was able to keep it in check just in time.

"Does it mean that she will be completely healed soon?"

Adam was about to say no when he stopped and thought things through.

Cecilia had been quite clear that they would need the help of a Zodiac for that matter. So, what about telling Theresa the truth and having her use her connections to help them?

If the Kaminari family was so awesome, they should have at least one zodiac or have contact with one at the least, right? Maybe he could use their help to cure his mother once and for all.

He hesitated, knowing that he couldn't tell all the truth now at least, "We found a way. It won't be easy and we might need help. What do you say?"

Even if they couldn't get a Zodiac, getting a Director with a divine weapon on hand should still be very useful for them, right? At least Adam was willing to believe in that scenario, so he asked Theresa for her assistance in this matter.

Theresa's eyes narrowed slightly before she nodded, "Very well. I don't know what kind of secret you two are hiding, but I am willing to help if it can heal that troublesome muscle head of a sister of mine. She will owe me after this so that's a plus too."

Adam had to remark in his mind… Despite her tough exterior and front, it seemed like she had a heart of gold.

'Is this what they call a Tsundere? I guess my aunt is cuter than I thought.'

"I don't know why, but I feel like you are having very rude thoughts about me right now."

"Hehe, must be your imagination."

She gave him a glance full of suspicion before continuing to help him out.

Later on, Yui came down and it was followed not long after by Cecilia and Shuri.

They also gave a hand and soon, everything was completely cleaned up before midnight.

.

.

.

A few moments later, Adam was standing at the door all alone. He had been bidding his farewell to everyone and was looking as Shuri and Yui were now leaving in their car.

Makarov had already left again to go to his work and Susanne had left with Viktor for a personal after-party between the two.

What they wanted to do was quite clear for everyone and seeing the blush that had gone up all the way to his ears on Viktor's face when he left with her, Adam could only laugh at his mind about how shy the hulking mass of muscles actually was.

Cecilia on the other hand had been pulled to some corner by Theresa and made to go along with her on a sibling's night out. Seems like she would be forced to sleep in Theresa's home tonight.

Now, all alone, Adam could finally savor the feeling of quietness that he had been craving for some time.

He walked up to the sofa and turned the TV on, watching a meaningless reality show about a group of mixed young adults of mixed genders all living in a house.

It didn't take long for him to simply have glazed eyes as what actually happened did not even register in his mind.

He wondered what he should do right now.

If everything had been normal… He would be studying right now, perhaps even preparing for some exam…

.

"I should perhaps go take a look at school?"

He spoke out loud, to no one in particular, and did not expect an answer to come his way either.

He was just feeling slightly empty, realizing that he did not really have any hobbies of his own outside of studying or killing.

"Or I could just train?"

He chuckled.

"I am really a boring person through and through."

There was not much else he could say to describe himself.

A boring person, with no particular grand objectives or things he wished to do in his life.

If his life was a story, it would most likely be a pretty dry and boring story that would be used primarily as a device to make one go to sleep.

Taking out his phone, he looked at his rather short contact list and his eyes settled on the names of Natasha, Sae, and Alberto.

'I wonder how all of them are doing right now?'

"Hopefully better than me."

He sent a message to the three of them. It wasn't much and they might not even be able to see it.

But it was something at least.

Once he was done, he closed his eyes and rested his mind.

Sleeping might be able to help him a little, he thought absentmindedly.

Sadly for him, sleep never came.