From Mimic to World's strongest daughter

Chapter 30

Y/n's POV

After rescuing the Haulia members who were imprisoned, we brought them out to the land away from the kingdom before they talked about taking on the Empire and taking it out. Shea didn't approve of their plan, but eventually, they convinced her it was something important to the whole Haulia tribe. We spent the night outside the kingdom before preparing to enter the kingdom the next morning. Mama and Papa were awake and talking with each other while I watched from a distance. Mama kissed Papa's cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck. "That was out of the blue." Papa commented. Mama leaned back, looking at Papa with her arms still around his neck. "I was just thinking about last night." Mama mentioned. Papa gasped a little hearing that come from Mama. "You put Shea's feelings first before your own mission. It makes me how much you care about her. And that you have other things important to you. It felt good to see." Mama added, smiling at him. Papa scoffed as he looked at her.

"Is Shea special to you too now?" Mama asked. Papa explained Mama was the only special one from this world. I smiled happily just seeing Papa being honest with Mama since he normally kept to himself no matter what happened. "I wouldn't mind if it were Shea, but it's nice to hear," Mama said, looking a little disappointed. Papa turned Mama's head to face him before he kissed her. "Y/n? What are you doing?" Kouki asked. I waved for him to go away before I heard him walking off. "Hey! Nagumo! You up here?" Kouki asked. I groaned as I looked in the direction he walked. "Damn it. That dude has the worst timing ever. It's like he has awkward moment radar." Papa complained.

"There's no escape for you now," Mama commented before pushing Papa down and kissing him again. Shizuku was looking for Kouki and Papa and came up over the hill, seeing Mama and Papa kissing. Everyone came looking for them as I sighed. "Seriously! It's way too early in the morning for you two to be perving out." Shea shouted, scolding them. I got up and walked over as Mama offered for Shea to join in before Kaori started scolding her, almost revealing that she was jealous about it. Tio even tried to join in as Papa and Mama just smiled at each other. After that, we headed back into the empire, Shea looking a little nervous about being back. "Shea, I have a question, if that's okay." I said, getting her attention.

"Sure, what's up?" Shea asked, looking at me.

"Would you feel better if I mimicked you a little more? That way I look more like a rabbit-man?" I asked. Shea looked at me concerned before stopping and kneeling down. "You don't have to do that, plus if you did that'd put a target on your back. I can't let you do that." Shea said. She rested her hands on my shoulders, and she stared into my eyes. "Okay, I won't do it. But if you need it, just let me know." I said. Shea nodded before patting my head. "You're the best, Y/n," Shea said. We ended up heading to the castle with Kouki and his hero party, asking to meet with Princess Lily. I was standing next to Shea before grabbing her hand. I felt her flinch a little before relaxing as we looked at each other. A knight came out to greet Kouki before the knight noticed Shea. "By the way, who is this rabbit-man with you?" The knight asked. I heard Shea gasp as her grip tightened a little on my hand. "She's not wearing a slave collar, is she?" The knight asked.

"Uh... No, she's not..." Kouki started.

"Excuse me, little bunny girl. Help me satisfy my curiosity. You and I have met before, haven't we?" the knight asked. I looked at Shea, who was confused by his question, before she gasped and took a step forward. "No, this can't be real..." Shea whispered. The knight walked over to us and stood in front of Shea. "We took in a pretty good haul selling all your friends to the slave merchants. I bet we could make a real bundle auctioning off your fluffy little tail though." The knight said, grabbing Shea's chin with his fingers. Shea clicked her tongue as I let go of her hand, stepping in front of her. "Let her go." I warned. The knight looked down at me before laughing. "Oh yeah? What is a little twerp like you going to do if I don't?" He asked, keeping his hand on Shea.

"Y/n, don't." Shea said. I just glared at the knight as he looked up at Shea again. "Would you look at that, a cute little girl defending a beastman. Hide your destain, girl. You're a fool if you think your partnership with the hero makes you off-limits. Know your place, you disgusting beastman." The knight shouted. Shea just huffed before turning away from the knight. The knight turned to face Kouki. "I hate to inconvenience you, Sir Hero, but I must request you hand this beastman over to the empire. We have no shortage of quality female rabbitmen, and we'd be happy to replace her, of course." The knight said. Kouki was stunned to hear this as I reached up to grab the knight and pull him down to my level. "Hey scum bag," Papa said, as I stopped. The knight turned to face Papa. "Excuse me?" The knight asked, looking at Papa.

"We don't have time to waste indulging you in whatever desperate power trip you're on. Know your place, you trash," Papa said, glaring at the man. The man clicked his tongue before looking away. We were led inside to Princess Lily's room, where I laid down on the bed while everyone else talked. They talked about everything that had happened last night while Papa and Mama ignored her while playing with Shea's ears and face. She was clearly trying to scold Papa, but he was just brushing her off. Shea tried to play off how she was feeling about everything going on with her tribe. It was funny watching Princess Lily try to scold Papa while he just kept brushing her off. After a while, a knight came to get us so that Papa could meet with the Emperor. We were led to the small throne room, standing in front of a man. "So you're Hajime Nagumo." The Emperor said. Papa stepped forward and bowed to him slightly.

"Yes. I am Hajime Nagumo, Your Highness," Papa started. I smiled as everyone freaked out a bit about how Papa was acting in front of the Emperor. "What's with the shocked looks on your faces?" Papa asked. The Emperor laughed as he looked at Papa. "I'd prefer it if you'd drop the affectation. The Princess has already described you as naturally rude and arrogant. I want to see the true, authentic you, not this humble, butt-kissing act." The Emperor said. Papa clicked his tongue as he looked back at Princess Lily. "Fine with me. If you want honest, you've got it." Papa said, giving the Emperor a smirk.

"I have an immense interest in you. Rumor has it that you overcame a Great Labyrinth and subsequently gained the ability to make artifacts. I'm told these artifacts can obliterate entire demon armies and even complete a month's long journey in a mere matter of days. Impressive claims, to say the least. Are they true?" The Emperor asked.

"They are," Papa answered.

"Then is it also true that you have no intention of sharing these artifacts with the kingdom or empire?" The Emperor asked.

"Yup," Papa answered.

"What right do you have to monopolize such awesome power? You don't honestly believe we'd allow that, do you?" The Emperor asked.

"I have the right because I have the power. Even if you don't allow it, good luck stopping me." Papa answered. The knights around the Emperor prepared to move against Papa as I readied myself to summon my rifle. Papa took a sip of his tea while we noticed the knights preparing to attack if needed outside. "Um, please, there's no need for violence." Princess Lily begged. The Emperor laughed before having his men stand down due to not knowing if anyone wanted to know what Papa could do. "I'm not sure why you're so excited by that." Papa said, looking at the Emperor.

"Seriously? I'm the head of the Empire, aren't I? I wouldn't be much of an emperor if I didn't find great power exciting. And on top of that, you've surrounded yourself with some pretty exciting women as well. Although this one differs from the others. Where did you get them? Can you at least share one of them? You've got so many." The Emperor asked, gesturing to me when he mentioned being different.

"Say that again and I'll crack your skull. Wait actually, you can have Tio if you want," Papa said. Tio was shocked to hear this before getting all weird because she thought of it as punishment. "Not gonna lie, she's got her fair share of issues, but she's pretty." Papa said.

"An emperor knows how to spot a ticking time bomb," the Emperor said before clearing his throat, "if I had my druthers, this rabbitgirl here is quite captivating. I've never encountered a beastmen with such an interesting hair color, and I like her not seeming the least bit intimidated by me. In fact, she reminds me of some toys I recently captured. I wonder if they're related." The Emperor said, looking at Shea. Shea was shocked to hear that the emperor possibly knew that she was related to the ones they captured. Mama and Shea looked at each other, with Mama giving Shea a smile. "I don't know, but she's not a damn toy," Papa said.