As Ezraphel escorted her sister out of the living room and into the Demon Realm space Thera broke the silence to start up a conversation.
"Your husband is a very peculiar man."
"Heehee~ Stanley is wonderful" the taller Lilim couldn't help but smile.
"His attitude leaves much to be desired though."
"Oh? I thought you would appreciate his bluntness the same way you seemed to like his wilful stubborness" she air quoted.
Thera didn't seem very surprised that Ezraphel was listening in and merely said "I'm surprised you allowed his personality to remain so in all honesty."
"Then perhaps dear sister" Ezraphel stopped at a particular door with her back to Thera looking over her shoulder "you don't know me as well as you think you do."
That got a reaction out of Thera in the form of a minute twitch in her otherwise impeccable facial expression.
"Here we are" Ezraphel opened the door to reveal a mundane bathroom by modern Earth standards "oh whoops, wrong one" she closed the door and opened it again to reveal the more magnificent version "there we go~" she smiled pleasantly.
Thera raised a brow but ultimately entered without comment. As the door shut before her Ezraphel lost the pleasant smile and her expression turned into worry as she bit her thumb nail.
As much as she was happy to see her sister, even Ezraphel couldn't help but feel frustrated. Admittedly it wasn't the worst time for her sister to make a sudden appearance, in fact it could have been at a significantly more inconvenient time. Or worse, it could have been one of her other consideratelyless conservative older siblings to appear. As far as her sisters were concerned Thera might actually have been one of if not the perfect one to appear at this time. With what she and Stanley had been discussing, Thera's aid would significantly accelerate the potential timeline they would be looking at to prepare Earth for contact with mamono.
Unlike her Thera had experience with converting human settlements into mamono sanctuaries without resorting to corruption and turning them into demon realms. Before coming to Earth Ezraphel never really understood why Thera employed these kinds of tactics instead of sticking to the tried and true method of demon realm conversion through corruption but now, even beyond going along with her Stanley's wishes, she understood the importance of such tactics.
"Haa~" letting out a sigh, Ezraphel couldn't help but to lament the ignorance of her younger self.
Meanwhile…
Stanley entered the dining room and found that much like Ezraphel the room had changed into something fancy but thankfully not too indulgent with a chandelier hanging above them. The table had also changed from circular to rectangle becoming large enough to host the five of them.
Upon seeing him Natalie asked "where's Ez and her sister?"
"Bathroom" he answered before making his way to sit at the head of the table.
Natalie and Anastasia were seated on his left, equally spaced from each other. He noted that the two of them were in fancy dresses that were 'mamono compliant' (i.e. much cleavage, high slits and form fitting while leaving little to the imagination). Natalie's was wine red while Ana's was beige.
"So was this part of the plan or did Ez make a last minute change because of our guest?" He asked out of mild curiosity.
"She wanted to make a good first impression."
"A little too late for that."
"You know I said the same thing when she decided to leave you alone with her sister." She commented "by the way, how did that go? Is Earth about to get invaded or what?"
"I think we managed to dodge that bullet."
"Thank fucking God" the Wight sighed and even Ana let out a breath of relief.
"But we are definitely going to see more mamono crossing over from Eos."
This startled the duo with Natalie frowning "did you-"
"No, I didn't fuck up" he shot down "Ez's family was worried about her so her parents had Thera and another Lilim looking into finding her. As far as we know those four plus their oldest sister are the only ones who know about her being missing and the other four were too preoccupied to come with Thera."
"But they know where Thera Is?"
"Yeah."
"What's stopping them from coming to check eventually?"
"Ez's parents are mostly hands off when it comes to raising them after a certain point. So long as their life isn't in danger they'll leave them alone. As for the other two Lilims, one of them is managing a kingdom and the other one recently found herself a husband so she's not gonna be caring about much for the next couple of weeks at minimum."
"Really, weeks?" Natalie asked.
"At minimum" he emphasized.
"Okay so we won't have to worry about more mamono coming over."
"Not unless Ez or Thera's lives are in danger no. At least not yet." he added and upon seeing Natalie's expression continued "more are going to show up and even though Thera doesn't seem so gungho about conquering the world there is no way she's going to just turn a blind eye to Earth. There's more humans here than the entire population of Eos."
Natalie drummed her fingers on the table "yeah that's…" she trailed off a bit before shaking her head "if I'm being honest here I kinda figured this was going to happen sooner or later."
'Same' Stanley mentally agreed.
"I just thought it would be later," Natalie finished.
There was a bout of silence after this that was broken by a single question.
"What are you going to do?"
Surprisingly it was Ana who spoke and it was a testament to the mood that her speaking didn't even register to the siblings.
"I do what I was talking to Ez about doing literally before Thera showed up."
There was a brief pause that had Natalie asking "and that Is?"
"We lock in and start actively making moves so that when mamono and Eos are eventually revealed to the public we don't kick off a whole ass war because of it."
"And what about Eos?" Ana asked again.
"What?"
"What if Eos finds out about Earth?" The Golem clarified.
"..." Stanley said nothing.
"That's a good question actually" Natalie added, looking vaguely troubled.
"..." he remained silent.
"You didn't think about that did you?"
He might have overlooked that tidbit in his quest to make sure that Thera wasn't a flight risk and even then he wasn't even sure on that front. Frankly, the fact that some members of Ezraphel's family knew about her dimensional displacement and had the means to access Earth was terrifying enough. He took solace in the fact that they were keeping it a secret and that the one to end up here seemed to not want to go about letting more mamono through and spreading corruption. He really didn't want to entertain the idea of the secret of Earth's existence getting out and having mamono on Eos actively attempting to cross over.
So he slouched in his chair and dragged both palms down his face and groaned out "shit man, can we just deal with the stuff we got going on over here instead of whatever the fuck's happening in another dimension?"
"...Im sorry."
"Don't apologize," he said tiredly, "you have the right idea I just really don't want to think about shit right now."
but how the hell is worrying about it going to help us now?"
"So later then?" Natalie chimed in.
Stanley let out another groan but didn't dispute it, instead he waved a hand " Yeah sure whatever."
'Fuck me, I just want to eat something, go to sleep and get this fucking day over with' he thought bitterly while sinking further into the chair.
Natalie and Ana shared a concerned glance but straightened up as the door opened and the Lilims walked inside. Ezraphel took her seat at the other end of the table directly opposite of and the furthest away from Stanley while Thera seated herself on his right directly across from Natalie. It was noted that the Lilim no longer wore her gloves. With everyone seated Ezraphel clapped her hands and a moment later a veritable army of maids walked through with trays of covered dishes.
In a few short minutes the table was set and in a single movement the dishes were uncovered revealing that just like breakfast all the meals present were his favorites though he couldn't help but note that the presentation made it seem as if they were fancier than they were. Stanley wondered if Ezraphel made the change just now or if this was always the plan.
'Whatever.'
In the end it didn't matter. He was already feeling some hunger pangs before but smelling the various delicious aromas enveloping the immediate area seemed to increase it. So after taking a minute to pile his plate with an assortment of foodstuffs he dug in. Despite the downturn in his mood he did not forget to mind his manners and table etiquette while eating.
He may be annoyed and hangry but he was at least mindful not to make a further fool of himself and his loved ones by extension in front of Thera. It only dawned on him now in hindsight that Thera was Ezraphel's older sister and an interdimensional princess, a fact that he has taken for granted with Ezraphel because with their relationship they were beyond paying heed to any lip service in regards to her official position. The same couldn't be said for Thera who was not only a stranger to him but seemed much less personable than her younger sibling.
Did that mean Stanley was going to give her the respect and deference that her position afforded her? Probably not, he just didn't have it in him to keep up that kind of facade, especially not after he set a precedent with his earlier actions. He still thought it was a good call to confront her, maybe he could have handled it better, no he definitely could have but there was nothing to be done about it now other than toning down the attitude during future interactions.
Thankfully it wouldn't be hard as he somewhat blamed the stress of the situation making him act the way he did. Hell, the proof could be seen in the way he was currently devouring the food before him. It was frankly a miracle he was able to observe table manners in his current state of mind.
For several minutes the only thing that could be heard was the sound of utensils on plates which made for a rather awkward near silent affair. Stanley actually preferred it this way, less distractions preventing from getting his fill and leaving. Ezraphel seemed to understand this was what he wanted on a fundamental level and let the silence persist though he felt some hesitancy from her as well as concern. Thera seemed content with the silence as she ate at a measured pace with all the grace of royalty. Ana wasn't talkative to begin with though the atmosphere seemed to get to her somewhat as shown by the subtle tension in her shoulder.
Unfortunately for Stanley there was one person that did not want to let things remain as they were.
"So Thera," Natalie began "how has your experience in another world been so far?"
Normally Stanley would bemoan the loss of blessed silence but even he wasn't deluded enough to believe this kind of tension filled silence was good so he decided to let things play out.
Thera swallowed before dabbing her lips with a napkin "not terrible. I am very curious to see what your world has to offer given your lack of magic or anything inherently supernatural from what your brother explained."
"Oh?" Natalie glanced at Stanley who studiously ignored her "he explained that did he?"
"Yes, he was very passionate in his explanation of the overall state of your world."
"Well he can be very passionate when he feels strongly about something" she nodded "I doubt he was thorough though so if you have any further questions I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability."
Ezraphel chose that moment to interject "perhaps we can table that discussion until after dinner?"
Natalie and Thera glanced at her with the former frowning only for Ezraphel's gaze to flash her gaze meaningfully to the other end of the table at which the Wight looked to her brother who kept on eating.
For his part Stanley heaved a mental sigh before saying "it's fine."
Ezraphel paused for a moment before asking "are you sure?"
"I don't mind talking things out like this over dinner. If Thera's anything like you she'll have a lot of questions" his gaze turned to the Lilim in question who was observing him with that same clinical yet not unpleasant gaze "right?"
"If it isn't a bother?"
He waved away her concern "nah, just be warned that we can't really answer anything too technical. Like, just because we use these things on a daily basis doesn't mean we know the details behind how they operate."
"I assume you are referring to the devices scattered throughout your home? I observed that they bear some resemblance to some of my world's Magitech."
Natalie chimed in "we don't have magic here so it's just 'tech' or technology but that's just a broad term."
"I am familiar-"
As polite conversation flowed the tension that blanketed the room lessened into something more underlying. Even Stanley chimed in every once in a while as Thera asked general questions about Earth, its people, the history of the world, various major countries, their cultures and so on. She seemed to be particularly interested in the various technological advancements and communication methods.
In turn Thera answered questions they had about Eos as she seemed to be more knowledgeable in general than Ezraphel while also being tapped into the political and socio economical spheres of the various mamono nations. Ezraphel of course seemed to take it as an opportunity to gossip and Thera to his surprise seemed to at least be showing the same tendencies albeit more restrained. This was the part of the conversation that Stanley didn't try to ignore, partly out of curiosity but mostly out of pragmatism. He couldn't afford to be ignorant about the state of affairs of Eos.
Eventually the food was finished and it was now time for dessert. This time Ezraphel left the room along with the Golem maids who cleared the table. When she arrived she was singing the birthday song which startled him for a moment.
'Oh right, it's my birthday' he realized.
To be honest he completely forgot about that but in his defense a lot of pressing stuff happened in a relatively short amount of time. Natalie joined in singing with Ana following suite and after a moment even Thera joined in with a touch of amusement on her face. Stanley did not blush! And he will vehemently deny such a thing till the day he dies.
Fighting off the warmth in his cheeks he set his sights on the cake as Ezraphel set it down before him. The cake was chocolate based, covered in chocolate shavings and circling the top were eight swirls of whipped cream. Each swirl was topped with a cherry and at the center was a single lit candle. Overall the cake was a modest thing, not that he was disappointed or anything he was just surprised with her choice considering how over the top she's been about his birthday so far.
Glancing at the Lilim he found her with an expression of anticipation on her face. It looked as if she was expecting something from him so he looked at the cake and-
'Hold up…' his eyes narrowed.
Now that he was looking at it closely there was something familiar about the cake. Eventually his memory clicked, his eyes widened before they looked at Ezraphel who now had a Cheshire grin.
"No way…"
"Yes way Stanley" she grinned wider "now blow out the candle and make a wish~"
Shaking his head he did just that blowing out the candle only to immediately witness the entire cake get blown away into fragments of dust. Everyone just sort of stared at what was once a cake for a moment with Natalie mouthing a what in the…?
Then Thera piped up "I am assuming that wasn't supposed to happen?"
Because clearly it wasn't given the looks of shock on the majority of their faces, all except-
"Fufufufu" Ezraphel snickered, bringing attention to her.
Stanley immediately realized what was going to happen next and spoke up "don't you dare."
"I am sorry to say Stanley but" she bit her lip "the cake is a lie."
'...she actually did it.'
There was a beat of silence as he stared blankly at her while everyone else had varying degrees of confusion on their faces. It was clear that this was an inside joke but
"Where have I heard that before?"
"The Portal meme" Stanley supplied his gaze looking down so that his eyes couldn't be seen "it's the freaking Portal meme."
At that Natalie snapped her fingers "oh yeah! Man, I haven't heard that one in a while."
"I am a bit confused." Thera spoke, "what does a portal have to do with the cake?"
"It's…" Natalie began only to be interrupted by something that took them all off guard to varying degrees.
"Hehehe"
It was laughter.
"Hahahahaha-"
Stanley's laughter.
"O-of all the stupid things" he spoke between guffaws.
'She got me with that freaking meme!'
Stanley didn't even know why he was laughing, not really. If he were to guess he would chalk it up to the events of the day finally getting to him and him just no longer giving a fuck anymore. This was him letting go, at least for the time being and just letting the stupid joke get him.
"Okay, that was pretty good," he admitted while wiping away the tears.
'Fuck, she got me crying and shit too.' The joke wasn't even that good 'how chalked am I?'
After calming down he adopted a somewhat serious tone as he said "but seriously, I want to actually eat cake now."
"Of course Stanley."
With a snap of her finger the remnants of dusted Portal cake swirled like a tornado gradually expanding up until it stopped to reveal another cake.
'Now this is what I was expecting in the first place.'
This time the cake was a triple stacked multi layered monstrosity with a videogame theme. The first stack was green with the X-Box iconography, the one on top of it was white with PlayStation decorations and the top stack was red and blue with a Nintendo theme. At the stop there was a miniature Stanley in the 8 bit style holding up a decorative Switch with the words Level 25 Unlocked written on the screen. And of course there were sparklers surrounding the edges of all three stacks because why not?
Speaking of, "how am I supposed to blow out the 'candles' here Ez?"
His question had the Lilim pause "well you already technically blew out a candle so all that is left is to make a wish."
"You want me to make a wish on a lie?" He raised an amused brow.
"Perish the thought!" She gasped overdramatically to which he shook his head. "For propensity's sake try to blow out a sparkler and make a wish anyway."
He didn't bother to question it but he did take a moment to think about what he wanted for a wish before blowing out a sparkler. The others went out as well and Ezraphel gave a cheer with Natalie joining in and Ana blowing a party blower she got from somewhere. Even Thera gave a few golf claps out of politeness which was kinda weird to see, her making an attempt to actively participate in the celebration that is.
He pegged her as the silent observant type.
'Oh well he mentally shrugged.
"Let's eat."