Astrid Celestrixia idly swings her leg back and forth, her heel lightly hitting the metal guardrails lining the pavement as she waits, standing a couple of metres from the obscured entrance to the Rosette Spire. She had arrived a bit ahead of schedule thanks to an overenthusiastic tram driver, so Mireille was probably still busy giving her subjects their usual lecture. It didn't help that it was beyond freezing and she forgot to bring a coat.

Tch. Should have brought the Vita.

Bored and tired of doing nothing, Astrid flipped out her phone and began idly scrolling through her notifications. Usual stuff - overly friendly university emails, the same old boring list of boring job offers, likes and reposts on a bunch of her social media posts, a few notifications from link aggregation subcommunities she's subscribed to, a bunch of messages from Alicia with cute anime girls intertwined with stupid memes...

After some time had passed, Mireille Ardana stepped out from the shadows, dressed in that typically flashy outfit - white hair that was almost too bright flowing in the air, a black dress barely covering her shoulders or arms, finely-crafted purple stiletto heels no more than four inches tall, and her twin pistols - the delicate and lightweight Iris, and the rugged and thunderous Orchid - holstered at both sides of her hip for all the world to see. A gentle smile plays at her lips as she notices Astrid standing there, distracted.

Slowly, she approaches the younger girl, her high-heeled footsteps loud and commanding as a military leader's should be as she stomps down the pavement in a rhythmic beat.

Slowly, Astrid feels a pair of hands sliding up from behind her back. Before she can react, Mireille already has her in a tight grip, her body pressed up against the other's back. The hacker's face turns a bright crimson as she realises what's going on.

Rule #1 of combat, ma chérie. Never let your opponent sneak up behind you.

Astrid can only respond in an ultra-flustered manner as Mireille continues to hold her tight. Clearly, the young matriarch missed her beloved.

O-Oi! L-Let go of me!

With a brief chuckle, Mireille finally releases Astrid from the impromptu hug. Astrid lets out a sigh of relief as she recollects herself, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

Frick's sake... you're clingier than Ali sometimes, I swear.

Ahaha. It's wonderful to see you, Astrid. My girls have been keeping me rather busy, as you may assume. Now, about this "new weapon" you informed me of no more than ten days ago...

Right, getting straight to business after embarrassing the hell out of me, hm? That's just like you. Come on. We'll talk about it over lunch.

Her hands no longer trembling, Astrid grabs Mireille's hand and happily leads her back to the main street, boarding the first tram to the heart of Lymerose's central parade.

As the tram rolled through the streets, Astrid relaxed as she sat by the frontmost window, leaning over the windowsill and looking over the rolling Britannic hills, while Mireille stood, holding onto a handlebar dangling from a bar going across the top of the vehicle as she gently smiled down at Astrid, who right now was having the time of her life just by watching the streets go by.

Are you more enamoured with the promise of lunch, or with the street?

It's none of that, I'm excited about the ride! It's about the experience, you know? Trams are cool! It's like... train, but more on the ground! More, like... pedestrian! You get what I mean.

Ahaha, is that so? I feel as though I can never understand your affection for railway transport, however adorable it may be. It occurs to me, do you not ride these services daily?

Yeah! Isn't it great?

Mireille nearly rolls her eyes at Astrid's enthusiastic response. Right on cue, the tram gradually comes to a stop.

This is: Amethyst Square, The Parade. This is a Lymerose Trams service to: Lymerose Central Hospital.

Astrid was first off the tram, Mireille following soon after. Astrid looks around, scanning the area and looking for crowded places, while Mireille walks up behind her.

Mm, I'm not really in the mood for anything fancy. How about we just get fast food and sit outside?

Perfectly fine by me. I am getting rather tired of the far-too-extravagant dishes my own chefs prepare. But are you certain you wish to sit outside in this weather?

Astrid rolls her eyes, ignoring Mireille's concern... or tease, she can't tell. She leads the way to her favourite fast food spot – a family-run fried chicken shop with a relatively demure atmosphere compared to the "fancier" spots around the city. She orders a chicken burger for herself and a chicken wrap for Mireille, who was patiently sitting on one of the chairs on the outside of the restaurant.

Astrid comes back outside, handing Mireille her wrap and sitting down, and immediately taking a bite of her sandwich. Mireille slowly tears the paper off her wrap and takes a much more modest bite.

Sooo... yeah. About my idea. Cyclica's fantastic and everything, but ever since a mission that... Well, I won't get too into that, but I've started to think about my combat repertoire. And so I have an idea for a weapon with a bit more... y'know, reach.

Mhmm, I see. I'm all ears, my love.

...Well, the whole reason I called you is 'cos I need your expertise. You see, I can make a whole fricking chainsaw sword with its own programming interface and IPC with my other tools... But I'm no gunsmith. And I'd want something way bigger than a simple sidearm.

Ohoho, I like where this is going. You're thinking something with real stopping power, yes? A true queen's weapon – something to make even my girls jealous?

Astrid lets out a sarcastic scoff as Mireille brings up the other Rosette Veil members. They practically treated Astrid like second-in-command, despite their only obligation being to "protect" her.

As if I needed one more reason for them to bow down to me...

Oh, darling, it would give them a dozen more reasons, I'm certain. Just imagine the look of pure envy on their faces as you strut around with your new toy. It would be glorious.

...So, imagine me against one of them massive demons, right? Kingdom of Five Frickheads or whatever. And I'm zooming around the place and slicing and dicing, as I do. But what if I could dash into the prick's face and just go like:

Astrid raises her left arm, and imitates firing a hand cannon, complete with stupid recoil and an imitated sound effect. Mireille laughs openly at Astrid's imitation, thoroughly entertained by her girlfriend's theatrics.

Oh, mon amour, that is positively inspired. You'd be unstoppable – Cyclica in one hand, and a cannon in the other! You're practically designing yourself a war goddess' arsenal!

Ha! You think so? ...I guess to your girls, I am basically a goddess, huh? Especially with our ancestral history...

Ah, yes, the "blood oath" our ancestors swore in the ancient past, mm? Centuries of lineage and legacy, reduced to us bickering about weapons like spoiled nobles. Destiny has a wonderful sense of humour, does it not?

... So about my idea—

Yes, yes, your big, bad weapon. Something about a cannon, correct? One that may, perhaps, fit into your left hand, lightweight enough to support fluid motion, but heavyweight enough to fire armour-piercing rounds?

Yeah, yeah! I was thinking of a hybrid between a revolver and a shotgun, which draws power from the universe's entropy rather than firing physical ammo. That way, it can synchronise with me in a way no other weapon can – and that keeps the design lightweight, probably! ...So, you think you can help me build that?

Ahaha. "Help you"? Darling, I'll get our top engineers on the job, and they shall craft a weapon worthy of your legacy. Consider your new cannon as good as done. Though, I can already hear the horrified screams of my engineers when you present them with the firmware requirements...

Well, don't make it about my stupid legacy... How about just making it for me because I'm awesome and you love me?

Hahaha. If that is how you would prefer it.

After a much faster direct tram ride back inside the Celestrixia Domain, Mireille checks her surroundings to ensure no one's snooping in on the two of them, before she leads Astrid inside of the Rosette Spire.

Mireille grins mischievously as she strides confidently through the gunsmithing halls, her heels echoing with authority. The Veil's engineers pause mid-task, eyes widening as they recognised their Velour Matron and their Maîtresse entering with a sense of smugness. Astrid happily follows Mireille, strolling in like she's prime VIP... because she basically was.

As soon as they enter, Mireille slaps a large sheet of paper onto the central workbench and, with terrifying speed and efficiency, sketches up a complete schematic for Astrid's new weapon. She stomps her heel into the floor twice, commanding attention.

Écoutez attentivement ! Annulez tous vos projets en cours. La Maîtresse a une demande spéciale, et nous allons la satisfaire à la perfection. Compris ?

Astrid blinks. She didn't speak a word of French, but she can at least tell Mireille wasn't exactly being generous, by her tone of voice... and the fact all of the Veil members immediately scrambled to get to work, as if their lives depended on it.

You don't have to bully them into doing it, you know... Eh, I guess you're not their boss for nothing.

Mireille laughs heartily and puts her arm around Astrid pulling her closely, clearly attempting to show off in front of her girls. Astrid quickly realises her girlfriend is faking it and subtly rolls her eyes.

Come, my love, to my office! We shall bond over wine and imported cheeses!

W-Wait, what are you—

Before Astrid can finish her sentence, Mireille pulls her out of the gunsmithing workshop and down the corridor to her private quarters.

Astrid huffs as she helps herself to the sofa inside Mireille's room as Mireille walks over to the fridge, taking out a small bottle of wine and a 500ml can of Astrid's favourite energy drink. Astrid snickers momentarily as she takes the can from Mireille's hand, immediately cracking it open and taking a little sip.

That's better... You know, I think I like it better when you're not showing off.

It is stressful for me to act in such a manner, I admit. But the role of matriarch commands respect. Mother was much better at commanding respect than I am...

Astrid says nothing, placing her drink on the coffee table before slowly wrapping her arms around Mireille's arm, softly nuzzling against her with her eyes shut. Her hair, usually a pitch-dark blue, begins to glow a faint cerulean. Mireille allows Astrid to pull her close, wrapping her free arm around the girl in a warm embrace.

Whatever. You're not your mum. You shouldn't compare yourself to the standards she set. Like how I'm not the same as my dad.

Perhaps you're right. It's just... rather difficult to deal with it at times. But I know I should not stress so much over it...

. . .Heh. I bet they're still figuring out the logistics. Bet they haven't even assembled a single part yet.

Pfft— Oh, I have no doubt. They are most likely still discussing the finer points of entropic energy flow and the most comfortable grip pattern.

...Entropy is everywhere these days, you know. No wonder these glitchy demon thingies keep popping up everywhere. Give that raw, untempered energy physical form, and it can result in a whole bunch of stuff.

Hmhm, very true. But that is where you come in, do you not? As your predecessors have done, you are the "compiler". What was that quote you said once, to one of those monsters?

... "Chaos is just unreadable code. Let me refactor your existence." Well, yeah. Bending the raw unfiltered noise of the universe into usable energy is kind of my thing.

Of course, my brilliant, unshakeable Refactor Queen. Bending the very fabric of the universe to your whim, all in a day's work. I swear, darling, your nonchalance is going to be the death of me someday.

Astrid lets out the most adorable giggle and pounces on Mireille's lap, beginning to purr softly as her hair glows an even brighter blue. If she had a tail, it'd be wagging right now.

That laugh... you're absolutely incorrigible when you do that.

Oh, come oooon... you can't handle a little giggle?~

It's not the giggle, you little menace – it's you! All of you. Soft hair, glowing blue with power no one else understands... that ridiculous laugh... and now you're purring like some spoiled cyber-cat. I don't not handle it. I just never get enough.

...Hey, speaking of my hair, maybe I'll get it cut. Just, like, down to my cheeks... enough to still be cute, you get?

Hmm... shorter would definitely be adorable. Still cute, but just this little edge of dangerous. I like the sound of that.

Mhm! Besides, I think longer hair looks better on you..

Oh, I know it does, darling. I am well aware of how much you adore my long hair.

Astrid laughs as she buries her own face in Mireille's hair, giggling even more as it tickles her.

After the day drifts by to evening...

After the two of them share a comfortable afternoon together, Astrid and Mireille stand up as soon as Astrid's new weapon is done. They walk back into the gunsmithing workshop, and the weapon is presented to them.

For the glory of Maîtresse Astrid, we present her new weapon!

The worktable was cleared with dramatic tension. Beneath lay Astrid's creation – a sleek, dual-barreled revolver forged from black alloy and threaded with glowing blue circuitry that pulsed like veins. Entropic coils hummed faintly around the barrels.

She weighs 2.3 kilograms and fires concentrated entropic ammunition at two fire modes each balancing frequency and power at opposite extremities. It consumes 20 milligrams of the universe's entropy to fire this weapon... for two seconds.

Astrid smirks and goes to pick the gun up in her left hand, twisting it side to side, impressed by how it feels. She looks up at Mireille with a semi-sarcastic grin as the two of them walk outside.

Do I need to pay them for this? I feel like I should pay them for this. This is mad impressive and I haven't even used the thing yet.

Darling, you're my girlfriend and the Refactor Queen. You don't pay for things—you inspire terror and brilliance in equal measure.

...yeah, okay, sure, but I'm sending them a cheque anyway.

You spoil those engineers far too much, darling. Just promise me one thing – when you inevitably blow up half Lymerose with your mad science… don't do it before dinner? I was thinking pasta tonight.

Ooh, pasta? Great, Ali'll be excited about that. Seriously, you should see her face when you give her pasta.

Of course she'll be excited. The young lady practically lives for carbs... Let's not keep her waiting. I really don't fancy another hunger-powered tirade if we're late for dinner again.

Ah, just one more thing, though! ... She needs a name, right?

Astrid spins the massive revolver on her finger as if it were natural to her. Of course, if not for her direct connection to entropy, she'd probably hit herself in the face and then drop it.

How about... Azurite?

Azurite... rare, beautiful, deadly... just like you. I approve.

Okay, great! Perfect! When we get home, I'll just be in the sitting room initialising her while you make dinner, yeah?

Without a look of care present on her face, Astrid grabs the handle of Azurite and harshly throws the weapon up into the sky, and it slips into her entropic hammerspace along with Cyclica. Mireille lets out an uncontrollable laugh as Astrid just yeets her brand-new weapon with reckless abandon.

Oh, yes, of COURSE! Because why wouldn't your first thought be to throw it into a pocket dimension comprised entirely of unstable planetary energy? Darling, if Azurite comes back fused with your gaming console, I'm blaming you for dinner being late. Now come on—before Alicia eats all the pasta herself *again*.

With a confident smile on her face, Astrid happily leads the way back to her home, Mireille following closely behind as the sun begins to set on a cold winter evening.