As the morning sun rose in the sky, Zouros raised its head from its spot on Reivan's bed. The black serpent's purple-tinged obsidian scales were mesmerizing as they absorbed the rays of sunlight, but nobody was there to admire them.
'Awake?'
Zouros groggily looked for Reivan and found that the human was still asleep. It surmised that the human was probably too tired after spending so much time in that weird place. Even though Reivan didn't know that Zouros knew, Zouros was well aware of what went on in that place. After all, whenever Reivan went there, time stopped.
And Zouros was a being that wasn't affected by the usual laws of time. So he stayed conscious through it all.
Sadly, Zouros couldn't go with Reivan there yet. All Zouros could do was roam around in a deep dark void. Eventually, Zouros chose to take a longer nap than usual while waiting for Reivan to come out.
Zouros yawned while he poked Reivan's cheek with its tail. Last night, Zouros was quite surprised when its human suddenly started crying. Crying was what humans did when they were too sad to hold their sadness back — at least, that's what Zouros thought.
But through their link, Zouros soon understood that Reivan wasn't in any kind of danger or anything like that. It seemed that humans cried when they were happy too.
'Strange.'
Since Reivan was happy though, all was well as far as Zouros was concerned. It was the best when its human was happy. That way, Zouros felt happy too. Zouros didn't know why Reivan's happiness affected it so much. But in the end, no matter how much it deliberated over the fact, it decided that the reason didn't matter in the end.
That was simply how it was.
Leaving Reivan alone for now, Zouros flew around to patrol the area. Unlike Zouros, humans only had one life, after all. They were pitifully fragile beings that needlessly expended so much energy just by existing.
And Zouros had to look out for its human, who it liked quite a lot.
After all, through their link, Zouros knew that Reivan considered it as a friend or comrade. Perhaps even family.
Zouros felt... nice.
That said, Zouros didn't share Reivan's sentiments.
To Zouros, Reivan was the entity it belonged to. Likewise, Reivan belonged to Zouros.
That's why Zouros liked to think of Reivan as its human. And Zouros thought of itself as Reivan's pet.
Zouros didn't know how to explain this properly to Reivan, however. Their link was convenient most of the time, but it was inconvenient in all sorts of other ways. Complicated things couldn't be conveyed easily.
As it flew around the room, Zouros was invisible to all creatures aside from Reivan — even that old delicious-smelling human at the top of that big mountain. After a few quick rounds, it decided that the area was safe. So it phased through the wall and checked the other rooms, as well as the hallway outside.
It found a bunch of humans stronger than it, but Zouros knew these weren't threats to Reivan. They had those little metal spirit things just like Reivan did. This meant they couldn't disobey Reivan or that other human that Reivan called "Father".
'Father...'
Zouros thought about the strange concept of a father. It didn't have one, after all. Only humans and a few other food had fathers. Humans and food seemed to be split into two different kinds, and one kind had to find an opposite kind. Then they had to bump into each other repeatedly while hugging. Only then could they eventually have children.
'Inconvenient.'
Rather than something so complicated, wasn't it better for every entity in a species capable of reproducing? Zouros didn't need to find a mate to have children, and it thought that was much better than how humans did it.
Zouros thought humans should just abandon their stupid way of doing things and do it like how Zouros' kind reproduced. But just like how Zouros liked eating certain things while Reivan hated it, Zouros understood that sometimes, humans were just different. Nothing could be done about such a fact.
For now, at least.
'Safe.'
After thoroughly patrolling the area, Zouros judged that Reivan was safe enough. There were plenty of strong people tasked with protecting him, but Zouros didn't feel comfortable until it made extra sure.
'Hunt.'
Zouros flew out of the window and wearily spread its senses in case it missed some hidden danger to its human. Luckily, there didn't seem to be anything worth noticing. There were only some weak humans cleaning things and the strong humans that stood guard like rocks all over the place.
Careful not to fly too far, Zouros stared into the sky in search of a snack. It quickly spotted a few birds and sucked them into its mouth in a single breath. And just like that, there were no longer any birds in sight.
'Sadness.'
Zouros flicked its tongue, tasting the air around it. There was probably more food farther out, but Zouros didn't like being too far away from Reivan. It felt anxious and would never do it willingly unless Reivan asked it to do something. After all, if Reivan died and Zouros was far away, Zouros might miss the chance to eat Reivan's soul.
Inside its stomach, Reivan's soul could be preserved for a very long time. How long, Zouros didn't truly know since it had never tried to preserve anything inside — nor did it think it was worth the effort to test it out on an entity other than Reivan's soul. But as long as Zouros could preserve Reivan's soul, Zouros could maybe find a way to help him get a body back. Perhaps Zouros could even fly up high into the sky and search for its mother.
But that was unwise. Zouros didn't have any idea where its mother was. And the universe was far too vast.
The likelihood of being eaten by something else while looking for its mother was much higher than success.
'Avert.'
The best way forward was to simply prevent Reivan from dying at all. That way, Zouros didn't have to think too hard of a solution.
'Hungry.'
Zouros' long body drooped in disappointment as it slowly floated back into the room. It decided to sleep its hunger off for now, as it always did. Throughout the years, it had discovered that the hunger did not abate no matter how much it ate, so what was the point in eating more? Reivan would probably hand out food if Zouros asked, but Zouros didn't want to cause too much trouble.
That's why it chose to sleep some more.
'Stronger.'
Sleeping also helped Zouros get stronger. In particular, it had eaten a weird sword a long time ago, but it still hadn't digested the object — which was really strange, since that had never happened before. The thought of simply spitting the sword out and giving it to Reivan as a present popped up occasionally, but Zouros decided to try a bit more.
Reivan always tried so hard.
Zouros felt like it had to try hard sometimes too, even though it was a huge bother.
When the invisible serpent got back to Reivan's room, it discovered that the human was still sleeping. Zouros had grown a bit tired of the bed so it chose a nice spot on the windowsill to rest, making its long body shorter and thinner so it could fit more comfortably.
'Humans. Lots.'
As it coiled around itself, Zouros looked down at the city below. There were a lot more humans than normal, which happened from time to time. From their link, Zouros understood that there was some kind of celebration. All Zouros cared about was how Reivan seemed to be happy when it happened — and in the end, that was all that mattered to Zouros.
Still, so many humans in one place stoked Zouros' appetite like never before.
'No. Humans. Not food.'
Zouros shook its head, scolding itself. Humans were not food. Birds in the sky were food, pigs too, and sometimes even those little tiny flies that annoyed Reivan were food. But humans were not.
Besides, Zouros' opinion of humans had grown more favorable lately.
Some of them could do things Zouros never could. Quite a few of the humans were also far stronger than Zouros at present, and they even helped protect Reivan.
And last, but not least, a few humans even made Reivan happy when they were around.
They were useful. Zouros was even growing to like a few of them — like the soft human that had the same hair as Reivan.
Not all of them were useful, of course. But they might be useful in the future, so Zouros controlled itself.
There was no point in trying to sate a hunger that it would never satisfy for the price of a potentially useful human.
'Hungry...'
Still, Zouros liked eating. It also knew that its power would grow tremendously if it was allowed to eat all these humans. Maybe it could even become stronger than that old human at the top of the mountain. Probably not, though. but it would be a tremendous feast that would fill him up quite nicely.
'No.'
Zouros wouldn't do it though. Reivan wouldn't like it either. And Zouros didn't like doing things that Reivan wouldn't like. After all, Reivan showed that much consideration for Zouros as well.
'Hungry... Hungry...'
The obsidian serpent couldn't get the hunger out of its head though. Perhaps it had been holding itself back for too long. It suddenly remembered that weird dark place under the big rock that Reivan and his family lived in.
That place had been filled with food. Zouros could eat without thinking about it too much.
It had been a long time ago though. At least, it had been a long time ago in its head, since Reivan decided to suddenly stop time for so long.
Reivan brought Zouros and a bunch of humans to that place to hunt from time to time. Zouros really missed those times. A lot of the food had to be left so that humans could fight them, but Zouros didn't mind since Reivan asked for it. And besides, more food would come after waiting for a bit.
'Want.'
Zouros wanted to go. Its body writhed as it restrained the urge to wake Reivan up. But it again held back since it knew Reivan was tired after stopping time for twenty years.
In the meantime, Zouros couldn't help but look back down, to the sea of humans below.
'Want...'
Its gaping mouth salivated as it waited impatiently to be fed a good meal after two decades of hunger.
----------------------------------------
"Agh!" Reivan bolted upright as he felt a heavy weight on top of his face. He made a furious grab for whatever it was and immediately knew what it was from the familiar texture. "Zouros... You scaly little fuck... What'd you do that for...?"
His serpentine friend squirmed in his grip as a deluge of thought flowed into Reivan's mind, giving him a big headache.
"Slowly. You're making my head hurt..." Reivan grimaced as he massaged his temples. "You want to go to the Outlands?"
Zouros nodded eagerly, its bright eyes staring deeply into Reivan's own.
"You should have waited for me to wake up naturally, at least..." Reivan stood up and grumbled, only to notice how dark it was outside. "Oh."
'I slept in.'
"Sorry, buddy. Were you that hungry?" Reivan tried to appease the little danger noodle by stroking its snout, which seemed to work since it started to calm down with its eyes closed. The familiar feeling through his fingers reminded him of the numerous times he'd done it before the twenty years he had spent in mental solitude.
Perhaps it was because of last night that Reivan steadily felt the emotions he'd hidden away flow back into his heart.
'Today's a good day... or evening.'
Reivan was in an amazing mood. How could he not be? He'd just heard the words he never knew he wanted to hear. Because of that, he felt an overwhelming desire to do something productive.
'Or not. It's still festival season.'
For now, he was supposed to spend time with his family. In his case, he would be rekindling his relationship since it had been quite a long time since he spent some time with them.
That meant he couldn't go with Zouros to the Outlands for now.
Zouros knew Reivan's thoughts and was visibly disappointed — even angry, which wasn't an emotion Reivan was accustomed to feeling through their link.
"If you want to go that much..." Reivan poked its head with a smile. "Just go by yourself. You know how to get there, no?"
Seemingly surprised by this suggestion, Zouros' eyes widened and its head tilted to one side. Apparently, it hadn't even considered going on its own and was wondering if that was really okay.
"Yes, I don't mind... Just don't go too far from the portal. Come back before morning too."
Zouros hesitated for a moment before nodding. It squirmed out of Reivan's grasp and disappeared through the floor, no doubt heading straight for the portal.
As their distance grew, Reivan felt mixed feelings. He didn't like it when Zouros was too far away, Though his scaly friend didn't really do much in the grand scheme of things, they were always together and Reivan had started to think of the beast as a part of him — like his hair or something.
Still, they didn't necessarily have to be together all the time. They both had stuff they wanted to do after all. Bringing Zouros around with him everywhere seemed unfair when his serpentine friend likely found his matters boring. It would be better if Zouros could do what it wanted.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
'Enjoy your meal.'
Reivan sent his thoughts through their link and began to clean up after himself. Then he suddenly remembered something and took out a holostone.
'Almost forgot.'
He had used to check these every morning even though he only ever had one person to exchange messages with through the device — after all, all knights and members of the royal family now sent correspondence through communication crystals that allowed telepathy.
'It's been twenty years...'
With a smile on his face, Reivan rolled the holostone in his palm before activating it.
You have (34) unread messages.
A terrifying message popped up.
'Oh my god.'
Reivan hastily navigated through the magical yet strangely futuristic device and felt a chill run down his spine when he found out that all thirty-four of the messages were from one person. If it was from his mother, he would have to prepare his obituary.
Elsa♥: Good night, handsome. Hahaha
...
Elsa♥: Good morning.
Elsa♥: Have you had breakfast yet? I'm eating it while thinking about you~!
Elsa♥: Goodness. Sorry for being so corny.
Elsa♥: Anyway, I can't meet up today because something came up in Worgon.
...
Elsa♥: Ken? Are you busy? You should have lunch first in case you haven't yet. Whatever you're doing can wait until after, right?
...
...
Elsa♥: Hello?
Elsa♥: Are you there?
Elsa♥: Ken?
Elsa♥: Why aren't you replying?
...
Elsa♥: Was this holostone lost?
...
Elsa♥: Good evening to whoever picked this lost holostone up. If you would be so kind, please return it to this address in about three days and I'll be sure to arrange a reward...
Reivan bit his lip and hastily tapped in a reply that he was okay and he'd just slept through the entire day, along with an apology and an inquiry into what the "something" in Worgon was.
Not even a minute passed until he got a reply.
Elsa♥: Thank goodness you're fine. It's okay, no need to apologize. You must have been tired to have slept through an entire day.
Elsa♥: I'm actually back from Worgon now. Do you want to meet up and talk?
With a smile on his face, Reivan sent a reply that he was coming. It had been twenty years since he last saw her and could barely hold back his longing. He donned some decent clothes and put a simple silver ring on his right hand's middle finger. Magic wrapped around his head and a different face looked back at him when he checked in the mirror.
Reivan gave his hair — which was now black instead of a gunmetal silver color — one last combover with his fingers before heading off with hasty steps.
----------------------------------------
The festival was still going strong so no place wasn't packed to the brim, what with all the people from all over the kingdom flocking to the capital. That's why, to get some peace while they talked, Reivan chose their little love shack as their rendezvous point.
Reivan opened the door to the building and let the nostalgia flow through him. He had laid with numerous women numerous times in this place, but that time of his life felt so far away — even alien to him. After closing the door behind him, his steps eventually brought him to the room he shared with Elsa, where he could distinctly feel a lone presence waiting for him.
With a bright smile on his face, he opened it to reveal the gorgeous redhead inside. Despite mainly being used as a bedroom, it was more like an apartment in its size and even had a mini-kitchen and a table for two — which was where Elsa was currently seated, snacking on a bowl of peanuts while tapping the air with a slender finger.
Elsa looked up from whatever she was reading and turned the holostone off. "Oh, you're here. That was quick."
"Yes." Reivan felt his heartbeat quicken when he finally saw her in person for the first time in so long. The feelings he'd almost forgotten surged back, and he remembered them more clearly than ever before. "I missed you."
"It's barely been two days." Elsa giggled and stood up, walking over with her arms spread wide. Eventually, she enveloped Reivan in a tight hug. "But me too. I missed you too."
Reivan closed his eyes and returned the hug, resting his chin on her shoulder and taking in her scent. A younger him would have already reached down to grab a handful of her prominent butt, however, Reivan wasn't in much of a mood for that kind of thing. For now, all that mattered was that she was there, in front of him.
"Ah. No."
Despite his sentiments, Elsa quickly pushed him away. "I haven't gotten a chance to bathe yet. I'm all sweaty from running around everywhere."
"I don't mind."
"I mind. Everything's sticky. Let me take a bath before anything else, okay?"
Reivan felt some frustration but didn't push further as she walked back to the table. He followed her there and sat down on the chair opposite hers, resting his chin on his palm and staring right at her.
"Stop staring so much..." Elsa looked away in mild embarrassment.
"Not my fault. Who told you to be this pretty?"
"Oh, shut up." She cleared her throat, her cheeks still slightly red. "About the thing at Worgon..."
"Right. I almost forgot about that." Reivan nodded and rubbed his chin. "Tell me about it."
"Yes. Well, I have good news and bad news. And then, a suggestion that I wanted permission for. Which one do you wanna hear first?"
"Good news."
Elsa smiled before taking a deep breath and embarking on a cheery explanation. "Okay. Well, it has been a couple of years since the initial crackdown on the republic's underground organizations. The heat has finally died down by now, although not completely. Still, our prominent businesses have made steady work in moving toward the light, and the authorities now view Ouroboros' sub-organizations positively — which makes sense, since most of our focus and current income falls on our legitimate businesses anyway. I don't even think we can say that we're an underground organization at this point."
"That's great," Reivan answered noncommittally even though he wasn't paying much attention. He was too busy being mesmerized, watching her talk with a dazed expression.
"I know, right?" Elsa clapped her hands while beaming. "We're a legitimate conglomerate now... though, a small one compared to the big wigs."
"Uh-huh."
"Next, the bad news."
"Uh-huh."
Elsa frowned at him but continued in a grave tone. "As we've gotten bigger, the opposition has grown as well. Nothing big has happened yet, but according to the reports, there were a few incidents of breaking and entering within some of our warehouses in the republic. In addition, we've started to face pressure when expanding."
"Oh no."
"Yes. It's very troublesome, and our proxies over there don't know how to deal with the problems. They have limited authority and resources at their disposal after all, so I don't particularly blame them. Rather, they've done well enough to have lasted for as long as they have."
"Uh-huh."
"So, I was thinking..." Elsa seemed to hesitate for a moment before building up the courage to speak. "That I should go there to take care of things myself."
"Uh-huh— Wait." Reivan snapped to attention when he realized what she'd just said. "Say that again?"
"I said that I should go there personally to handle matters."
"And for how long will you stay there?"
"I don't know. Until things stabilize and we've reached a status quo with our competitors? Perhaps I'll be there for a couple of years..."
Reivan grimaced as he scoffed. "Rejected."
"I knew you'd say that..." Elsa chuckled sheepishly but didn't seem to have given up. "But I really think I have to do this. Otherwise, our competitors will eat our businesses up."
'I don't really care.'
If he were being honest, Ouroboros had expanded far more than he'd initially planned and was generating way more income than he had ever wanted. More money was always good though, so it wasn't much of a problem as of now. But Reivan didn't necessarily want more of it, to the extent of going above and beyond.
Still, Reivan couldn't just say that he didn't care about more money. So he tried to convince her in other ways. "What about our holdings here in Aizen? Wasn't most of our income generated here?"
"There's not much competition here since our markets are niche, plus, there are plenty of people who can oversee it in my place. And you're here too," Elsa countered. "Another purpose of Ouroboros is to serve as your information network, right? And though it's true that most of our buying power comes from the lumens we earn here, that's only because the current exchange rate is so lopsided. Once it equalizes a bit more, that will change."
She then embarked on more explanations with mercantile jargon, overwhelming Reivan into silence.
Soon, she finally finished with a sigh. "Do you understand now? I have to go."
"I only understood some of those words."
Twenty years of training in combat naturally didn't make him any better at understanding any of what she had just said.
"Exactly." Elsa sighed as if his lack of understanding was enough for her to win her case.
Reivan frowned. He was a little offended by that. But that wasn't important at the moment. "Fine. Sending you abroad is logically the best option. I just don't like it. There."
"But our businesses..."
"They'll survive somehow. It might still be dangerous in the republic right now. And again, I just don't want you so far away from me."
'Especially not now, after twenty years of being apart...'
"But..." Elsamina pursed her lips as her shoulders drooped. It seemed she didn't have an answer to that.
Reivan felt a sharp pain in his heart he saw her look so dejected. Perhaps, he thought, he was a bit too dismissive. "What about you? You were so vehement about going. It was almost like you wanted to be far away from me."
"That's not it." Elsa scratched her cheek before placing both hands on her lap. "This... This is all I can do for you. So I wanted to do it well. That's all."
"You do more for me than you give yourself credit for."
"Like what?" Elsa raised her brow and snapped. "Sex?"
"You know that's not what I was talking about... I meant... emotionally, you know?"
"I know... Sorry for snapping." She lowered her head, biting her lip for a moment before continuing. "But anyone can be your woman, Ken. This? Only I can do this for you. This... Business... Running Ouroboros is the only thing I'm good at. Other than pleasing you in bed, that is. And I don't even think I'm the best at that."
"But still..."
"Please let me do this for you." Elsa joined her hands together and looked him in the eye. "Please."
Reivan stared back at her and sighed while leaning back on his chair. He hung his head low and licked his dry lips, falling into thought.
Perhaps it was because he was more... mature now, but it finally dawned on him just how important Ouroboros was to her. Perhaps to him, it was just an organization he had forcefully established using his resources as a prince, then squeezed for money so he could play around — though he also used it so he could have some eyes and ears in the republic.
But to Elsamina, it was different.
If Reivan had planted the seeds, Elsamina was the one who nurtured Ouroboros into what it is today. She had been there every step of the way. It was perfectly normal for her to grow an attachment when she had invested so much time and effort into fostering the organization.
Most employees probably didn't know who Reivan — or in this case, Ken — was, but everybody knew their beautiful crimson-haired boss lady.
Reivan fiddled with his fingers and looked up. Beautiful emerald eyes gazed back at him, trembling slightly in anticipation of what he would say. There was no doubt in his mind that if he refused, she would accept his decision anyway.
But was that really the correct choice here?
As their gazes met in the air, Reivan recalled what he liked so much about Elsamina in the first place. Sure, face and figure had something to do with it. She was a solid twenty out of ten anyway he looked at it. But a pretty face, a stunning pair of tits and a plump ass wasn't enough for a man to love a woman — at least, he didn't think so.
Reivan thought back to Elsa's life before they had met and how it was far too similar to his previous life; Both of them had been living happily without a care in the world when suddenly, a calamity they couldn't control or avoid struck them without remorse, shouldering them with a life of suffering.
But the difference was that Elsa hadn't given up.
Every day she had to get pushed down by a different ugly bastard and toyed with until they got bored. In the mornings, she had to prepare to celebrate every one of her colleagues who made it through the night in one piece and mourn everyone who didn't. The man who had her in chains was a wizard of — for an ordinary woman like her — infallible might and no harm she could ever do would matter to him, or be met with crippling retaliation in the form of a dead colleague's head placed in her bed a few hours later.
And yet, she had still resisted and fought back in her own way.
Various evidence and information were gathered, and Elsa had been prepared to hand it over to the right person at the right time, aiming at freedom for herself and for all of her colleagues. She had clenched her teeth through the suffering and constantly looked for a way to turn things around — even if her plan ultimately wasn't the best one.
To Reivan, Elsa was everything he should have been. Everything he wasn't.
When that giant rat ruined his life, what had he done? Sure, he had fought back at first. But as he matured, as the pain steadily carved away all hope, he had ultimately given up in his heart, thinking that supernatural diseases couldn't possibly be cured by natural means. Helping the researchers create medicine for him was just a token effort to extend his worthless life because he was too afraid to die.
Elsa had risked her life amassing tools to help her out of her accursed life, but what had Reivan done back then? He was glued to his bed, watching anime, playing games, reading novels, and being a massive pain in the heart for all of his loved ones. Just a useless sack of meat, too depressed to really do anything about his woes.
In hindsight, there truly wasn't anything he could have done to cure himself. But in the past, he hadn't known that. Yet, he had still given up so early on in the fight while Elsa spent most of her life fighting — truly fighting — back against the world.
To Reivan, Elsamina was a constant reminder of what he never could be and how he should have been. Perhaps in a different world, envy or resentment would have sprouted inside him whenever he saw her.
But as it was, Reivan felt nothing but admiration for her.
He wanted her to do well and to excel in whatever she pursued — as if that would cure some kind of past trauma for him.
As if her success proved that there was a point to fighting back against impossibility and pursuing a future that nobody else believed in.
'The romance part wasn't in the plan, though...'
If his mating season hadn't come around and Elsa hadn't confessed, Reivan would have been fine as the mysterious benefactor who gently watched over Elsa as she rose up in the world. But the present outcome wasn't so bad either. Admiration quickly turned into love at some point, and now, Reivan truly felt like his heart belonged to the woman in front of him.
'I suppose that settles it.'
With all that in mind, Reivan's answer was all but clear.
"Fine." Reivan exhaled the breath he'd been holding for who knew how long. Then he frowned, stuck his lips out in a pout, and looked away while crossing his arms. "But I don't like this."
Elsa's eyes shot wide open and she sucked in a mouthful of air. "Really? It's okay for me to go?"
"Didn't I just say that?" Reivan snapped, somewhat annoyed. "Must I repeat myself?"
Sure, he would cheer her on as she went off, but that didn't mean he had to be happy about it. Perhaps it was childish, but he couldn't help but sulk. No man would be truly happy that the woman they loved would go far away on their own.
"Th-thank you!" Elsamina exclaimed when his words and actions finally sunk in. She stood up, walked over to him, and sat on his lap before hugging his face to her chest. "I won't let you down. I'll really do my best!"
Reivan didn't want to admit it, but having his face smothered in between her massive breasts did a lot to alleviate some of his frustration. "I have some conditions though."
"Okay." Elsa nodded with enthusiasm as she stood up and started stripping. "I'll do anything you want."
"Stop stripping. I don't mean those conditions." Reivan frowned as he watched her... parts swayed left and right with every subtle movement. He wasn't in that kind of mood at the moment. "First, you're not going anywhere for a month. Thorough preparations must be made... and quite frankly, I just need some time before I can let you go."
"Aww..." Elsa placed a hand on her chest and smiled, seemingly touched. "Okay."
"Second." Reivan's face remained impassive as he stated his demands. "Correspondence through holostones from so far away will be hard because the range is limited and the republic doesn't have relay stations to increase the range. But I'd like to maintain some form of regular communication."
"Understandable."
"We'll decide the exact time and day once you're there since we still don't know how busy you'll be and I don't want to send you away only to hinder you too much. But at the very least, I'd like to have a few hours twice every week to catch up. Non-business. Just... You know. Chatting. Talking about nothing in particular. Though, if you have something important to discuss, feel free to bring it up."
Elsa beamed as she sat back down on his lap, still partially stripped. "Agreed. But I'll try for four times a week."
"Third..." Reivan kept his gaze fixed on her eyes, ignoring her not-so-subtle attempts to entice him. "We'll meet up somewhere once every month. For an entire day."
"Agreed. But I want to try to meet a bit more than that. We'll see." Elsa giggled then placed an arm around his neck, pressing closer. "Is that all?"
"Yes... That's all."
Reivan eventually couldn't resist some skinship, hugging her and resting his face against her soft flesh. It pained him that he wouldn't see her as often, especially after twenty years apart, but this was for the best — this was what she wanted and would make her the happiest.
But then, dark thoughts suddenly entered his mind. His Elsa was a very beautiful woman. She had a figure practically sculpted by the gods. Plus, she had power and wealth too.
What if, while they were apart, she met some guy and they...
'Damn. The internet has ruined me...'
Even though those kinds of stories were prevalent in his home country of Japan, Reivan did not have some twisted cuck fetish. The vision of some other man with Elsa only served to hurt and infuriate him, making him want to murder the faceless man he'd made up in his head. Though he trusted Elsa to stay faithful, he simply couldn't resist thinking about the possibility itself.
'She's mine.'
This anger and possessiveness rekindled the fire in Reivan's loins. A few minutes ago, he was convinced that spending twenty years in a fragment of eternity had accelerated his maturity and killed all of the teenage hormones that made him horny whenever an attractive woman so much as smiled at him.
But now it had returned and it was stronger than ever before.
"We're doing it." Reivan supported Elsa's back and legs as he stood up and carried her to the bed.
She yelped in surprise at the sudden declaration, but she smiled and accepted Reivan's desire in the end, grabbing onto him for support.
Reivan set her down on the bed and looked down at her for a moment, admiring her beauty before taking off his clothes and jumping in.
This next month, he would have to thoroughly work hard in the hopes that she wouldn't entertain other men.