Reivan thought that the way he and Valter exited the place was really cool.

What was uncool was how they had to make multiple consecutive portal jumps because Valter couldn't do one giant jump. Which wasn't his guardian knight's fault, because only Transcendents and the Everpresent could teleport that far on their own. The thousand-year-old knight mentioned something about "understanding the ever-changing fabric of space" that honestly went way over Reivan's head. He supposed it proved that spatial manipulation was still too far for him.

In any case, despite going through multiple jumps, they arrived at the Aizenian Embassy in Arkhana without much trouble. It only took a minute or two, and they were suddenly in one of the facility's many guest parlors.

Strangely, Gwen was already there.

"Your Highness. Sir Valter," she said with a crisp salute. "Welcome."

"Well met, Dame Gwendolyn." Valter returned the salute.

"Hello, hello~" Reivan made a peace sign and grinned widely.

Gwen nodded before turning to him. "Your Highness, I have things to discuss with you."

"I've been here for literally under a minute..." Reivan muttered, but could only chuckle in exasperation as he carefully lay Mira on the nearest sofa. "Is it urgent?"

"No. I merely stated that I had things to discuss. Not that they had to be done so right this moment."

"I see. That's fair."

"Yes."

The conversation halted there. And it would have sounded awkward to most, but it was par for the course when it came to them. There simply wasn't a need to waste energy talking when you had nothing of value to say. At least, that was the case for them. As such, pauses were somewhat common, and were usually filled with the scratching of documents being checked or signed.

Instead, Reivan turned to his guardian knight. “Sir Valter, seeing as we’re in a safe place, I think it’s fine for you to take a rest for now. Though you can’t really call what happened a battle, it’s better to rest when you can.”

“I am hardly tired, Your Highness,” he replied.

“It’s fine. You’ve been on duty every day for the past few months. Just relax for now. We have plenty of knights here anyway.”

“That’s true… Then I suppose I’ll take your offer, Your Highness.”

“Sure, sure. Have fun.” Reivan watched one of the people he trusted most slink into a portal and vanish.

‘Xanthus should be somewhere around here. And I believe his wife should be too. I’m sure he’d love some off-time.’

In the meantime, Reivan would be a good little boy and stay put.

"Anyway, it's good to see you again, Gwen." Reivan smiled, opening his arms wide. "Hug? Or how about a kiss on the cheek? To commemorate our reunion~!"

She shook her head. "I am also glad to see you again, but I would rather keep things professional."

"A hug is professional though. I'm a prince, and I said so."

Gwen frowned, just as he expected. Even if it didn't make sense, because he said it, it would be true.

Just as she was about to stiffly step forward to hug him, Reivan stopped her with a chuckle. "Okay, stop. Don't submit to workplace harassment, goddamnit. You should only hug people you want to hug."

"But you told me to."

"I was joking, Dame Gwendolyn."

"A joke... I see." she nodded with an impassive gaze. "By definition, it is something that causes amusement in those who hear it. How long does it take for the emotion to arrive? I fear it has been delayed."

Reivan cleared his throat to clear away his embarrassment. Sensing that it was time to change the subject, he procured a shiny purple orb. "Oh! What's this? I just remembered. I have a present for you."

"Accepting presents is unprofessional and can be considered participating in bribery."

"Lots of holes in that argument that I’m sure you’re aware of, but fine. Call this a souvenir, then. That's not against any protocol, right? I know the loopholes."

"...That is so."

"Okay, then!" Reivan tossed it at her and watched as she caught it without trouble.

Gwen received it and bowed in thanks before examining the object, recognizing it in an instant. "This is an orb. A Tower-made item made to catch spirit beasts."

"That's right. You've seen one before?"

"I was in charge of sending it to Aizen. As per Sir Valter's request."

“And the research on that…”

“Has yet to produce results,” Gwen finished for him.

Reivan hummed in thought. “Unfortunate but understandable. Anyway, look inside.”

Her gaze fell to the orb in her hands, narrowing. “There’s something inside.”

“Excellent observation. That’s the gift, by the way. Not the orb. It’s a spirit beast with the [Light] attribute. It’s physically weaker than you, but it’s relatively close to the human limit for Might and somewhat close to Ascendence. And I think you’d find a spirit beast useful in other ways.”

“A spirit beast certainly has more uses than just combat.”

“Right? So my gif—I mean, the souvenir I got you is pretty nice, huh? I only have, like, four of them to give out.”

“It is.” Gwen nodded, extending her hand and presenting the orb to him. “It is also too much. I can’t accept such a thing.”

Reivan smiled sheepishly, having expected this scenario. It was also why he wanted to give the souvenir personally. “Don’t say that, you’ll break my heart. Accept it as my thanks for all your hard work.”

“But—”

“And,” he cut her off. “If you’re going to be serving me more in the future, raising your survivability and power is to my advantage. It’s an investment, on my part. You get it, right?”

Gwen silently stared into the orb, seemingly grappling with something before she finally eased up, sighing.

“I will gratefully accept His Highness’ expectations.” She knelt on one knee, something knights only ever did in secure places and when they really meant it. “And I’ll work twice as hard to live up to them.”

“I’m gonna stop you right there and say that the current pace is more than fine, Dame Gwendolyn. But the intention is received. I’m looking forward to our future together. Oh, and I’ll help you bond with the beast later. When time allows both of us some freedom.”

“Understood.”

Gwen stood up and saluted the normal way, and Reivan nodded magnanimously before gesturing at the unconscious Mira on the sofa.

“She’s the spirit king seed,” he said. “Keep her safe.”

“As you wish. I’ll have her thrown in the dungeon immediately.”

“A dungeon…” Reivan echoed pensively, unconsciously licking his lips. “Get her a room instead, would you? No restraints.”

Gwen’s brows rose momentarily. “I see. I apologize for assuming she was an enemy. I made assumptions when I noticed her lack of consciousness.”

“You weren’t wrong. She is hostile at the moment.”

“...I see? So you failed in seducing her, but made enough progress to have a foot in the door.”

“Yes…”

“A shame. Truly.”

Reivan averted his gaze. He had to admit that he didn’t exactly exhaust his hat of tricks when it came to seducing Mira. Maybe it was his conscience, preventing him from doing unsavory things that weren’t absolutely necessary.

Gwen continued looking at him but the reproach and accusation he expected never came. She was simply waiting for him to continue the conversation so they could get on with business.

“I have reason to believe I can convince her. Eventually,” he said as he looked around. “On a side note, I feel as if this place has considerably fewer people than I remember. There’s not as many footsteps even though it’s morning.”

“The kingdom has switched to a war stance, Your Highness. As such, all the diplomats, except your little sister, have been secretly recalled. We’ve given the public reason that they’re all unavailable due to sickness.”

“What a flimsy reason. It seems we have completely abandoned all pretext,” Reivan said with mild amusement. “The republic must be quite panicked. We still have the girl they lost.”

“They’ve tried to hide it by not rushing us. But we’re more than aware of how important the girl is.”

“Where is she, by the way?”

“She’s been moved from Grimharbor to the capital.”

‘There’s no escape or stealing her back from there. Poor battlemages…’

Reivan then recalled something mentioned earlier when Valter and Mordred retrieved him. “Gwen, I believe the republic has something for me…”

Gwen wordlessly presented a ring to him, which he took with a word of thanks.

Peering inside with his senses revealed about a thousand vials of spirit dew. All of which were tagged as “low-quality”, however.

Reivan casually chugged one while motioning for Gwen to continue. As for the mysterious energy, he instantly purged it out of his body by having Zouros swallow it. The giant snake didn’t want or need the spirit dew, but Reivan didn’t want to test what happened when he drank another potion when he was already full of the mysterious energy.

Incredibly wasteful. And if a battlemage knew what he was doing, they’d scream in horror. But for Reivan, the potions were only useful for unlocking its unlimited creation. His own creation might be even better, honestly. No, it definitely would.

“As for the plan of attack, we’re still waiting for the empire to finish its preparations.” Gwen continued as Reivan took out another vial. “We do not maintain constant correspondence with Argonia, but as far as we know, they are still in negotiations with the church.”

Reivan wiped his lips, taking out yet another vial. “And our estimates on its success are…”

“Low. At best.”

“So we can expect only the War God, the Gladiator King, and the old man?”

“Affirmative.”

‘What a horrible piece of news.’

“You know…” Reivan downed his umpteenth vial of spirit dew, feeling thankful for its lack of flavor. “What if the empire betrays us?”

Gwen nodded. “The Sword Star has told us of such a possibility. He says not to worry too much about it.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like us mortals can really do anything even if we wanted to.”

Afterward, Gwen briefed him on everything else that happened and on what would happen before they eventually ran out of official matters to talk about. By then, Reivan had downed about three hundred potions and a few female knights came by to take Mira away.

Reivan cleared his throat as he crossed his legs. But just as he was about to say something, Gwen cut him off.

“I assume you’re curious about your fiancees,” she said, pulling out a few sheets of paper and running her gaze down lines of text.

“That… is completely correct. Thank you, Gwen. You always know what I want.”

“You are not a very complicated person to understand, Your Highness.”

Reivan wasn’t sure how to interpret that, but given who said it, he simply assumed that it wasn’t meant as an insult. “So? How are they?”

“Who would you like to know about first?”

“...Gwen, that’s a really dirty line of questioning,” he complained.

She tilted her head. “Is it?”

“Yes. Just inform me of them in the order you choose yourself.”

“Very well. Alphabetical order, then.” Gwen looked down at the document again as she spoke. “Lady Elsamina has been in constant travel between businesses all over Arkhan. Currently, however, she is in Lageton. The damages caused by a recent incident will require her attention for some time. I have preemptively hindered her efforts to make her there for longer. Lageton is the safest city in the republic, considering our plans for it.”

“Darn. So she’s not here.” Reiva heaved a sigh of utter disappointment.

“Unfortunately. In other news, she hasn’t been in contact with any other men in your absence, other than in a professional capacity. There is no need to doubt her fidelity.”

“I never did… But I appreciate this information nonetheless.”

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“Additionally, she has been observed to mention you in her sleep. Especially after relieving herself or with her female servants.”

Reivan slammed his palm on the table, which surprisingly didn’t break despite his strength. “The person who reported this is a woman, right?”

“Of course. All knights guarding Lady Elsamina are women. Even the guards she hires herself are women.”

“Good.” Reivan cleared his throat. “Also, there is no need to document such private actions in the future.”

‘Even though it makes me happy to hear it, I feel weird to have it on paper!’

Privacy, it seemed, was truly a luxury.

‘So… Elsa’s relieving herself with other women, huh? That’s... That's kind of hot. I'm all for it, surprisingly.’

Reivan licked his lips, wishing he could watch. Maybe if he grew tired enough of life one day, he could invite both of his wives to do something similar with each other.

“As for Dame Helen,” Gwen only has one short glance at the paper before looking up. “She stayed here for the first month after you left, but returned to the capital afterward. She has been cooped up in the palace since. According to my contacts in the palace, she is spending a lot of time with the former queen, Lady Vianna. They appear to be undergoing training of some kind.”

‘That sounds horrifying.’

Reivan loved his mother to death and he’d charge into certain doom for her. But he absolutely didn’t want her poking around his wife’s head and implanting strange habits.

Gwen then offered him a report on his concubine candidates but he refused, as he honestly wasn’t interested and it would take too long given their sheer numbers. He held no emotional connection with them as of yet. Though, maybe something would form when they were already married. Who knew? At the very least, he was open to the idea.

“Now,” Reivan began, crossing his legs and downing another damned spirit dew potion. “What’s this about a treaty?”

“The Treaty of Alexander,” She explained. “Named because it was proposed in a secret meeting at Fort Alexander.”

“And it’s a written agreement to only use mortals when warring with fellow humans?”

“To be specific, it is an agreement between signatories that only mortals should participate in conflicts with other signatories. This participation encompasses just about everything. Planning, strategy, scouting, combat… everything.”

Reivan hummed, noticing the proverbial writing on the wall. “So we’re allowed to unleash whatever we please on non-signatories and monsters. Is that it?”

“Affirmative. We plan to have whatever remains of Arkhan sign it after the Sage King’s death and the Tower’s dissolution, however. Pentagoria too, will have to sign eventually if they wish to maintain sovereignty.”

“I see…”

“There is a clause where the restrictions don’t apply in one’s own capital regions, however. For Argonia, this corresponds to the Arcella Province. But to us, the agreed-upon area swallows the whole mainland Aizen. This stipulation will have to be modified for Pentagoria’s five principalities, however.”

Reivan raised a brow. “So… We can freely attack everything with mortal knights but we’re free to defend the motherland with all our might?”

“Correct.”

“The empire allowed that to pass through? Is the War God crazy?”

Aizen had the greatest mortal army in the continent. This was simply a fact. Their only weakness was their lack of numbers given the level of talent becoming a knight required.

But numbers weren’t really an issue if Aizen simply wanted to be a nuisance. A raiding party of ten thousand knights running around imperial territory without fear of Ascendant retaliation was a calamity the empire couldn’t recover from.

The Aizen Kingdom didn’t want more land and resources, after all. They just wanted to keep their neighbors in check while they waited for another Transcendent to sprout from their incredible pool of talents.

“His Majesty is also wondering the same thing, but this is an unconditional advantage for the kingdom.”

“Well, whatever.” Reivan shrugged, downing another potion. “And? How is this treaty going to be kept?”

“The empire has someone with a gift regarding agreements. His Majesty has implored Your Highness to be present during the signing so you can get a glimpse of whether this is true. And whether it is probable for the empire to break it while we remain bound.”

“Right… And when will this happen?”

“Presumably, some time before the assault on the Sage King.” Gwen banished all the paper she was holding before standing up to prepare tea for them. “Preferably, it would be sometime this month. In the meantime, we have been slowly trickling our forces into the republic in a wide net so we can exterminate the Ascendant battlemages more efficiently.”

“The war’s already begun, then,” Reivan muttered thoughtfully, his eyes suddenly widening for something other than what they were talking about. “Ah. I’ve memorized the spirit dew potion…”

Gwen nodded. “That’s wonderful news.”

“Yeah, it only took, like, eight hundred vials… and a bloated stomach.”

‘It’s a good thing I didn’t wait around in the Tower for more spirit dew. I could have toiled away for decades and still not have enough potions to memorize the effect!’

Reivan made an incision on his own palm with his fingernail, watching the blood seep out before condensing into a purple pill. He healed his palm and brought the product up to his face, observing it carefully.

[Spirit Dew Pill (Special)]

A pill produced through mysterious means. Consumption will provide immense benefits to bonded spirit beasts, raising Might by an indeterminate amount depending on their current power after a brief digestive period of 10 hours. The stronger a spirit beast is, the less of an effect spirit dew potions will have on them.

This pill is only effective for spirit beasts in the Mortal Realm.

Reivan couldn’t help but smile when he saw the effects. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a significant improvement over the original. And he could produce it infinitely as long as he had blood—which could then be replenished by medicine he could infinitely reproduce.

The digestive period couldn’t be removed completely, which was truly unfortunate. But he managed to lower it to 10 hours instead of a month. A significant imporvement by all acounts. Additionally, the medicine now affected all spirit beasts in the Mortal realm, not just ones who had 1000 Might or less.

‘Theoretically, I can prevent Dom from advancing to the Ascendant realm and keep feeding him pills to make him stronger.’

Of course, that was just a theory. It was possible, but since the medicine grew less effective the stronger the spirit beast was, he would have to spend a monumental amount of time to make Dom as strong as a normal Ascendant. It would have been great if he could remove that effect too, but unfortunately, it wasn’t optional.

For some reason, the substance’s method of consumption could be modified though. The original spirit dew potions had to be consumed through the anchor—in other words, the human—but these pills could be given to spirit beasts directly. An ultimately useless quality of life change. But it was something, at least.

Reivan told Gwen about the effects and had her show it to the spirit beast in the orb, immediately causing it to rampage inside.

Typical of her, she immediately thought of a way to use the new resource.

“Once the treaty has been signed and the Sage King is dead,” she said, setting down the pill right next to the orb as she looked up at him, teasing the beast inside. “We can offer these as compensation for the leftover mages, urging them to fight for us or converting them into informants. Is it not possible to make the medicine benefit Ascendants instead?”

“Unfortunately not. Mortals are the limit.” Reivan chuckled wearily. “That’s actually what I tried to do first, given how I wanted to boost his spirit beast’s power.”

“I see. Still, this is wonderful news.”

“Yes. We’ll have no trouble coaxing your spirit beast into forming a permanent contract with this.”

She nodded, picking up the orb and impassively observing the agitated swan inside. “It’s pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you—” Reivan instinctively said, only to clear his throat awkwardly. “Sorry about that. It’s a recent habit I formed. I’ll work on fixing it in the coming months.”

Gwen, however, seemed amused. Which was rare. “I don’t mind. Again, thank you for this… souvenir, Your Highness.”

“No, thank you. For everything. You’re the unsung hero of my life.”

With that, their business was done, so Reivan stood up with the intention of taking a nice long soak in a giant pool of boiling hot water. Village life had been refreshing, in a way, and so was living in the Tower. But he was a prince and he’d been living like one for eighteen years now.

He missed all the luxuries he was owed.

“We’ll crack the orb after I’m back, Gwen. I just really need a bath right now—”

Reivan stopped talking when a very familiar scent wafted into his nose. She’d tried to conceal it, but it was hard not to notice when they were this close and with a single door as a barrier.

“Jiji,” he called out. “Stop trying to eavesdrop. Come and welcome your brother.”

The door opened a moment later to reveal an obviously annoyed young lady, whose snow-white hair trailed behind her in an elaborate braid. Jiji wore an elegant white dress that accentuated her youthful curves and resonated with her already angelic appearance.

Reivan knew that she was anything but, however. “There you are.”

“Yani.” Jiji smiled as she looked about ready to run into his arms only to freeze with a grimace on her face. “You reek!”

“Eh…” He raised his arm and sniffed his armpits. “It’s not that bad. I’ve smelled worse after a training session.”

“I’m not talking about the smell of sweat or milk on you. I’m talking about the smell of women. It’s a different one too. I don’t recognize this one!”

“Ah… Well…”

Gwen, thankfully, explained in his stead. “His Highness has secured an important piece in our eventual clash with the Tower. This piece just so happens to be a woman, Princess.”

Jiji clicked her tongue, her tail was hidden in her dress so he couldn’t see it, but he could imagine it shooting straight up. “Typical. You’re gone a few months and you come back with another one. At this rate, you’ll have more women than maids.”

Reivan’s cheeks burned at that remark. “Hey, that's going too far. I was doing it for us! For the kingdom!”

The catty princess rolled her eyes. “Just get in the bath already. You irritate me with your mere presence.”

“You little…”

Before she could react, Reivan dashed forward and embraced her. He wrapped her in mana so she couldn’t just turn into mist and get away.

“Ah! Unhand me~!” Jiji squirmed in his embrace, though she wasn’t trying very hard. “Knave! Get away! You stink!”

“There, there. I love you too.” Reivan hugged her tightly, even playfully blowing into the two alert cat ears atop her head, making her squeal. “Stay still, I’m recharging my energy.”

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about this time…”

“Well, it just means that I missed you.”

Jiji growled but eventually stilled. Then her arms wrapped around him in an embrace as she squeezed. “Me too. Even though you’re an insufferable womanizer and the enemy of anything with female.”

“Again, that’s a bit too much, no? You’d think otherwise if you knew about this guy I met in the Tower…”

They let go and she walked with him to the baths, with Gwen sending them off saying she had to send the palace an update. He could have reached his destination on his own and much faster by running, but he didn’t rush. In a different way than earlier, Reivan caught up with his sister, not really talking about national interests and the fate of the continent. Just a simple conversation assuring each other that all was well.

‘I was only gone a few months but… she’s grown.’

Jiji was a year younger than him, meaning she was seventeen years old. A few months shy of eighteen, given how Reivan was almost nineteen. Though she acted silly when they were together, appearance-wise, she had lost all the things that made her look childish.

The bit of baby fat on her cheeks. Girlish accessories she used to prefer because they made her look cute. Even the demeanor of a teenager was shaved away at some point, replaced by the temperament of someone who looked down from the top—someone who moved people around like pieces on a board.

“By the way.” Jiji stayed in step with him with a smile. “Where’s my souvenir? Hm?”

Reivan licked his lips in thought. Honestly, he hadn’t caught one for her. He had one for Elsa, Helen, Hector, and Gwen, but not her. He didn’t get to meet one that was a good match for her after all.

Still, she didn’t need to know that. “It’s a surprise for now. Just wait. I’ll make it good.”

“Oh? Interesting.” Jiji hummed as she turned to him with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll look forward to it. Don’t make me wait too long though. Otherwise, I might think you didn’t get me a souvenir at all.”

‘She knows. Fuck, I'm screwed.’

Her mounting irritation likely awakened the part of his brain he didn’t use too much because he remembered something. “You like dogs, right?”

“Dogs?” Jiji raised a brow before her smile turned impish. “Well, I’ve grown to like one naughty dog in particular. But I don’t have a general liking for dogs in general… Rather, I don’t like them much.”

“...Are you talking about me?”

“Yes, I was talking about you.”

“Don’t call me a dog, you…” Reivan caught her under his arm and roughly rubbed her head, messing up her hair.

“Ah! Stop!” She turned into mist to get away from him, rematerializing a few paces in front of him. “Why do you always mess up my hair… Don't you know how annoying it is to fix everytime?”

“I do it because it annoys you.”

Jiji shot him with a jagged piece of ice that bounced off his forehead like it was made of rubber. He was incredibly resistant to ice-attributed attacks, after all, so that was about as much as they could do to him. “Anyway, why are you asking that? Are you going to give yourself to me?”

“I’m going to have to say no. We don’t support slavery, after all.”

“Don’t give up so easily. I’m sure we can work something out if we try hard enough.”

“This is the wrong reason to work hard.”

Jiji snorted. “Then what is it…? I’m saying it now, but I’m not interested in other dogs. Or wolves. Or anything else that’s just under a different name but is really a canine of some kind.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know…” she squinted in thought, trying to dredge up an answer. “I just don’t like them. There’s no logical reason for it. It’s like how I like eating fish and meat but hate carrots. Personal preference.”

“So no dogs?”

“No dogs, please. I don’t mean to be an ingrate, but no thank you. Maybe give it to someone else if you can’t return it to where you got it. Now, if you really want to make me happy, why don’t we—”

Reivan tuned her out for a moment, ruminating on his own thoughts.

‘Guess it’s a no-go for one of Dom’s pups.’

Initially, he had planned to have Dom summon his kin to the material world and anchor them here by making them form contracts with knights. Jiji was a candidate given how she also had the [Ice] attribute. But he also wanted to respect the people forming the contracts and the spirit beasts being contracted.

He really wanted her to take one of Dom’s kin though, because there were some really strong ones and he wanted to grant his sister extra protection.

‘Eh, in hindsight, she’s a non-combatant…’

After a bit of contemplation, he took out an already cracked orb with a tiny white panther inside. He called out Sen and it responded, having already known about his real form a long time ago.

“Oh!” Jiji’s eyes immediately brightened, swooping down to scoop the white panther into her arms. “Who’s this little guy? Or a girl? Oh, she’s a girl, I can tell! She’s so precious! I love her. She’s the souvenir, right? She gets to stay with me now, right? She will. I won’t let you take her. Try me, mother gave me some stuff to protect myself from bullying…”

“Okay, slow down a little.” Reivan chuckled as he came over to stroke Sen, who seemed to be taking very well to her new home in his sister’s embrace. Jiji drew away from him like he’d try to steal Sen, which was annoying but he continued anyway.

“Uh, so since our contract’s not permanent yet,” he said to Sen. “You can form one with anybody, in theory. Or you can be released if you want. And don’t worry, I’ll give you lots of that yummy stuff no matter which of us you choose. You can also take a few more months to think about it.”

Sen looked at him, then to Jiji. In particular, her curious gaze lingered on the animal ears atop a crown of beautiful white hair. There was no hesitation, the spirit beast buried herself deeper in Jiji’s embrace with an affectionate purr that Reivan had never heard before.

“Oh my!” Jiji exclaimed, staring pensively into the air. “So this is what it’s like to form a bond? I didn’t think it’d be this... easy. There we go! She’ll stay with me from now on!”

Reivan looked down at the cracked orb in his hand and watched it shatter into a pile of purple dust. He felt a bit annoyed by how fast Sen quite literally abandoned him despite how nicely he’d treated her these past few months. Where was the loyalty? Some hesitation would have been appreciated.

But then again, his sister benefited so he considered it a win. He felt betrayed, but it was a win overall.

‘It’s a win, Reivan. Don’t be sad.’

“Oh, I love her…” Jiji hugged Sen tightly, giving the tiny kitten a peck on the head before running up to Reivan and kissing him on the cheek too. “Thanks, Yani. She’s the best souvenir ever. I don’t think you’ll top this. Ever.”

Reivan grinned as he touched the part her lips touched. “Don’t count me out of the fight just yet. There’s no telling what the future holds! Oh, and this counts as my gift for the next twenty birthdays, okay?”

“Do you want to die?”

“No, but I literally had to infiltrate an enemy nation’s stronghold and pretend to be someone else for this, you know?”

Jiji bit her lip. “Five birthday presents. Final offer.”

Reivan gasped. “Sen is only worth five birthday presents? Oh, goodness. It seems her new partner doesn't value her very much!”

“Hey! That is not it. Stop putting words in my mouth, please. She’s worth presents for all my birthdays—Ah! You bastard!”

Reivan ran away with a chuckle. “Too easy~!”

“Come back here! Seven birthdays! We’ll do seven!”

They chased each other around until they eventually reached the entrance to the bathing area. It actually split off toward the men’s and the women’s areas.

“Well, here we are.” Reivan shooed her away. “Go away. I’ll find you after.”

Jiji smirked as she put Sen down, letting the kitten explore on her own. “Hey, Yani. How about we bathe together for old time’s sake?”

“Scram!”

He picked her up by the scruff and threw her away.