Utaka was in a slightly better mood by the time Kyoumi decided she was done at the festival—they got lunch while they were out, then went back to the palace. He tried to go back to work, but Erize didn’t let him; so, he ended up spending the entire afternoon obeying his daughter’s whims. Not the worst way to spend time, but it still wasn’t enough of a distraction.

Fortunately, the girl didn’t seem to mind—she looked to be happy just to have his attention. Sorai left them after a while to see what his older brother was doing, so for a few hours it was just Utaka, Erize, and Kyoumi; he managed a few stories to tell the girl, and she listened with wide-eyed fascination.

He couldn’t bring himself to tell her he would need to leave while she was still happy. Alas, he doubted he could wait very long—technically he could refuse to go, but he also didn’t want to be called a coward. The best time he found was after dinner, and Utaka walked Kyoumi back to her room. She looked like she wantedto protest against his guidance, but didn’t say anything.

When they got there, Kyoumi wandered over to her bed and sat down, apparently waiting for him to leave. Utaka stood there awkwardly for a moment before looking away.

“I have to head out soon. It should only take a few months before I’m back home again.”

She didn’t immediately respond, so he glanced at her. His daughter had moved all the way to the other side of the bed, in the process of covering herself with the blankets. It reminded him that she was eleven years old; was she too young to be treated like this? Or was she too old to be given vague details?

Very quietly, she did eventually respond. “So you’re fighting?”

Child or no, honesty might not hurt. She knew more than she let on. “No one’s in danger right now; just a precaution.” Utaka tried to smile at her, attempting something reassuring. “I’m sure they’ll see me and run back to where they came from.”

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Kyoumi chuckled a little. “I don’t think you’re that scary, Father. But…I hope so.”

“Just send a prayer or two my way,” Utaka said kindly, “And it might just happen.”

The girl nodded, laying her blankets back down again. There was a short pause before she looked up at him. “Good night?”

“Yeah. Try to sleep well; I’ll tell you before I leave, if I can.”

Kyoumi murmured an agreement, and Utaka closed the door. He went back to his room, nodding a kind of greeting to the people he saw. He noticed a Fujita kid running around and told them to go to bed; that much was routine for now. He’d check up on the work Takeo did in the morning.

When he got to his room, he opened the door and greeted Erize with a small nod. She sighed in response, and they entertained conversation while he changed into something better to sleep in.

“You told her?” Erize asked him.

“I did. She didn’t seem too upset, but I’m not sure.”

“I can talk to her about it in the morning.” She paused for a moment and sighed. “The good news is that Takeo is too old to be fighting on the front lines anymore—or he should be, at least. He’ll be here to help me with all the work.”

Utaka nodded, and silence fell for a little while. When he sat down in bed next to her, Erize sighed again and leaned into him.

“I don’t understand why Nari wants to fight,” Erize murmured. “They won’t even let her fight personally, would they?”

“It depends, I suppose,” Utaka replied. “As usual, we’ll send out a message before we retaliate, but I’m…not particularly optimistic.”

Erize sighed yet again, and spoke quietly, “Just once, I’d like to see her worry about losing her family to fighting. Or the people in her family that she actually loves, at any rate.”

“Plenty of others feel the same,” Utaka said. He pulled her a little closer. “I’ll try to make it back. Maybe with enough prayer, it can just be thieves—something I don’t need to be there for. Then you and Kyoumi won’t have to worry about what to do if I’m gone for good.”

“Gods, please don’t make me worry about you dying. I’m scared enough for Kyoumi as it is.”

“Sorry.”

Erize slowly pulled away and looked at him. “That being said, try not to drink too much when you’re away. You will die sooner than you should if you go back to drinking as much as you did last time.”

“I won’t promise,” Utaka replied.

“Just try,” Erize urged him. “You don’t have to promise.”

Utaka nodded, and her quiet thanks was a kiss.

“We should get some rest,” Erize murmured.

“…Right. Good night, love.”

“Good night.”