Chapter Four: The Demon Lord Receives a Proposal

Upon his return to the inn, Anima fulfilled his promise to Luina and kissed her, then took her and the girls out to eat. They found a nice restaurant, where they enjoyed a filling breakfast of runny rolled omelets, crispy bacon, fluffy bread, crunchy salads, and sweet mangoes. When they’d finished, they made their way through the bustling streets and left Barjyo.

“How did you like Barjyo?”

“Was it fun?”

The couple asked the girls while walking the lovely little road through the plains. Their questions were answered with beautiful smiles.

“Uh-huh! The, the, umm, the tsime was so pitty!”

“We can listen to the chime all day once we get home, Marie. How about you, Myuke?”

“I loved how crazy the market was, and fishing was super fun!”

“Myukey catched lots!”

“You caught two as well, didn’t you?”

“Mommy and Daddy catched lots too!”

Their excitement from yesterday hadn’t waned, much to Anima’s delight.

“You two have a real knack for fishing. Can you teach me how to do it once we get home?”

“You bet! I’ll train you day and night until you’re an expert fisherman!”

“I don’t think we need to go that far, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Anima was elated at the prospect of fishing with his girls again, though that day wouldn’t come for a while. The monster had been dealt with, but he still had a number of things on his plate before he and the girls could return home. First, he had to get to the port and get a ferry to the capital. Once there, he would have to wait for Shaer to organize an audience with the king, where he would settle his unfortunate scuffle with Malshan once and for all.

“Where are we going now?”

“The port. I’m not familiar with the area at all, but maybe Luina knows a thing or two about it.”

“Mommy, whassa ‘pord’?” Marie asked, excited to visit another town she’d never been to before. Luina flashed a delighted smile, ready to live up to her daughter’s enthusiasm.

“The port is at the edge of the sea.”

“Whassa ‘sea’?”

“The sea is like a very big lake.”

“Seawater is super salty, though. It stings if it gets into your mouth,” Myuke explained, flaunting her knowledge.

“It tings? Wooow!”

“Well done, Myuke. That’s exactly right. Have you been to the sea before?”

“Nope. I just know some stuff about it,” she replied, a bit flushed. “Y’know, I’ve always wanted to visit the sea! I wanna see for myself just how big it is!”

“I’m glad you’ll be able to scratch that off your bucket list.”

“Thanks for bringing me along!”

Anima was happy from the bottom of his heart to see his daughter smiling so gleefully.

“We’ll find somewhere to sit and watch it from once we get there, okay?”

“That’d be awesome! I hope there’s a place we can get a really good look from.”

“There is,” Luina added.

“Really?”

“I’ll show you around once we get there.”

“Yay, thank you! I hope we get there soon!”

“I hope!” Marie excitedly repeated her older sister’s words as the four continued down the road, happily chit-chatting until the scenery around them changed from bright green to reddish brown.

“Reeed! I love red!” Marie exclaimed upon setting her eyes on the vast prairie spanning her entire field of vision. She leaped excitedly over and over again. Soon enough, though, she’d tired herself out, and looked at Anima with sweet, pleading eyes.

“Daddy, up!” Anima wasn’t one to deny his adorable daughter’s request. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, but she immediately changed her mind. “Daddy, down!”

Despite his desire to hold his daughter, he honored her request, putting her down and holding her hand as they walked. As the sun began its descent below the horizon, Myuke stopped abruptly.

“I see something!”

She pointed in the direction they were headed, toward the crack splitting the ground. There was something visible within the bottomless divide.

“That’s a bridge,” Anima told her.

“The bridge where you faced Bram?”

“Exactly.”

He had told his family about his encounter with Bram while they were making their way to the restaurant earlier that day. He’d shared that her true form was a brown-skinned little girl, that she had used a magic stone from one of the Harbinger’s familiars to wreak havoc, and that she had promised to never do evil deeds again. Luina had been surprised to learn that Bram was a little girl, but she was outright shocked when she’d learned about the magic stone.

She had known about the existence of the Jade Dragon stone. Upon inheriting the Harbinger stone, she was told to ally with the families in possession of the Harbinger’s familiars’ stones. As such, she knew which families kept which of the powerful artifacts.

The Jade Dragon stone was held by the Boise family. What made Bram’s actions even more strange was that, unlike Merkalt, most families that possessed a Harbinger’s familiar’s stone lived overseas. Why would someone like here come here only to block a bridge?

“Bram is… not here,” Luina pointed out.

Just as she’d promised, she seemed to have given up on blocking the bridge. Shaer seemed to have been relieved by Bram’s absence, as she descended from the sky and scanned the area.

“Gotta say, this is quite the bridge,” Myuke murmured from the base of the natural bridge connecting the two sides of the divide.

“Are you afraid to cross it?”

“Nah, I’m all good!”

Myuke’s confident affirmation delighted Anima. She had been scared half to death to cross the rope bridge on their way to Barjyo, but she’d already overcome her fear.

“I go! With Myukey!”

“Okay! Let’s cross it together!”

The girls took each other’s hands, then Anima took Myuke’s and Luina took Marie’s. The four crossed the bridge together, walking side by side.

“Whassat?” Marie asked, pointing at the mountain of equipment piled up on the bridge. It was covered in a layer of dust and some of it was dangling over the ravine, but every single piece in the pile was inlaid with a magic stone.

“Magic stones! Look at ’em all!” Myuke shouted in excitement. Her eyes sparkled as if she’d found buried treasure, and she picked up one piece of equipment after another, polishing each one. “A gargoyle stone! Ah, and this one’s a cockatrice stone! Wooow, there’s even a skeleton stone in here!”

“How can you tell from just looking at them?”

Save for the different color, they all looked the same for Anima.

“I’ve spent so much time in magic stone shops that I learned to tell them apart at a glance! Anyway, what’s all this doing here? Did a gust of wind pull everything out from a magic stone shop except the individual stones or something?”

“I would imagine that girl collected them here,” Shaer suggested as she landed alongside the group.

“‘That girl’? Oh, you mean Bram? Why didn’t she take them home?”

“I don’t believe she is interested in magic stones.”

“No? But then why’s she got so many?”

“Every Hunter who came here to face the monster was overwhelmed by her strength, and offered their equipment in exchange for their lives. It had become a mountain of valuable gear by the time we were dispatched. Identifying the owner of each piece would be nigh impossible, but leaving them here would hinder traversal of the bridge. To that end, I have already informed my team about the current state of affairs and arranged for the temporary retrieval of the equipment.”

Shaer seemed to have already contacted the Knights using a magic stone specialized for long-distance communication. As she and her knights responded directly to the king, there was a chance that the royals had already been informed of Anima’s feat.

“Oh… Well, whatever. I have a slime stone for myself, so it’s fine…”

The myriad stones laid out in front of Myuke were each infinitely more valuable than her slime stone, and though she had wanted to keep at least one of them for herself, the guilt from swiping one would be too much for her to bear. She stood up, looked straight ahead, and crossed the bridge with her family. By the time they reached the other side, she seemed to have completely forgotten about the magic stones, and focused on the port town that awaited them.

“When are we gonna get to the port?” she asked.

“At this rate, we should make it there by tomorrow morning,” Luina answered.

“Tomorrow morning, huh? I can’t wait to see the place! I’m super excited!”

“I am too.”

Anima couldn’t wait to see the awe and genuine smiles on his children’s faces the moment they laid eyes on the beautiful port town. Excited to reach their destination, he and his family continued along the road under the setting sun.

◆◆◆

As the sun once again chased away the dark of night, Anima and his family set out, climbing a gentle slope under the bright sun on their way to the port town. The girls had conquered a mountain a couple days before, so the shallow incline gave them no trouble. Still, even the smallest of slopes was not to be underestimated. Given enough time, they would tire a person out, so Anima began looking around for a suitable place for them all to take a break.

“Is the port somewhere on this hill?” Myuke asked.

“No. It’s on the other side, at the bottom.”

“So we have to get all the way to the top, huh?”

“Do you want to take a break?” Anima offered, but Myuke shook her head.

“I’m fine, this is nothing!”

“Impressive, Myuke.”

“Me too! I can keep cimbin’ too!”

“You’re very impressive as well, Marie. If only I could be as strong as you girls, but Daddy’s getting tired. Can we rest for a bit?”

“Daddy, no rest! Seeping on the hill’s bad! You roll!”

He wanted to tell Marie that she was right, but letting the girls stop for a breather was more important. Their desire to see the port as soon as possible drove them onward, but they were clearly running out of stamina. They all took a break under the shade of a roadside tree, then got up and resumed their climb, which transformed into a descent soon after. At the end of the road, hidden by a luxuriant thicket of trees lay their goal, the port town.

“We’re almost there! Let’s go!”

“Lessgo!”

Anima and Luina took the lead, the girls encouraging them from behind. They continued their journey, arriving at the port town just as the sun reached its highest point in the sky.

“We’re here!”

“Yaaaaay!”

They passed through the town’s wooden gate and immediately squinted their eyes in response to the blinding light that greeted them. The white buildings surrounding them reflected the strong sunlight, making the whole town feel bright and bustling. The busy voices coming from the surrounding stalls and the salty air enticed the girls; they were ready to explore the port until they were completely exhausted.

“What are they selling there?”

“Whassat ’mell?”

“Oh, yeah! What’s this weird smell?”

“It’s the saltwater,” Luina explained. “You can tell that you’re close to the sea by the smell of salt in the air.”

“We’re at the sea! C’mon, let’s go! I wanna see it!”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Why don’t we go to the overlook I know? Follow me!” Luina nonchalantly took the lead. She was excited to re-experience the beautiful view she had enjoyed with her family as a child.

Her excitement was contagious. Anima and the girls followed Luina down the cobblestone road that cut through the town. In only a couple of minutes, they reached the outskirts, where the tightly packed buildings were replaced by peaceful, detached houses, and the busy stalls were nothing but a quiet backdrop to the serene atmosphere. Not long after that, they arrived at a large cliff, towering above the rest of the area and overlooking the sea.

“Let’s head up!”

A flight of stairs led up to the promontory. Anima brought up the rear to protect the girls from falling if they happened to slip. There was a handrail they could hold on to, but he didn’t want to take any chances.

The top was covered in a thin layer of green weeds, and there was a wooden fence around its edge. What drew Anima’s attention, however, was the white structure in front of him. It was a tall tower, standing proudly atop the promontory like a knife stabbed into a cake.

“Tall! What’s it?”

“It’s a lighthouse.”

“Whassa lihhouse?”

“When night falls and it gets really, really dark, ships out on the sea can get easily lost. They light the lights on the top of this tower to help ships find their way.”

“Thank you, lihhouse!” Marie thanked the lighthouse while Myuke looked at it in amazement.

“D’you think we can climb this?”

“It’s open for the public during the day,” Luina said with a chuckle. “The special spot I mentioned is at the top.”

“Yaaay! We’ll see so far out into the sea from up there!”

“I’ll see the sea!”

Myuke and Marie were all too excited.

The lighthouse doors opened, welcoming them inside. The girls immediately started climbing the spiral staircase that led to the gallery, and Anima and Luina followed behind them. While the climb was tiring, the view from up there was sure to reinvigorate them.

The space got narrower and the steps got smaller as they got higher up. One wrong step and they could easily have found themselves tumbling down to the base of the lighthouse. It was especially difficult to climb for adults, but the girl’s small feet easily conquered the stairs; they briskly made their way up to the top.

“Wooow!”

“So pitty!”

Their shouts upon reaching the gallery echoed through the lighthouse. Arriving moments after them, Anima instinctively squinted his eyes due to the bright sunlight. His eyes tickled by the salty breeze, he slowly opened them.

“This is… incredible.”

The wonderful scenery enraptured him. The azure sea panned out as far as he could see, melting together with the horizon to blend the sky and sea. Below him, light waves licked the rocks. The white bubbles swimming with the tide could very well have passed for fluffy clouds.

“Look, Marie! We’re at the sea!”

“Bue and pitty! Like the ‘ky!”

Marie pressed her face against the iron guardrail encircling the gallery with a genuine, awe-filled smile.

“Right?! I thought the same thing! I figured it’d be all see-through, but it’s so blue!”

“It’s blue because it reflects the color of the sky. It actually turns red during sunset.”

“I love red!”

“Me too! I so want to see that! Say, when’s the ferry leaving?”

“I think Shaer said right after lunchtime, didn’t she?” Luina asked. “But don’t worry, you’ll have a perfect view of the sea from the ferry. No matter when we depart, you’ll get to see the sunset paint it red.”

Myuke’s smile grew even bigger.

“Where are all the ships?”

“The harbor is on the other side of the town.”

Luina pointed across the port town, which was shaped like a boomerang. The pier they wanted, stretching into the sea, was abuzz with people loading cargo into a big ferry. Other piers were crowded with smaller fishing boats, but reaching the capital in one of those was sure to be difficult, if not impossible, so they were going to ride the ferry.

“I can’t wait to set sail,” Anima said. “I hope the ride will be nice.”

“Same! But I’m kinda nervous… I heard boats sway a lot.”

“Don’t worry,” Luina assured Myuke to calm her down. “It’s true that small boats sway quite a bit, but bigger ships like the one we’ll be on are fairly stable. The ship I rode when I was little didn’t sway at all.”

“Ah! Look! Look! There!”

Marie’s voice filled the lighthouse. She had made her way to the other side of the gallery, and though the guardrail surrounded the entire platform, it could have been disastrous if she were to start climbing it, so Anima rushed over to prevent that. Before he could get there, though, she pressed her face up against the fence in a daze of pure wonder.

With a sigh of relief, he followed Marie’s gaze. A vast, emerald-green field surrounded by a wooden fence stretched out before him. Within that field, a number of long, black shadows caught his attention. They were rather far away, so he couldn’t say for certain, but the shadows were probably being cast by the cattle inhabiting the field. In other words, Marie was most likely entranced by the meek-looking cows.

“Whassat?”

“Cows,” Luina told her. “The owners of the ranch treated us to a cup of delicious, fresh milk the last time I was here.”

“You geted milk?”

“Yes. It was really sweet and warm.”

The girls gulped in unison, which set the gears in Anima’s head in motion. He began thinking of how he could quench their thirst for new experiences.

“Where are you going next?”

“Eep!”

“I-I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!”

Shaer suddenly floated up on the other side of the fence, and was greeted by Myuke’s short yelp. She had been accidently startling Myuke ever since they’d arrived at Barjyo—Myuke would jump, and Shaer would apologize profusely.

“‘S-Startle’?! Who’s startled?! I’m perfectly calm!”

She was obviously feigning composure, but Shaer believed what she said and let out a sigh of relief.

“So, what is your next destination?”

“The rash! I’m, I’m gonna dink lossa milk!”

“I understand.” Her words put a warm smile on Shaer’s face. “A trip to the ranch should fit into our schedule.”

“Are we departing soon?”

Shaer nodded in response to Anima’s question.

“The cargo has been loaded into the ferry, and boarding for the general public will begin shortly. I’ll inform you when it’s time to board, so please, enjoy your remaining time in this town.”

“We will. Thank you.”

After expressing their gratitude to Shaer, Anima and his family descended the lighthouse and made their way to the ranch.

◆◆◆

Arriving at the beautiful ranch, the four approached the fence to take a closer look at the spotted cows enjoying their day. Most of them were eating grass off in the distance, with the closest one to them about fifty steps away from the fence. It was a truly idyllic scene that soothed one’s soul, though the girls probably wanted more. Anima imagined that they’d want to touch the meek farm animals.

“So cuuute!”

“Look at them munching away!”

They looked at the cows with a sense of wonder from behind the fence, but they clearly wanted to get a closer look at them.

“Mish Cow!” Marie greeted the closest cow and waved her hand at it, but the animal didn’t even blink. The grass in front of it was more enticing than her. “I’m here, Mish Cow! Here!”

She had been so happy just moments earlier, but she wasn’t taking it well that she was being completely ignored. Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. She kept waving her hand at the cow as fast as she could, but the animal wanted nothing to do with her. It turned its rear toward Marie and walked away.

“Mish Cow’s leabing…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Does she hases me?”

The sudden betrayal by her animal friend really disappointed Marie. It must have been her first experience with being ignored. Luina gently pet the sobbing girl’s head.

“Not at all,” Luina said in a soothing voice while gently petting the sobbing girl’s head. “I think she might just be shy.”

“Sy?”

“Mm-hmm. Let’s watch them from here, okay?”

“’Kaaay!”

Marie excitedly nodded. She didn’t want to make anyone, even if they were an animal, feel uncomfortable. Anima pat her on the head, silently praising her for being such a good girl.

“Look! What’s that barn over there?”

Myuke pointed at a long, wooden building visible in the distance.

“That’s a cowshed. We bought milk there the last time we were here.”

“Milk! I want milk!”

“Right? I’d love some milk too!”

During their trip, Myuke had finally come out of her shell. She had stopped holding herself back and was really enjoying herself.

“Let’s go get some, then,” Anima said with a nod.

With the cheerful girls in tow, they approached the cowshed. They opened the large door and peeked inside. A cold breeze passed by them, leaving behind the smell of freshly cut grass, which only got stronger as they made their way deeper inside, following the narrow dirt road that was surrounded by cages filled with straw. The man standing in the middle of the cowshed noticed them, and started walking in their direction.

“Hey there, y’all. How c’n I help ya?”

“We’re here to buy milk,” Anima answered.

“Comin’ right up.” The man welcomed them with a cheerful smile. “Just gotta let Charlotte out into the open first.”

“Who’s Charlotte?” Myuke didn’t know anyone by that name.

“One a’ my cows, Missy. I just milked the ol’ girl!”

“Cow?! Where?!”

The man smiled when he saw the excitement in Marie’s eyes.

“Right ’ere, Missy. Wanna give ’er a good ol’ rub?”

“Fo weal? I wanna pet the cow!”

“Sure ya’ can, Missy. But only if ya’ promise to keep quiet around Charlotte.”

“Pomise,” she whispered.

“Can I pet her too?” Myuke requested.

“’Course ya can! C’mon, follow me!”

They walked a bit deeper into the shed and stopped in front of a cage. Inside was a white cow with beautiful black spots. The girls ogled her through the bars as she stuffed her cheeks full of the straw piled up in front of her.

“Wooow! Hi, Mish Cow!”

“D-Does she bite?”

Myuke got startled when they finally reached the cow. Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, the man gently pet the cow’s head. In response, the cow did absolutely nothing; it continued chewing away at the mouthful of feed as if nothing were happening.

“She’s a gentle girl. She ain’t gonna mind ya pettin’ ’er so long as yer careful.”

Myuke let out a sigh of relief, then she and Marie gently pet the cow’s big forehead.

“Wooow!”

Marie looked back at her parents with stars in her eyes and wonder all over her face. Seeing her parents’ warm smiles, she went back for another round. Once they’d gotten their fill of cow-petting, they made their way outside.

“Soff, soooff cow!”

“I can still feel her warmth on my hand.”

The girls excitedly shared their experiences while the man stepped away momentarily. When he returned, he was carrying a tray of four long glasses filled to the brim with pure-white milk.

“White! I love white!”

“It looks super yummy!”

“I’ll have ya know that we got the best milk anywhere in the country! One sip and y’all ain’t never go back to the stuff them city folk call milk.”

“That sounds great. How much?” Anima asked while counting the coins he’d brought with him.

“Three copper fer four of ’em.”

It was unexpectedly cheap. Anima was trying to understand the value of money in his new world by accompanying Luina on her grocery shopping trips, so he’d expected four glasses to cost around five copper. Was the man trying to sell them spoiled milk?

“Why so cheap?”

Anima didn’t want to upset him; he had been kind enough to let the girls pet the cows, after all. Instead of outright accusing him of selling them a bad product, he decided to ask instead.

“Don’t get me started, friend. Just a li’l while ago I coulda sold it for twice that, but sales’ve gone down lately. I’d rather sell it fer cheap than have it spoil on me.” The man grieved over his lost business. “I’m sure y’all heard ’bout that beast blocking the bridge. This here milk business is my only source a’ income, and that monster’s just campin’ there, killin’ my livelihood. I can’t keep the milk from goin’ bad forever, even with my magic stone, dagnabbit!”

The milk would spoil by the time it reached its destination if the man followed the detour. His hands were tied; he had no choice but to cut the price of his product.

“Daddy beated the scary moster!”

The man curiously titled his head.

“He did what now, Missy?”

“Don’t mind her.” Anima immediately nipped the conversation in the bud. He did defeat the monster, but it was better to keep that under wraps until an official notice came from the knights. If the news spread through the city prematurely, it would create a huge commotion. “I’m sure it’ll be resolved soon.”

“I dang well hope so, my friend. I certainly do. But that’s ’nuff talking, drink up while it’s still nice ’n cold!”

“Thank you.”

After paying, Anima took his glass and sat down on a nearby bench. He and his family watched the cows laze around in the distance as a gentle breeze passed by them. All the while, they tasted the milk.

“Nummy!”

“Wow! It’s so delicious!”

The fresh milk was incredibly sweet and rich. It made the milk they could buy in the city taste like water. The girls liked it so much that they gulped down their tall glasses in mere seconds.

“Nummy!”

“That was great.”

Drinking so quickly had left a thick milk moustache above Marie’s mouth. Anima gently wiped it off while she squirmed in her seat.

“Ah, look! One of them is walking up to us!” Myuke excitedly pointed to the other side of the fence, where a cow with a familiar pattern of spots was approaching them. It was the same they had just been petting. “Is she coming back for more?”

“I go to Mish Cow?”

“Of course you can.” Upon receiving Luina’s approval, the girls pushed up against the fence to watch the cows. While watching the girls as they enjoyed themselves, Anima and Luina drank their own glasses of milk. “Marie’s having so much fun. She’s completely fascinated by those cows. I was worried she was going to ask us to move here.”

A cool, refreshing breeze blew by the couple, making Luina’s long blue hair flutter as she shared her slight worry with Anima. It didn’t faze him, however, as his beautiful wife’s enchanting smile stoked the flame of his burning love for her all the more.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “Marie loves Myuke. If Myuke said she was leaving for the next town right this very moment, Marie would follow her without a word.”

“Hehe, you’re absolutely right. She really loves her big sister.”

“Mm-hmm. Just the two of them being together makes her genuinely happy, and Myuke loves Marie to bits too. I can’t even imagine them ever getting into a fight.”

“They’d never do that. Though Myuke was a little troublemaker back in the day.”

“Wait, really?” Anima blurted out in surprise. Myuke was wary of strangers, but she loved her family from the bottom of her heart. He couldn’t imagine her causing any trouble.

“She never fought with Marie because of the age difference, but she often did with the other kids around her age back when there were many more children living at the orphanage.”

Luina stared at Myuke’s back with a hint of sorrow in her eyes. Imagining the grief she must have felt when her bustling, happy family had slowly vanished into nothingness tugged at Anima’s heartstrings.

“Is there anything I can do for her?”

“You’ve already done more than enough.” Luina squeezed Anima’s hand. “You became the father she never had, took her on a trip, and let her enjoy her days to the fullest. I can’t thank you enough for all that.”

“There’s no need. Seeing her smile makes me want to thank you instead. But can we back up for a moment? If you’d like, I can help you make the orphanage as lively as it once was.”

Luina went beet red at Anima’s proposal, recalling the discussion they’d had after defeating Malshan. She’d confirmed that she wanted to have his child, but in the two months since, neither of them had made any attempts to achieve that goal.

“Do you… want children?”

“I wouldn’t mind raising an army of offspring with you, Luina.”

He had expected his answer to scare her by being too greedy, but much to his surprise, she accepted it with a delighted smile.

“I want to have a child with you too, but…”

“But what?”

“Well, I’ve never done anything like… like that before. What if I wake the girls, and…” Luina’s cheeks boiled as she shared her fear with Anima. It wasn’t exactly a topic meant to be discussed outside on a beautiful morning with their children. “Sorry, forget I said anything. I was just rambling.”

“No, you weren’t. It’s important to talk about these things. Still, I can’t deny it’s somewhat embarrassing…”

Luina kept her eyes cast down on the ground. Unsure of how to lessen her shame, Anima silently squeezed her hand back.

“Pardon my intrusion Lord Anima, Lady Luina, but we should board the ferry soon.”

Unexpectedly, Shaer landed nearby and informed them of the time in a quiet voice. She was clearly being mindful not to startle Myuke again.

“It’s time already?” Time flew by when one was having fun. Anima had awoken to that fact after marrying Luina three months earlier. “Myuke, Marie, we’re boarding the ship soon!”

“One looked right at me!”

“Me too! Her eyes is sooo big!”

Anima stood up while he waited for the girls, who shared the highlight of their cow-gazing on their way over to their parents.

“I’m glad you had fun. Now, go say goodbye to the cows before we head to the pier.”

The girls nodded and eagerly waved back at the farm.

“Bye-bye, Mish Cow!”

“Thank you for the delicious milk!”

The cows raised their heads for a moment before going back to munching on the grass. With the elated girls having had their fair share of fun in petting and watching the cows to their hearts’ content, they made their way back toward the port.

“L-Lord Anima!” Shaer, in a panic, landed next to the family as they neared the area of the lighthouse. “This is a disaster!”

“What happened?”

“That girl is making a scene at the farm!”

“Bram is?”

Shaer nodded.

“Please, come with me!”

“Lead the way.”

Leaving his family behind, Anima followed Shaer to the cowshed, where he saw a little girl shouting at a man. As he had been told, Bram, in a one-piece dress that looked strikingly similar to a wedding dress, was stomping the ground in rage.

“Give me milk! My mouth’s drier than a desert, m’kay?!” she scoffed at the man, who held a glass of milk high above his head.

“What happened?”

Both Bram and the man let out a relieved sigh when they caught sight of Anima.

“He’s keeping the milk from me, m’kay?”

“Big talk when yer tryin’ to drink ’n run!”

“I didn’t run anywhere! I paid you plenty, m’kay?”

“I don’t take no magic stones!”

Anima noticed a necklace inlaid with a snow-white gem in Bram’s hand. Naturally, her dark-green earring was still dangling from her ear—she could have easily taken the milk by force if she’d wanted to. As promised, however, she was trying to avoid using the Jade Dragon stone to hurt others. Shaer must’ve realized the same thing, as her grave expression faded.

“Daddy, who’s this girl?” Myuke asked from behind him. She and the rest of his family seemed to have caught up to him.

“That’s Bram.”

“Ah, oka—No way!” Myuke stared at Bram’s hand in disbelief. “I-Is that a Pegasus stone?!”

“Ooh, you’re good!” Bram turned around, smirking. “C’mon, tell this guy how valuable this stone is, m’kay?”

“The Pegasus stone is the most valuable stone of all the ones that let you fly! Just a drop of mana is more than enough to safely cross a huge distance in the air! You’ll live like a king for at least half a year if you sell one!”

“Well said! Now give me my milk already, m’kay?”

“I ain’t doin’ no bartering here.”

He clearly wasn’t open to negotiations.

“Tch. I don’t get what your problem is, m’kay?!” Bram grumbled to herself while the man turned toward Anima with a troubled expression.

“Y’all know this li’l lady, don’tcha? Whaddaya say to helpin’ a friend out?”

“Here, let me pay for her drink.”

After Anima paid up, the man thanked him profusely for freeing him from his customer from hell. He handed Bram her milk, which she gulped down in one go.

“Thanks,” she said, “I feel much better! Now I can finally talk to you, m’kay?”

“About what?”

She had made such a big scene all because she wanted to talk to Anima after he’d left her hanging when he’d promptly headed back to his family following their battle. He was ready to talk, so he stared at her, urging her to say what she wanted to say. As he did, Bram smacked her flushed cheeks and started fidgeting.

“You staring at me like that is making my heart go on a rampage, m’kay?! Thinking about what comes next is making me nervous! And I get thirsty when I’m nervous, m’kay?!”

“Why? What comes next?”

Had she come to challenge him again? Her will to fight should have been gone, but if she were intending to challenge a powerful foe, that would explain her nervousness.

His conjecture didn’t get any further than that. With a whoosh, Bram slid in next to him and grabbed his hand with both of hers.

“Our lovey-dovey newlywed life, m’kay?”