"This is the Ten Gates Gauntlet. The right one is mine, the left one is yours." I handed the left glove to Mei Mei.
Mei Mei accepted it with deliberate care. She turned the glove over slowly in her hands, running her fingers along the inner lining before tracing the faint, almost imperceptible patterns etched across the outer surface. Her fingertips paused for a brief moment, as if sensing the subtle current of Cursed Energy flowing quietly within the material, restrained yet undeniably present.
"The function of this Cursed Tool allows you to move to locations you've previously marked," I explained calmly. "It can only be used within a single country. If you mark places in Japan, then your movement will be limited to Japan alone."
I made sure she absorbed every detail. "You can mark as many locations as you want, as long as you've physically been there and touched the spot while channeling your Cursed Energy into it. However, you can only teleport ten times a day. After midnight, the count resets."
Mei Mei stopped examining the glove and looked up at me again. This time, there was no playful curve to her lips, no teasing lift of her brow.
"This is… a teleportation tool?" she asked quietly, almost in a whisper.
"Of course." I nodded casually.
"When you activate it, a transparent door will appear in front of you. Only you can see and touch it. No one else will be able to perceive it, much less pass through it. Even if someone is standing right in front of you, all they'll see is you vanishing into thin air." I paused briefly before adding in a practical tone, "However, this isn't something you can use to transport cars, oversized furniture, or an entire squad. Only you can pass through. Nothing more."
I deliberately kept my explanation plain and precise. In a world like this, even the smallest misunderstanding could cost a life. It was better to sound dull than to leave room for a fatal assumption.
"I understand…" Mei Mei nodded slowly.
She tightened her grip around the glove ever so slightly, as if already calculating the tactical possibilities. With something like this, retreat was no longer a disgrace—it was strategy. Survival became significantly easier when escape was guaranteed.
"Thank you," she repeated, her voice clearer this time.
"What? There's no need to thank me." I shrugged lightly. "If you die, I'd be forced to find someone else as smart and efficient as you. That would be troublesome."
I stepped half a pace closer, enough to shift the distance between us into something more personal. The air seemed to grow subtly heavier, not from tension—but from awareness.
"Besides…" I gave her a faint grin, letting a small pause linger between us. "Won't you be one of my wives someday?"
For the first time since earlier, Mei Mei's expression truly changed. Her brows lifted for a fraction of a second, and the corner of her lips twitched—caught somewhere between amusement, disbelief, and the urge to strike me.
"Wah?" Her eyebrows rose higher, her expression turning dramatically incredulous. "One of them? So you're planning to build a harem?"
Her tone was mocking and light, yet the subtle curve of her lips remained. Her gaze wasn't entirely scornful. There was curiosity there—mixed with something far more difficult to decipher.
She glanced toward Shizuka and Rika, who were still sparring barehanded in the middle of the forest. Their bodies moved swiftly between the tall tree trunks, shadows slicing across their forms as sunlight filtered through the canopy above.
Fists collided with solid blocks. A sweeping kick cut through the air. Their shoes struck the leaf-covered ground, producing a steady rustling beneath each calculated step. Their breathing was heavy but controlled, rhythmic, neither of them allowing even a sliver of distraction to break their focus.
"Are they included as well?" Mei Mei asked casually, though when her eyes returned to me, there was unmistakable sharpness in them.
"Hmm… maybe," I answered briefly.
Mei Mei's face immediately shifted into a pout. Not genuine anger—just a carefully crafted irritation. She took a slow step forward, then another, until only a few steps separated us. Her gaze was challenging, probing, searching my face for the slightest crack in composure.
The forest around us seemed to hold its breath. The faint rustle of leaves, the distant thud of sparring blows, and the quiet hum of Cursed Energy lingering in the glove between her fingers—all of it blended into a strange stillness.
And in that narrow space between teasing and tension, neither of us looked away.
But instead of throwing a teasing remark, Mei Mei suddenly rose onto her toes.
Before I could even grasp her intention, something soft brushed against my forehead.
Warm. Brief. Almost soundless.
I froze where I stood.
The kiss was so quick that my mind lagged behind, struggling to process what had just happened. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves above, spilling over her blonde hair and making each strand shimmer faintly. Even after Mei Mei stepped back, I could still feel the lingering warmth on my skin, as if the touch had imprinted itself there for a few stolen seconds.
Why the forehead? At least give me a chance to react. The lips would have been more… fair.
Mei Mei retreated a step and looked at me with a bright smile she rarely showed. There was no calculation in it, no sly undertone. For a fleeting moment, she looked like an ordinary little girl, pleased with herself for successfully rendering someone speechless.
"In a few months, I'll be ten years old," Mei Mei said lightly. "Seventh month, tenth day. Make sure you remember it, okay?"
She winked playfully, mischief flickering in her eyes.
"Is that so?" I nodded slowly.
For some reason, that detail felt important. As if she had just planted another marker—directly into my memory.
"Then I'll see you again, my beloved boss," Mei Mei said sweetly.
After that, she slipped the Ten Gates Gauntlet onto her left hand. The moment Cursed Energy flowed into it, faint lines across the surface of the black fabric began to glow dimly, like living cracks of light pulsing beneath a layer of darkness.
Mei Mei approached a large tree nearby. Its trunk was thick, the bark rough and ridged, with thin patches of green moss clinging to certain areas. She placed her palm against the surface and slowly channeled her Cursed Energy into it.
The air around her trembled subtly.
It wasn't like a door opening. It felt more like something being recorded—embedded. The energy seeped into the wood, leaving behind an invisible trace that only the Gauntlet's owner would be able to sense.
Mei Mei withdrew her hand.
There was no door yet. No distortion of space.
Because it couldn't be used yet.
This was merely the first marker.
She studied the tree for a few seconds, making sure the process had completed properly. Then she turned back toward me once more.
"It's marked now," Mei Mei said casually, as if she had just written her name on a wall.
She secured the two Positive Energy Bottles in her grasp and slipped them safely into her small bag. Then, without any dramatic effects or flashes of light, she simply turned around and began to walk away.
Her steps were light as she moved across the uneven forest floor. Dry leaves crunched softly beneath her shoes, the sound gradually fading with distance. Her blonde hair swayed with each step, occasionally brushed aside by the wind weaving through the trees.
"Shizuka! Rika! I'm heading out! See you again!" Mei Mei called out loudly.
The two girls continued sparring without turning around. A punch landed, followed by the sound of heavy breathing. Their focus did not waver in the slightest.
Mei Mei smiled faintly at the sight.
Without looking back again, she continued forward, slipping between rows of trees. Her figure grew smaller, swallowed by tall trunks and fractured beams of sunlight breaking through the canopy above.
"Yeah! See you again, Mei Mei!" Shizuka shouted brightly, her voice cutting through the forest's hush, which until now had been filled only with breaths and the dull thuds of clashing hands.
In that instant, Shizuka turned enthusiastically toward the direction Mei Mei had disappeared. She raised her hand high, waving without hesitation. Her smile was wide—far too wide for someone in the middle of a sparring session.
For a fraction of a second, her focus completely slipped away from the opponent standing before her.
In combat—even in training—any opening, no matter how small, is a golden opportunity.
"Baam!"
The impact rang out sharply. A swift, clean, and measured punch landed squarely against Shizuka's cheek. It wasn't excessive, nor fueled by emotion—just technique executed with precise control.
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