"Have the knights' families of Sunset City expressed any opinion about the new city lord's decision to align himself with Prince Laps's faction?"
Kurose Akira continued the discussion, turning to Roxia for more details.
"Most of the knightly houses have chosen to follow him," Roxia replied. "After all, Prince Laps is widely acknowledged as one of the legitimate heirs to the imperial throne. With a large-scale war in the Starfall Kingdom likely on the horizon, most families prefer to side with the stronger faction to secure their safety and interests."
"However, compared to Prince Laps, many of the knight families still believe Prince Tyles and Princess Catherine have a better chance of ultimately winning…"
Roxia calmly explained the current political situation in Sunset City, laying out each detail for Akira.
"Alright. I think I understand the situation now."
Akira nodded slowly, forming a rough picture of the city's circumstances.
"Right now, the Yerman Family is also discussing what choice we should make. I…"
Roxia's gaze tightened slightly, her voice carrying a hint of exhaustion.
The pressure from both her family and the outside world weighed heavily on the shoulders of the young woman who had only just come of age.
"Stick with what we discussed before," Akira said gently. "Sunset City is far from the center of the war. There's no need for your family to make a decision so early."
"As for the city lord—just refuse him directly."
"I understand."
Roxia nodded, the tension in her shoulders easing a little.
After that, the conversation gradually shifted to Princess Vivian.
"I can't believe something like that happened in the royal capital…" Roxia murmured, clearly shocked after hearing Akira's account.
While the incident had already spread throughout the Starfall Kingdom like wildfire, most reports lacked crucial details. Akira's firsthand explanation filled in the missing pieces.
"So… Princess Vivian is currently imprisoned in a dungeon?" Roxia asked carefully.
"More or less," Akira replied with a nod.
As for how Idis ultimately intended to deal with Vivian, even he didn't know yet.
"Thank you for your advice. It's getting late, so we should head back now," Roxia said as she stood up.
But Natasha gently caught her wrist.
"Roxia, if you go back now, you'll only face more pressure from your elders," Natasha said softly, concern evident in her eyes. "You haven't rested properly for two or three days already. If you keep this up, your body will collapse."
As she spoke, Natasha's gaze subtly shifted toward Akira and Loserine.
Though she didn't voice her thoughts aloud, her brown eyes spoke volumes—silently asking Akira for help, hoping he could persuade Roxia to stay.
"You can stay here for the night," Loserine said expressionlessly. "You can take my room."
She didn't need sleep anyway. The bedroom served only as a place for meditation.
"That would be wonderful!" Natasha clasped her hands together with a grateful smile. "Then we'll accept your hospitality."
"That wouldn't be appropriate…" Roxia began.
But Natasha gently tugged her wrist again.
"Roxia. Listen to your aunt, alright?" she said with a meaningful look.
"…?"
Roxia hesitated, then turned her eyes toward Akira.
Akira naturally had no objections. After all, Roxia had stayed at the guild once before.
"Stay," he said. "Viola can help calm your mind and clear away your worries so you can sleep well tonight."
"In that case… we'll trouble you for the night," Roxia replied shyly, her voice carrying a mix of embarrassment and quiet anticipation.
Time passed, and evening soon arrived.
One by one, Ivsha and the others left the guild.
Akira had deliberately prepared a lavish dinner to host Roxia and Natasha. After all, it wasn't often that two "normal humans" visited the guild.
Yet at the dining table, only three people were present: Akira, Roxia, and Natasha.
Most of the remaining guild members were… abnormal in one way or another.
For instance, Mare Rhine's food consisted solely of beast milk. Viola ate only vegetarian dishes. And as for Kanludia—she was an outright heretic whose only craving was Akira's blood.
Loserine and Elys, meanwhile, had no need to eat at all.
Because of that, tonight felt like a rare moment where Akira could enjoy a warm, ordinary dinner inside the guild.
"By the way, Mr. Akira," Natasha asked curiously while placing some food onto his plate, "who is this little one?"
"This is Xue'er," Akira replied. "Our guild's newest member."
Although Xue'er was technically a lifeform condensed from ice and snow, she surprisingly loved eating all kinds of food.
Meat or vegetables—it didn't matter. She accepted everything happily, which even surprised Akira.
Hearing this, Roxia also turned her curious gaze toward the tiny creature.
Xue'er was currently stuffing food into her small mouth with incredible enthusiasm, chewing nonstop as if she had an endless appetite.
"Her name is Xue'er?" Natasha said with a smile. "She's such an adorable little thing."
Her eyes filled with affection.
Natasha clearly had a soft spot for cute creatures. She gently stroked Xue'er's dolphin-like tail with her fingertip, even trying to chat with her.
"Little cutie, can you understand what I'm saying?"
"You want this one? I'll pick it up for you."
"Oh? You can talk too? What a clever little thing~"
"…"
Akira found the scene somewhat surprising.
He hadn't expected Natasha to adore Xue'er this much—but when he thought about it, girls liking cute things was hardly unusual.
Just as the three of them continued their meal, Loserine walked over and spoke softly.
"You can sleep in my room tonight. If anything happens, you can find me in the training room."
"The training room?" Roxia and Natasha looked slightly uneasy about the idea of Loserine spending the night there.
Akira explained with a faint smile, "Don't worry. Compared to a bedroom, she prefers staying in the training room anyway."
"Alright…"
Since Akira said so, Roxia and Natasha didn't object further.
Loserine then headed straight for the training room.
Soon after, the sound of a sword slicing through the air echoed from within.
After dinner, Akira carried Xue'er to the small nest of the Demonflame Silver Phoenix Butterfly.
Ever since it wrapped itself into a cocoon, it had remained completely still.
However, Akira could clearly sense the life force surging within the cocoon. Occasionally, faint shadows moved inside it.
All of this filled him with anticipation.
He couldn't wait to see what the Demonflame Silver Phoenix Butterfly would look like after its evolution.
"Good night."
Like a father tucking in his child, Akira gently kissed Xue'er on the forehead before heading back to his room to rest.
But the moment he stepped inside, Natasha appeared at the door just as expected.
"Viola is currently helping Roxia calm her mind in the room," Natasha said softly. "May I come in and sit for a while?"
"Of course."
Akira nodded and invited her inside.
As soon as Natasha stepped into the room, her eyes widened at the sight of the enormous bed—five meters wide.
"Mr. Akira, your bed is huge~" she exclaimed, covering her mouth lightly with her delicate hand.
"That's because someone keeps collapsing the bed," Akira said with a smile, glancing at Mare Rhine sleeping on it.
"I see~" Natasha chuckled. "You have such a wonderful relationship with your adventurers."
"…?"
"Could you tell me about your recent adventures?" Natasha asked eagerly as she sat on the edge of the bed. "I'd love to hear them."
"Well… it's a long story."
Akira began recounting everything that had happened over the past few days.
Natasha listened with rapt attention—sometimes gasping in surprise, sometimes praising him with admiration.
Time passed unnoticed.
Before long, it was already deep into the night.
"Hm?"
Mare Rhine suddenly woke up.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes and noticed Akira and Natasha still chatting excitedly.
At first she listened curiously—but soon realized that her role in Akira's stories seemed rather limited.
Her expression immediately darkened.
"Human! Why is my presence so rare in your story? I was the main damage dealer!"
She bumped her soft snow-white body against Akira's back in protest.
"…?"
Akira raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't intentionally reduced her role—it was just that Mare Rhine had an exaggerated sense of her own importance.
"Why did you wake up? Did you have a nightmare?" he asked.
Mare Rhine planted her hands on her hips angrily.
"Idiot!! What creature in this world could possibly frighten me?!"
"None?"
"Of course not!" she declared proudly.
"It's getting late," Natasha said gently. "I should head back to sleep."
"Alright."
Natasha slowly stood up and headed toward the door.
But as she stepped out, a trace of reluctance appeared in her eyes.
The soft, affectionate gaze she cast toward Akira seemed to carry countless unspoken words.
Akira immediately understood.
He followed her out of the room.
The moment they stepped into the corridor, Natasha suddenly grabbed his wrist and said with bright excitement,
"Come with me!"
Akira didn't ask any questions. Instead, he followed her expectantly.
They entered… Loserine's room?
"…?"
Akira froze.
Wasn't Roxia supposed to be sleeping here?
But when the door opened, Roxia was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Roxia?" Akira asked.
Natasha smiled softly.
"She's probably still in the training room with Loserine."
"…?"
Akira hesitated for a moment.
Then his boldness quickly took over.
He gently lifted Natasha and placed her onto Loserine's reading desk—the place where the undead knight usually sat in meditation.
With practiced gentleness, he began removing her clothes one piece at a time.
Perhaps because they hadn't seen each other for so long, Natasha's longing burned fiercely. She devoted herself with deep passion, almost as if offering a fervent prayer to the Holy Light.
But in the end, Natasha was still just a normal woman.
She wasn't a succubus like Ivsha, nor did she possess Lucy's overwhelming strength.
So despite giving it her all, enduring Akira's "Holy Light" for half an hour was already her absolute limit.
Thirty minutes later, her eyes began rolling back, her consciousness fading.
"Mr. Akira… please… spare me…"
Her delicate body trembled as she weakly begged for mercy.
"Phew…"
Akira finally released her and sat down in a nearby chair to recover his stamina.
Although he had completely overwhelmed Natasha, the process had still drained a considerable amount of his strength.
Just as he was resting during this brief intermission—
The door suddenly opened.
Loserine appeared in the doorway.
"You two…"
Her gaze landed on Akira sitting in the chair and Natasha collapsed on the bed.
She froze.
"L-Loserine…?" Natasha's voice trembled.
She clearly remembered locking the door.
Akira, meanwhile, hesitated over how to explain the situation.
Given his current state of radiant Holy Light, any explanation would probably sound rather unconvincing.
Yet Loserine remained unusually calm.
She walked inside, removed a sword from the wall, and turned to leave.
Before closing the door, she casually glanced at the puddle of holy liquid on the floor.
Then she said calmly,
"When you're finished, remember to clean this up."
"…Right."
Akira nodded awkwardly as he watched her leave.
It seemed the entire situation hadn't stirred much emotion in her at all.
"Whew… looks like Loserine doesn't mind our relationship," Natasha said with visible relief.
She had been worried Loserine might resent her.
"What was Loserine like before she became undead?" Akira suddenly asked curiously.
"Oh, her?" Natasha thought for a moment before smiling.
"She wasn't that different from how she is now."
"…?"
Akira blinked in surprise.
He had assumed Loserine's lack of emotion was a result of becoming undead.
Apparently, she had always been like that.
"Well, I should take a bath before Roxia comes back," Natasha said as she stood up and headed toward the bathroom. "Would you like to join me, Mr. Akira?"
"That does sound like a good idea."
Akira followed her without hesitation.
Round two began shortly afterward.
Not long later, after finishing her sword training with her aunt, Roxia felt exhaustion washing over her.
She returned to the room, ready to sleep.
But the moment she stepped inside, something on the floor caught her attention.
A small puddle of liquid shimmered faintly with a golden glow.
"What's this?"
Curious, Roxia crouched down and stared at it closely.
A faint fragrance lingered in the air—sweet, intoxicating… and filled with a strange magical allure.
She cautiously extended a fingertip and brushed the liquid.
Then she brought it close to her nose and inhaled.
The sweet magical scent instantly flooded her senses.
Her heartbeat quickened involuntarily, as if the aroma itself was quietly tempting her soul.
"What exactly is this…? Why does it smell so alluring?"
Roxia was utterly confused.
She had never seen such a magically infused liquid before—let alone understood why it had appeared in her aunt's room.
As for Loserine, she had already encountered similar scenes throughout the guild.
After all, Akira and Ivsha often treated the entire guild like their personal battlefield.
But when Roxia tried to wipe the glowing liquid off her fingers—
She realized it wouldn't come off.
"What…?"
She shook her hand urgently.
Yet no matter how hard she tried, the sticky Holy Light clung stubbornly to her palm like thick glue.
It refused to disappear.