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.”
“Heehee, 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 toward the ground. Unsure of how to ease her shame, Anima silently squeezed her hand.
“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, who had 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?”
Anima was completely, utterly lost.
“You cheated on Mommy?”
Myuke glared at him. Anima was dying to know where the wedding talk was coming from, and Bram’s wedding dress showed that she was serious about the whole thing, but he had more important matters to attend to first.
“I would never do that.”
“Yeah, that figures. Who in their right mind would go after a shorty like her?”
“You’re one to talk, midget, m’kay?” Bram glared at Myuke after being brushed off.