In the early morning before breakfast, Martel, Freyja, Morgan, Duran, and Shiro met outside in a different location than usual. It was more secluded because Shiro had stated it would be challenging to help Martel if she didn’t reveal her tail. Because of the situation, all of them wore loose clothes instead of fancy ones. This included the princesses.

“So Shiro, how is it you’re going to help me?” Martel asked.

“I will show you, hold still, please,” She replied as she started to gather a large amount of Ki at her fingertips and extended it out. Then, at a speed that astonished everyone, she stabbed Martel all over his body. 

“Thanks for the warning,” Martel said sarcastically. “So what did you-,” He paused as he noticed his body felt hot and even lighter than before. 

When she saw his perplexed look, Shiro began to explain. “The speed that Ki flows through your body is regulated by Ki Points. This changes the rate of the Ki flowing through the body, which directly impacts physical abilities and how quickly someone can gather Ki.”

“Won’t that cause Ki to leave the body more quickly?”

“It shouldn’t,” Duran answered. “Only so much Ki can leave your body at a time. The amount of Ki that leaves is dependent upon how much force the Ki is exerting in the body creates. It’s basically like a natural safety to ensure that there won’t be too much Ki build up. The amount of Ki in your body isn’t increasing, just the speed at which it travels so it should be okay. I’ve never heard of such a technique before.”

“I think Papa said it was called Gentle Touch. You can use it to affect the Ki points of opponents so long as they do not block it with their own Ki. You can use it like this.” Shiro said as she poked Martel’s arm below the shoulder.

“Huh?” Martel said in surprise. His arm was completely numb, and no Ki flowed through it. He could barely move his arm. 

Shiro tilted her head cutely and looked at Martel wide-eyed. “How? I blocked all your Ki. You should not be able to move it at all.”

“While my arm does feel asleep, but as to why can move… Maybe it is because I didn’t have Ki to begin with? At any rate, Shiro could you fix this?”

She nodded her head and restored his arm. “If you strike the core, you can affect their Ki control, and sometimes the shock can cause the pass out. Although, if you want to knock them out, typically a strike to the Ki Point in the forehead or the back of the neck will work.”

“I see, can you teach this to me?” Martel asked. Shiro nodded her head, and her tail twitched enthusiastically. “Then can you join my early morning training starting tomorrow?” She nodded her head again, and her tail twitched even more enthusiastically. “Okay, but let’s do something else. Why don’t we all play a game instead.”

“What kind of game?” Freyja asked.

“A modified hide and seek. Everyone is hiding and seeking. You are out when someone else touches you with their hand. You technically don’t even have to hide, but let’s be good sports about it.”

“I don’t want to,” Morgan said.

“Really? Shiro wants to.” Martel said while he pointed at Shiro, who looked at Morgan with her, ironically, puppy dog eyes.

“Ugh. Fine. Then Freyja has to as well.”

“But of course,” Freyja said with a smile. Surprisingly, she seemed to like the idea.

“All right, then here are the rules. You can go no closer to the palace than we are now and go no farther than the river.”

“That… Is a large area.” Duran said.

“Of course, that’s what makes it fun,” Marel said with a smile. “Will set a time limit of one hour. The hourly bell should ring in roughly ten minutes. We’ll all go heading in a predetermined direction and begin once the bell tolls. The match is over when the bell strikes again. Once you are out, come back here. By the way, if you intentionally give your position after getting caught to trap the person that found you, you will be punished by… Let’s say… Having to do any single task for both the winner and the person who caught you.”

“I don’t like this,” Morgan said.

“Don’t break the rules and you’ll be fine. Now then, let’s get started.”

The five of them went their separate ways until the bell rang. 

[Time to begin the hunt.] Martel thought with an evil grin. Due to his training, he could sense the Ki of others from roughly 30 meters out. However, this was affected by the amount of Ki they gave out. The more Ki, the easier it would be to detect. Martel knew Duran could identify people from around 15 meters, but he was under the impression that Shiro could sense even farther. They were the most significant threats, while the princess would be very easy. 

After traveling for a while, he sensed two Ki sources that had clashed. By the intensity of their Ki, Martel surmised that they were Duran and Shiro. The result of the fight would typically pique Martel’s interest, but he decided to leave them be. Martel traveled in a different direction until he sensed someone else’s Ki. 

While he remained hidden, he looked out and saw Morgan, who had poked her head around from behind a tree. She frantically looked around as she slowly made her way back to the starting area with a slight limp. 

[She must’ve twisted her ankle, but it is not in her personality to lose, so she is still trying not to get caught. This will be fun.] Martel thought with a grin. 

He silently made his way to a large tree in her path and hid among the roots. As she started to pass by, he grabbed her from behind. Carefully, he covered her mouth, avoided harm to her ankle, and dragged her beneath the roots. He put on an evil face as her eyes went wide in surprise before they turned narrow with a hint of anger. “Shhh, be quiet. If you scream out, you’ll have to do whatever I say.” He said as he slowly uncovered her mouth.

“W-w-what do you think you’re doing?” She said in an angry whisper.

He whispered directly into her ear. “Isn’t there only one thing a pervert like me could want in this situation?” He asked before he lip bit her ear.

“Hiii!” She makes a cute sound in surprise while her eyes swam in shock as her cheeks reddened.

Upon her reaction, Marte kissed her neck and caressed her gently. “Oh my. Could he be you were hoping for this?”

Whatever trance she was in, she snapped out of it with his words. She looked at him with angry tears, then looked away. “Pervert.”

“Yes yes, I know Goldie. At any rate, I have more prey to hunt so I’ll be off.”

“Fine… I’ll make my way back to the starting point.”

“No, you stay here. Walking on that ankle would be bad. I’ll come back to pick you up once the game is over.”

“Humph, do whatever you like,” She said with a prideful pout.

“Hey, if you ever want to continue where we left off, just let me know,” He teased.

A dumbstruck look comes across Morgan’s face as Martel left. “Idiot.” She mumbled under her breath as he walked away.

Martel worked his way towards the general direction that Freyja went in the beginning. After he had traveled for a short time, he detected a Ki source which must belong to her.

[Time for round two.] He thought with a grin.

She hid far better than Morgan did, and she seemed to have suppressed her Ki as well. She took this seriously, which made this all the more enjoyable for him. He snuck behind her and grabbed her from behind. He covered her mouth and pressed her up against the tree to face him. “Well well well, what have we here? A princess lost in the woods? You should be careful. There are some bad men in this forest.”

She looked at Martel very... very unimpressed. As if she read his mind, she commented on it as he released her mouth. “That is the same face you make whenever you tease Morgan.”

“That obvious, huh?” He replied with a slightly sad smile as he let her go entirely.

“Yes. Somehow I guess that your enthusiasm to play this game was going to be due to something like this.”

“Fine fine, I won’t tease you. So let me do this instead.” He got close and kissed her forehead. “Thank you for being there for me. I would’ve lost my way so many times if you weren’t there. You have made my time here very enjoyable. Thank you.” He said very sincerely with a smile on his face.

She looked towards the ground slightly blushing. “I thought you said you wouldn’t tease me.” 

Martel gently reached out and raised and brought her closer. “Why do you think I’m teasing you?” Very slowly, they got closer and closer until… Martel snapped out of it. “Oh? Shiro’s coming.” He looked back at Freyja, who blushed even more furiously. “Okay, you’re going to be the bait.”

“What?” She asked, still not entirely coherent of what’s going on.

Martel glanced around and moved to high ground that Shiro would most likely go to. Luckily for him, it was also downwind, so he hid up in the tree just within reach of the ground. About ten seconds later, Shiro came in just like he expected.

“Hello Shiro,” Freyja said with her still flushed cheeks. “Unfortunately, I’ve already been caught, as have you.”

Shiro’s head tilted cutely in confusion as Martel swung down from the tree branch using his feet as a pivot. He hung upside down right behind Shiro and reached out towards her. “Tickle attack!” He said as he tickled her.

“Hiii!” Shiro made a cute squeal as she tensed up. She instinctively took a swing at Martel, but he dodged as he bent backward. He leaped down from the thick branch. “Oh? What’s this? Shiro… Are you ticklish?” He said with an evil smile.

Shiro’s face had a look of alertness, and her tail stood straight up as Martel moved in for his attack. “Tickle tickle tickle tickle tickle.”

“Haha, Martel haha, stop it haha,” Shiro said. He stopped after a couple of seconds, and Shiro jumped up, wrapped her arms around his neck as he looked over at Freyja. She had an expression she always wore when she pondered something.

“What? Do you want me to tickle you too?” Martel asked her with a smile.

“No, thank you. I’ll pass.” She replied with a gentle smile.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I just thought that, after all this time, I still cannot get an accurate grasp of your character. Usually, you’re very serious, diligent, and aloof, yet here you’re very free and relaxed.”

“I understand that there’s a time for work and time for play, and this falls into the latter category. It’s like a mask. Everyone wears masks. For example, the mask you wear at the ball of seriousness and grace is different than the one you’re wearing now. People use these masks to hide their true selves because we are afraid to show what is truly on the inside. We are afraid of exposing the ugliness that we all possess and fear judgment even though it keeps us from actually knowing and understanding each other. Believe it or not, I like to think that the mask I am wearing right now is closest to my actual self.”

“Yes, I can see that given by how much you’re enjoying yourself.”

“While that doesn’t necessarily follow, it is true,”

“So are you saying that these masks are fake personas?”

“No. I’d say that the culmination of our masks and what lies beneath is who we are.”

“I see… Is anyone left?”

“I got Morgan already.”

“It took me a while, but I got Duran,” Shiro said with a smile.

Freyja looked at Shiro with surprise. “Seriously?”

“Yes, it was challenging. My surprise attack didn’t work, and when I finally did touch him, it was only a split second before he touched me. He’s pretty strong.”

“I see, then that’s everyone. Shall we head back?”

“You two ladies go on ahead, I have to go take care of something.”

The two of them gave him a quizzical look, which he ignored as he dashed off.

...

After a couple of minutes, he found Morgan, who hadn’t moved from where he left her. She sat with a pouty look on her face.

“Miss me?” He asked her from behind, which startled her.

“I-idiot, who would miss you,” She said, uncharacteristically depressingly.

“What’s wrong?”

“… You scared me a little. We are a distance from the castle, and there are rarely people around. If you… Had your way with me, you’d probably get away with it. You do whatever you want anyway.”

Martel’s expression turned conflicted before he went and sat down next to her to give her a side hug. She tensed up a little at his touch.

“Just because one can get away with doing something doesn’t justify doing it. Only scum would ever force himself on a woman.” He looked and smiled at her. “No matter how pretty they may be.” She seemed to take the hint as she looked away, slightly blushing. “Well then Princess, shall we go?” He asked as he scooped her up in his arms.

“W-w-what do you think you are doing?”

“Giving the princess a princess-carry, of course.”

“I can still walk by myself.”

“Then why are you still here? At any rate, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry, relax, lay back, and let me do all the work.”

“W-why did you make it sound dirty?”

“Wow, this ring works wonders.”

As they walked back, silence enveloped them as neither spoke. 

Contrary to how some may interpret his teasing, he only had pure thoughts towards the Morgan and Freyja. He teased them because of how close he felt to them and because he genuinely cared about them. In his eyes, they were friends and companions that meant a lot to him. He loved them both but did know if he wanted to take that next step and potentially ruin what they had. He only internally sighed as he decided to continue and allow their relationships to grow on their own.

Morgan had slowly begun to relax. Her hand rested against his upper chest, and he could tell that she had registered his muscle mass. Recently, Martel had gained much more muscle. While he had muscle before, it wasn’t as defined as it was now. On top of this, the of his muscles were deceptive to his real strength due to his Ki. He flexed the muscle her hand was on. It snapped her out of her trance as she removed her hand, held her head low, and started to blush furiously. They finally made their way back to where the others were.

“Oh, my,” Freyja said as she covered her mouth with her hand. A rare grin appeared on her lips at the sight of Morgan in Martel’s arms. Morgan’s hair was messy, disheveled, and dirty. The back of her clothes was also dirty, and her face was flushed furiously. It seemed a bit like a scandalous situation, but none present saw it that way.

“Ummm… This is what it looks like.” Martel said with a big smile.

“It’s fine by me, just take responsibility,” Freyja replied.

“Take good care of my sister Martel,” Duran said seriously, clearly in on the joke.

Shiro gave a confused look.

Martel looked down at Morgan. Her eyes were wide, and she blushed furiously. “You pervert!!!” She screamed as she punched him in the face. Freyja and Doran broke out into laughter, which Martel quickly joined, much to Morgan’s dismay. After a little bit, Martel set Morgan down on a nearby chair before he turned to the others. “Now then, there’s something I want to talk about. Duran, I heard you had a bout with Shiro.”

“I did, and it was terrifying. She hid her Ki well, and I didn’t notice until she was only a short five meters from me and charging. She used some strange martial art that I could barely counter. By the way, I assume that hand-to-hand is negated being out, so we exchanged bouts for a bit. She was kind of not to affect my Ki points.”

“Really?” Martel asked Shiro.

“Yes, it wasn’t a fight, so I didn’t want to go all out.”

“Would you like to spar with me?”

“If you want to.”

“Hey pervert, don’t hurt Shiro,” Morgan said as she appeared to have recovered from their teasing.

“Yes, yes, I got it. So let’s do this, you have one minute to render me incapable of fighting back. Can you do that?”

“I can try if I take it seriously.”

“Please do.”

They took their positions about 12 feet from each other. Martel lessened the noose on his Ki flame, and Shiro did the same. Her Ki flame was four times that of an ordinary person, quite large for her age. Martel surmised it was because she was a Demihuman.

She gathered her Ki in her hands and feet with a lesser amount in her arms and legs. She crouched down low as her pupils grow narrow like a cat’s. In an instant, her Ki pressure changed. For a brief moment, Martel felt… Fear… As if he was her prey. By the time he had snapped out of it, she had shot over to him within that split-second and prepared to use Gentle Touch on his Ki Core. He had no time to dodge or counter. On reflex, he let loose the largest burst of Ki he could. Shiro jumped back and had a look of shock on her face.

“Martel is really strong.”

“Let’s stop with that. I only wanted to test your strength, and you were well beyond expectations. We can start sparring along with the training.” Martel said with a smile. Shiro nodded and returned the smile. He looked over at the three royal members who all have complicated expressions, and all their eyes were extremely wide.

“What was that?” Duran asked.

“What was what?” Martel asked back.

“Shiro aside, for an instant, your Ki Flame was six times an ordinary person’s.”

“Oh? Was it that large? That was my max Ki release.”

“Still, that’s way too much for the amount of Ki you normally release.”

“Oh, that’s probably because I’m always using confine. Here, I’ll let it flow freely.”

“... No way, your Ki Flame roughly five times the size of an ordinary person.”

“Yeah, it seems that by the time I Ki Flame stabilized it was around three to four times the average. I managed to get it up to this much with the help of constant training.”

“That’s insane.”

“Is having five times more Ki that unusual?”

“It would be, except this means you have far more than five times as much. If your Ki Flame is twice as much as an ordinary person, it means your total Ki output and pool is comparatively much larger.”

“Wow, I guess I can’t fully grasp that, seeing as I haven’t had it for very long. Perhaps it has to do with the area of the flame as it is three dimensional.”

“Hey, if your Ki is so large, how come I couldn’t sense you with Freyja?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah, I second that,” Freyja said. “Even I should have been capable of sensing you that close, but I didn’t.”

“Oh, that’s probably because I did this.” He confined his Ki entirely so that nothing escaped from his core. Everyone’s eyes became even wider. “““What!””” They all yell.

“What?”

“How can you possibly completely seal your Ki?” Duran asked.

“Without Ki in your heart, won’t you die?” Shiro added.

“I can understand if you could lessen it to a small amount, but none at all?”

“Maybe it’s because I didn’t have Ki in the first place?” Martel asked, confused.

“That is the only thing I can think of. Technically, something that doesn’t have Ki isn’t considered to be a living being. So, by our definition of life, you technically aren’t alive right now.”

“Well, I hate to disappoint,” Martel said as he allowed his Ki to flow freely again.

“At any rate, it’s time for breakfast.”

End of Day -226