The chair that had a medieval design creaked as Martel sat back and read a book lit with the low light of sunset. HIs slow blinking and traces of sweat betrayed the fact that he was quite tired. Given his attire, he looked quite out of place. The room itself was furnished like something from the Renaissance era and had a slightly otherworldly feel. That made sense, given that this was not Earth. Marty had returned to Albion, the world he been abducted to and took the alias Martel. He was currently in the private office of the King of Camelot, Duran. Under normal circumstances, it would be taboo to enter a King’s Private quarters unannounced. However, Marty wasn’t worried as the King was a friend to the point where they considered each other brothers.

As Martel continued to read, the King, Duran, walked in. His royal robes gave him a different aura than his typical simple ones, and the beard he began to grow when Marty left had come in nicely. He made his way over to his desk and poured an alcoholic beverage. Marty continued to read as Duran had yet to take notice of him. It wasn’t until Duran sat down that he took note of Marty’s presence. He flinched for the sword at his side before he relaxed. “Martel, don’t scare me like that. It wasn’t that long ago that you were worried about assassins yourself.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Marty replied as he closed his book.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I just wanted to check-in. I’ll be dropping by every other week for you.”

“You don’t have to go to the trouble. You did your job, more than your share in fact. Thanks to you, my job is much easier.”

“Not easy enough that you don’t need a drink.”

“I’m moderating myself,” Duran replied with a smile just before a knock on the door.

“Your Majesty, is everything okay?” The voice of a guard said with a hint of worry.

“Yes, I have a guest,” Duran replied.

After a second, the door opened to reveal a pale-faced guard who was on high alert. “Forgive me, Your Majesty; I was unaware that anyone else was in the room.” He continued as he looked at Marty, who gave him a smile and a wave. “H-Hero Martel? S-sorry to disturb you.” He said with a bow.

“Don’t worry about it,” Marty replied as the guard closed the door.

“You probably gave him a heart attack,” Duran said with a chuckle. “Failing to keep unannounced individuals out of this room is a serious problem.”

“Don’t punish him, okay? It would make me feel bad.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t punish someone because they failed to do something impossible. Anyway, if I remember right, a week and a half should have passed for you as three weeks have passed for me.”

“That is correct. It’s also the reason why I’m not planning to let Morgan stay with me for more than six months. It would be bad if her nephew ended up older than her.”

“Speaking of Morgan, have you made any progress?” He asked with a smile.

“No,” Marty replied flatly.

“That is a shame. I want you to be my brother officially.”

“I don’t think that will be very likely. I’ve already promised myself to Shiro and Caelia.”

“What’s your point?”

“That I’m taken?”

“So? You can have her too.”

“... Are you really her brother?”

“Yes, which is why I want her to marry you. Just pretend she is your official wife here and there won’t be any problems.”

“I can’t believe this is coming from the guy who married for love.”

“Why? She would rather be with you than whomever I can get for her.”

“What do you mean?”

Duran paused before he sighed. “Diplomatically, there is almost no one for her to be married to. If I gave her to Carlisle, perish the thought, or Celliwig, she would be little more than hostage they can do what they please with. There’s no political gain from her marrying into Roxburghshire as we are already allied with them and Auntie is already pressuring me to betroth little Martel to her infant daughter. Honestly, the most advantageous offer I’ve gotten is from a fat fifty-year-old merchant. I’d give her to a duke’s son, but that would give their line a stronger claim to the throne. Right now, I don’t want to deal with more civil unrest than I have to.”

“You sure have it tough.”

“If she married you, no one should complain. We become brothers, and my sister ends up with someone I trust. It’s the best-case scenario.”

“It depends on how she feels about it,” Marty replied with a sigh.

“Well, tell her if she doesn’t marry you, she will have to marry a fat old merchant. I imagine she’d consent then.” Duran said with a smile.

“I’m not about to blackmail anyone, much less her, into getting married.”

“I don’t expect you to. I expect you to blackmail her so she could be honest.”

Martel sighed as he pointed to Duran’s beverage. “Busy day?” He asked to change the subject.

Duran didn’t immediately reply as he made a slight frown and folded his hands in front of him. “Carlisle hasn’t completely given up. There have been some people looking into the Black Knight. Understandable, given what ‘he’ has done. However, some of them seem to be digging a little to deep and are probably plants.

“Additionally, I’ve been worrying about civil unrest. ‘Someone’ has been trying to push visions of grandeur into some of the vassals. I’ve been focusing on gathering information on both types, but my list and information disappeared earlier.

“To top things off, a number of the plants, along with a vassal and evidence of their planned rebellion, were suddenly delivered. The mess that followed was-...”

Duran’s voice trailed off as he saw that the missing papers were now on his desk. His eyes shot up as he heard a crackle in front only to see a notable absence. Dumbfounded, Duran could only bitterly smile. “Did you have to take my chair?”

With a quite crackle, the chair suddenly reappeared.

“Sorry. I’m quite tired.” Marty’s disembodied voice replied before the slight crackle implied that the door had closed.

Duran shook his head with a smile before he brought up his glass in a toast and muttered: “To both my parents, my sisters, and my brother.”

...

The sounds of metalwork echoed through the bunker’s workshop where a slightly baggy-eyed Marty tinkered with Cali on his lap. Her black hair and dress practically blend into his own black clothes. She watched him fiddle with a weapon of his own creation, though not own conception, a revolver with eight cylinders. Though far more cumbersome than a typical revolver, it would allow for 48 shots before reloading a bullet, though each cylinder would need to be replaced. However, the main reason he made it was not for the direct use of the weapon. Instead, he intended to make a functional prototype so he could create a copy as a Ki Manifestation. If successful, the next goal was to use the manifestation to reinforce the gun. However, this was more on an experiment for fun as a standard fully auto weapon would probably be better.

As he fiddled with the revolver, the door opened behind him even though he sensed no life. He turned around to see a beautiful brunette in a maid outfit and a bobcut walk into the room. She was an android Marty obtained to take care of the house and its inhabitants.

She moved toward him before she stopped to take a bow as she spoke. “Master, you disappeared for some time, and it has been a while since I last registered that you got some sleep. When was the last time you rested?”

Marty sighed as he set the gun down. “It’s been about 48 hours.”

“Master, I understand that you require far less rest than the average human, but you still should get some rest so you can function properly.”

“You’re right. Much less everything else, jumping to and from other worlds is a bit draining.”

“Master, you having trouble sleeping?”

“A little bit. I’m just dreading dreaming.”

“You should still sleep, Master.”

“Yes, I’ll go to bed now.”

“Can I come with you?” Cali asked him with a cute and innocent expression.

“Of course,” Marty replied as he set her down and took her hand. They walked together, back to the mansion.

 

The bed rustled as Caelia slightly moved in a state of half-sleep. Her mind wasn’t fully conscious, but she was thinking about her past. Her thoughts awakened memories buried deep by time, and they presented themselves as a dream.

[*Caelia picked flowers just outside of her village. It was her fifth birthday, but she spent alone... Again. There weren’t many other children around her age, but even if there were, they would probably not spend time with her because she had the blood of the human. Her mother was a dark elf and well-respected, but her father was human. She knew that they fought the humans, but she had never seen any of the humans except for her father. Everyone told her she looked strange. She didn’t have her mother’s bronze skin or white hair. Instead, she got her father’s Crimson hair and light skin. The only thing she got from her mother was her slightly tipped ears, though her father said she got her mother’s beauty. She was very loved by her parents, but still felt a little lonely. She wished she had someone to play with. Someone who didn’t mind the way she looked.

Her mother came and brought me they went to the dwelling of her mother’s friend. The two of them had ears and tails like an animal. They were a very young couple and were due to have a child. As they entered, they heard a faint cry. Caelia’s mother went over to her friend and hugged her.

“Congratulations, you’re a mother now,” She said with a smile.

“What’s her name?” Caelia asked as she looked at the little girl.

“She doesn’t have a name, nor will she have one till after her 12th winter like us. For now, we are just going to call her Little One, but you can call her Little Sis.”

Caelia couldn’t help but smile. “I have a little sister.”

...

“You look so weird.” One of the three older boys said to her. Ever since she turned ten, these three boys had bullied her.

“You half-human freak.” Another said.

[It’s not fair, I didn’t choose to be born. I didn’t choose to be part human.] As thoughts of anger filled her mind, she failed to notice Little Sis, who came up behind them. Even though she was only five years old, she pushed down one of them and got between them.

“Don’t bully Big Sis!” She exclaimed with an angry voice. “Big Sis and Papa Tom are good people! Don’t talk bad about them!” The three boys looked at one another but decided to retreat. Most likely, they didn’t want to get into trouble because of a girl a third their age. “I’m here for you, Big Sis.” She said with a smile as she hugged her, and the scene changed again.

She found herself at the bedside of her mother, who was weak from disease, alongside her father. “Tom, I have an unreasonable request.” Her mother said softly.

“Anything for you, my love,” He replied as he held her hand.

“Promise me you will do everything you can to end this war. I do not wish for Caelia to suffer from it.”

“I will.”

“Also, be sure to get Caelia a man when she gets older.”

“Mother!” Caelia couldn’t help but exclaim as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Her mother laughed a couple of times before she began to cough painfully. “Caelia, my wonderful daughter. My blood runs through your veins, so I know full well that you will be a handful. You need a kind and strong man who won’t take advantage of you, loves you for who you are, and can *cough* tie you down *cough*. When that man comes around, don’t let him go, no matter how strange the circumstances of your meeting.” She said as she tightens her grip of Tom’s hand. “I love you both so much.”

A short time later, her mother passed away, and Celia was left with the fear that she would be alone again.

...

“Father, when’s Little Sis supposed to be back?”

“They were supposed to be back from hunting yesterday.” Her father said with some pause. “If they don’t show up tonight, I was planning on going to look for them.”

“Can I come with you?”

“Of course.”

They left to look for them the next day. Caelia looked through the forest while her father infiltrated a nearby human village. That night, her father returned to our camp.

“Welcome back, Father. What?... What’s wrong.”

“I found out… what happened to them.” He replied as he failed to hide his emotions. “They got to close to the edge of the forest and were found and killed.”

Caelia’s mind went blank as she slumped to her knees. “Little Sis… Little Sis…” She repeated over again as memories of her flooded her mind.

“I’m sorry, Caelia,” He said.

Caelia cried herself to sleep in her father’s arms.

...

Many months passed. Her father managed to capture a new fort that Roxburghshire had just built. Caelia insisted on going along though she did not participate in the fight. Her father decided to take the fort in the hope that they could open a channel to make peace. He also hoped to draw out the hero who had supposedly appeared. When she asked him why he replied that it was ‘because of curiosity.’ However, she thought he was afraid of the type of person the hero was. If it were someone who wanted to perpetuate the war, then he or she could easy rally the kingdoms to attack. Perhaps because of the change in scenery or the worry of her surroundings, she found she couldn’t fall asleep. She gave up and walked through the fort.

“Caelia.” A voice almost like a ghost rang out.

“Who goes there?” Caelia asked as she turned to see a figure in the shadows.

The figure removed her hat. “It’s me, Big Sis.”

Caelia’s eyes grow wide. “No way. It can’t be.” She said as tears started to form. She ran to embrace Shiro as tears streamed down her face. “I’m so glad. I’m so glad that you’re alive Little Sis.”

She hugged Caelia back as tears formed in her eyes. “I missed you, Big Sis.”

“What happened?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Then let’s go to Father so you can tell us both,” Caelia said with a smile as she led Shiro to the next room.

“Father, you’ll never guess who I found.”

Tom looked over at them, and his eyes widened. “Little One? I don’t believe it. You’re alive? What are you doing here? Where have you been?”

“It’s going to be a long story. Will you listen?”

“Of course.”

Over the next couple of hours, Shiro told them everything. About what happened to her, how she was saved, the type of person the hero was, and how much he meant to her.

“I have to go back.” Little Sis said after she finished.

“What? What do you mean? You’re going back to him?”

“I have to; I don’t want to make them worry.”

“But –”

“Okay, Little One.” Tom interrupted.

“But father,”

“No buts Caelia. He seems to be a decent enough person. Little One, do you think you can arrange a meeting for us?”

“Why?”

“I want to talk.”

“Okay, where should we meet?”

“I’ll escort you to the area.”

“Okay,” Shiro replied as she hugged Caelia. “I love you, Big Sis.”

In her shock, Caelia barely managed to hug her back and watched them leave.

She waited and gathered her thoughts until her father returned. “What are you thinking?” She asked him angrily. “Why would you let her go back?”

“Because I made a promise to your mother.”

“How is meeting this hero going to end the war?”

“If he sympathizes with us, then he can appeal to Roxburghshire in our stead. Besides, I want to fight him.”

“Father! Why do you want to fight him?”

“There are some things I can only tell by exchanging fists.”

“That’s stupid. Besides, he wouldn’t be stronger than you.”

“I think he is,” Tom replied with a serious expression.

“What do you mean?”

“I confirmed it while showing Little One the meeting place. She had incredible control of her Ki, and her awareness had increased. I’m not convinced I could beat her at this point.”

“You think she’s become that strong?”

“I do. So, do you want to come tomorrow morning?”

“Yes, I want to ascertain this hero with my own eyes.”

...

“I am Martel.” The hero said at the meeting place. He was the first human beside her father that Caelia had taken a good look at. He seemed very muscular, but his face was a bit plain. She looked at him with displeasure as he had taken her Little Sis.

“As I believe, you are aware I am the so-called hero. May I inquire to the name of the beautiful young lady over there?”

“Eh? Beautiful...” Her heart began to race, and her mind went blank. No one but her parents and Little Sis said she was beautiful. The sudden unexpected compliment startled her. “M-m-my n-name is Caelia.” She barely managed to get out, which only furthered her embarrassment.

She didn’t hear what was said shortly after that. All she remembered that she witnessed a fight she would never forget.

...

Much time had passed since then. Her father made a deal with Martel that he would end the war. However, the price was her father’s life, and she even had to join the person who killed him. However, it was not all bad. She was with Little Sis, Shiro, again. Lately, her mind would wander toward Martel. Though he killed her father, he had been there for her. Even when she hurt him, he forgave her without question, and he protected her from Roxburghshire’s King.

She felt as though a burden had been lifted from her chest, and every time she saw him, it felt like something else was there. She had fallen in love with him. It was as though her loneliness was blown away when she was with him. He, Shiro, Cali, Morgan, and Freyja had made her feel very welcome, even given her blood.

Currently, she found herself with Shiro, Martel, Morgan, Morgan’s Brother Duran, and Cali. Martel just opened up Morgan’s Ki Points which had an aphrodisiac-like side effect when Freyja appeared, and a conversation began.

“Hiiii!!! Fine! I saw you and Freyja kissing before we left for Roxburghshire.” Morgan finally admitted under the pressure of Martel.

“Up to you,” Freyja said to Martel, who had given her a strange look.

He walked over to her and gave her a side hug as she looked away from everyone.

“Please keep this a secret, but Freyja and I got engaged about a month ago.”

The moment Martel said that, Caelia felt her chest tighten and it seemed as if the world had stopped around her. [Am… Am I going to be left alone again?] She thought as a hole opened in her heart.

“Big Sis? Big Sis, what’s wrong?” Shiro asked.

Everyone looked at Caelia. “Huh?” She said as she touched her face. “I’m crying?”

“Big Sis,” Shiro said as she reached out to Caelia, but she ran; she ran without a thought to where she went. She sat down next to a tree and buried her face in her knees and lost track of time as tears continued to fall.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” A female voice asked her after a short time.

Caelia looked up to see Freyja, who gave her a small smile. She nodded her head in affirmation and Freyja sat down beside her even though her beautiful dress got dirty.

“Why did you follow me?” Caelia asked her softly.

“A good friend should comfort her friend who’s crying.” She replied gently.

“Friend?”

“I know we haven’t known each other long, but I think of you as a friend. Can I?”

“I… I’ve never had a friend before.”

“That’s a shame. Well, now you have lots of friends.” She said with a smile. “Say, Caelia, why are you crying?”

“I just… I’m afraid of being left alone.”

“I see. Well, you’re not alone anymore.” Freyja said as she gave her a quick hug. “You can think of me as your friend and family.”

“Family?”

“Yes, family. You can think of me as your elder sister.” Freyja replied with a smile. “Caelia, you’re in love with Martel, aren’t you?”

“What!” She couldn’t help but exclaim as she felt her ears get hot. However, she was absolutely unwilling to deny it, which meant it was true. “I… Yes, I am.”

“It’s good that you’re honest... What am I going to do with him?” She asked with a sigh.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with falling in love with someone. Besides, you had the odds stacked against you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know the ring he wears? He wears it because he speaks a different language than us, and it translates for him. However, I think it does more than that. Instead of a ring of translation, it’s more of a ring of understanding. Martel is kind, caring, thoughtful, and he feels responsible for you. Perhaps the ring also transmits his feelings for us in a way that transcends verbal and physical communication. It’s hard not to love someone who you know loves you.”

“I… I see.”

“Do you want to be his wife too?”

“What? I… I thought humans only took one spouse.”

“That’s usually true for common people, but for nobles, it isn’t uncommon to have multiple wives and mistresses. I don’t think Martel intends to have any, but he needs to take responsibility for playing with a pure maiden’s heart. Don’t you think so?”

“I…”

“It’s okay. I’d be at ease if his women were as kind as you are. I hope we can be good friends.”

“Yes. That wouldn’t be so bad.” Caelia replied with a smile.

“So then, let’s go back.” Freyja agreed with a smile as she extended her hand out to Caelia.*]

As she reached out, Freyja disappeared as if burned by white fire, and Caelia found herself in the darkness of her room.

“A dream? What a strange dream.” Caelia said to herself. It seemed it was still a few hours until sunrise. She moved around slightly and noticed she sought some warmth that wasn’t there. [Even though we used to sleep next to each other whenever we were traveling, he’s made us sleep separately since we got here... It wasn’t so bad.] She thought.

Slightly embarrassed, she began to think of Marty. Ever since Freyja died, the playful teasing Marty was rarely seen. Instead, a somewhat cynical person had taken his place. Caelia wasn’t worried at his change in demeanor as it was both expected and she could tell the feelings he had for her hadn’t changed. If anything, she felt closer to him as his cynicism was directed only at people outside of their family.

Caelia made her way out of her bed and the room quietly to not wake the others. She made her way to Marty’s room and opened the door to peer inside. The room slightly glowed from electronics which illuminated enough for her to see someone in the bed covered by a thin blanket. As she made her way closer, she confirmed it was Marty. His face had a slightly pained expression, and it looked as if he had shed a tear or two.

Caelia made her way to the side of the oversized bed and saw movement at his side. She lifted the blanket and found Shiro, who was supposed to be asleep in their room, dressed in her nightclothes wrapped around his arm. Caelia wouldn’t usually mind it, but Shiro’s clothes had ridden up in dangerous places. She attempted to correct her clothes in a bit of a panic and fumbled around slightly in the darkness. Though it didn’t seem to wake Shiro, Martel began to stir.

“It’s a little early to be up, Caelia.” He said softly. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

“A little.”

“Me too. Cali, can you move over so Caelia can sleep there?” He asked as he looked to the side opposite Shiro.

“... No.” Cali’s voice said from under the covers.

“You’re with me almost all the time, and I’m only asking you to move to the side.”

“Fine.” She dejectedly said as she shifted over.

“I don’t mean to intrude,” Caelia said a bit embarrassed.

“Not at all,” Marty replied with a gentle smile. “Go ahead and lay down. “He said as he tapped the bed at his side.

As she crawled onto the bed, Shiro began to stir. “‘amburger.” She mumbled in her sleep before she bit Marty’s arm. Quickly and gently Martel tapped the back of her neck, and she went limp. He gently set her down and fixed her clothes.

“She sleepwalked here as soon as I came to bed and then she bites me. She’s lucky she so cute.” He said with a sigh.

Caelia couldn’t help but make a small laugh as she lay down beside him. “I guess she just wants to be with you that much.”

“Then what about you?” He asked her with a familiar grin.

“I… I want to be with you too.”

“That’s not fair.” He said as his face changed to a soft expression. Caelia involuntarily flinched as he took her hand into his. For a little bit, there was only silence between them as they looked at each other. Caelia could feel her blood rush to her face from embarrassment.

“Marty, I know I can’t take her place, but-”

“Don’t even try.” Marty interrupted with a serious tone. “You are you, and no one else. You can’t take her place because you’re not her and you have your place. Caelia, your kind, caring, and incredibly forgiving so don’t try to be anything other than your amazing self.”

“Thank you.” She replied a bit embarrassed.

Marty turned his gaze up to the ceiling as he pondered something. “I went back to Camelot, and I talked to Duran and about some things.”

“I see.”

“He wants me to marry Morgan too. How do you feel about that?”

“Weren’t you planning that as well?” Caelia asked him sincerely.

He turned to look at her with an expression of shock. “So… You would be okay with it?”

“Why are you so surprised? I understood time ago what it meant to become one of your… wives.” She barely managed to get out as she hesitated from embarrassment.

“You make it sound like I’m a pervert. It’s all right for you to say it’s not okay, you know? I’m more than happy with just you, much less Shiro in the future.”

“It’s okay. Like you said when we came here. From now on, we’re a family. Just promise me that we can be together.”

“Always.” He replied as he looked into her eyes and gently tightened his hand. She looked back into his eyes, happy at his acceptance of her as she reaffirmed her decision to stay with him; always. After a second, he slowly came toward her. It wasn’t until he got dangerously close that she realized why.

“Anyway, we should probably get a couple more hours of sleep.” She said in a slight panic as she turned her head.

“Okay.” He replied with a chuckle. Before she could react, he reached over and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll make do with that for now.”

It didn’t take them long to fall asleep again. Caelia slept comfortably, and Marty didn’t have any more nightmares thanks to the feeling of warmth from her hand; a hand he decided he never wanted to let go.

...

 

“What the heck is this!” Morgan shouted as she woke up Marty and Caelia and ripped the cover off the bed. “I woke up early and panicked because no one was in their beds! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Morgan, if you’re jealous you could just come and sleep with us too,” Marty said with closed eyes.

“Jealous? Never!” Morgan replied defiantly though her cheeks began to redden. “Cali, it’s bad enough that you’re sleeping in the same bed with him, but why are you naked?”

“Not naked; kneesocks.” She replied as she pointed at them proudly.

“They don’t cover the important parts!”

“It’s fine; she’s manipulating her hair for that,” Marty nonchalantly replied.

“That doesn’t replace clothing!” She exclaimed in a fluster before she started to settle down. Then her eyes turned to Shiro. “Care to tell me why Shiro is not waking up?”

“Because I knocked her out a couple of hours ago.”

“Oh? Mind explaining why you have an unconscious little girl in your bed?” She asked with a dark smile as a large flame appears in her hand.

“Because she bit me in her sleep.”

“Really?” She asked angrily but relented when Caelia nodded. “Well then, I guess we should go to breakfast.” Morgan continued as she turned around.

“Morgan, wait a minute, I have something I want to ask you,” Marty said.

“What is it?” She said as she continued to face away, clearly short on patience.

“Do you want to marry me?” He asked her quite bluntly.

“What… What!” She shouted back as she turned to look at him. The look on her face could only be described as a combination of surprise and embarrassment. She turned to the side in an attempt to hide her reddened face, but a small smile could be seen. “Who would want to marry you? But… Well… I suppose it’s better to get married to you compared to a fat noble would only want me for bragging rights. Right right. Also, you have to take responsibility for ki-kissing me. Yes, you have to take responsibility and marry me.” She continued to justify and ramble to herself before she pointed at Marty with a proud expression on her face.

Marty expression changed to a slight grin. “I don’t remember saying anything about planning or wanting to marry you.”

The prideful smile that had appeared on Morgan’s face disappeared quickly. “You jerk! Pervert! Womanizer!” She angrily shouted as tears appeared at the corners of her eyes. After a couple of seconds, she seemed to calm down. “Am… Am I not good enough?” She asked softly.

Suddenly, the air changed as if a slight heatwave had passed through the room. It came from Marty who began to emanate a different aura.

“That’s not fair. You’re both not fair.” He whispered under his breath. In one swift movement, he reached over and forcibly grabbed Morgan and places her beside Caelia on the bed while she shrieked in surprise. Then, he pushed Caelia back down onto the bed next to her and placed his arms to surround them. Caelia didn’t say anything and just looked into his eyes. She noticed that his eyes hadn’t changed shape, but they did have a slight red glow.

“Responsibility... You want to talk about responsibility?” He said as he lifted himself and began to move his fingers suggestively. “Then take responsibility for tugging at my heartstrings.”

“Wait a second.” Caelia barely managed to get out as Morgan made some cute moans in panic.

“Nope.” He replied with an evil smile as his hands fall.

Air shot out of Caelia’s lungs as his hands came to rest just below where she expected them to, her stomach. Caelia blinked at him in surprise, but he kept his evil smile.

“You wouldn’t,” Morgan said with a look.

“Oh, yes, I would.” He retorted back. “Tickle attack!”

...

After he had stopped, Marty gently picked both of them up into a hug. It was only when Caelia’s face brushed against his that she noticed it was slightly damp.

“Thank you, both of you.” He said softly.

“Idiot,” Morgan replied with a slightly bright tone as she buried her face in his arms.

Caelia slightly separated from Marty and looked in his eyes. They no longer glowed red, but they exuberated kindness and affection. This time, as she watched him slowly approach, she did not turn away.

*ring ring*

A noise broke her out of her trance. At that moment, the full realization of what she was about to do struck her as she quickly backed up and felt her face get hot.

“What’s with that timing?” Marty asked with a sigh as he gently let Morgan, whose face was completely red, go. He reached for his cell phone, which still rang as he motioned to Caelia to wake Shiro. “Hello, Thomas?... Yes, you were, but not what you are implying… I knew her, yes… Really? It must have happened within the last 16 hours. Why do you know about it, and why are you contacting me?... I see. I guess that does make sense if she heard I was back… Fine, it’ll be a bit of a pain, but I’ll go after breakfast… No need to pick me up, I know how to get there… All right, talk to you later.”

“What was that about?” Caelia asked him as Shiro started to wake up.

“A former friend of mine appears to have been abducted, and her mother mentioned me. One thing led to another, and they ended up asking for me. Give me a second to prepare some things. Go downstairs and tell Anna to prepare breakfast and that I will be joining her to make it.

“You’re going to cook?” Morgan asked in disbelief.

“Unlike royalty, I’ve had to fend for myself over the past four years. I got bored at a certain point and started to cook meals for myself. I haven’t done so in a while, but it’s hard to for me to forget.

“Hamburger,” Shiro said, still half asleep.

“Tell you what, I’ll make my custom burgers for you at some point.”

“Yay!” Shiro exclaimed as she spontaneously became fully awake.

“Go wash up, and I’ll see you all downstairs.”

...

“Master, this one does not require your assistance in preparing breakfast,” Anna said to Marty as he prepared various ingredients.

“I’m just doing this for recreation as I’m in a good mood.”

“Very well, Master.”

Marty looked over to Shiro, who flipped through channels on the TV. She wasn’t looking for anything in particular; she was just enamored with changing the channel.

“Shiro, go back,” Caelia said as she took the remote from Shiro, who in turn made a pouty face. “Marty, what’s going on? I don’t have a grasp of English yet.”

“It looks to be an international archery tournament, probably somewhere in Europe. It’s at the tail end and is a sudden-death between Tommy and… Yutsuki? No, it couldn’t be.” Marty mumbled under his breath. The young man named Tommy managed to hit the bull’ s-eye, just barely.

“That was a good shot for a human,” Caelia said.

Marty looked at the monitor and froze as his eyes grew wide. There he saw a familiar and beautiful young lady. She had long wavy black hair and fair skin. Her face showed her heritage being Caucasian and Japanese. Somehow, she lucked out and got the perfect combination of beauty from both lineages. “I don’t believe it; she’s out of the house.”

“Do you know her?” Caelia asked.

“Yes. I went over to her country to study abroad for a year. Because of my age and… questionable psychological state at the time, they insisted I lived with a host family. Mr. Smith personally pulled some strings and asked a businessman friend of his to take care of me. She is his daughter.”

“So you lived in a home with a pretty girl like her in your past,” Morgan said as she gave him an accusatory look.

“It was years ago, she was young, and I had no interest in women at the time. Besides, we only really got along for the last month I stayed there.”

“Oh, what happened?”

“I took a bullet for her when a group attempted to kidnap her.”

“You mean from a gun?” Caelia interjected.

“Yes, it hurt like crazy, but I got lucky. It got lodged between my ribs, and I didn’t even end up with a scar.”

“So you got quite close to her?” Morgan asked without a change of expression.

“Not particularly. She was always a timid girl, but she did seem to open up to me. We kept in touch for about a year, but we slowly fell out of touch as time passed. I’m glad she’s doing well. Let’s watch; she’s about to take her shot.” He said as Yutsuki aimed. “That’s not good. It looks like they had a bit of a sudden gust. The wind speed just tripled.”

“That makes it much more difficult,” Caelia added.

Yutsuki, who had her bow drawn, stood there motionless. Then she shifted her aim slightly more into the wind and fired. The arrow curved because of the wind before it struck the target dead center.

“Good shot,” Caelia said nonchalantly contrasted by the commenters who were quite excited at the perfect shot in unfavorable circumstances. A small smile appeared on Yutsuki’s face as her elderly father walked up to her and hugged her.

“I guess I should congratulate her,” Marty mumbled to himself as he pulled his phone and typed a simple ‘congratulations’ in Japanese. He continued to watch as her father pulled a pink phone from his pocket a couple of seconds later, took a glance at it, and gave it to Yutsuki. When she recovered it and looked at the message, her smile turned even sweeter. However, when she realized her reaction, she covered her mouth and semi-hid behind her father from the camera.

“She gets a message from you, and that’s her reaction?” Morgan asked as she eyed Marty further. “You womanizer.”

“... At this point, I can’t really deny it.”

Thankfully, Morgan’s mood improved when she ate his personally made breakfast.