Ren's pov
Karin lasted exactly thirty-four minutes before declaring our household oppressive.
She had spent most of breakfast staring mournfully at the clock, apparently waiting for the moment when yesterday's Honor of Kings restrictions would magically stop applying. Once she realized the ninety-minute limit had survived into another day, she abandoned her phone beside the sofa, collapsed dramatically across the living-room carpet, and threw one forearm over her eyes as though I had personally abolished childhood.
"This is tyranny," Karin announced, putting enough tragedy into her voice to suggest I had confiscated food, shelter, and several constitutional rights rather than limiting a mobile game. She lowered her arm just enough to glare at me and added, "Papa took away everything fun."
I looked up from the tablet resting against my knee. "I limited Honor of Kings to ninety minutes, Karin. The game still exists."
"That is exactly the problem," Karin replied. "Now I know it exists, and I'm not allowed to play it."
At the dining table, Ruri slowly raised her head from the workbook she had been filling in. She had already finished breakfast, organized her pencils by color, and completed more schoolwork in one morning than Karin probably intended to accomplish for the rest of the week.
"Papa didn't take the game away," Ruri reminded her sister, her expression carrying the exhausted patience of someone who had heard the same argument several times since sunrise. "You already played for ninety minutes."
Karin rolled onto her side and stared back at Ruri. "That makes it worse."
Ruri blinked. "How does getting to play make it worse?"
"Because now I know what I'm missing."
I looked down at my tablet before Karin could notice that her argument had technically improved. Ruri, meanwhile, stared at her sister for several seconds before apparently deciding some philosophical questions did not deserve answers.
Beside her, Hikari was supposedly doing mathematics. In practice, she had answered three questions and then decorated every correct answer with tiny golden crowns because Honor of Kings had apparently altered her understanding of academic achievement.
"Hikari finished homework," she announced proudly, lifting the worksheet with both hands.
Ruri leaned over to inspect it, and the hopeful look on her face weakened when she noticed the large amount of blank space beneath question three. "Hikari, you only answered three questions."
Hikari pointed toward the crowns. "But Hikari decorated."
"That doesn't make the other questions finished," Ruri explained gently, sliding the paper back toward her. "You still have to answer those too."
Hikari looked at the worksheet, then at Ruri, genuinely surprised that artistic effort had failed to convert three answers into twelve. While Ruri started explaining the difference between finishing schoolwork and improving its appearance, Karin pushed herself upright and turned her attention back toward me.
"Papa, can we go somewhere today?" Karin asked, the melodrama disappearing almost instantly now that a new possibility had appeared. "Somewhere outside."
That got my attention much faster than the accusations of tyranny. "Where?"
"The mall, the arcade, somewhere with food—anything." Karin gestured around the condo as though we had been trapped there for several years rather than a few days. "School is still closed, Mama says we can't play games all day, Papa threatens the Wi-Fi, and Uncle Vael disappears downstairs every time Auntie Seris messages him."
From the kitchen, Vael's voice immediately carried into the living room. "I heard that, Princess Karin."
Karin raised her voice without even turning around. "GOOD!"
A few seconds later, Vael appeared in the doorway holding a cup of coffee. He had the composed expression of a man who had survived the destruction of his homeland only to discover that a six-year-old could still attack his dignity more efficiently.
"I do not disappear every time Commander Seris contacts me," Vael said before taking a slow drink.
Karin immediately started counting on her fingers. "You disappeared yesterday."
"Settlement matters," Vael replied.
"And the day before."
"Administrative matters."
"And Tuesday."
Vael paused with the cup halfway to his mouth. Karin waited expectantly, while Ruri abandoned her workbook entirely and Hikari lowered her pencil, sensing that something more interesting than mathematics had begun.
"There are many matters," Vael eventually said with as much dignity as he could recover.
I nodded thoughtfully. "Strong defense."
Vael turned toward me with visible disappointment. "Sire, you are supposed to help me."
"Against Karin?" I looked toward our middle daughter, who was already grinning victoriously. "I know my limits."
Before Vael could respond, quiet footsteps approached from the hallway.
Ria appeared wearing one of my shirts.
Technically, I supposed it had stopped being mine several weeks ago. Marriage had apparently converted clothing ownership into a shared-resource system without consultation.
Her silver hair was still slightly messy from sleep, and the oversized dark shirt reached halfway down her thighs. She carried her phone loosely in one hand as she crossed the room, ignored every available empty chair, and sat directly beside me on the sofa.
Then she leaned against my shoulder.
Apparently that location had also become shared property.
"Why is everyone shouting this early?" Ria asked, her voice still carrying the softness of somebody who had not fully accepted consciousness.
Karin immediately pointed at me. "Papa imprisoned us."
Ria lifted her head enough to look at my face. She clearly did not believe Karin for even a second, but the accusation told her exactly what the problem was.
"Did you unplug the Wi-Fi?" Ria asked.
"No."
The tension in her shoulders disappeared so quickly that I looked down at her.
"You were worried."
Ria narrowed her crimson eyes. "I require internet access."
"For Guild communication?"
"Obviously."
Her phone screen lit up at exactly the wrong moment.
Honor of Kings was open.
I stared at it.
Ria followed my gaze, saw the evidence, and slowly turned the screen away.
"Guild communication," she repeated with considerably less credibility.
"Of course."
Karin crawled closer across the carpet before Mama could damage her defense any further. "Mama, tell Papa we should go somewhere. We can go shopping, or to the arcade, or somewhere with food."
"Hikari votes food," Hikari added immediately, raising one hand while Ruri attempted to pull her worksheet back into productive territory.
Ria glanced toward our daughters before looking at me. "We do need groceries, Ren. We're almost out of milk."
"And eggs," Ruri added from the dining table.
Hikari lifted her head. "Hikari used last egg."
Karin immediately pointed at her youngest sister. "You tried to cook it in the microwave."
"Hikari experimented."
"You exploded it."
Hikari considered the correction for several seconds before nodding seriously. "Hikari learned."
I rubbed one hand over my face. Apparently breakfast had contained a scientific incident nobody considered important enough to report.
Ria settled her head against my shoulder again. "A family outing is reasonable."
Karin threw both hands into the air in victory, while Hikari resumed a quiet chant involving the word food. Ruri finally closed her workbook with the resigned expression of someone accepting that studying was no longer going to survive the morning.
I looked down at my wife. "You agreed quickly."
Ria opened one eye. "I have been inside this condo for three days."
"You went to the Velmoran settlement yesterday."
"That was work."
"You spent forty minutes looking at jewelry."
Ria lifted her head enough to glare at me. "That was cultural observation."
"Of course."
She pinched my arm before leaning against me again.
Across the room, Vael's phone vibrated.
Everyone looked toward him.
Vael stared at all of us before slowly checking the screen. The moment Karin's grin appeared, regret crossed his face.
"Auntie Seris?" Karin asked.
"No," Vael answered too quickly.
Ria lifted her head from my shoulder, visibly interested now. "You're leaving."
"I have an appointment."
"With Seris?" Ria asked, the beginnings of a smile already appearing.
Vael looked toward the front door instead of answering. "The details are private."
Karin started laughing, while Ria's smile widened with quiet satisfaction. Vael finished his coffee, placed the cup in the kitchen, and left before the interrogation could continue.
I watched the front door close before turning toward my wife. "You enjoy this too much."
"He makes it easy," Ria replied.
"You track how long he stays downstairs."
"That is observation."
"You criticized me for surveillance."
Ria rested her cheek against my shoulder and smiled faintly. "I criticize you for many things, Ren. That proves nothing."
Fair.
The outing was officially decided.
I assumed that meant we would leave soon.
That was my first mistake.
Twenty minutes later, I was still standing in front of the bedroom closet while Ria held two outfits against herself and treated the choice as though national policy depended on it.
"Black or cream?" Ria asked, holding one skirt in each hand while studying my face through the mirror.
I examined both choices properly because experience had taught me that saying either is fine was an efficient way to irritate her. The black skirt matched her usual elegant style, sharp enough that she could probably intimidate an entire press conference without speaking. The cream one softened her appearance, especially beside the lighter blouse she had already chosen.
"Cream," I decided.
Ria looked down at it, then toward me. "Why?"
"Looks cute on you."
She froze.
The reaction was immediate enough to confirm that despite surviving wars, public revelations, and an artificial Sovereign, my wife remained catastrophically vulnerable to direct compliments.
Warm color reached her cheeks as she turned toward the mirror too quickly. "I asked which one looked better, Ren."
"I answered."
"You added unnecessary commentary."
"It was relevant commentary."
Ria stared at her reflection for several seconds, pretending to evaluate the outfit while the blush slowly reached the tips of her ears. Then she quietly placed the black skirt back inside the closet.
I folded my arms. "You picked the cream one."
"I was already leaning toward it," Ria insisted, glancing toward me through the mirror.
"Of course."
Her eyes narrowed when she noticed my smile. "Stop looking pleased with yourself."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"Probably."
Ria turned and walked directly toward me. Before I could determine whether I was about to be punished, she rose onto her toes and pressed a quick kiss against my mouth.
The contact lasted barely a second, but the satisfied little smile she wore afterward made it obvious that she considered the exchange successful.
I blinked. "What was that?"
"A distraction," Ria replied.
"It worked."
"I know."
Then she disappeared into the bathroom to change, leaving me alone with the growing suspicion that married life had made the former Demon Queen considerably more dangerous.
By the time we finally left the condo, Ruri had packed tissues, bottled water, and a small emergency pouch containing enough supplies to survive several hours away from civilization. Karin had brought nothing except enthusiasm, while Hikari carried a tiny shoulder bag containing three candies, her favorite spoon, and absolutely nothing useful.
Ria walked beside me through the lobby with the composed posture of someone who had once ruled a kingdom. She maintained a respectable distance for approximately thirty seconds before several residents gathered near the elevators.
Her fingers caught my sleeve.
I looked down.
Ria noticed immediately and lifted her chin. "The lobby is crowded."
"We live here."
"I am preventing you from wandering away."
"I'm twenty-seven."
"That has never prevented you from making poor decisions."
As she spoke, her hand slid down my sleeve until her fingers quietly interlaced with mine. She kept her gaze fixed forward with admirable commitment to pretending the gesture served a purely practical purpose.
I looked around the lobby.
There were six other people.
"Very crowded," I said.
Ria squeezed my fingers. "Do not start."
I smiled and let her keep holding my hand.
The mall created a different problem.
We made it approximately thirty meters through the entrance before someone recognized us.
Two young Hunters near an electronics store noticed Ria's silver hair first. One looked toward her horns, then toward me, before whispering something to his companion. The second Hunter turned so quickly that he nearly walked into a display.
Recognition spread gradually from there. People stared, several phones appeared, and a few Hunters instinctively straightened whenever we passed. An elf employee outside a clothing store nearly dropped the stack of shirts she was carrying after realizing exactly who had walked into her workplace.
Karin noticed almost immediately. "Papa, Mama, everyone is staring again."
Ruri moved a little closer to my other side. "It's because Papa and Mama are famous now."
Hikari apparently interpreted this as an invitation.
A woman standing near the escalator looked toward us, and Hikari immediately waved at her. The woman blinked in surprise before smiling and waving back.
Hikari's entire face brightened. "Hikari famous too."
"That is not quite how this works," I told her.
She was already waving at somebody else.
Beside me, Ria's fingers remained firmly intertwined with mine. She was not frightened—I knew her reactions well enough to tell the difference—but public attention still seemed strange to her. For most of her life, strangers had looked at Astrea von Velmora as either their Queen or an enemy. Being watched because people recognized her from television was apparently an entirely different experience.
Then someone finally approached.
A boy who looked around sixteen stopped several steps in front of us with a notebook pressed against his chest. The temporary Hunter tag on his jacket suggested he had awakened recently, although the mana around him was still faint enough that he probably had not entered many serious Dungeons.
He looked at me.
Then at Ria.
Then back at me.
His courage visibly deteriorated.
"Excuse me, Arclight-san," the boy said, gripping the notebook more tightly. "Could I maybe get your autograph?"
I stared at him.
Then I looked toward Ria.
She looked back at me.
The boy's expression became increasingly terrified during the silence.
I looked down at the notebook. "Mine?"
The teenager blinked. "Yes?"
"Why?"
Ria turned her face away.
Her shoulders moved.
She was laughing.
I narrowed my eyes toward my wife before returning my attention to the teenager. "I'm serious. What are you going to do with my signature?"
The boy seemed unsure whether this was a test. "Keep it?"
"For what?"
"Ren," Ria interrupted, finally turning back toward us with laughter still hiding in her eyes. "Just sign the poor boy's notebook before you convince him his hobbies are meaningless."
"I wasn't trying to."
"You were succeeding."
The teenager laughed nervously, apparently deciding the rumors that Japan's first two SS-rank Hunters behaved like an ordinary married couple were unfortunately true.
I accepted the notebook. "Name?"
His eyes widened immediately. "Haruto."
I wrote a short line above my signature.
Haruto — stay alive. Dungeon loot is easier to enjoy that way. — Ren Arclight
Ria leaned closer to read it.
Her eyebrows rose. "That sounds less like encouragement and more like a threat."
"It's practical."
Haruto stared at the message as though I had handed him a national treasure. "Thank you, Arclight-san!"
He bowed quickly, then hesitated before turning toward Ria. His confidence, which had barely recovered, seemed to collapse again.
"Could I also get Astrea-sama's autograph?"
Ria's expression changed.
For half a second, the old royal title sat awkwardly between them.
Then her features softened.
"Ria is fine," she said, holding out her hand for the notebook. "I'm not your Queen."
Haruto blinked, then immediately passed it to her.
Ria's handwriting was significantly more elegant than mine.
Of course it was.
Beneath my message, she wrote:
Haruto — listen to your healer. — Ria Arclight
I looked at her.
"That was your advice?"
"It is better than yours."
"It assumes he has a healer."
Ria handed the notebook back to Haruto with a perfectly serious expression. "Then he should have enough intelligence to find one."
Haruto stared at her for half a second before laughing.
When he finally left, several people who had apparently been waiting to see whether approaching us was socially acceptable learned the answer.
That was a mistake.
Within less than a minute, a small line had formed.
I stared at it.
Ria stared at it too.
Karin looked delighted.
"Papa has fans!"
"I appear to."
Ruri immediately tugged gently at my sleeve. "Papa, you probably shouldn't say that like you're disappointed."
"I'm evaluating the situation."
A young wolf-beastkin woman approached next with an official Hunter history guidebook held in both hands. Her ears twitched nervously while she opened it to a bookmarked page and offered it toward Ria.
"Could you sign this, Ria-san?"
Ria accepted the book.
Then she read the heading.
Her eye twitched.
THE DEMON KING INCIDENT — THREE YEARS AGO
I leaned slightly toward the page.
"Queen."
Ria slowly turned her head toward me. "Ren."
"The book is historically inaccurate."
"This is not the time."
"That sounds familiar."
Ria's glare became dangerous enough that the beastkin woman started looking worried. My wife noticed immediately and softened her expression before turning back to the book.
"Sorry," Ria said. "This argument has unfortunately survived several weeks."
The beastkin woman laughed nervously. "It's okay."
Ria signed beneath the heading, paused, then added a small correction beside the printed title.
Demon Queen. — Ria Arclight
I nodded approvingly.
Ria elbowed me.
The beastkin woman looked at the correction and burst into laughter. "I think I'm keeping this page forever."
"Please show it to whoever publishes the next edition," I told her.
Ria elbowed me again.
After that, the requests multiplied.
A dwarf Hunter asked me to sign the back of his Guild jacket, while an elf woman wanted both of our names on the cover of her field notebook. Another Hunter asked Ria to sign the handle wrap of a training axe, which she refused because apparently attaching her signature to something repeatedly smashed into monsters was offensive to her handwriting.
The dwarf settled for his Guild card.
Ruri eventually took responsibility for organizing people into an actual line because nobody else had considered doing it. Karin happily informed every newcomer that Papa's autograph was on the right and Mama's was on the left, while Hikari stood beside them like an unofficial assistant.
Then an elf teenager approached with nothing except her phone.
"I don't have anything for you to sign," she admitted, cheeks already turning red. "Would it be okay if I got a picture instead?"
I looked toward Ria.
Ria looked toward me.
Before either of us answered, Hikari stepped between us and raised one hand.
"Hikari joins."
The elf stared at her.
Hikari smiled brightly.
The photograph somehow became a family picture.
Karin refused to be excluded and hurried beside Ria, while Ruri politely took the remaining position near me after realizing there was no longer any point resisting. By the time the elf's friend took the picture, the girl looked close to crying from happiness.
Afterward, Hikari watched her leave and then turned toward the remaining autograph line.
"Hikari can autograph too."
I looked down at her. "Can you?"
Hikari nodded confidently. "Yes."
"Can you write Arclight?"
She became very still.
Karin started laughing immediately.
"Hikari can't spell Arclight!"
"Hikari can!"
"Do it."
Hikari opened her mouth.
Nothing happened.
Her golden eyes slowly moved toward Ruri.
Ruri sighed and leaned down to whisper something into her ear.
Hikari immediately brightened and raised one finger. "H-I-K-A-R-I!"
Karin laughed harder. "That's not Arclight!"
"Hikari knows Hikari!"
Ria pressed her face briefly against my shoulder to hide her laughter, while several people waiting nearby began laughing too.
Whatever nervousness had surrounded us when we entered the mall disappeared almost completely after that.
Eventually, a Guild security officer approached and asked whether we wanted the area cleared.
I looked toward the people still waiting with notebooks, cards, phones, and pieces of Hunter equipment.
"They're not doing anything wrong," I told him. "We'll finish."
Ria glanced toward me, then toward the remaining line. Her expression softened before she nodded. "We'll finish the line."
The security officer stepped back.
I looked toward my wife while she signed another notebook.
"You're enjoying this."
Ria didn't look up. "I am being polite."
"You've started changing your signature depending on what they give you."
"That is called presentation."
"You drew a tiny crown on that girl's notebook."
"She asked nicely."
"Of course."
Ria finished the signature and passed the notebook back to a smiling human girl. The moment the girl left, my wife reached for my hand again beneath the shopping bag hanging from her arm.
"Stop teasing me," Ria muttered.
"You're cute when you're famous."
Her footsteps stopped.
I continued walking for approximately two steps before realizing my hand was no longer moving with me.
When I turned around, Ria was still standing there.
Her cheeks had become pink.
Karin noticed immediately. "Mama is red."
"I am not."
Ruri looked toward her mother with the clinical seriousness of someone confirming symptoms. "Mama is a little red."
Hikari nodded enthusiastically. "Mama very red."
Ria closed her eyes.
I wisely stopped contributing.
Eventually, we escaped the autograph crowd and continued deeper into the mall. People still waved occasionally when they recognized us, while several Hunters settled for respectful nods once they saw we were with the girls.
A few Velmorans passed us too.
Some initially straightened when they recognized Ria, but instead of bowing deeply, most offered simple greetings or small nods. Ria returned every one.
No commands.
No throne.
No subjects following behind her.
Just Ria.
A little farther ahead, a young fox-beastkin boy standing beside his mother stared openly at her horns.
His mother noticed almost immediately and whispered something embarrassed into his ear. The boy hid behind her leg, but his eyes kept returning to Ria.
Ria stopped walking.
I stopped beside her.
The woman began apologizing, but Ria crouched before she could finish.
"What did you want to ask?" Ria said gently.
The fox-eared child peeked around his mother's side. "Are they real?"
Ria touched one horn with two fingers. "Yes."
The boy's eyes widened. "Cool."
For the first time since entering the mall, Ria looked genuinely caught off guard.
His mother lowered her head slightly. "I'm sorry. He hasn't learned when staring is rude yet."
"There is nothing to apologize for," Ria replied as she stood. When the boy waved before being guided toward the escalator, she lifted one hand and returned the gesture.
We continued walking.
I glanced toward my wife.
A small smile remained on her face.
"You liked that."
Ria kept her gaze forward, but her fingers slipped through mine again. "He had good taste."
"Of course."
This time, she smiled without bothering to hide it.
Our first proper shopping stop was a department store because Ruri needed notebooks and Karin apparently needed every object that existed.
"Papa, look at this jacket," Karin said, holding up something bright enough to function as emergency signaling equipment.
"No."
Karin stared at me. "You didn't even look!"
"I know the pattern."
"This one is different."
"You said that about the shoes five minutes ago."
"The shoes were also different."
Ruri quietly placed two notebooks and a pack of pencils into the basket while Karin continued developing increasingly creative definitions of necessity.
Hikari disappeared for approximately twelve seconds and returned wearing sunglasses almost twice the width of her face. The youngest dragon planted both hands on her hips and tilted her head proudly.
"Hikari cool?"
"Yes," I answered.
She immediately turned toward Ria. "Mama?"
Ria looked at her, pressed her lips together, and failed to stop herself from smiling. "Those are ridiculous."
Hikari gasped.
Ria lasted approximately two seconds before surrendering. "Fine. Keep them."
Hikari celebrated and ran toward Ruri to show off her acquisition.
I looked at my wife. "You lasted longer than expected."
"She looked cute," Ria replied defensively.
"Correct."
Ria glanced toward me, realized we had agreed, and smiled before walking beside me toward the next aisle.
Lunch became our next problem.
A restaurant manager recognized us before we reached the host stand and immediately began offering a private room, complimentary meals, and access to a premium menu none of us had requested.
"No, thank you," I told him.
The manager blinked.
Ria looked toward me.
Karin looked disappointed.
Then the manager added, "The private room also has no waiting queue, Mr. Arclight."
I paused.
Ria slowly turned toward me.
I looked back at the manager. "How much shorter?"
My wife covered her face with one hand. "You are shameless."
"I value efficiency."
Ria lowered her hand enough to stare at me. "You refused free food but reconsidered because you would not have to wait."
"Food costs money. Time also has value."
"That is not how normal people evaluate lunch."
"Seems reasonable to me."
Ruri giggled behind her hand, while Karin nodded as though I had revealed important adult wisdom.
We took the private room.
Ria sat beside me, which in practice meant enough of her was touching me that we could probably have shared one chair. Her knee rested against mine beneath the table while the girls argued over what to order, and when dessert eventually arrived, I managed exactly one bite before my wife leaned over and stole the next one from my plate.
I turned toward her.
Ria chewed calmly and met my stare without shame.
"That was mine."
"We are married," Ria replied after swallowing.
"That defense keeps expanding."
She reached toward the plate again.
I moved it farther away.
Her crimson eyes narrowed. "Ren."
"Property dispute."
Ria stared at me for a second.
Then her expression changed.
Her eyes softened, her shoulders lowered slightly, and the tiniest hint of a pout appeared.
Weaponized cuteness.
Unfair.
I pushed the plate back toward her.
Ria's smile appeared immediately. "Thank you, dear."
"Manipulative."
"Effective."
She stole another bite while our daughters remained completely unaware because Karin and Hikari were debating whether fries counted as vegetables.
The arcade after lunch was probably my worst decision of the day.
Karin discovered a rhythm game and immediately became convinced she possessed natural talent. Reality disagreed rather aggressively.
Hikari found a claw machine containing golden dragon plushies and declared one of them family despite the important complication that it remained trapped behind glass.
Ruri tried a puzzle machine once and somehow achieved the highest score of the day.
Again.
At this point, her unexplained competence was becoming a household pattern.
Ria remained mostly uninterested until she found a dance machine and noticed my name near the top of the local scoreboard.
Her head turned toward me immediately. "Ren, you played this?"
"While Karin was losing the rhythm game."
"I heard that!" Karin shouted from three machines away.
Ria ignored her and looked back toward the score. "You scored higher than me."
"I didn't know you had played."
"That is irrelevant."
"It seems extremely relevant."
Ria stepped onto the platform and pointed toward the machine. "Rematch."
I looked down at her cream skirt. "You're wearing that."
"So?"
"Seems inconvenient for a dance game."
"Ren. Rematch."
Ten minutes later, Astrea von Velmora was aggressively attempting to defeat my score while all three daughters had become an unofficial cheering section. Karin shouted advice that was actively harmful, Hikari bounced beside the platform and applauded every successful step, while Ruri had decided the event deserved documentation and was recording Mama with her phone.
Ria finished her first attempt and stared at the score.
Still below mine.
Her brows drew together. "Again."
I folded my arms. "We left Honor of Kings at home for a reason."
"This is different."
"How?"
Ria glanced toward me as if the distinction should have been obvious. "I am standing."
I had no immediate response to that.
She played again.
By the third attempt, strands of silver hair had escaped her tie, her cheeks were flushed from exertion, and she looked significantly happier than someone repeatedly losing to her husband should have.
Then she finally beat me.
By twelve points.
Ria stepped down from the platform with the dignity of someone returning from a victorious military campaign. "I win."
"By twelve points."
"A victory is a victory."
"You needed three attempts."
"That is called adaptation."
I smiled.
Ria noticed immediately, and her triumphant expression softened into curiosity. "Why are you smiling?"
"You're having fun."
She blinked.
For a moment, all the competitive smugness disappeared.
Then Ria looked toward the machine, toward our daughters, and finally back at me. A softer smile appeared.
"Yes," she admitted. "I am."
I liked that answer enough not to ruin it.
The girls eventually moved ahead toward another cluster of machines while Ria stayed beside me. She slipped one arm through mine as we walked, her shoulder brushing against me whenever the crowd shifted around us.
For several minutes, nothing unusual happened.
Then Ria slowed.
I noticed immediately because the arm linked through mine stopped moving with me.
"What is it?" I asked.
She did not answer right away.
Her crimson eyes had shifted beyond the arcade toward an open café near the mall's Hunter-supply wing.
I followed her gaze.
Five people sat around one table.
A human swordsman occupied one side with his jacket hanging over the chair. Beside him sat an elf mage with long pale hair tied behind her neck, while a stocky dwarf in heavy boots occupied enough space for two ordinary people.
Across from them sat a fox-beastkin woman wearing healer identification tags.
The fifth member was Velmoran.
His dark horns were clearly visible, and he made no attempt to hide them.
The party was eating lunch—or possibly a second lunch considering the number of plates scattered across the table—and arguing with the comfortable hostility of people who had spent enough time together to stop pretending they respected one another.
The dwarf pointed accusingly across the table. "That kill was mine."
The Velmoran stared at him. "You were unconscious."
"For twelve seconds," the dwarf argued.
"You were still unconscious for those twelve seconds."
"That does not transfer ownership!"
The elf mage took a slow drink before looking between both men. "You both nearly died because neither of you listened when I said not to enter that room."
The beastkin healer pointed her fork toward them. "Next time, I am charging both of you double."
The human swordsman started laughing. While everyone was distracted, he reached across the table and stole one of the dwarf's fries.
The dwarf noticed immediately. "Hey!"
The human pointed shamelessly toward the Velmoran. "He did it."
The demon looked genuinely offended. "I am sitting across from you."
"That sounds exactly like something a guilty man would say."
Their table collapsed into another argument.
Ria stood completely still beside me.
Her eyes never left them.
"They seem happy," she said quietly.
I watched the dwarf wrap one arm around the Velmoran's neck and aggressively rub his knuckles against the side of the demon's head. The Velmoran started laughing while trying to shove him away, the elf looked as though she regretted every decision that had led her there, and the beastkin healer continued eating without showing the slightest interest in intervening.
"Looks like it," I replied.
Ria watched them for several more seconds, her fingers gradually tightening around my arm. "They are not merely cooperating."
"No," I said, because I understood exactly what she meant.
She had already seen humans and Velmorans fight together. She had attended negotiations, watched new trade routes open, and spent weeks helping the settlement establish itself. Those things mattered, but they had always been deliberate.
This was different.
Nobody had organized that party as a symbol of reconciliation. Nobody was congratulating the human for accepting a demon or the Velmoran for trusting an elf. No cameras were present, no Guild representatives were making speeches, and nobody nearby seemed to consider the party composition remarkable.
They were simply friends.
Ria watched the demon finally escape the dwarf's grip, only for the human to steal another fry while everyone was distracted.
"An elf, a dwarf, a beastkin, humans..." Ria murmured, her voice softening further. "And one of my people."
I examined the group. "Balanced party."
Ria slowly turned her head toward me. "Ren."
"They have frontline, healing, magic, physical damage. Composition looks good."
"That is not what I meant."
"I know."
Her eyes returned to the café.
The humor left my voice when I continued. "They look pretty normal."
That made Ria look toward me again.
I meant it exactly that way.
Not extraordinary.
Not inspiring.
Normal.
The Velmoran was not sitting there because humanity had decided to turn him into an example of coexistence. He was simply a Hunter whose dwarf teammate apparently considered stolen kill credit a personal betrayal.
Ria's expression softened slowly. "They're friends."
"Seems like it."
Her grip around my arm became gentler.
Before either of us could say anything else, Karin returned from the arcade with Ruri and Hikari following behind her.
"Mama?" Karin asked, following Ria's gaze toward the café. "Why did you stop?"
Ria looked down at her before glancing back toward the Hunter party. "That group has a Velmoran."
Karin looked properly.
She saw the human, the elf, the dwarf, the beastkin, and the demon.
Then she looked back at her mother with complete confusion.
"So?"
Ria froze.
Karin tilted her head. "Is that supposed to be weird?"
Ruri had already understood. Her eyes moved from the party toward Mama, and a small, quiet smile appeared.
Hikari understood none of it.
She stared at the café for several seconds, focused almost entirely on the food.
"Hikari wants their fries."
I covered my mouth.
Karin immediately pointed toward the café. "Actually, can we get fries too?"
"We just ate," I reminded her.
"That was ages ago."
"It was forty minutes."
Karin looked at me as if I had supported her argument. "Exactly."
Ria was still watching her.
Then a small smile appeared.
Not the composed smile she used during interviews.
Not the regal one she wore when Velmorans approached her publicly.
Just Ria.
She reached down and gently rubbed Karin's hair. "Nothing is wrong. That was a good answer."
Karin looked even more confused. "Okay?"
"A very good answer," Ria repeated.
The Velmoran Hunter finally noticed us.
His laughter stopped.
Recognition crossed his face, and his posture changed before he had time to think about it.
Old instinct.
He started to stand.
Ria noticed immediately.
The human swordsman beside him caught his sleeve without even looking away from the dessert menu. "Where are you going? We're ordering something."
The Velmoran hesitated.
His eyes remained fixed on Ria.
For half a second, all the history between them seemed to exist inside that simple movement.
Queen and subject.
War and ruin.
A kingdom that no longer existed the way either of them remembered it.
Ria gave him the smallest shake of her head.
Stay.
He understood.
The Velmoran slowly sat again, and the dwarf immediately shoved the dessert menu toward him before beginning an entirely new argument over what they should order. The healer complained that nobody had asked what she wanted, the elf sighed again, and within seconds the entire table had returned to normal chaos.
Ria watched them for a little longer.
I leaned slightly toward her. "Happy?"
She looked at the Hunter party, then toward our daughters. Karin and Hikari had already begun debating whether they possessed enough arcade credits for another game, while Ruri attempted to calculate the remaining balance properly.
Ria's crimson eyes softened. "More than I expected."
I smiled.
She immediately hooked both arms around mine and pressed herself closer.
"You are standing too far away," Ria murmured.
I looked down at us. "We are already touching."
"Not enough."
She pressed closer anyway.
Publicly elegant.
Privately a cat.
Perfect balance.
We eventually continued through the mall.
Then we found Vael.
And Seris.
Together.
They were standing outside a home-goods store, and the difference in their respective workloads was difficult to ignore. Seris carried one small shopping bag while Vael carried seven.
Ria stopped walking so suddenly that I almost continued without her. Once I followed her gaze, I understood immediately.
Vael noticed us.
His expression changed.
Seris followed his gaze and smiled. "Oh."
Ria's grip around my arm tightened as she fought laughter, while Vael looked toward the ceiling with the expression of a man quietly wondering whether another dimensional crisis might be preferable.
Karin destroyed any remaining possibility of discretion. "UNCLE VAEL!"
Several nearby shoppers turned.
Vael closed his eyes.
Seris laughed openly.
We approached while Ria studied the collection of bags hanging from Vael's arms with increasing interest.
"Administrative matters?" Ria asked.
Vael's jaw tightened.
Seris answered for him, her smile widening. "Extremely complicated administrative matters."
I looked toward the largest bag. "Looks heavy."
Vael stared at me. "Sire, do not."
"I said nothing."
"You were going to."
Ria leaned toward me and lowered her voice just enough to pretend she did not want Vael to hear. "He has been domesticated."
Vael heard perfectly.
"Your Majesty."
Ria looked innocent. "Yes, Vael?"
Seris laughed harder.
Karin immediately began asking what they had bought, while Hikari skipped every reasonable social question and looked directly between Vael and Seris.
"Uncle Vael and Auntie Seris dating?"
Vael nearly dropped two bags.
Ruri immediately covered Hikari's mouth. "Hikari!"
Seris looked delighted, and Ria turned away because the smile on her face had become impossible to hide.
At that point, I considered the outing officially successful.
By the time we finished buying groceries and started home, the girls had used almost all of their remaining energy.
Karin lasted until halfway through the ride before falling asleep against Ruri's shoulder. Ruri tried staying awake longer, probably because she considered consciousness another household responsibility, but eventually her head leaned against Karin's too.
Hikari climbed into Ria's lap and announced that she was absolutely not sleepy.
She fell asleep three minutes later.
The train car was quiet without being empty, filled with the low hum of movement and occasional conversations from other passengers. Grocery bags rested near my feet, our daughters slept in a small pile around us, and Ria sat beside me with one arm supporting Hikari against her chest.
Her free hand rested between us.
I slipped my fingers through hers.
Ria looked down at our joined hands before turning toward me. No embarrassment appeared this time; she simply squeezed my fingers and shifted closer until her shoulder rested comfortably against mine.
For several minutes, we watched Chiba move beyond the windows.
Ria eventually spoke in a voice quiet enough not to disturb the girls. "Three years ago, I believed humans would always look at us and see enemies."
I turned slightly toward her and waited.
Ria looked down at Hikari sleeping against her before letting her gaze drift toward Ruri and Karin across from us. "I knew things were changing. I saw the settlement and the trade agreements. Human and Velmoran Hunters already work together, and I watched both sides fight beside each other against the Sovereign."
She paused for a moment, remembering the café.
"But that party today felt different," Ria continued.
"Because nobody cared," I said.
Ria looked toward me.
I shrugged slightly. "Nobody was proving anything. They weren't trying to demonstrate coexistence. They just liked each other."
Her fingers tightened around mine. "Yes. That was what felt different."
I looked toward our daughters. "You'll get used to boring."
Ria's smile grew. "I think I already have."
She rested her head against my shoulder.
For once, she did not claim the train was crowded, that she was tired, or that she needed to stop me from wandering somewhere unreasonable. She simply leaned against me because she wanted to.
I turned my head and kissed the top of her silver hair.
Ria closed her eyes and smiled against my shoulder. After a few quiet seconds, she murmured, "Today was nice."
"Even though you lost twice at the dance game?"
Her eyes opened immediately, and she lifted her head just enough to look at me. "I won eventually."
"After three attempts."
"A victory is still a victory, Ren."
"Of course."
Ria squeezed my hand and settled against me again, clearly suppressing another smile.
Then Hikari stirred in her lap.
Golden eyes opened halfway.
"Hikari wants ice cream."
Ria looked down at her daughter. "You are asleep."
"Hikari can sleep and eat."
"No, you cannot."
Hikari's eyes closed again. "Hikari wants ice cream tomorrow."
Ria slowly looked toward me.
I looked back at her.
"We're doomed," I said.
Her shoulders shook with quiet laughter.
Across from us, Karin mumbled something about Honor of Kings in her sleep. Ruri, still almost completely unconscious, immediately murmured that there would be no more matches.
That nearly finished Ria.
She lowered her face against my shoulder to hide the laughter while I watched our daughters sleeping around us.
A month ago, our family had stood beneath a broken sky while an artificial king tried to overwrite a city. Today, we had spent several hours signing autographs, arguing about clothes, desserts, arcade scores, shopping bags, and whether Hikari deserved additional fries forty minutes after lunch.
Outside the train windows, humans walked beside elves. Dwarves worked behind counters, beastkin children ran through stations with human classmates, and somewhere behind us a Velmoran Hunter was probably still arguing with his dwarf teammate over stolen kills.
Ria had once believed her people needed a kingdom to survive.
Now some of them were becoming coworkers, merchants, neighbors, Hunters, teammates, and annoying friends. She no longer needed them kneeling before her or waiting for instructions from a throne that no longer mattered.
She wanted them living.
I looked down at the woman resting against me. Her fingers remained intertwined with mine, Hikari slept safely against her chest, and the other two girls remained curled together across from us.
Vael was probably still carrying Seris's shopping bags.
We had groceries.
Nobody had attacked the city.
No one had attempted to become a false king.
It was, by every reasonable measure, an ordinary family day, although apparently ordinary involved considerably more autograph requests and property disputes than I remembered.
Ria shifted against my shoulder and opened one sleepy crimson eye. "Ren, if the girls stay asleep when we reach the condo, you are carrying them."
I looked toward all three daughters. "All of them?"
Ria's mouth curved faintly. "You are an SS-rank Hunter. Surely that classification has some practical value."
"That classification was not created for childcare."
"Then what use is it?"
I considered the question while Karin snored softly across from us. "Paperwork, apparently."
Ria laughed quietly enough not to wake Hikari, tightened her fingers around mine, and closed her eyes again while settling more comfortably against my shoulder.
I looked toward the passing city and allowed the ordinary silence to settle around us.
Annoyingly peaceful.
I was getting used to it.
*****
End of Chapter 67
Arclight Parenting Status
Parents:
Ren Arclight — Retired Archmage / Dragon Dad / Confused Celebrity
Ria Arclight — Former Demon Queen / Dragon Mom / Autograph Queen
Current Family Objective:
Escape the condo
Acquire groceries
Experience one normal family outing
Children Under Protection:
Ruri — Ice / Emotional Anchor / Unofficial Crowd Manager
Karin — Fire / Chaos / Anti-Screen-Time Revolutionary
Hikari — Light / Reality Risk / Aspiring Celebrity
Today's Activities:
Survived first major public outing as SS-rank celebrities
Accidentally created an autograph line
Completed shopping and arcade operations
Witnessed peaceful human–Velmoran integration
Caught Vael during highly suspicious "administrative matters"
New Developments:
Ria discovered she enjoys being recognized without being feared
Hikari attempted to enter the autograph industry
Ria witnessed Velmorans simply living among everyone else
Ren discovered his wife is dangerously competitive at arcade games
Household Status:
Famous
Domestic
Socially Functional
Annoyingly Peaceful
Parents Stress Levels:
Ren
Recognized
Confused By Fans
Dessert Victim
Ria
Flustered
Happy
Arcade Champion (After three attempts.)
Parenting Skill Growth:
Ren: 100% (Public Family Outing Completed)
Ria: 100% (Normal-Life Adaptation Complete)
Family Synergy: 100% (Ordinary Family Day Achieved)
Current Parents Status:
Ren
Relaxed
Protective
Still Questioning Autographs
Ria
Affectionate
Content
Increasingly Comfortable
Immediate Priorities:
Get sleeping daughters home
Put away groceries
Prevent Hikari from demanding ice cream tonight
Investigate Vael's "administrative matters"
Operational Assessment:
Mission Type:
Family Outing + Grocery Acquisition
Difficulty:
Unexpected Celebrity Encounter
Emotional Status:
Ren
Amused — Content — Adjusting
Ria
Peaceful — Hopeful — Happy
Future Outlook:
Public Recognition Expected To Continue
Hikari's Celebrity Career Remains Unapproved
Vael and Seris Allegations Intensifying
Mixed-Species Hunter Parties Becoming Unremarkable
Ordinary Arclight Family Life Successfully Established
Parents Personal Statement:
Ren:
"You'll get used to boring."
Ria:
"I think I already have."
Reality's Response:
"Once, Ria wanted a kingdom where her people could survive. Now they were becoming neighbors, Hunters, coworkers, and friends—and nobody thought it was strange. Perhaps ordinary was the victory after all."