[3 weeks later]
"So, you have finished making the demigod weapon, but you aren't going to show us?" Kayda said, her golden eyes narrowing at me in a way that was both annoyed and, annoyingly enough, adorable. Her arms were crossed under her chest, her tail swishing in sharp little flicks behind her, betraying her irritation more than her voice ever could.
"Yes."
The single word hung in the air like a hammer strike on an anvil.
"Why?" she pressed, a frown deepening on her face.
"Because it will be my mother's present when I win the tournament," I explained simply, lifting my chin.
Kayda let out a long, dramatic breath, the kind of sigh that felt like it had been stored up just for me. It was exasperation incarnate.
"But why can't you show it to me?" She asked again, her eyebrow lifting this time. I caught myself noticing how she looked when she did that—how one brow arched with perfect precision while her lips pouted just enough to make her annoyance cute instead of threatening. She didn't even realize what she was doing.
"Because you will go and blabber everything," I said flatly, looking away on purpose. If I kept looking at her, she'd find some way to poke holes in my reasoning.
"I won't," Kayda whined, reaching out to grab my arm. Her grip was strong—of course it was—but the way she clung made her seem less like the mighty dragon sage and more like a clingy girlfriend.
"Kayda, you are critical to me, but you're still terrible at keeping secrets," I said softly, taking her hand in mine to soften the blow.
"I am good at keeping secrets, though," she insisted, her tone just a little too defensive to be convincing.
"Yes, you may keep secrets from outside sources," I conceded, "but if someone close to you presses for information, they will find it easy to extract harmless details from you."
Her eyebrow went up again, this time slower, her confusion clear. "… A demi-god weapon isn't harmless."
"Well, for the person it will be going to, it is," I explained patiently, knowing exactly how close she and Mom were.
"So, you're saying I'll spill the beans to Stacy the moment she asks," Kayda said, her tone sharpening into a glare this time.
"Yes."
Her lips parted in mock offense, and she puffed out her cheeks, looking away with a pout. "You aren't very nice today."
"I'm only stating facts. Don't get mad at me, please. It's for the surprise, okay?" I leaned a little closer, trying to catch her eyes again.
"I don't agree with you, though," Kayda muttered sideways, her pout still firmly in place. She sneaked a glance at me, then looked away just as quickly.
"I know. But it's for the best," I said gently. "It's only Steve and me who have seen the weapon. Not even his brother knows how it looks."
Kayda's pout faltered, her eyes sliding back toward me reluctantly. "Sigh… fine. But if I hear someone apart from me has seen this weapon, I will strangle you." Her tone was serious now, her glare sharp.
"Sorry, I'm not into that," I shot back with a straight face.
"Hmm. We'll have to test it before you decide that," Kayda teased, her lips curving into that playful grin that always made it hard to tell if she was joking or serious.
"Kayda." I said her name firmly, my eyes narrowing. That was enough to make her blink and back off with a small chuckle.
"Alright, alright. I won't sexually strangle you," she said, giving me one last jab before letting the topic drop.
"Back to serious things. Is the plane on its way?" I asked, shaking my head at her teasing.
"Yes, it'll be here in five minutes to take us to the capital," she said, her voice returning to its usual calm.
"Good to know."
"By the way," she added, "you finished earlier than we planned. The tournament starts in a week."
"Damn. What the hell am I going to do for a week?" I muttered, running a hand through my hair and dropping my head into my palms.
"Well, the Kuni children are coming with us. You could train them if you like," Kayda suggested, her voice careful, like she already knew what my answer would be.
I shook my head immediately. "No. There's no point in me doing that."
"They could learn a lot from you, though," she countered, although even she didn't sound convinced.
"But I can't test my new skills on them, Kayda. They'll die the instant I try." I spoke the words bluntly, without hesitation. She nodded slowly, understanding.
"Hmm. That's true. However, I am also unable to help you, and I apologize for that. Her voice dropped, sounding frustrated with herself.
"Yeah, I know. You're one of the tournament organizers," I said, my voice thoughtful.
"Yeah, and I fucking hate it," she muttered, her lips curling into a grimace.
"Well, you're a dragon and not really part of the country's upper logistics," I pointed out, shrugging.
"So what? My girlfriend will be in the tournament. Why don't they think I'll be biased?" she demanded, her wings twitching in irritation.
"Well, that's true. But you also oversaw my spar against the furry while being my soulmate," I reminded her, my tone dry.
"Yeah, but we weren't a thing just yet," Kayda argued, shaking her head.
"True. But you know how the soulmate bond can be," I said, raising an eyebrow.
Her glare softened into a small nod. "True, true."
"Anyways, I can't look after the kids."
"They're the same age as you," she pointed out.
"They're not reincarnations," I countered without missing a beat.
"Right. So what are you planning to do?" she asked, curiosity replacing irritation.
"Find some fights with the commanders and generals in the capital," I said, shrugging as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
Kayda's eyes widened. "Ah, I don't think that's a good idea. Firstly, they won't take that smile."
"Yeah, so?" I tilted my head at her, feigning innocence.
"They're your colleagues. You might need to fight alongside them one day," she explained, her tone firm.
"Ah… I didn't think of that." I tapped my chin. "Hmm. Then I'll spar with Marquis Anabald."
That thought weighed heavily on my mind. If I fought with people on the battlefield in the future, I'd most likely be the strongest there, but the future was uncertain. Marquis Anabald was a challenge I could measure myself against.
"That isn't a bad idea," Kayda admitted.
"Yeah. But is she already in the capital?" I asked.
"She should be. Her daughter is joining the tournament, after all." Kayda nodded.
"Are all the noble kids joining?" I asked, thinking about that tomato girl.
"Yes, the noble kids in your age group are joining," Kayda confirmed.
"Hmm. I wonder."
"If someone will give you a run for your money," Kayda guessed, studying me carefully.
"Yes."
"Your sister might push you a bit, but that's about it," Kayda said with a shrug.
"Seriously? Only her?" I groaned, the annoyance bubbling in my chest. "Then what's the point of joining? I want a fight where we don't have to play each other like puppets."
"Kitsu, you always fight like that. That's literally your main fighting style," Kayda pointed out.
"I only fight like that because I always go up against people stronger than me. In the tournament, I don't have to worry about interference or experience gaps," I explained.
Kayda sighed, shaking her head. "You've gotten a lot of experience these past few months, though."
"That's not enough to cover the years of advantage other people have. Like that first guy I fought at the mansion—he was way stronger than me," I said, remembering the times I had nearly died.
"You've beaten older, more experienced fighters before," Kayda countered.
"That was mostly luck and them underestimating me," I deadpanned.
"True," she admitted.
"How are the bandits doing?" I asked, shifting the topic.
"I thought they were yours, and we weren't allowed to butt in," Kayda said, side-eyeing me.
"I said Mom isn't allowed to butt in. You can," I corrected smoothly.
"Did you?"
"Yes." I lied effortlessly, keeping my face straight.
"Whatever. They're doing fine. But their name hasn't changed in the rumors."
I frowned. "So they're still known as bandits?"
"Yes and no. More as mercenaries than bandits. But the name itself still has 'bandit' in it," Kayda explained.
"Ah, I guess that's fine then."
"It is," she said firmly, shutting down further argument.
"So, how is the daughter doing?" I asked, switching subjects again.
"She's fine. But she's getting too psycho for her mother's taste," Kayda said with a sigh.
"Hmm. About the time that happens. If I see her, I'll wake her up from her psycho mode."
"And how are you going to do that?"
"Torture her, of course."
Kayda went silent, blinking at me.
"She's at the point where she thinks she can do anything but doesn't realize what she's putting others through when she tortures them," I explained calmly.
"So feeling what they feel will wake her up?"
"Yes."
"Did you go through that yourself?" Kayda asked carefully.
My glare cut her words short. "Kayda. For half my life, I've been tortured. Do you think I don't know how it feels?"
She winced. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"Don't feel bad. You know how I feel about them."
"Yeah. You hate them and want to destroy their souls."
"Yes. And you gave me a way to do that. Now I just need to find them." I let devilfire swirl across my hand, staring at the flames with narrowed eyes.
"Sigh… that, I can't help with," Kayda admitted.
"I know. But maybe I can ask that gluttony guy before Mom kills him," I said, tapping my chin.
"You want to talk to that psycho?"
"I want to try. But Mom's revenge comes first," I said simply.
"Again, I don't understand your brain."
"But you still love me," I teased.
"True, true," Kayda admitted, her cheeks flushing faintly.
"Anyway, are the two kids ready to go?" I asked.
"They're ready and on their way. And don't call them kids. They're the same age as you," Kayda said firmly.
"I'll try," I muttered.
"Just accept you're fourteen," she fumed.
"No. Then my girlfriend will be double my age. That's weirder for you than me," I teased again.
"I'm a dragon. No one cares," she shot back.
"Old habits never die. You only suppress them," I said slyly.
Her glare answered that.
"Sigh. Here's the plane," Kayda said, looking up as the jet descended slowly.
"And the two kids?" I asked, glancing back at the mansion. The Kuni siblings appeared, lugging their baggage toward us.
"Well, with that, we can go to the capital," Kayda said, turning toward the plane.