"Arkana, what's wrong with you?"
After the pack crossed the river, they slowed their pace noticeably, parting to let their queen catch up from the rear.
Three werewolves already at the front shifted into a more humanoid form, their gait changing to a powerful, two-legged leap. One of them snickered, elbowing the black-haired woman. "Is it because he's handsome? I've never seen a man that flashy before…"
Arkana, the most human-like beast who had just rejoined them, let out a short, weary sigh. "Watch your mouth. She might hear it."
The werewolves around her exchanged confused glances.
"What?"
Arkana quickened her pace, and the others instinctively matched her stride. "Can't you smell the scent of a strong being all over him? Stupid mutts…"
"What? He's bonded to a strong one?" the others muttered, looking at each other in confusion. "How can we not smell it…?"
"Strong beings control their scent better than mutts like you," Arkana scoffed, her voice laced with disdain. "That's why you need to master your physical form. You'll understand one day."
The werewolves fell silent at that. They looked at each other, then at Arkana's back as she led the run. "Is she as strong as you, Queen?"
Arkana's face remained unreadable. "I don't know." The simple admission made the werewolves around her go pale. Their queen was never unsure when gauging an opponent's strength. Her usual, arrogant "I'm stronger" was conspicuously absent.
"And because I don't know," she continued, her voice dropping to a low warning, "I think she's much stronger than me. So you motherfuckers better not run off to approach random people without my permission next time."
They had almost died.
The next couple of miles of their journey were traveled in a tense, unfamiliar silence. This was the first time the pack had truly felt they weren't the apex predators in the world. It wasn't that they felt unsafe, they trusted Arkana to protect them, as long as they followed her orders and didn't do anything stupid.
But Arkana herself felt a knot of frustration. She had been too lenient with these boys lately. Just because she had started asking for their opinions to teach them leadership, they had almost approached a seemingly weak, isolated man just because they smelled something delicious.
Forget whatever he was cooking on that campfire. Even without the powerful, unseen presence she sensed lurking around him, the 'she' she had mentioned, that man alone could have folded them in half.
These boys hadn't realized it, their senses still too crude, but her own sharp ears had picked up the unnatural stillness in his chest. That human man didn't have a beating heart.
A cold shiver traced its way up Arkana's spine.
He was strong.
But these pups still had a long, long way to go before they could understand how a human might be far more dangerous than whatever was protecting him from the shadow.
***
Oathria emerged from the river, using a whisper of magic to dry her torn dress. She blinked at the sight awaiting her. A feast of perfectly cooked meat and roasted apples laid out with care. A wave of embarrassment washed over her.
She felt she was contributing less and less to this… whatever this was between them.
Yes, he might claim her presence had saved his life, but his presence had unequivocally saved her. And while it was true she'd been ready to die last night, it wasn't as if he owed her some immense debt for her momentary resignation.
Not to mention, after all that, he had crafted her a birthday present that radiated a latent power she was only beginning to sense. Sure, she had hunted the food, but in the end, he was the one who had transformed it into this inviting meal.
What use was she?
Even that pack of werewolves that passed earlier had been deterred by Sees alone. Oathria had sensed it from the water that the sharp girl leading them had noticed his missing heartbeat and wisely decided to retreat. Smart move on their part, truly.
Well, it was for the best she hadn't needed to intervene. She'd already spent a not-insignificant amount of time using her Dragon Tongue to… persuade the local fish population to migrate upstream and not return until long after their departure.
It was mercy. She was the Prophet's bonded mate now. She couldn't go around slaughtering creatures and disrupting the local ecosystem over a petty, possessive grudge.
Yet, a lingering sense of inadequacy gnawed at her. She had to buy him that proper bone broth soup in town, or in the name of God she wasn't a lady of her word.
"You have done so much for me," she began, settling onto the ground beside him. She noted his proud, satisfied smile. "You do know that part of being a dragon is having a rather towering ego, right? Are you trying to wound my pride, Prophet?"
"Don't misunderstand," Sees replied. "I have a hidden motive."
Oathria raised an eyebrow. "Hm. You want something from me."
Sees nodded. "But first, we eat and I tell you all about your birthday present. I've been dying to see your reaction."
A low chuckle escaped her, and she felt a growing warmth bloom in her chest. So, he had been having fun with his newfound power.
As they ate, Sees listed the enchantments he had stacked onto the cane, saving its exclusive, game-breaking ability for last. With the crumbling, juicy steak they shared, the conversation became more and more enjoyable for them.
Oathria, however, was barely able to taste the food, her mind reeling with every new detail he provided.
…A Legendary item. This was mythical—no, this was something beyond a mere mythical artifact!
"And you still claim you are not a Prophet?" Oathria's misty grey eyes fixed on him intensely.
Sees met her gaze, "Have you ever heard of a prophet who could do things like this? Forging legendary items from light pulled from his own chest?"
"Then," she countered, "the standard for being crowned a prophet must be woefully outdated and in dire need of an upgrade."
A helpless chuckle escaped him. "You… heh…"
"Don't laugh, my good lord," she chided softly, "I am being serious."
Amidst his explanation, Sees remembered he had just leveled up her love affinity to level two. While he talked, he mentally claimed the reward, another 5000 G materializing in his system account.
In hindsight, although 5000 G sounded like a fortune in real-world currency, it wasn't much within the system's economy. Other than the cane, the candle holder, and the ugly shawl, every other item in the shop cost over 1000 G. And that was before the exorbitant cost of ranking them up to make them actually decent.
The real place to get a truly useful item was the gacha pool itself.
Not that leveling Oathria's love affinity was useless. He had discovered that the higher their affinity, the more bonus resonance they both received from their bond. Oathria, a being already considered the strongest in the world, could grow even stronger through her connection to him. It was a synergistic effect, going hand-in-hand with ranking up their bond itself.
When he had asked the system how to increase love affinity, the explanation made it clear it was a different path from accumulating love points.
[Love Affinity increases the more you interact with your Love Interest. The more she is consciously aware of you, the faster the level increases! But, the higher the level, the more interaction is needed to progress! The more you know each other, the more you like each other, the higher the affinity level rises!]
So, Love Points were a measure of emotional impact, spikes of feeling, whether joy, anger, or amusement. Love Affinity, however, was the bedrock. It was the quiet, steady growth of understanding and mutual familiarity.
"Now, I'm at lv. 2 Love Affinity with her," he whispered inside his mind. "It's kinda embarrassing to think of it out loud like that… How about the Love Points? How many do I have now?"
[You have 276 of Oathria Alicei's Love Points!]
Ohh… so that was around 50+ rolls' worth? Not bad.
Sees knew the more this woman grew accustomed to him, the harder it would be to earn those points. To affect her emotionally, would he need to become increasingly unpredictable? The thought felt… toxic. Manipulative.
Not to mention, he still had a conscience. The moment he got his real heart back, he would offer her a choice. To sever the bond or not. It had happened somewhat accidentally, after all…
Oathria deserved the freedom to walk away.
She was the Dragon Empress, and he was an ex-prophet with a path of his own to walk. And she… seeing the way she had been battered and nearly killed despite her immense power, she was clearly shouldering a burden he couldn't yet fathom.
The least he could do was offer her peace of mind.
By ensuring he would never become another one of her burdens.