Ren's pov
Peace, I had discovered, was suspicious.
In theory, there was nothing wrong with it. I had retired specifically because I wanted more peace in my life. Peace meant sleeping without emergency calls, eating breakfast without a Dungeon producing something with six mouths, and watching an entire anime episode without somebody informing me that civilization required my immediate intervention.
The problem was that after several months of conspiracies, missing Dungeon cores, surviving demons, sovereign anchors, spatial fractures, nationwide fighting, and one artificial king with severe architectural problems, waking up to absolutely nothing happening felt unnatural.
I opened my eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling.
Morning light slipped through a gap between the curtains, drawing a narrow golden stripe across the bedroom wall. My phone remained silent on the bedside table. No emergency Guild notifications hovered over the screen, the windows were intact, and the ceiling had successfully completed another night without being destroyed.
Promising.
Something warm was pressed tightly against my side, which was considerably less suspicious.
Ria had somehow migrated across most of the mattress during the night and claimed me as occupied territory. She was curled against my side beneath the blanket, one arm draped over my stomach while one knee rested comfortably across my leg. Her silver hair had spread across both our pillows without the slightest respect for borders, and one hand remained loosely curled into the front of my shirt as though there had been a serious risk of me escaping while unconscious.
One month ago, Astrea von Velmora had stood beneath a fractured sky and challenged an artificial Sovereign for control of an entire kingdom.
This morning, she was drooling slightly on my shirt.
I decided survival instinct outweighed historical accuracy and kept that observation to myself.
My right arm still felt stiff whenever I moved it too quickly, although a month of healing had restored most of the sensation and control. My mana pathways had taken considerably longer. Apparently forcing half-sealed channels open to more than fifty percent of their natural capacity while emotionally unstable was considered medically irresponsible.
Several healers had explained this to me.
Ruruka had explained it louder.
Ria had explained it while sitting on my stomach and threatening to personally seal my mana if I ever attempted something similar again.
I had agreed with everyone.
Mostly because Ria had refused to move until I did.
I shifted slightly beneath the blanket.
The movement disturbed her.
Ria stirred against my chest, her eyelashes fluttering before sleepy crimson eyes opened just enough to recognize me. She remained motionless for several seconds, clearly only halfway conscious, and whatever regal dignity normally accompanied the former Demon Queen had apparently not loaded yet.
Her unfocused gaze slowly settled on my face.
Then Ria leaned upward and kissed me.
The kiss was brief and warm, nothing dramatic about it. Her lips touched mine with the casual familiarity of something she had apparently decided was now permitted whenever she felt like it, and before I could respond, she settled against my chest again and closed her eyes.
I stared at the ceiling for several seconds.
Interesting development.
"You kissed me," I finally said.
Ria made a quiet sound against my shirt, somewhere between acknowledgment and annoyance, but she did not move.
When I repeated, "You kissed me," one crimson eye slowly opened.
Ria stared up at me from where her cheek rested against my chest, genuine confusion crossing her sleepy face before memory apparently returned. Her eyebrow rose, and then her expression shifted into offended disbelief.
"What?" Ria asked. "Your wife cannot even kiss you in the morning?"
I considered reminding her that barely a month ago she had almost combusted because Ruruka caught us holding hands after the battle.
That seemed strategically unwise.
"Good morning to you too, Ria."
The irritation in her gaze softened almost immediately.
Ria raised herself slightly, silver hair sliding across my shoulder, and pressed another kiss against the corner of my mouth before settling down again.
"Good morning, Ren," she murmured.
I blinked.
"That was another one."
"I am aware."
"You seem unusually generous."
Ria's arm tightened around my waist. "Continue talking and I will reconsider."
"Understood."
The corner of her mouth curved against my shirt.
I had noticed something during the month since we defeated the False Sovereign.
Publicly, Ria remained almost exactly the same woman she had always been. She was elegant, proud, sharp-tongued whenever necessary, and terrifyingly composed whenever someone attempted to provoke her. She could walk into a room containing Guild Masters, diplomats, government officials, and former Velmoran commanders and somehow make everyone straighten without raising her voice.
She also still denied being affectionate.
That denial had become increasingly difficult to believe.
In private, my wife had apparently transformed into a cat.
A particularly clingy silver-haired cat with horns.
She still became embarrassed whenever anyone directly pointed it out, but that did not stop her from falling asleep on my shoulder while we watched television, hooking her fingers through mine whenever we walked somewhere quiet, or appearing behind me while I cooked and wrapping both arms around my waist.
Yesterday, Ria had complained that I was sitting too far away from her on the sofa.
There had been less than ten centimeters between us.
When I moved closer, she immediately rested her head on my shoulder and pretended that had not been the objective.
The evidence was overwhelming.
"You're staring again," Ria murmured.
I looked down.
Both of her eyes were closed.
"You can see through your eyelids?"
"I can feel you being annoying."
"Impressive ability."
Ria shifted closer until there was physically nowhere left for her to go. Her face disappeared beneath my chin, and her hand tightened slightly in my shirt.
"Be quiet," she muttered. "I am sleeping."
"You woke up first."
"I changed my mind."
I glanced toward the clock on the bedside table.
Eight twenty-three.
"We should probably get up."
"No."
"The girls will wake up soon."
"They have survived mornings before."
"Vael might already be awake."
Ria's response came immediately. "He has survived mornings before too."
Technically accurate.
I rested my head against the pillow again and allowed another minute to pass. Ria's breathing gradually slowed, although the fingers holding my shirt never loosened.
Eventually, I looked down at her again.
"You know there is significantly more bed available."
"I know."
"You're occupying approximately twelve percent of it."
"Yes."
"And approximately eighty percent of me."
Ria opened one eye and stared upward with sleepy irritation. "Is my husband complaining that his wife wants to sleep beside him?"
"That sounded deliberately manipulative."
"Did it work?"
I considered the question.
"Yes."
"Then stop complaining."
She closed her eye again.
Marriage was apparently a battlefield I had entered without sufficient preparation.
It had been exactly one month since the Velmoran Convergence Incident.
The official name had gone through so many revisions that I stopped caring somewhere around version nine. The Guild initially called it the Saitama Sovereign Crisis, while several news networks preferred the Second Demon King Incident until Ria discovered that terminology and publicly objected to being associated with what she called an ugly counterfeit with no aesthetic discipline whatsoever.
Eventually, several governments settled on Velmoran Convergence Incident.
I privately called it Tuesday.
The first week afterward contained almost no peace.
There had been funerals, memorial services, emergency reconstruction, medical evaluations, political negotiations, investigations into the anchor network, public hearings concerning the Velmoran survivors, and enough press conferences to convince me that defeating the Artificial Sovereign had probably been easier.
Then there was the problem of my rank.
My A-rank cover had survived for years.
It did not survive several thousand eyewitnesses watching me tear through the Sovereign network while Guild scanners repeatedly displayed variations of UNKNOWN, UNRESOLVED, and ERROR.
Apparently there was a limit to how much evidence could be explained as an unusually talented A-rank.
The Guild eventually gave up.
Ria and I became the first officially recognized SS-Rank Hunters.
That caused an entirely different category of problems.
Humanity had possessed S-ranks for years, but after the battle several international committees agreed that placing Ria and me inside the same classification made the existing ranking system increasingly meaningless.
Aaron explained the decision during one meeting while looking like he had not slept since the Great Emergence.
I asked why they did not simply add more S's.
Aaron stared at me for a long time before informing me that SSS-Rank had already been suggested and rejected by the International Hunter Association because several representatives thought it sounded ridiculous.
I decided not to mention that the number would probably have been closer to the truth.
Ria laughed for several minutes when I told her.
The public reaction to her had been stranger.
For three years, humanity had wondered what happened to the Demon Queen who vanished during the invasion.
Then everyone discovered she had been living in Chiba.
Married.
Raising three daughters.
Shopping at supermarkets.
Complaining about vegetable prices.
Several conspiracy communities suffered complete psychological collapse.
During one press conference, a reporter asked Ria whether she still intended to conquer humanity. Ria stared at him for several uncomfortable seconds before calmly explaining that she currently struggled to make three children put their dirty laundry inside a basket, so continental conquest had fallen considerably lower on her list of priorities.
The clip received more than thirty million views.
I had been asked next whether I considered myself the strongest Hunter in Japan.
"I consider myself tired," I answered.
That also became a clip.
Then the offers began.
National emergency defense adviser.
International Hunter Association consultant.
Special operations commander.
Dungeon research director.
Honorary government positions.
Private security contracts.
A multinational corporation offered me an amount of money large enough that I stared at the document for approximately six seconds longer than usual.
I remained strong.
"No, thank you," I told the representative.
Another reporter eventually became frustrated enough to ask what could possibly be more important than opportunities most Hunters would kill to receive.
I looked directly toward the camera.
"I'm busy with my wife and daughters."
Apparently that was not the answer anyone expected.
The clip went everywhere.
Ria pretended not to care.
She also watched it fourteen times.
I knew because she used my tablet.
When confronted with the evidence, Ria claimed I had no right to inspect her viewing history.
I reminded her it was my tablet.
She reminded me we were married.
Our understanding of property law had deteriorated significantly since the Sovereign battle.
The Velmorans had spent the month adapting to a considerably more complicated peace.
Acceptance had not appeared overnight.
That would have been ridiculous.
Human families remembered the invasion and the people they lost. Velmorans remembered starving inside ruined cities, human attacks, and years spent believing their Queen had abandoned them. Fear did not disappear simply because both sides fought together once.
But something had changed.
People were talking.
Carefully, sometimes badly, but still talking.
The Guild eventually established a protected Velmoran settlement inside one of the stabilized Dungeons whose environment could support permanent habitation. The Dungeon itself was enormous, containing forests, rivers, open plains, and enough stable mana to support a community without placing the surviving Velmorans directly inside human population centers before either side was ready.
The settlement became theirs to manage.
Humans handled security around the Gate and international access.
Velmorans governed themselves inside.
Trade began almost immediately.
Apparently diplomacy improved dramatically when rare mana alloys became involved.
Humans supplied medicine, construction equipment, electronics, preserved food, household goods, and industrial tools. Velmoran craftsmen provided enchanted metals, medicinal plants, Dungeon materials, and several forms of magical engineering that modern researchers had spent fifteen years insisting were theoretically impossible.
Someone opened a café near the Gate during the third week.
In my opinion, that represented the true beginning of integration.
Ria never reclaimed her throne.
That surprised almost everyone except me.
Several surviving Velmorans formally approached her after Morcant's memorial and asked whether Astrea intended to restore the monarchy. Ria listened to every argument before telling them essentially the same thing she had told Draeven.
Velmora had spent long enough waiting for one person to decide what everyone else needed.
They would govern themselves.
Form councils.
Choose representatives.
Argue about laws.
Make mistakes.
Correct those mistakes.
Decide whether the name Velmora even meant the same thing anymore.
Ria would help whenever they asked.
She would protect them if necessary.
But she would never reclaim the throne simply because history expected her to sit on it.
Vael cried afterward.
He denied it.
Seris possessed photographic evidence.
Draeven remained under Guild custody while the investigation continued. He had cooperated completely, surrendered every surviving record concerning the Sovereign network, and refused every attempt by former loyalists to portray him as either a martyr or misunderstood hero.
Morcant's funeral had been held inside the new settlement.
Humans attended.
So did Velmorans.
Ria stood before his memorial stone for a long time without saying anything. When she finally spoke, she placed Morcant's repaired sword beneath his name and told everyone that Velmora survived because people like him understood something rulers frequently forgot.
A kingdom was its people.
Not the throne.
Not the land.
The people.
Vael remained quiet for the rest of that day.
Then three days later, he somehow moved into our condo.
I was still not entirely certain how that happened.
Technically, the Guild had already assigned Vael temporary housing.
Practically, Hikari discovered he was leaving after dinner and asked Uncle Vael where he intended to sleep.
Vael explained that he had been given another apartment.
Hikari frowned at him as though he had said something unreasonable.
Then she informed him our guest room existed.
Ruri agreed.
Karin said he could stay if he helped buy snacks.
Vael looked toward Ria.
Ria looked toward me.
I looked at the girls.
Vael moved in.
Seris demonstrated considerably better judgment.
She purchased a smaller condo three floors below ours.
According to Seris, the location made coordinating with Ria and traveling to the Velmoran settlement more convenient.
This explanation would have been considerably more persuasive if Vael did not spend most of his free evenings visiting her.
Neither of them acknowledged the pattern.
I had no intention of becoming involved.
Ria, unfortunately, had developed hobbies.
One of those hobbies was quietly keeping track of how long Vael remained downstairs.
Last night he disappeared at seven twenty.
He returned at eleven forty-eight.
Ria had been deeply interested in this information.
I reminded her that she was behaving like an elderly neighbor monitoring the hallway.
She threw a pillow at me.
Ruruka had finally returned to her own house in Saitama after essentially living with us throughout the crisis. She still called nearly every day, usually to check on the girls and occasionally to make certain I had not destroyed anything.
My record was currently excellent.
One month without serious structural damage.
Personal best.
The girls remained home because their school was still closed while repairs and citywide safety inspections continued. Apparently several buildings near their district had suffered damage during the Convergence Incident.
I had nothing to do with those.
Probably.
Being home for an entire month affected each daughter differently.
Ruri established a schedule.
Karin declared war on boredom.
Hikari discovered daytime television.
All three developments were dangerous in different ways.
A loud crash suddenly came from outside the bedroom.
There it was.
Ria opened one eye.
I looked toward the bedroom door.
Another sound followed, immediately accompanied by Karin's voice echoing through the condo.
"I DIDN'T DO IT!"
Ria closed her eye again and pressed her cheek more firmly against me.
"That means she did it," Ria murmured.
"Usually."
Hikari's smaller voice followed from somewhere down the hallway. "Hikari saw Karin do it!"
"TRAITOR!" Karin shouted.
I nodded thoughtfully. "Evidence confirmed."
Ria sighed against my chest but still made no attempt to move.
I rested one hand lightly against her back. "Children."
"Vael," Ria replied without hesitation.
"Vael is not their father."
"He lives here."
"That is not equivalent."
"He is an adult."
"So are you."
Ria tightened her arm around my waist and muttered, "I am tired."
This woman had once commanded armies.
She had fought me for several consecutive hours during the invasion.
Now she was attempting to delegate parenting because leaving the blanket seemed inconvenient.
I respected the evolution.
Someone knocked carefully on the bedroom door.
"Papa?" Ruri called from outside. "Are you awake?"
"Yes," I answered.
Ria immediately whispered against my chest, "No."
I looked down at her.
She opened one eye and stared back without shame.
Apparently we had reached an ethical disagreement.
Ruri continued from the hallway. "Karin broke the cereal container."
"I DIDN'T BREAK IT!" Karin shouted from somewhere behind her. "THE CONTAINER WAS WEAK!"
Hikari apparently considered herself the primary witness. "Karin punched it."
"I WAS OPENING IT!"
I closed my eyes briefly.
Peace.
Annoyingly peaceful.
"Give us a minute, Ruri," I called.
"Okay, Papa," Ruri replied before her footsteps moved away from the door.
Ria remained attached to me.
I waited several seconds.
Nothing happened.
"Ria."
"Mmm?"
"You heard them."
"Yes."
"The kitchen may be compromised."
"We have survived worse."
"The cereal has not."
"A necessary sacrifice."
I laughed quietly.
Ria lifted her face enough to glare at me.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You are laughing at me."
"I would never."
"You absolutely would."
Ria tried maintaining the offended expression, but sleepiness defeated her. She yawned, then rested her forehead against my chest and idly traced one finger over my shirt.
Cute.
Dangerously cute.
I touched the top of her head.
Ria immediately looked up at me. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing."
"That is my answer."
"Apparently we share property."
Her cheeks colored slightly.
Ria attempted to hide the reaction by pushing herself upright. Silver hair fell messily around her shoulders as she rubbed one eye, while the oversized shirt she slept in slipped slightly down one shoulder.
The terrifying former Demon Queen lasted approximately four seconds.
Then she leaned sideways again and rested her forehead against my shoulder.
"Ren."
"Yes?"
"I'm tired."
"You slept nine hours."
"Not enough."
"That exceeds most recommended—"
"I fought an artificial Sovereign last month."
"You have used that excuse seventeen times."
Ria lifted her head and stared at me seriously. "It remains relevant."
I looked back at her.
Neither of us moved.
Then Ria lifted both arms toward me.
"Carry me."
I blinked. "To where?"
"The dining room."
"That is fifteen meters away."
"Yes."
"You can walk."
"I know."
"Your legs work."
"I am aware."
We stared at each other.
Ria's expression remained perfectly serious.
Apparently negotiations had concluded before they began.
"You genuinely want me to carry you fifteen meters."
Ria's mouth curved faintly. "You are my husband."
"That does not answer the question."
"It answers enough."
I rubbed my face.
Ria's arms remained extended.
When I still did not move, her expression softened into something considerably more dangerous than sovereign authority. Her crimson eyes widened slightly, the stubbornness faded from her mouth, and her voice became just a little quieter.
"Ren."
I stared at her.
"You're doing that deliberately."
Ria blinked with exaggerated innocence. "Doing what?"
"That."
"What?"
"The face."
"I have no idea what you mean."
Liar.
The Demon Queen had apparently discovered weaponized cuteness.
I had no defensive skill for this.
"Fine."
The innocent expression vanished immediately.
Ria smiled with unmistakable victory.
I pointed toward her. "Manipulative."
"You surrendered."
"That does not make it ethical."
"History is written by the victor."
"That is a dangerous philosophy for you specifically."
Ria laughed softly.
I got out of bed and stretched carefully. My ribs were mostly healed now, although certain movements still produced unpleasant reminders of being thrown through a building.
Ria remained sitting on the mattress while waiting for transportation.
I turned my back toward her. "Get on."
She stared at me.
"That is not dignified."
"You asked me to carry you."
"I expected you to carry me properly."
I looked over my shoulder. "Bridal style?"
"Yes."
"My right arm is still recovering."
Ria's expression changed immediately.
The playful entitlement disappeared.
She reached forward and carefully took my wrist, her fingertips moving over the arm that had nearly become useless during the battle.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked.
"Not much."
Ria looked directly into my eyes.
I sighed. "A little."
Her brows drew together.
For several seconds, she simply held my hand.
"Then don't strain it," Ria said quietly.
The concern in her face lasted long enough to warm something in my chest.
Then she climbed onto my back anyway.
Apparently concern had boundaries.
Her arms wrapped around my shoulders while her legs settled securely around my waist. Almost immediately, Ria rested her cheek against the side of my head and relaxed with such complete satisfaction that I suspected she had been planning this before she ever asked.
I stood.
She settled closer.
I reduced her effective weight slightly using wind and gravity.
Ria noticed instantly.
"Cheating," she whispered near my ear.
"Efficiency."
"You are using magic to carry your wife fifteen meters."
"My wife possesses enough physical strength to walk through the dining room wall."
"That is unrelated."
"Completely."
Ria nuzzled her cheek briefly against my hair before resting her chin on my shoulder.
"Forward."
"Your Majesty."
She lightly bit my ear.
I stopped walking and turned my head as far as I could. "Did you just bite me?"
"No."
"You absolutely did."
Ria sounded offended by the accusation. "Your wife cannot bite you in the morning?"
"That is not normally included in marriage vows."
"Perhaps yours were incomplete."
I sighed. "Yes, dear."
Ria immediately relaxed again.
"Better."
We left the bedroom.
The living room looked exactly like somewhere three children and one former Velmoran intelligence commander had been left unsupervised for twenty minutes.
Vael sat on the sofa with coffee in one hand and a tablet in the other, reading the morning news while chaos unfolded around him with the calm of a man who had survived several wars and therefore no longer considered domestic disasters threatening.
Ruri was kneeling beside the dining table gathering cereal from the floor. Karin stood beside a cracked plastic container with both arms crossed defensively, while Hikari sat at the table eating cereal directly from the surface.
No bowl.
No spoon.
I looked toward the tiny spoon sitting beside her plate.
Apparently the spoon was ceremonial.
Vael finally raised his eyes from the tablet.
He looked at me.
Then his gaze moved toward Ria clinging to my back.
Something almost resembling surprise crossed his face before discipline erased it.
"Good morning, Sire," Vael said.
"Morning."
Ria immediately lifted her head from my shoulder. "Vael."
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
Her cheeks had already become slightly pink.
"You saw nothing."
Vael took a slow sip of coffee before returning his eyes to the tablet. "Naturally."
A month living with us had apparently taught him valuable survival skills.
Ruri noticed us next.
Her face brightened immediately. "Good morning, Papa. Good morning, Mama."
"Good morning, Ruri," Ria answered with remarkable dignity for someone currently wrapped around my back.
Karin slowly turned.
Her eyes moved from me to Ria.
Then she grinned.
"Ohhh."
I felt Ria's arms tighten around my shoulders.
Karin's grin became dangerous. "Mama is riding Papa."
"That sentence sounds worse than the situation," I muttered.
Ruri immediately frowned at her sister. "Karin, Mama is being carried."
"That's what I said."
"No, it wasn't."
Karin started laughing.
Ria's cheeks became noticeably redder, but she refused to release me.
Instead, she lifted her chin with as much dignity as the position allowed.
"I am tired," Ria announced.
Ruri immediately looked concerned. "Mama, are you okay?"
"I am perfectly healthy."
Ruri blinked.
Her eyes moved toward me.
Then back toward Ria.
"Then why is Papa carrying you?"
A brief silence followed.
I waited.
Ria's pride fought against reality.
Interesting battle.
Then she rested her chin against my shoulder and answered with complete seriousness.
"Because your Papa loves me."
Oh.
Karin stopped laughing.
Ruri smiled immediately.
Even Hikari looked away from the cereal.
I turned my head slightly.
Ria seemed to realize what she had admitted only after the words were already gone. Her crimson eyes widened, and color spread quickly from her cheeks toward the tips of her ears.
"You said that very confidently," I observed.
Ria pinched my shoulder. "Do not make me regret it."
"I wasn't disagreeing."
That stopped her.
The pressure of her fingers vanished.
For several seconds, Ria simply stared at the side of my face.
Then her expression softened.
Her cheek quietly settled against my shoulder again.
Cute.
Extremely cute.
Hikari continued studying her mother.
Then she announced, "Mama is lazy."
Silence settled across the room.
Karin's eyes widened with delight.
Ruri looked horrified.
Vael became intensely interested in his tablet.
Ria slowly raised her head.
"Hikari."
Hikari smiled brightly. "Yes, Mama?"
Ria stared at the youngest for several seconds.
I could almost see the Demon Queen searching for an appropriate response to a six-year-old dragon who had accurately identified her weakness.
Eventually, Ria exhaled.
"Hikari is correct."
Historical moment.
I should have recorded it.
I carried Ria toward the dining table and carefully lowered her into a chair. The moment I sat beside her, she shifted closer until our shoulders touched and immediately leaned against me again.
Apparently being transported fifteen meters had exhausted her further.
Vael looked over the top of his tablet.
His gaze moved between us.
I noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing, Sire."
"That sounded suspicious."
Vael's expression remained perfectly composed. "I have learned from Her Majesty that nothing is a complete answer."
Ria lifted her head from my shoulder.
"Vael."
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Go visit Seris."
Vael nearly inhaled his coffee.
Karin immediately turned toward him. "Why does Uncle Vael always visit Auntie Seris?"
Ruri stopped gathering cereal.
Hikari looked up.
Vael's face became extraordinarily still.
I leaned back in my chair.
Excellent.
Ria's sleepiness disappeared almost instantly. She straightened beside me with the focused attention of someone who had unexpectedly received morning entertainment.
Vael carefully set down his coffee. "Commander Seris and I discuss matters concerning the Velmoran settlement."
Karin narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Every night?"
"There are many matters."
"For four hours?"
"Complicated matters."
Hikari tilted her head. "Why Uncle Vael comes home very late?"
Vael looked toward me.
I raised both hands. "I have one functional household policy regarding this situation. I do not interfere."
Ria smiled beside me.
Traitorously.
Ruri, being the only merciful person in the room, attempted to redirect the conversation. "We should probably clean the cereal first."
Karin immediately pointed toward the broken container. "Why do I have to clean it? The container broke!"
Ruri frowned at her sister. "Because you punched it."
"I tapped it aggressively."
Hikari raised one hand. "Hikari saw punch."
Karin spun toward her. "HIKARI!"
While the argument resumed, Ria relaxed against my shoulder again.
Her hand wandered across the table until her fingers quietly hooked around mine beneath the edge.
I looked down.
Then toward her.
Ria continued watching the girls as though nothing had happened.
"You're holding my hand."
"Yes," Ria replied.
"Just confirming."
Her fingers tightened slightly. "Do you want me to stop?"
"No."
"Then why mention it?"
"Scientific observation."
Ria rolled her eyes, but the small smile at the corner of her mouth remained.
Morning sunlight spread across the kitchen floor.
A month ago, the sky above Saitama had been purple and broken.
Today, our largest immediate crisis was cereal.
Vael was pretending he did not have a suspicious relationship with Seris.
Karin was losing a legal dispute against two witnesses.
Hikari was eating evidence from the crime scene.
Ruri was cleaning everything because apparently responsibility had infected her at birth.
And the former Demon Queen was leaning against me while secretly holding my hand beneath the table.
I reached for my coffee with my free hand.
Ria stole it first.
I stared at her.
She calmly took a sip.
"That was mine."
Ria lowered the cup just enough to look at me. "We are married."
"That is not how ownership works."
Her crimson eyes narrowed with immediate recognition.
"Interesting."
I remembered our argument during the Sovereign battle.
Apparently property law had returned to haunt me.
"Never mind."
Ria smiled. "Wise."
She took another sip.
Then, unexpectedly, she held the cup toward my mouth.
I stared at it.
Ria raised one eyebrow. "Well?"
"You stole my coffee and now you are offering me my own coffee."
"My husband complains too much."
I leaned forward and took a sip from the cup she held.
Ria watched me closely.
Something oddly pleased appeared in her expression afterward.
That had probably been the objective.
I had learned not to question everything.
Vael's phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
Ria immediately noticed.
"Seris?" she asked.
Vael locked the phone. "No."
Ria's mouth curved knowingly. "It was Seris."
"It was Guild business."
"From Seris?"
Vael stood.
"I suddenly remember an appointment."
I looked toward the clock. "At nine in the morning?"
"Yes."
Ria tilted her head innocently. "With Seris?"
Vael picked up his coat and walked toward the front door without answering.
Karin watched him leave. "Uncle Vael is weird."
"He is," Ria agreed.
Vael stopped at the doorway and looked back at us. His expression carried the exhausted patience of someone beginning to question every decision that had led him into this household.
"I respect both of you considerably less after living here."
"Have fun," I told him.
Ria smiled sweetly. "Do not come home too late."
Vael left without another word.
The door closed.
Ria looked extremely pleased with herself.
I shook my head. "This is what the former Demon Queen does with retirement?"
Her expression immediately became offended. "I am not retired."
"What are you?"
Ria opened her mouth.
Then paused.
Her eyes moved toward the girls.
Ruri was trying to salvage the surviving cereal.
Karin had begun arguing that punching plastic counted as product testing.
Hikari was carefully returning one piece of floor cereal to the table.
Then Ria looked toward me.
Her expression softened.
She leaned closer, rested her chin against my shoulder, and answered with quiet confidence.
"A wife."
Something warm settled inside my chest.
Ria apparently noticed the change in my face, because her own expression softened further instead of immediately retreating behind embarrassment.
Then she leaned up and kissed my cheek.
The kiss was quick and gentle.
Afterward, she settled against my shoulder again as though nothing unusual had occurred.
I blinked.
"That was another kiss."
"My husband is extremely observant today."
"You're becoming affectionate."
Ria's eyes narrowed. "I have always been affectionate."
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Several seconds passed.
Then Ria sighed.
"...selectively."
"That seems more accurate."
She poked my side.
I laughed.
Ria tried looking annoyed, but the corner of her mouth betrayed her.
Then Karin shouted from across the kitchen.
"PAPA! HIKARI IS EATING THE CEREAL FROM THE FLOOR!"
Hikari immediately raised both hands in protest. "Five-second rule!"
Ruri gasped. "Hikari, no! It has been there for ten minutes!"
Hikari looked toward the cereal in her hand.
Then toward me.
Her golden eyes widened hopefully.
"Hikari can reset timer?"
"No."
Her shoulders dropped.
Ria closed her eyes against my shoulder and released a long, exhausted sigh.
I looked toward the ceiling.
This was peace.
Not silence.
Definitely not silence.
Peace was Karin arguing about cereal while Ruri attempted to maintain civilization. It was Hikari inventing new interpretations of food safety, Vael sneaking three floors down to visit Seris, and Ruruka calling almost every day to verify that none of us had exploded.
Peace was my wife stealing my coffee.
It was Ria curling around me in bed, demanding to be carried fifteen meters because walking required effort, kissing me whenever she thought she could get away with it, and then becoming embarrassed whenever I noticed.
It was loud.
Inconvenient.
Expensive.
Frequently ridiculous.
Exactly what I had wanted without realizing what I was asking for.
Ria's fingers slipped between mine again beneath the table.
I squeezed them gently.
She opened one crimson eye and looked up at me.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Suspicion immediately appeared in her face. "You are smiling."
"Am I?"
"Yes."
"Probably your imagination."
Ria studied me for several seconds.
Then her expression softened.
She shifted even closer, rested her head properly against my shoulder, and closed her eyes again.
"Ren."
"Yes?"
"I'm still tired."
I looked toward her.
She slowly opened her eyes.
There it was again.
That look.
The deliberately soft crimson eyes.
The tiny pout she would have denied making under interrogation.
Weaponized cuteness.
"You want me to carry you back to bed."
Ria's lips curved.
"After breakfast."
"You know you can walk."
"I know."
"You just don't want to."
"Yes."
I sighed.
Ria watched me carefully.
Then she leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss against my shoulder through my shirt.
My complaint died before reaching my mouth.
Her smile widened.
Manipulative woman.
"Fine," I said.
Ria's expression became absurdly pleased as she settled comfortably against me again.
Across the room, Karin resumed arguing with Ruri.
Hikari quietly attempted to eat another piece of cereal.
Ruri caught her.
Chaos continued.
I looked around the condo that had somehow become louder, fuller, and considerably more crowded than anything I had ever planned for.
Then I looked down at the silver-haired woman holding my hand.
Annoyingly peaceful.
I could live with that.
*****
End of Chapter 65
Arclight Parenting Status
Parents:
Ren Arclight — Retired Archmage / Dragon Dad / SS-Rank Professional Wife Transport
Ria Arclight — Former Demon Queen / Dragon Mom / Weaponized Cuteness Specialist
Current Family Objective:
Enjoy post-crisis peace
Restore normal household routine
Survive breakfast
Children Under Protection:
Ruri — Ice / Emotional Anchor / Sole Remaining Representative of Civilization
Karin — Fire / Chaos / Cereal Container Destroyer
Hikari — Light / Reality Risk / Five-Second Rule Researcher
Today's Activities:
Woke up without an apocalypse
Transported Demon Queen approximately fifteen meters
Investigated cereal-related structural failure
Interrogated Uncle Vael's suspicious social schedule
Successfully experienced a normal family morning
New Developments:
Ren and Ria officially recognized as SS-Rank Hunters
Ria declined restoration of the Velmoran throne
Vael has somehow become a permanent household resident
Ria has unlocked Weaponized Cuteness
Household Status:
Peaceful
Overcrowded
Affectionate
Cereal Compromised
Parents Stress Levels:
Ren
Recovering
Content
Increasingly Vulnerable To Wife
Ria
Sleepy
Clingy
Absolutely Not Ashamed
Parenting Skill Growth:
Ren: 100% (Dragon Dad Fully Realized)
Ria: 100% (Dragon Mom Fully Realized)
Family Synergy: 100% (Post-Arc Domestic Stability Achieved)
Current Parents Status:
Ren
Retired
Loved
Carrying Wife
Ria
Former Queen
Current Wife
Refusing To Walk
Immediate Priorities:
Clean the cereal
Stop Hikari from eating floor evidence
Prevent Karin from conducting further product testing
Allow Ria to survive the exhausting fifteen-meter journey back to bed
Operational Assessment:
Mission Type:
Domestic Peace + Breakfast Management
Difficulty:
Annoyingly Peaceful
Emotional Status:
Ren
Content — Amused — Home
Ria
Affectionate — Comfortable — Home
Future Outlook:
Velmoran-Human Relations Slowly Improving
Ren's Retirement Somehow Surviving SS-Rank RecognitionVael-Seris Investigation Intensifying
Ria Affection Levels Increasing Rapidly
Household Peace Expected To Remain Extremely Loud
Parents Personal Statement:
Ren:
"You know you can walk."
Ria:
"I know."
Reality's Response:
"The Archmage finally achieved the peaceful retirement he always wanted. Unfortunately, peace now included three dragons, one suspicious uncle, a clingy Demon Queen, and cereal scattered across the floor. Somehow, Ren preferred it this way."