Malrik sighed, his eyes hollowing as he joined Lunaria's sulking train. The realization of being molested by a vampire? No, what the hell was that? He had seen vampires before, walking around his father's first castle—before he kept being thrown around different territories. They didn't have horns.
He sighed again, trailing along lazily.
Well, whatever. She had a nice pair of breasts, so I'll give her a pass for now and we'll see what happens in the future. Oh, but speaking of nice pairs, don't I have a nice pair of peaches right in front of me?
Malady's hips swayed left to right as she walked. His dark eyes followed her behind, as her well-developed body brought that demonic light back into his eyes and life into another part of him.
"She wouldn't make a scene, right?" Malrik thought, eyes lingering on the sway of her hips. The way her pants stretched over those cheeks made the idea of consortship dangerously appealing.
This made the idea of turning her into a consort more appealing.
But something was stopping him...
Fujikawa Aiki.
If Malady were to make a scene about an unknown ring on her finger and alerted Aiki about it, he'd be in trouble. She'd instantly connect the dots to her own ring and grow more suspicious of it—if she hadn't already.
"What should I do?" Malrik thought, weighing the pros and the cons.
Would it even show up?
The panel and his halo didn't show up, so why would the ring? He thought to himself.
"Okay, let's give it a try. What's the worst that can happen? The hero not hesitating to kill an infant on the spot?"
She wouldn't... right? he thought, as the memory of the pain from their first encounter resurfaced.
Hmm... I think I have a memory suppression problem...
With his flawed thought process, he moved his hand to his other. The three rings covering his ring, middle, and pointing fingers glinted with an ethereal gold light.
Each ring had a uniquely crafted style: one had rings and eyes running along its surface, another had light hexagonal patterns running around the edges, yet unlike the other two, the ring on his pointer finger was a bit thicker.
His fingers brushed across its surface.
"Malady Malay," Malrik whispered, and the ring trembled slightly in acknowledgment. A soft break could be heard as the outer layer of the ring broke off, while the lower half shrank and hugged into his skin.
He didn't panic, since he had experienced the tightening sensation once before. And since it wasn't permanent, and he could remove it if he wanted—since it wasn't latched into his skin but just hugged it a little tighter—he didn't mind it much, and then pulled its outer layer off.
"Malrik Thorneveil Tenebris," Malrik muttered. The words he spoke already began engraving onto the ring, as its golden color and Malady's status began to disappear.
He looked at the ring, contemplating if he should put it on her. Its silver hue filled him with a sense of unease. Now that it wasn't on his body, what if it turned visible the moment it touched her fingers? he thought.
But he didn't let it stop him. He just sighed to himself and gathered some resolve as he moved toward her.
Malady's hands were fixed at her sides. Her leather gloves, which were covered by her silver armor pieces, made it hard to find a finger the ring could fit on.
Eventually, he found a way to work it onto her pinky finger.
"There, fingers crossed," Malrik muttered, a silver map appearing in front of him. Saelira's blonde-haired piece could be seen sitting on top of a bed of pelts, while an unborn infant-piece moved slightly in its clear belly.
He held his breath, his eyes glued on her reaction—half-expecting her to notice the ring and for him to be teleported back to the cave.
"Hey, Hero-sama. Why don't I split off for now? I have business in the west since I have news to report back to the guild representatives," Malady said as she continued walking as if nothing happened.
"Oh, that's fine. Just inform them that a beast tide's coming, and to regroup at the center of the town with us," Aiki paused, her body turning as she mounted her horse. "Will that be okay, Adventurer-san?"
"I'll relay the information. I'll be seeing myself off then. Hero-sama, it was a pleasure to meet you too, your highness Princess Lunaria~" she said while moving toward her own horse they had placed away from the house ruins they were in.
Malrik watched the interaction with bated breath. But as he watched Malady get onto her horse and wave them off—with the hand the ring was on—he breathed a sigh of relief as they didn't notice it at all.
"She doesn't see or feel it?" Malrik thought. "Well then, this just got interesting," he said, as he felt the power already coursing through him, her hard-earned strength being added onto his own.
A wicked smile appeared on his face.
He didn't for a second think this was permanent. If he stopped using Lovers, he felt the ring's invisibility would be canceled.
But this didn't discourage him. Instead, he was thinking about how long he could stay in this ethereal state—and, most importantly, how many consorts he could take until it wouldn't matter if he canceled it himself.
"There should be over fifty-thousand people in their army. Let's assume only one-third of that number are female... If I think of it like that, I'd roughly have over sixteen-thousand potential consorts. And assuming each one of them is—or close to—Malady's level... then I'll practically be untouchable," Malrik stated as if his words were nothing less than fact.
"And why stop there?" he grinned. There's a whole kingdom waiting with open arms, and if he plays this right, he'll not just be untouchable—no, he'll be a god.
His heart began to pump louder than his ambitions.
"Oh, my dear Malady~"
His grin grew wider, his ethereal body floating up.
His small fingers pressed into Malady's skin, literally beginning to sink into her cheeks because of his current ghostly state.
"Thank you—and Aiki—for this gift you've both given me," he whispered, his lips capturing hers. It's not fair, as a husband, if I'm the only one receiving.
So I'll spoil you the best I can~
—
Past the borders of Veyrunth, where the silver grasslands gave way to wind-swept plains and pious banners fluttered in the distance, Fujikawa Ryo looked out through the window, his gaze unfocused as he stared off into the horizon. An army of armored men in sanctimonious white plate, crosses etched into their pauldrons and shields, rode beside their carriage.
The sunlight stung slightly against Ryo's eyes, but he didn't mind. His thoughts were elsewhere as he bathed in the warmth of the sun, letting the breeze carry the earthy scent of the road.
"Is something wrong, Fujikawa?" Yakima Renji asked, leaning back into the red velvet seat of their white, horse-drawn carriage. "You haven't looked well since we left Veyrunth Kingdom. Don't tell me you're already missing the princess—must be that bundle of child support baking in the oven~" he teased, a smirk tugging at his lips.
Ryo chuckled. "Fuck you. You know that," he muttered, leaning back into his seat. His hand drifted to the hilt of his sword. "Don't talk about my child like that again, or we'll have a problem, Yakima."
His tone wasn't serious enough to be a true threat—nor was it light enough to be a joke. It lingered in that dangerous gray zone where intent was unclear, but the weight of his words couldn't be ignored.
"My bad, Hero-sama," Renji said, raising both hands in mock surrender, grinning. "Seems like I got you back," he added, his smile dimming just slightly. His eyes narrowed with curiosity. "So... mind telling me what's on your mind?"
Ryo sighed and leaned back again, arms crossed loosely. "That's the thing... I don't really know. I just started feeling... uncomfortable."
"At first, I thought I was missing Aiki and my girlfriend, but I've been away from them before. I never felt like this," he muttered, rubbing his temples. What's wrong with me? he thought.
Renji's eyes closed again, a flicker of understanding passing through him. His smile softened. "The answer's right in front of your face," he said calmly—then, without warning, his hands dropped to his sabers.
"You're getting older... and rusty."
He lunged forward.
The back of the carriage dipped hard. The coachman and horses reeled into the air as the force of Renji's motion sent the whole structure tilting sideways. The carriage crashed, the wheels catching the dirt, body skidding violently—but somehow the horses and coachman landed unharmed.
"Well... I guess I was wrong about you getting rusty~" Renji admitted with a laugh. His sabers were frozen mid-strike—Ryo's sword already at his throat.
"But," Renji added, eyes gleaming, "you still need a bit of dusting off. The old Ryo would've moved the second I touched my hilts."
They both pushed themselves up with their elbows, the uneven carriage tilting beneath them. Despite the chaos, their expressions remained oddly calm—more amused than angry.
Renji kicked himself upright in a fluid motion, but his abrupt rise made Ryo's blade slice a shallow line across his neck.
"Get up. Let's find some more room," Renji said, looking down at Ryo with a grin. "Or do you want our swords to get as dusty as you are, Fujikawa?"
He twisted his sabers lightly, the metal singing. The world outside the ruined carriage dimmed into muffled silence as their blades gleamed between them.