> Kira PoV

“Good morning Ellie ~♡!” (Kira)

“Munyaaa… Ah! Good morning Kira!” (Ellie)

I will never get tired of that boundlessly cheerful face. Every morning she smiles like it’s the best morning of her life! No, that just may be the case considering how it warms me up no matter how cold I feel! Well, it also helps that we’re sharing a sleeping bag, but that’s besides the point.

*Mmmmnnnn*

Oh! She immediately went for the morning kiss!

*Mmmwah*

“Fufufu, you’re awfully enthusiastic today!” (Kira)

“Well, it’s the last day of our honeymoon so I want to make sure we enjoy it to the fullest!” (Ellie)

“We could always just take another extension you know ~♡!” (Kira)

I mean, we already delayed coming back home for an extra week. Nano says the girls are all doing fine and everything’s peaceful, so I see no reason to rush.

“Hehe, and to think we barely made you leave in the first place!” (Ellie)

“Okay, okay, I admit, I was being a little too overzealous. But can you blame me?” (Kira)

“Probably not. We have the cutest daughters in the world after all!” (Ellie)

“Yeah we do. I think you’re way cuter though!” (Kira)

“Uuu Kira!” (Ellie)

“Oh! OHH! Easy with the hands there! There’s going to be plenty of time for that after breakfast!” (Kira)

Besides, as fun as it is making love in the wilderness like this, today seems to be extra cold! Well, those two hard points poking my chest are probably caused by something else ~♡!

“Alright… Let’s get up and get dressed then!” (Ellie)

We climb out of the sleeping bag and start getting dressed. I must say, the tent Nano prepared for us is really something else. I was sceptical it would keep us warm considering how thin this fabric was, but it does an amazing job at keeping the cold out. It’s still a bit chilly in here, but nothing that can’t be solved by putting on some clothes. It’s also surprisingly roomy, about the size of a standard inn room. I can stand up and move around without disturbing Ellie, which is excellent.

I finish putting on my clothes and throw on an extra thick cloak. My wife seems to want to laze around in the sleeping bag a bit more before she got dressed. That’s fine though, it’s not like I need her help. Even if another giant snake attacks us I can just incinerate it and turn it into lunch. I walk out of the tent flap, making sure I close it as soon as possible behind me. I then turn around and breathe in the fresh mountain air, letting it fill my entire being.

“Hachooo!” (Kira)

Okay, bad idea. It’s freaking cold today! Argh! I wanna go back in the tent! It’s not exactly warm, but it’s way better than out here! But I can’t since I already said I’d prepare breakfast! Right, first things first! Let’s prepare the campfire, boil some water and warm up those field rations! Moving around a bit should warm me up until I can get the fire going. I take three pieces of firewood from the lumber pile next to the tent and throw them into the nearby fire pit.

“Puff!” (Kira)

Hmm, he doesn’t seem to be around. Probably off hunting for his own breakfast. I just hope he eats his catch away from the tent this time. I don’t need any more obvious blood splatters on the side of the dark green fabric. People would think we’re axe murderers or something if they saw it!

“Kira!” (Ellie)

Ellie called out from inside the tent while I’m hanging the pot on the makeshift spit above it.

“Yes, beautiful?!” (Kira)

“I can’t find my panties!” (Ellie)

Wait, is that why she’s taking so long today?

“They can’t have gone anywhere!” (Kira)

“I’m telling you can’t find them! Ahhh this is bad! I don’t have the confidence to go commando like you!” (Ellie)

“Go commando? What?” (Kira)

“You’re not wearing any underwear, right?” (Ellie)

What scandalous thing is this girl saying?! Of course I’m wearing-

“I mean, yours are still in here!” (Ellie)

…

Oops.

“I, uh, think I know where your panties are, Ellie.” (Kira)

* * *

I walk out of the tent once more with my lovely wife in tow.

“Hehehe, Kira’s butt warmth!” (Ellie)

“Please don’t say perverted things like that out loud! It’s embarrassing!” (Kira)

“But you’re the one who-” (Ellie)

“It was a mistake, okay!” (Kira)

Honestly, this sort of thing was bound to happen eventually. The fact it took this long for it to happen is a miracle. I mean, I usually stick to pink or black ones while Ellie prefers yellow and light blue. The striped ones look especially good on her. We decided to bring only white ones on this trip though, which is probably why we got them mixed up.

“Honestly, I’m surprised you can even tell the difference.” (Kira)

“There’s no way I’d ever mistake Kira’s lovely scent for someone else’s, even my own.” (Ellie)

“Didn’t you say we smell the same?” (Kira)

“Hehe, not down there we don’t ~♪!” (Ellie)

Ugh! Okay, that was perhaps too much information! Why did she go and have to say something like- Oh, I was the one who asked. I think it’s best if I just let it slide and and get on with my day.

“Ellie, I’m going to light the fire now. Here, hold these.” (Kira)

I pass her my staff and my gauntlet. Focusing tools just get in the way for this particular endeavor.

“Alright, do your best!” (Ellie)

I kneel down next to the fire pit and put my hands over it. I stare at the wood and start focusing.

Breathe in.

Mana exists everywhere. Not only within, but also without. It’s in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the ground we walk on.

Breathe out.

Mana reacts to us. The reason we need to speak our spells out loud is not because we need to solidify our mental image. It is because in order for a wish to be fulfilled, it needs to be heard.

Breathe in.

Mana is alive. This is not a metaphor or allegory, but the pure and simple truth. Mana begets magic, magic begets change and change is the domain of the living.

Breathe out.

Mana is pure. It has no wants, bears no feelings and takes no sides, but it can have an owner. We, as its owners, force it into tools that help us paint in the colors of our own desires. This method is both efficient and powerful.

Breathe in.

But it is not the only one. Basic magic tricks can be performed even without such implements, because the mana within obliges to our demands, for it is a part of us. This method is neither efficient nor powerful.

Breathe out.

Mana is alive. To manipulate it by using either of those methods is to force our ideals, our hopes and our wishes on it. A cruel and one-sided relationship, but one that is the natural order of things.

Breathe in.

Then what of the mana without? The mystical energy that has no owner and permeates the world around us. As mages, we are trained to ignore it, to filter it out lest it confuses our focus. We do this because the mana without does not respond to our orders. It does not know us, so it ignores the demands we make of it.

Breathe out.

But what if we were to reach out to it? What if we were to stop trying to tell it what to do and simply ask? Just talk to it in the language that all living things share.

Breathe in.

A meeting without presence.

Breathe out.

A greeting without sight.

Breathe in.

A conversation without words.

Breathe out.

An understanding without thought.

Breathe in.

An answer without a question.

Breathe out.

A farewell without a parting.

*SPLASH*

Breathe in. Breathe out.

*FWOOSH*

I take a final deep breath and relax my hands.

“Done.” (Kira)

The fire is lit and the pot is full of clean drinking water.

“Nano, how was that?” (Kira)

{6 minutes 32 seconds.}

“Same as yesterday, then?” (Kira)

{Not quite. Yesterday you took 6 minutes 28 seconds and the day before that was 6 minutes 31 seconds. The day before that was your best at 6 minutes 26 seconds.}

“So it’s actually getting worse, huh?” (Kira)

{I wouldn’t say that. Considering all you’re doing is sitting there and breathing, it’s not strange to see variations like these. About 6 and a half minutes may simply be your limit.}

“Maybe. I think it’s good enough though.” (Kira)

I mean the first ten times I tried to do this back home, I spent hours just hyperventilating. Looks like I really just needed to get away from other people in order to properly feel the raw mana in the air. There’s just too much interference at the house for me to grasp mana that thin. It’s like trying to find a specific wave in the middle of a thunderstorm.

But it’s a different story out here, where the only living things are the grass and the trees. Well, also the giant snakes, but that’s besides the point.

*GLOMP*

“Kya!” (Kira)

Someone just embraced me from behind with no warning!

“Ellie!” (Kira)

Well, it’s not like it could’ve been anyone else.

“Don’t hug me so suddenly! You scared the living daylights out of me!” (Kira)

“I can’t help myself! Watching you do that thing makes you sparkle even more than usual!” (Ellie)

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you! To see me in a different light than everyone else, as expected of my wifey!” (Kira)

“Hehehe!” (Ellie)

{Kira. I don’t mean to ruin the moment, but you are aware you actually sparkled just now, right?}

“... Huh?” (Kira)

{Even I could see it. Granted, it was through Ellie’s eyes, but tiny shimmers of light came out of your face just when you created the water and lit the fire.}

“Weird. I didn’t even realize…” (Kira)

{Hmm, I suppose it would be pretty hard for you to see it without a mirror. Well, you don’t seem to feel any discomfort and your skin isn’t showing signs of damage, so it’s probably nothing to worry about.}

I run touch my face with my hand.

“My skin, huh? That may be what’s holding me back come to think of it.” (Kira)

It’s the most obvious difference between me and Aura. Maybe her crystalline body is how she does it so effortlessly.

“Please don’t change you skin, Kira!” (Ellie)

“Relax, Ellie! I have no intention of doing something like that! I was just thinking back on our daughter, that’s all!” (Kira)

Well, I did get the idea for this whole breathing exercise when I was watching her sleep. Something about her breath makes the mana in the air move differently, like she’s inhaling and exhaling the mana itself rather than breathing the air. I don’t think I would’ve even noticed the subtle difference if I wasn’t so completely at peace back then.

Trying to replicate it is pretty much impossible though. It took me over a month of meditating and self-discipline to get this far, and yet it’s simply a pale imitation to something she does instinctively. Me, one of the objectively most powerful mages in the country, losing to a 3 month old girl. If that baby wasn’t my own daughter I might actually get depressed about it!

“Our baby girl is already pretty amazing, you know.” (Kira)

“... Think we should be heading back now? I’m starting to miss the girls a bit.” (Ellie)

“I know. Me too.” (Kira)

We did take an extra week longer than planned already, but that was mostly because I wanted to practice while I could. Ellie was right, mountains really are the best place for training! Well, it cut into our honeymoon a bit, but it couldn’t be helped. I’m trying to create a whole new school of magic, after all! Then again, Aura just might be able to figure this stuff out on her own.

Much like the other races, the magic they can use is simply a part of what they are. A dwarf’s skin, an elf’s mind, a human’s eyes, a mountain giant’s blood, an avian’s voice, a cat-folk’s fur - these are all things unique to each of them. And it would appear that my daughter- an Archon’s special trait appears to be their breath. So should I call it Breath Magic?

Huh, wait, doesn’t that put her dangerously close to dragons?! Ah, but Puff’s magic also manifests from his breath. Come to think of it, that’s simply where it comes out. In Aura’s case, her breath is an inlet, not an outlet.

“Say Ellie. You think Primal Magic would work for a name?” (Kira)

Considering this method of using magic is about communing with the wild mana around us rather than our internal supply, it’s oddly fitting. It doesn’t consume any of my own mana since I just kindly ask the world around me to make a fire and give me some water.

“Ohh! That sounds amazing! As expected of Kira! I could never come up with a cool name like that!” (Ellie)

“Fufufu, you praise me too much.” (Kira)

“Nope! I don’t praise you enough! It’s just that I can’t find the words since you’re way too brilliant! I’m sure our kids are going to grow up to be just as wonderful as you! How could they not with such a great person as a parent?!” (Ellie)

Ah, I’m blushing now. I’m definitely blushing. How can I still be this weak to her compliments?! Well, it’s not like a girl in love wouldn’t want to be praised by her wife ~♡!

“Thanks, beautiful. You know just what to say, don’t you?” (Kira)

“Hehe, I’ve gotten pretty good at this wife thing! Ah, being a mother too!” (Ellie)

“Fufufu, that’s right. Ah, I got a great idea for a present for Sophie’s birthday!” (Kira)

It’s coming up in about a week and we still haven’t gotten her one!

{It better be a unicorn plushie.}

“... Huh?” (Kira)

{I’m just saying, unicorns are pretty much all she’s been drawing ever since you went on this trip.}

…

“Uhm. Okay. Sure, let’s buy her a unicorn plushie.” (Kira)

{Actually I already made several in preparation.}

“Oh! As expected of Nano! Then let’s use those!” (Ellie)

“... You don’t need excuses just so that you can give her gifts you know. You’re basically their grandparent anyway, right?” (Kira)

{Whatever could you mean?}

“Nevermind.” (Kira)

If Nano doesn’t want to openly admit to cherishing Ellie like a parent would care for their child, then I won’t pry.

“Kira, what was your idea for a gift?” (Ellie)

“Err, I was just thinking it’d be fun if I said we’re going to give her two new sisters as a birthday present in about two and a half months...” (Kira)

“Hehehe, I think she’d be much happier if she got both of those things!” (Ellie)

“Mmm… That’s true, I suppose.” (Kira)

Ellie rubs my belly affectionately. I turn about in her embrace and return the gesture while sharing a light kiss.

Being pregnant by myself was an amazing experience, so with both of us bearing a child it’s bound to be absolutely magical! In every sense of the word!