It was a brand new morning of a brand new day at the Karatengu territory.

A certain white fox demon couldn’t contain her happiness at the rise of the three suns in the sky. The morning was bright and so was the future of the Tengu clan.

Her younger siblings were still soundly sleeping, so she quietly stood up and proceeded to take noiseless steps on her tippy toes in order to avoid waking them up. The last thing she needed was to scare them, they already suffered through enough, and they at least needed to feel safe in this place.

Just looking at the damage done by Kas clan on her remaining family members was enough to set a flame of ire in her heart.

Calm down Akjan, Kas clan is gone. Yes they are gone, none can harm them…And I can protect them.

But Akjan had to admit, when she faced off against her mortal enemy, Nar Kas, it was Ren not her, who managed to defeat him.

Come to think of it, Ren was the one who killed Jar Kas, and he was also the one who defeated Nar Kas. Protecting his life, my tail! It was my fault they even managed to kidnap him. I almost got him killed! And he still did not want to punish me and allowed me to stay here with my family, how kind does this demon get?

Ever since she met Ren during that fateful day on the fields, he changed the world as she knew it. She used to think that demons lived in a world where one has to kill the other to survive; scars from the Kas clan only enforced that belief. It was a sad fate, but it meant that demons would kill each other until none was left alive. Same happened to her clan; Kas clan used their horns and hearts in order to make powerful weapons.

While she buried the weapon Nar Kas used, if there were other weapons like that then they would pose a great threat to the Tengu clan. The weapons made of Tang clan demon flesh have to be recovered and be given a proper burial. As one of the last remaining Tang clan members, it was the least she could do.

Now, shake off the gloomy thoughts, Akjan, I can’t have him thinking that I am ungrateful for all he has done for me. In fact, I am not sure how I am supposed to repay him at all…Not even a life-time of enslaved service would not be enough…

She proceeded to head towards the room in which Ren usually sleeps in.

Maybe he is still sleeping. In that case, I can cook up something and serve him a breakfast in bed, I might not be a cook, but my cooking is at least edible, unlike what Ren tends to make….

Akjan proceeded to slowly open the door to Ren’s room, carefully peeking inside to see if the occupant of the room was still sleeping.

But there was none inside. The morning lights were painting the room, the furniture, the bed, blanket, and the pillow in golden rays. But the one she was looking forward to seeing was nowhere in sight.

There goes my plan to make a wake up surprise…

Akjan sulked slightly before coming to another conclusion.

But if he is not in his room, then that means he is already awake, what else could he be doing so early in the morning other than training? If that is the case, that is even more of a reason for me to be there. I will make sure that he can get stronger and I shall make sure none tries to steal him again!

The only way to sneak into this territory without having Tengu clan’s permission was by the usage of darkness magic. Darkness magic essentially creates portals that the user can use in order to travel long distance, in a sense, it is a warp. Darkness users, aside from race called Darklings, were very rare.

Even in Tang clan, she and her grandfather alone could perform it. Now she is the only one who can use Darkness magic in this territory, maybe even this entire region. Darkness magic affinity is that rare, only one in a million demons tends to possess it.

But, once she was a prisoner of Kas clan, they drained her of mana and conserved it in bottles, in a sense storing them for later use. She did not know how many bottles remained; she could only hope most were destroyed during the Tengu clan’s raid to the Kas clan territory.

If there any other bottles with Darkness mana in them, then there still was danger someone might sneak up in this territory. If that was the case, then Ren still would be in danger.

As natural Darkness mana user, she could sense Darkness mana much clearer than anyone else. If anyone tries to sneak up on Ren while she is nearby, she can quickly intercept and destroy the intruder.

He should be around here. I can never track his mana signature, but the smell is definitely his. I am sure he is practicing diligently, preparing for the upcoming battles during the trials…

Akjan watched with an open mouth as she saw a form a humanoid sleeping on top of a tree, hanging off a branch with his arms and legs. He was snoring quietly. It was obvious he was in deep slumber.

…Or he could be sleeping on a tree branch, perched like a giant bird.

That was the only way she could describe it, aside from a monkey on a tree, the nicer description was to compare him to a bird.

Is this really going to be ok? He seems comfortable enough, even though he is using the rough bark of a tree as a pillow. Why would he even do that? Is a tree much more comfortable than a bed? Could he have been sleep-walking? Oh no, if he falls down from that height, there is no telling how badly he will injure himself. At least the tree branch seems stable enough…

The branch upon which Ren was sleeping started creaking. It was about to break.

Are you kidding me?

With a snap, the branch broke in half, with Ren still sleeping falling downwards. The place he was sleeping on the branch was at least ten meters off the ground. If she did nothing he would definitely get hurt.

Akjan jumped with all her might in order to catch Ren mid-air as he was falling.

“Don’t worry, I got you!”

She managed to catch him in her embrace, but she underestimated how unbalanced she was, trying to land on the ground.

Land she did, but not the way she wanted to. With her strong physique she was might have been bruised but not hurt.

‘Ouch…’

But the way she landed on the ground was embarrassing to say the least. In a sense she ended up being underneath Ren, who landed on top of her. He was still sleeping.

If anyone walked in right now, it would seem as though Ren was pouncing on top of her in a very suggestive manner.

With his body on top of hers, he was mumbling ‘very soft pillow’ while hugging her with his arms.

“Ehm, Ren, I am happy you feel that way, but maybe we should stand up before…” he words ended up being silenced by his mouth covering hers.

Her eyes went wide. This was a kiss. An actual kiss. A first true kiss she received on her lips by another demon. Her rational thinking was gone. With her eyes spinning in circles, she ended up passing out from the sheer overwhelming emotion budding within her body.

Being hugged so tightly while receiving a kiss from her beloved, she was sure that if she died right now, she would die happily.

“Tasty…” Ren muttered, now waking up from his dream of eating pies and sweets made by his own hands. Now with unconscious Akjan underneath him, he stared at where he was and with whom he was confusedly. “Uhm, Akjan what are we doing here? Wasn’t I inside my bedroom? How did we get to the tree area? Are you ok?” he did not notice that he was essentially on top of her while her face showed only pure bliss.

“So that is what you two’s relationship is like, after all!” Akjin, Akjan’s younger brother, led by hand by Master Korgan, shouted out as he saw his older sister passed out with the young master on top of her in a rather bold position.

“Huh?” Ren’s neck bent slightly in confusion.

“Don’t worry, grandson, we are not going to interrupt.” Korgan laughed out loud. Now he just turned around. “Don’t worry about them, Akjin, it is a natural phenomenon. Keep at it Ren!”

“What exactly do you mean, grandpa!? Hey, Akjan wake up!” Ren tried to desperately wake up his companion who seemed to be drooling with an expression as if she tasted a slice of heaven.