Tina lay on the slightly messy bed while closely snuggled to Ast’s chest. She grazed his skin with her slender fingers, thinking about this precious moment they had just shared and still kept sharing. He, in turn, lovingly brushed through her dark blue hair and held Tina in his warm embrace.

Glancing slightly up, she met his gaze and smiled beautifully, making Asterios answer with a soft smile too. Wriggling herself up, she brought her face close enough to plant a gentle kiss on Ast’s lips. They exchanged a few unhurried pecks, enjoying each other’s sweet company.

But, both of them knew well that this state couldn’t remain for long or they would risk getting discovered by some random guest or servant. Asterios wanted to spare Tina that unnecessary embarrassment and raised himself first, extending a hand to his gentle girlfriend, soon-to-be wife if things went according to the plans made by their parents.

With ladylike grace, Tina accepted his help and sat up in front of Asterios. Her eyes briefly skipped down and a faint blush resurfaced on her pretty cheeks again.

“You are still so lively down there.” She giggled quietly, trying to focus on Ast’s face.

“Unexpected perks of my lineage, I guess.” He shrugged.

“A very practical one for a person with so many mates, hahaha.”

“I can’t deny that.” He let out a chuckle too. “Being able to embrace Miria and Selene the way they deserve without relying on special potions is very much welcome.”

“You had to use those?” Tina snickered a little. “I bet you made them yourself, didn’t you?”

“Well… Many ingredients are commonly used in summoning so it was only natural I made a few when some of them were going to go to waste a week or two later.”

Asterios scratched his cheek while glancing away, evoking another adorable giggle from Tina. She crossed the distance separating them on her knees and hugged him warmly, pressing their bodies together.

“I’m actually not that surprised considering how high beastfolk stamina generally is according to what I have heard from the girls. It’s kind of cute of you to try your best to match them as well as you can. But… That includes me too now, right?”

Bringing his gaze forward again, Asterios smiled at Tina from up close and pecked her rosy cheek.

“Naturally. That’s not even a question. Although, I don’t think I risk being attacked under a full moon when I’m with you, do I?” He playfully raised a brow at her.

Tina blushed even more while staring him right in the eyes. “I don’t know, do you?”

They chuckled together and shared a loving kiss once more.

“Alright. Enough delaying things, even though I really hate ruining our pleasant moment,” Asterios said, swooping Tina into his arms.

With a quiet, surprised yelp, she locked her hands around his neck and glanced at him curiously while being carried to the edge of the bed.

“Where are you taking me?”

“To the bathroom. We can’t have the star of the evening show up all sweaty and disheveled, can we?”

Tina smiled warmly and then blushed even harder, realizing something.

“But… The bathroom is at the end of the corridor…”

Asterios chuckled, sliding off the bed, and made a few steps forward. Before Tina could question him, a crimson gate rose from the ground. She subconsciously closed her eyes and tensed her body moments before getting in contact with the swirly, misty surface but to her surprise, no strong push came, which should have forced her away from the interdimensional tunnel.

Opening her eyes again, Tina found herself inside a sizable chamber carved almost purely out of white marble. A beautiful balcony behind stylish columns decorated one of the walls, showing the mesmerizing starry sky to them.

Roaming her gaze around, she stopped at a figure standing just by the empty door frame leading out of the room and froze briefly before realizing who the person was.

“Selene… So, this is really another realm?” Tina asked with a shade of red still covering her cheeks.

The mature fox lady chuckled softly and nodded. “Yes, it is. Welcome to my humble home. I prepared a bath for you. Please, enjoy yourselves to the fullest.”

Selene made a respectful bow and stepped aside, gesturing at the exit. Asterios walked past her while thanking his dear mate and took Tina to the spacious bathing chamber. A gasp of amazement escaped her lips when she saw the masterfully sculpted hall with three big pools and many additional spaces on the sides.

Heading towards the closest, Asterios slowly stepped inside and submerged them both in the hot water, watching Tina’s reaction to judge if it wasn’t too much for her. She didn’t even pay that much attention to the temperature and slipped out of his hold, remaining by Ast’s side while hugging his chest.

“It’s beautiful. I’ve seen a few bathing halls but this one is the prettiest. Selene is such a lucky person to own it.”

“No. We are the lucky ones to know her, and to have her let us wash ourselves in it.”

“True. Let’s not waste too much time, then. We will be able to come here in the future too, right?”

Asterios reached for the prepared shampoo and started covering Tina’s hair with it, taking care of her first.

“Plenty of times, for sure. Whenever you want. You should be able to open the gates yourself, although we haven’t yet confirmed that. That’s what the documents we have found in the past say, at least. All my mates share a special bond not just with me but with each other too, partially why you were able to converse with others telepathically.

She smiled at him sweetly and let out a few dainty sighs as he massaged her head.

“What about aides, then?”

He chuckled, amused how Tina was immediately thinking about Grea. The two might have grown much closer than he had assumed. It wasn’t as big of a surprise, though. Anyone who would get to know Grea well enough would realize how fun and friendly she was. One just had to give her a chance, and perhaps not mind her quirky personality.

Rinsing Tina’s cleaned hair, he moved to her front and brushed the wet strands behind her back, uncovering her slim and toned figure. They smiled at each other, with a light blush from Tina. She was still a little embarrassed displaying her everything to him, her now official lover.

“Aides can technically do it too, as far as I know. Only servants and slaves, the other two types of bonds a True Dragon can establish through rituals, aren’t able to do much more than sense and talk mentally to their master.”

“I see. It’s possible, then. Professor Grea would be ecstatic to hear that.”

“Yeah, for sure, but have in mind that there’s a requirement, which you are already aware of.”

A darker scarlet shade decorated Tina’s fair skin as she returned the favor and began taking care of Ast’s short, white hair.

“It’s sex, isn’t it?” she asked timidly.

“It’s something more than just sex but yes, it does happen through it. From what we’ve read… True Dragons are a tad… peculiar when it comes to taking in those four types of people under them.”

“How so?”

“They can bind others to themselves through rituals and create a shared pool of energy, with everyone benefiting from it, the most the owner, of course. In all cases, it involves laying with the target, if you catch my drift.”

Tina giggled quietly. “Sex, basically.”

Asterios nodded. “True Dragons build their peerage pretty much almost only with the members of opposite gender since the benefits are the greatest that way. Unless they are into the same gender. It doesn’t seem to matter much in their community. But anyway, they lay even with their slaves or servants, not just aides and mates, which are considered the closer ones out of the four. Giant harems are a normal thing around mature, powerful Dragons.”

“Do you want a giant harem?”

Hearing Tina’s question, he turned around, interrupting her from lovingly washing his back, and hugged the beautiful, shorter girl from the front, bringing their faces close enough to lean their foreheads on each other.

“No, I don’t want a big harem. I didn’t even think much about having a girlfriend not that long ago and now there are three amazing women by my side. All I want is for my beloved to be happy, that’s all. I want you to be happy with me, just like Miria and Selene are.”

A charming smile slowly rose on Tina’s pretty lips. “But, you can’t deny the possibility of there being more in the future, can you?”

“I will try my best not to—”

Tina placed her finger over his mouth.

“It’s okay. I don’t really mind by now. I really appreciate you not aiming to gather so many girls around yourself that it would be hard to count, though.”

She leaned in and joined their lips in a tender kiss.

“I still remember you saying how you considered rejecting me after accepting Miria and I’m pretty sure you would do the same for me, right?”

“That’s granted.” Asterios smiled back at her.

She let out a sweet giggle. “It shows how much you care and I honestly think it’s lovely. Thank you.”

“Nevertheless, I will still try to keep my close peerage not as numerous. It’s not like I have to follow those customs or whatever common occurrence it is wherever True Dragons might still exist. I was brought up as a human.”

“Even human kings used to have quite sizable royal harems, didn’t they?” Tina snickered.

“Me? A king?” Asterios chuckled, shaking his head. “How would it even be possi—oh.”

Tina laughed out loud after seeing his expression, full of realization. Slowly calming her laughter down, she snuggled closer to Ast’s chest.

“Who knows what the future will bring. I for sure haven’t expected to become your wife, even if I did stalk you a little bit. I wanted to confess during the graduation, but knowing me, I would just chicken out and we would part ways without anything happening.”

He tenderly rubbed her slender back. “Right. My life isn’t exactly normal. It’s certainly not out of surprises yet.”

“Exactly. And I’m so happy to be a real part of it now.”

They glanced at each other lovingly and Asterios lifted Tina’s chin to place a faint peck on her lips. Sharing another short, quiet moment, they continued cleaning each other up. She let him carefully and attentively wash all of herself while exchanging tender kisses with Asterios and then did the same for him, putting some bold effort to properly clean the Dragon’s treasure too.

After finishing, they climbed outside of the pool and used the prepared towels to dry themselves up. Tina already felt like they were newlyweds taking a bath after their first night together and it was constantly bringing a smile to her lips, which she tried to tame down so as not to look silly. Little did she know, Asterios adored her cute smiles he had a chance to catch.

Selene’s voice arrived from the entrance and she walked inside after Asterios confirmed with Tina that she didn’t mind. Their fox attendant had washed her clothes in the meanwhile and brought each piece into the state allowing Tina to quickly jump back into her things in just a moment. At the first glance, she seemed no different than before their precious moment.

Asterios resummoned his attire too and all three of them walked out of the bathing chamber, heading back to the main bedroom inside Selene’s mansion.

“Thank you for all of this.” Tina glanced up at the fox lady.

“Oh, think nothing of it, please. That’s what sister-mates are for, aren’t they, fufufu~?”

A faint blush resurfaced on Tina’s cheeks after being called a sister-mate. She somehow liked the sound of that and looked forward to spending more time with her sister-mates. Especially since she could now experience their beautiful realm, which she had only heard about from their stories before.

“Miria is still back at the banquet?” Asterios asked.

“Yes, she is. It would be a bit too obvious if both of us suddenly disappeared. I excused myself by saying that there was a brief meeting I had to attend at the temple in my world and she vouched for me. I’ll now head back before the two of you do, for obvious reasons. Feel free to feel at home here.”

She made another beautiful bow and disappeared into the crimson gate. Tina turned to Asterios.

“So, how do I do that?”

“Reach into your source and feel the connection between this realm and your home. Grab it and expand it. It requires a tiny bit of mana which shouldn’t be an issue for you. It’s easier to just experience it than to describe it. You can try extending your hand to help with visualization.”

Tina nodded and did as she was told. After a few seconds, a similar portal extended from the floor, making her smile proudly.

“Ladies first.” Asterios stood by its side and gestured at the gate.

Excited to see if she had fully succeeded, Tina stepped into the scarlet mist, followed by Asterios. They returned to the room they had shared their intimate moment some time ago. The messy bed brought back a few images into Tina’s mind, making her flush a little, but she quickly regathered her wits.

They unlocked the room and snuck outside, making sure to lock it again. Tina would later speak to the servants about it to avoid them mentioning anything to her parents on accident, saving herself from a bit of embarrassment during a family breakfast or two. Her mother wouldn’t let her live through it. Asterios knew something about that and sympathized with her.

With their fingers lovingly entwined, the missing pair soon returned to the grand hall. The banquet was in full swing, clearly much livelier than at the very beginning. It was still with the obvious decorum, but the guests had relaxed to some level and became friendlier with each other. Only Roz seemed to have kept his unamused, perhaps a little uncomfortable atmosphere around himself.

Asterios and Tina navigated through the crowd towards the place where her parents currently stood. On their way, they shared a few greetings and brief chats with her relatives or family friends. A lot of congratulations were a big part of those exchanges, which Tina received with a faint blush, squeezing Ast’s hand dearly.

Overcoming the constant disruptions, they reached their goal and joined Marquess Wilhelm, Marchioness Helga, Viscount Thomas, and Viscountess Luna by one of the tables with deserts. They had been discussing some political rumors and gossip in the noble society, stopping when the main character of the night showed up.

“Here’s our proud ace! I must admit, your showmatch raised my blood pressure a little bit! It reminded me of my old friend, who also followed the same path. We used to clash together quite often,” Marquees Wilhelm recounted his past.

“I thought you had forgotten about us in your own little world.” Tina’s mom smiled at them. “What took you so long?”

Tina dropped her gaze to the ground while blushing faintly and Asterios smiled back at Lady Luna.

“I apologize. We lost track of time while taking a break on the balcony. The stars are quite beautiful today. Especially a certain one.”

His comment made everyone chuckle while the implied star shone brighter with an even redder shade, doing her best to look up and smile warmly. Ast’s gentle, reassuring rubs over her hand helped a lot.

Looking past her parents, she locked gazes with his mom, currently busy talking to Princess Silvia and some other noble, but just free enough to glance her way and smirk knowingly. That little gesture made Tina shiver and Asterios leaned to her ear.

“Just ignore her. The less attention you give her, the less teasing there will be. Trust me, I know from experience.”

She giggled at his advice and nodded. They noticed Tina’s father turning towards them again so they refocused on their group.

“I bet Tina has already mentioned our little ploy to you.”

“Yes, we did speak about it briefly,” Asterios replied.

“And? What are your thoughts about it?” Lady Luna asked.

Sneaking a peek at Tina, who smiled at him softly, Asterios nodded at her parents.

“It would be my honor and pleasure to marry an amazing lady such as Tina. I just hope that I’m good enough.”

Marquess Wilhelm exploded into a hearty laugh. “If you aren’t, then I don’t know who is! I have a feeling what you have shown me, twice, is not everything you can do, is it? You were right, Thomas. Two talented Summoners at the lead of the next generation have your family more than just secured. I’m quite envious of the connections you have gained,” he added, glancing towards the princess.

“A union between Nobelle and Hestizo surely will bring great changes for your families. For the better, naturally,” his wife added politely.

“Just, let’s not rush the wedding too much,” Tina joined in.

“Oh? Why not? I thought you would want to get married to your long-time crush as soon as possible?” Lady Luna chuckled softly.

“Asterios is currently really busy, Mom,” she answered, bravely fighting back the blush. “He had to get here from far overseas just for my graduation. I’m really in no hurry to make our union official and public. Just this... is enough for me.”

“Overseas? Fascinating. Where did your travels lead you?” Wilhelm raised a brow at Asterios.

“To the Demon Continent, currently,” he replied. “I had something to find there and we are more or less done. There’s just a meeting we can’t really miss and that’s all.”

“With whom, if I may ask?” Thomas inquired.

Asterios smiled wryly. “Just a brief audience with the Demon King.”

“Just, he says!” The Marquess laughed again. “I guess for someone knowing the princess well enough to bring the Royal Division here, something like meeting a monarch isn’t even worth a mention!”

Tina giggled by Ast’s side, waiting for everyone to stop chuckling or being clearly amazed by the very prospect.

“And I would like to accompany Asterios now that I have finally graduated. We could get to know each other a little better in the meantime. There actually wasn’t that much interaction between us up until recently. I’m hoping to catch up on that, honestly, hahaha.”

“Trying to escape on your honeymoon even before the wedding, are we now?” Tina’s mom smirked at her. “I’m glad you have something to look for after finishing your studies. Having clear goals, even short-term ones, makes it much easier and pleasant to move forward.”

“Does that mean that you will allow it?” Tina glanced up at her mother with hopeful eyes.

“We—”

“But of course, sweetie.” Before Thomas finished a word, his wife completely shut him down and continued. “You are an adult, aren’t you? Soon to take a husband, even. You’ve always been very mature and dependable. We can’t restrict you forever, isn’t that right, dear?”

Under Lady Luna’s warm smile, Viscount Thomas could only respond with the same, making Tina chuckle quietly.

“Where is Gwen, by the way?” she asked afterward.

“Right there, trying to gather up enough courage to chat up the princess from what I can see,” her mom replied and gestured somewhere into the hall.

Tina sighed heavily and glanced up at Asterios. “I’ll go and drag her there or else she will never make a move herself. Looks like it runs in the family, huh.”

He chuckled and nodded, letting go of her hand. Trying to ignore the people around them, Tina raised herself on her tiptoes and pecked Ast’s cheek before hurriedly escaping into the crowd.

Lady Luna glanced at him while covering a soft smile with her dainty hand. “It looks like there’s still hope for at least one of them, thankfully.”

Viscount Thomas shook his head.

“So, Asterios, what do you think about the current state of…”