Lila was waiting for him at the cottage door when Gemini returned, Aria tucked solidly into her arms. “What happened? How did it go? Did the Five Lands send a huge force?”

“A huge force…mm.” Gemini pondered on her question. “Well, we came into contact with a bunch of Lords, Paragons and a Demigod, who immediately freaked out from the sheer number of Demigods who had popped over to say hi. At the same time, fireworks from the Locomotives parked outside were liable to explode at any moment, so Pur-Sandai exploited his small harmless exterior to transmit our words over.”

“Uh.” Gemini could tell that Lila wanted to scratch her head, but since she was holding on to Aria, she could make do by jiggling the little baby in her arms instead. “So…a peace conference is in the works, then?”

“We haven’t gotten to that yet. We’ve only relayed our desire for peace,” Gemini replied. “If they reject that…well, we might need to resort to something more drastic. Obviously, we’re hoping that we don’t actually need to make a move, but…”

He sighed.

“It can’t be helped,” Lila replied. “It’s not like we can dictate the hearts of others.”

That last bit of her sentence echoed weirdly in his mind. His body swayed in the wind, and Gemini held on to the door. For some reason, the latter half of her last sentence had an incredible effect on him.

“Gemini?” Lila rushed into the cottage, placed Aria down and dashed back out again. In a haze, Gemini allowed himself to be pulled into the cottage, where he was promptly seated down in front of their dining table.

“I’m fine,” Gemini eventually replied, shaking his head. “I…just got lost in thought.”

“Lost in thought?” Lila asked, confused. “What happened? Was it something I said? Or did you understand something halfway through?”

Gemini tried to recall the situation earlier, before reaching out to pick up the sleeping Aria, who stirred awake as he placed the baby on his lap. “It was something you said. That last phrase, in particular.”

Lila tilted her head. “The hearts of others?”

“Yes, that’s the phrase,” Gemini replied, his left hand now held tightly by two tiny hands. “It doesn’t mean much, by itself, but I do recall that phrase popping up when I talked to the oddball Demigod I told you about. It’s just that I don’t understand why I’m feeling this way now.”

“Maybe it’s because we’re on the verge of ending this war peacefully,” Lila suggested.

“Auh!”

Gemini glanced down at his utterly adorable Aria, who clearly agreed with her mother. “Is that what you think too?”

Aria blinked twice and tightened her grip on Gemini’s hand. “Paba.”

“Now, what’s that supposed to mean?” Gemini asked, poking her nose with his free hand.

“That’s a really good question,” Lila murmured, before shifting over to Gemini’s side. Before long, Aria’s cheeks had been monopolised by Lila’s hands, and the little baby gurgled merrily, surrounded by her parents.

It was times like this that Gemini renewed his resolve to bring peace back to the Wildlands. When the war was over, he intended to close off the Wildlands and unify the tribes permanently to produce a new nation. By doing so, he would be able to prevent conflicts that demon tribes held on the regular, and get them to devote themselves to the betterment of the Wildlands as a whole.

He would create a Wildlands without war. A place of true peace, where everyone got along with one another. Gemini had experienced it, back in Ark City, if only for a few years, but those years were the best years of his life.

Under their ministrations, Aria grew sleepy. Playing with babies either livened them up or made them sleepy, and it would seem that Aria was in the latter mood today. Before long, she was snoozing away in Gemini’s lap, drool leaking out from her lips.

“So adorable.”

“Right?” Gemini replied. “Takes after her mother. She has this utterly lovable streak to her, like a certain person in my heart.”

“I think she takes after her father, though,” Lila replied. “There’s this brave streak in her, and…”

Her voice trailed off.

“Lila?” Gemini asked, taken aback by the sudden shift in her emotions. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I just involuntarily remembered the days after Ark City fled from the Wildlands,” Lila answered. “It was a nightmare, you know. When you never came back. When Eliza stared at the portal and apologised over and over again. When I…I thought I had lost you forever.”

Gemini listened to her quietly. Lila rarely discussed the events that followed after he closed the passage between the Wildlands and the Five Lands. He could tell that Lila had no desire to relive these memories, but something about their conversation had made her think about them.

He reached out and held her hand gently. Gemini didn’t know how to convey the emotions roiling around in his heart, so the only thing he could do was to hold her hand and let his touch do the job.

Some rational part of him couldn’t help but think that such a method was a cop-out, but Gemini strangled that part of his mind before it could do anything else. Love had no need for reason, especially in moments like this.

“Remember to stay safe, okay?” Lila murmured. “When the talks begin. Don’t do that again, okay? I’m going to smack you if you don’t return in one piece. Aria will cry if you don’t return home.”

“I promise,” Gemini replied. “And yes, I can really see that happening.”

Lila smiled and pulled him into a hug. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay? I’ve lost you once. I don’t want to lose you again. Even if the war has to continue. You’re more important to me than this world.”

“I know. I know.” Gemini smiled. “Somehow, however, I get the feeling that there’s no need to worry. This will go well.”

“Mm.”

Despite her nod, Gemini could still feel Lila quiver.