I really don’t want to ask her to do this. She has such strong dysphoria about it. I’ll be sure to have a conversation with Lady Eve about allowing her to be born male. For now, we need to take care of the adoption. I need to get that over with so we can figure this out.

Kye took a seat across from the commoner family that Kaede was born into. There were four chairs, two on either side of a table, and a desk overlooking them with ornate bookshelves, pictures, and other decorations covering the walls. The Light King sat behind the desk as a witness, and Alethea was holding baby Kaede next to Kye. The parents left the other child at the hospital to be cared for by the nurse temporarily.

“Your Highness, will we be able to see the child again after this adoption?” the mother said.

Alethea answered in Kye’s place. “This isn’t exactly the same, but I went through a very similar situation. I was born a commoner in an orphanage. I was actually kidnapped immediately after birth and the Cardinal Queen, Lady Atalante, saved me. She discovered my white mana and adopted me right away. My birth mother passed away in childbirth and that was the last time I ever saw my birth father. I can’t say for certain that it is or isn’t allowed, I am the first royal adoption in history. This girl will be the second.”

“There are no real standards for royal adoptions considering they are so rare, but there are standards for royals,” Kye said. “For the sake of clarity, and as heir to the throne,” she shot a glance at her father, who nodded in return, “I shall set precedence here and now. It would be best that you do not expect see the girl again after we finalize the adoption.” The parents were instantly heartbroken. “I apologize for having to say this, but that’s how it needs to be. I will not give you false hope and say that you may remain in her life. Nobles and royals are raised in private until age sixteen. We receive private education throughout childhood and immediately begin attending the royal academy on Alcanus. By the time she is allowed to socialize, she very well may not choose to reunite with you. I can say for certain she will not be permitted to see you until then and it must be a mutual agreement afterward. If you do not wish to see her, she will not be permitted to meet you regardless, and if she does not wish to see you then you will not be permitted to meet her. That’s on a personal level. Another royal or noble would handle professional business between you and the state.”

“I... see...” the father said. “My apologies, I have not learned much of noble society.”

“No apologies necessary. Commoners are not expected to know the finer details of noble society.”

“Please take good care of her. She will have a much better life as a royal. It is a great honor to have our leaders take interest in our child.”

“Yes,” the mother said. “If she does decide to see us, we will agree to meet her, but otherwise we will pray for her from afar. Thank you so much for taking in our child.”

Kye nodded and brought up a holographic screen over the table. “This is the adoption agreement. You need only sign your names.” The parents nodded and quickly read the agreement. It wasn’t very long and only stated two things.

1. The child shall become a member of the Akari Royal Family and henceforth carry the Akari family name.

2. The birth parents relinquish all rights regarding the child to the Akari Royal Family.

Below the two statements were places for signatures. One for each parent, Kye, Alethea, and the ruler witnessing the adoption.

After all five signed it, Alethea asked, “Does she have a name?”

“We got so caught up in everything else that we forgot to even ask that?” Kye said.

“She does not. Even without the agreement, it would be our honor to have her receive a name from a member of royalty,” the mother said.

“Very well,” Alethea said. “She’ll have the Akari family name.” She looked at Kye, who know instantly what Alethea was thinking.

“Kaede.”

Alethea nodded. “Kaede.” The girl in her arms cheered as best as an infant could.

“We’ll handle the birth papers. I apologize for cutting this short, but we have other pressing business. Our schedule has been overfilled today so we must make the most of our time.”

The parents nodded and said their goodbyes and thanks. Liliana escorted them back to the hospital and quickly returned afterward.

“Very well handled,” the king said. “Aside from asking about the name beforehand, I would have handled this situation no differently. I’ve already filled out the paperwork virtually. You should have the child’s identification and other necessary papers in your inboxes now.”

“That fast?” Kye asked.

“I’ve been the Light King for a long time. Paperwork comes with the territory, so I streamlined it. I filled it out as you were speaking. I only needed to add the name.”

“Thank you, father.”

The king nodded and shooed them away. “Go now. I suggest visiting Lady Hannah for a few days. As was already mentioned, there’s a great resort on Atlas. A good place for a honeymoon. Now go. Shoo.” He made hand motions to match his verbal shooing.

Kye and Alethea were somewhat taken aback but did as he said. Their first stop was Kye’s private chambers in the palace. She packed a few things and then went to the gate room in the palace with Alethea and the others. On the other side, in Atlantis, Alethea went to pack a few things in her own private chambers. Afterward, they met up with Atalante, Ginchiyo, and Alexandra before leaving for the Central Gateway. Allison was waiting for them at the entrance. She pulled Kye and Alethea aside to have a quick chat.

“Since you have bonded with Astarte and Astraia you now have knowledge of various things that most people, even royals, do not. There is much we need to discuss, but it can wait. I’ll answer any question you have. Until we have that conversation, keep their knowledge to yourself.”

“I have one question I want answered now,” Kye said.

“Very well.”

“Did you intend to bring us in on this information at some point?”

“Layla, James, and I discussed what to do about you when you first mentioned aether. We decided then that we’d give you all the information that any council member would have. However, once you told us what you are, we had to rethink things. Ultimately, we agreed to include you in all of it once you graduated from the academy. But since you have that information early, we have to rethink things again. We’ll discuss things while you are away and let you know more once you return.”

“Who all knows of it?”

“You can find that information in Astraia’s knowledge. We’ll talk more when you return. Go have a good time.” Allison left them and went through the gate to Alcanus.

Kye and Alethea shared a skeptical glance then rejoined the others. Atalante saw them off and their group of nine went through the unmarked gateway after the coordinates were set for Atlas.

“Ah, how nice of you all to visit,” said a purple-haired and purple-eyed woman, meeting them on the other side. She wore a form-fitting black suit and had her long hair tied into a low ponytail aside her bangs. “Astarte, Astraia, Alexandra, and Ginchiyo, how have you been? It’s been a while!”

“Indeed it has,” Astarte said. “The four of us are traveling with these young ladies as guards.”

“Oh my. What could have happened for them to need guards of your caliber?”

“We’ll talk about that later.”

“Okay! Don’t forget or I’ll get angry!”

Astarte fake smiled. “Right...”

The woman shifted around behind the four guards to get a better look at the teenagers behind them. “Ah, yes. I have been looking forward to this day for YEARS.” She took Kye and Alethea by surprise and put Liliana and Aliana on guard. “Oh, girls, you can forget that. You have no chance of beating me! Besides, your four adult guards here can handle that sort of thing. You’re just children, you should relax and have fun!”

“Uh...” Kye wasn’t sure how to react.

“Anyway, how are you Kye? Your mother has bragged so much about you, Zen, and Yami, but I haven’t gotten to even meet any of you yet! I’m so sad! You’ll stay here a while won’t you? We’ll have a great time and make your mother jealous! No need for introductions, I know who all of you are, and I expect you’ve figured out who I am by now.”

“Ah, yes. Lady Hannah, it is nice to finally meet you.”

Hannah smiled. “Okay, we all know each other, now let’s go have some FUN! I may be ten million years old but I’m still young!”

“You’re ten-”

“Oh yes, I was born before Terra went boom and the system was put in place by Goddess Eve.”

“Huh?”

“Hannah, they haven’t been-” Alexandra began to argue, but stopped short. “Right, the soul-bonding. They know that now, and Kye doesn’t keep secrets from Liliana and Aliana.”

“Yes indeed! I can see their status screens, ya know, so I knew they are soul-bonded. All the royals born before the war are system administrators. But, your status is a little strange...” She glared at Alethea. “That little girl’s status is like yours, but... she’s a soul weapon and already bonded to you? Her name is Kaede Akari, she has affinities with every element and alignment, divine affinities with everything, and even that mysterious white mana. It shows nothing but question marks for her mana capacity, just like yours. That means the system either cannot or does not have permission to quantify you. Hmm...” She swiped her hands in the air, navigating through not her Neuraphone, but the system’s display. “Oh, that explains it. You three are reincarnations under Goddess Eve.”

“Wait, what?” Astarte said. She started fumbling through the system display, too. “Holy shit, it’s here.”

“Uh...” Kye sighed. “You had access to something that could have told you what we are right from the start, and you didn’t know until we told you?”

“Oh, so they already knew?” Hannah asked. “Huh. Well, you can fill me in later, let’s go get you all settled in for now. Happy birthday, by the way. Sixteen already! I finally met my granddaughter! YAY! Oh, after you’re settled in, wanna go to the hot spring at the resort? It’s great!”

“Uh, problem with that...” Kye said.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“Well, you see...” Kye glanced at Alethea, who was looking away awkwardly.

Hannah swiped her fingers in the air and checked Alethea’s profile. “Ah, I see. No matter, you’ll be fine here. If you have any dysphoric issues with anything, please talk to me in private and I’ll help you. I was a transgender advocate before the war, and I’ve been one ever since! I’m a licensed medical professional, and I even promoted it when I was on the council. You have no enemies here, sweetie.”

Alexandra sighed and mumbled, “Why couldn’t Kolodka take the initiative to check before running his mouth.”

“Oh?” Hannah had a very evil smile on her face.

“Hannah, please, it’s fine. He wasn’t intentionally... never mind, it’s handled anyway.”

“If you say so, but if the boy needs disciplined, just send him to me! Anywho, without further ado... hey that rhymed, hehe. To the Atlas World Resort!”

Now I see why James said ‘firecracker’.