After an evening full of straight-faced redirection of every topic thrown at him, Rakna eventually ended up in one of the empty rooms of his house, gently placing Ceresta down on a bed. She had fallen asleep after expending her energy on nothing less than sheer happiness.

“She is still adjusting,” Nyx commented from beside him, having finally calmed down herself. “Her current state is closer to hibernation than actual rest. She will eventually fully adapt.”

The therian hummed positively and turned toward her with a solemn look. Since they were alone in the room, he decided to ask the question that was bothering him, “Can you tell me now? What is it exactly that Flegra told you to do?”

The goddess let out a discomforted huff and blushed slightly. “I shared a part of my Divine Essence with you… For a divinity, that is equivalent to exposing your every secret and beyond. You can feel it, can’t you? You know where I am at all times; you can read my emotions; and…” She paused in embarrassment. “We… feel closer… as well…”

“…”

“For us, divinities that are born into godhood, sharing Divine Essence is a ceremony that involves far more than respect or friendship. It’s… essentially marriage,” she admitted bashfully. “There is a reason why it needs to be done through a kiss.”

Rakna honestly wanted to mitigate her embarrassment for her sake, but he couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her being so timid.

“W-what? What are you laughing at?” She retorted clumsily.

“It’s nothing,” he shook his head. “You were just too adorable.”

Nyx froze on the spot and fought herself not to devolve into a flushed bumbling mess. “You… can’t you…!” She tried to speak several times but eventually gave up, covering her face. “I can’t believe this. It had to be you, after all these years, that I gave myself up to.”

The therian chuckled uneasily. “Hey, come on… you make it sound as if I’m a terrible partner,” he uttered and she gave him a blank stare. Without her even saying anything, he cleared his throat and looked away awkwardly. “Right…”

He briefly glanced back at Ceresta and couldn’t help but once again chortle at the situation, and all that happened today. He looked back at Nyx with a small smile. “Well, whatever it is, I don’t intend to ever betray you... if it’s ‘responsibilities’ you want me to take, there’s no need for those.”

Nyx raised an eyebrow and he grinned playfully, “I can tell you; who I am right now is not someone who wishes to be liable, but someone who loves you,” he confessed and her eyes widened.

The full brunt of his statement was carried through their link and she knew more than anyone the truth behind his words. No, it was even beyond that. She didn’t hear those words, she felt them.

For a short moment of silence, she didn’t reply and surprisingly, her expression didn’t fluctuate as much as before. On the other hand, Rakna didn’t break his smile and Nyx eventually took a short breath and swiftly turned her back to him.

“That was underhanded…” She grumbled and started walking away.

Rakna snorted in amusement. “I don’t get a response for my brave confession?” He joked.

She almost stumbled from that and groaned. “I don’t have skin as thick as yours. You had no need to say it, I already knew. And you already know my answer as well…”

“But it is something you wanted to hear, wasn’t it?” He retorted softly and she went quiet.

“…good night,” she uttered and opened the door. Her face was out of view but Rakna could imagine exactly what kind of expression she was making. Before she completely walked out, she mumbled under her breath something that even he almost failed to catch, “…me too…”

With those two words hanging in the air, she paced away and Rakna nearly laughed a second time when the last thing he saw from her was a glimpse of her blush.

“{How cute. She acts even shier than Evelyn when put on the spot,}” Fray remarked with the same amount of amusement as the therian had.

“You can say that again,” Rakna snickered and eyed Ceresta one last time before leaving the room as well. He then took the corridor straight to his room.

Of course, he knew without a doubt that there would be at least one person waiting for him, if just for the chance to tease him. So, he opened the door, confident and prepared.

Three people were there; Kara, Kaelith, and Higure. Up until that point, nothing about it was really concerning. However, a problem arose; the room itself.

“…what is this?” He deadpanned and watched as the three girls were tidying up the sheets of a bed that could only possibly be meant for giants. The thing was at least four meters wide and both the vixens and the lioness were happily setting it up.

The corners of his mouth also twitched as he processed the fact that his room was also far bigger than he remembered before he left for Plateau Zero. At this point, he had no problem identifying the reason with his senses; some exceedingly advanced spatial array was put in place.

‘When? Why?’ These questions popped up in his head despite himself.

“Ah, wolfy, you’re here,” Kaelith smiled happily and put her hands on her hips proudly, her tails wagging energetically. “What do you think about your new room?”

“…confusion.”

“I know, right? It’s so nice,” she nodded, ignoring his actual reply. “I asked an acquaintance of mine to pass by and expand the space of this room. That brat owes me a few things, so I made her do it for free.”

“…whoever that is, apologize to her, please.”

“Where’s Nyx? I thought she would join us,” she ignored him again and tilted her head to look over his shoulder. “At this point, she should just sleep with us.”

“…she’s a normal person, unlike you. Let her relax on her own for now.”

“Hm, oh well, I guess I’ll ask her tomorrow. Now, get in bed, wolfy!” Kaelith finished her one-sided conversation by tapping the giant bed next to her.

“…” Rakna silently turned toward Higure and promptly skipped her when he saw her roll around on the bed like a hyper-excited child. Nothing of value could be acquired from her. Therefore, he redirected his hope toward Kara and the older vixen gave him a smirk.

“Here’s the thing, Rara. This is what we call planning for the future,” she calmly explained. “Soon enough, there will be more people than we can count on that bed, so it’s natural that—”

“All right, not you either,” Rakna blankly interrupted her and Higure perked up. She sat up on the bed with her legs crossed and grinned at him.

“Yes, don’t listen to her, devourer of mine. There are more urgent matters,” she declared.

“…which involves mating, I assume?” The therian asked in the driest tone he could muster.

“Exactly!”

“No.”

“Aw…” The lioness immediately deflated.

“Whatever antics you want to play on me, at least wait until I don’t have a thousand things on my mind,” he uttered and just decided to flop down in the middle of the bed. “For now, I think I’ll just shut down my brain until morning.”

The girls looked at him in amusement and Kara tapped a finger on her mouth. “Oh yes! Rara, you do know that we are ready to launch Harvest at any time, right? People are already waiting for us to open business and we need you at the inauguration. Also, that noble family you made me keep an eye on will participate in a public event soon; one which you were invited to, I believe. I didn’t do anything to them yet, because I figured using peer pressure to have them capitulate during that event would make things more impactful for our reputation. It’s after tomorrow, by the way.”

“…” Rakna twisted his neck to blankly stare at her. “…why are you so competent when it comes to making things harder for me?”

“Oh my, flattery will get you nowhere,” she smirked back at him with a hand on her cheek.

The therian didn’t reply and silently buried his face in the sheets. After a long while of complete stillness and silence, Higure raised an eyebrow and crawled next to him. She tried to shake him a bit, but he was unresponsive.

“…he’s actually asleep,” she uttered in disbelief.

Kara chuckled. “Well, maybe we should let him have the respite for today,” she said and sat down on the edge of the bed. Swiping her hand to grab a wine bottle out of nowhere, she grinned at her daughter and extended an empty glass. “So, for now, sweetheart, why don’t you bless us with some of the spicy details?”

Kaelith faintly blushed at her question but nonetheless accepted the cup with a huff. Higure also made it a quick decision to get closer and fully focus on her, excited to hear the answer.

“But first,” Kara briefly stopped them from speaking and gave a second glass to Higure, before she got one for herself and promptly filled all three of them. “Cheers, ladies,” she said with a light laugh and they smiled in return, raising their cups for a toast.