It was a cold winter morning. Outside, the whole world was bnketed in white snow, already reaching knee-high. The Capital city of the Empire only started to wake up, the shivering guards warming up their hands while waiting for their shifts to change, store owners trying to shovel their shops' fronts to make way, hopefully for customers to come. However, it was not guaranteed, as winter slowed down even the greatest city of the Empire almost to a complete standstill.

  "Do you need to go?" Anya asked, lying on her husband's bare chest, under the thick, red bnket, hugging Xendar, closely snuggling up to him with her naked body.

  "In the past six years, the situation has completely deteriorated in the North. Two farm towns were burned down, and one mine had colpsed, thanks to those demons ramming through our borders. The Emperor had had enough. The First Prince has also requested aid, and the main army was mobilized. As we speak, they should already be at the borders. This is the st morning for us to spend it like this before I have to join them."

  "Don't say it like that!" Anya moaned, kissing him, cutting off any further words, and climbed on top of Xendar, slowly moving while kissing his neck and torso, wearing the bnket as a cape.

  "Ahaha. You're always so fiery when I go on an expedition!" Xendar ughed, looking into her eyes and holding her waist.

  "It's for good luck's sake." She giggled, then leaned forward for another passionate kiss. "And you may be away for a year or two… You need some fresh memory of what awaits you at home!"

  "That's my wife~!" he whispered back while thrusting his hips upwards, and soon the room was filled with spring weather despite the cold outside.

  …….…..

  "Your father leaves today?" Leinor asked, wearing a white training outfit, standing in the snow barefoot, in a weird horse riding pose, holding two iron bars between his knees and elbows.

  "Yup." Ren nodded. She was wearing a bck training outfit, standing on her hands while doing splits with her legs in the air. "I'm not worried about him. He is strong and talented! The battles will only make him stronger. I'm more worried about my mother... She seems to be stuck at the eighth level and can't advance further."

  "Did you ever tell them about our methods?"

  "Tell them what? That I have advanced in the past half a dozen years to the sixth stage? And I can easily compare myself to someone in the seventh? I may even beat them if I use some of my new skills?"

  "Yeah, something like that. Why not?" Leinor nodded, tilting his head to the right.

  "I don't know…." Ren murmured, a bit conflicted, and Leinor saw she didn't want to hurt her mother's pride.

  "I think she would be proud of you, and you could help her."

  “I… yes… You are right. I'm overthinking it! Again!" Ren moaned, stopping her exercise before standing up.

  Now, being twelve years old, she has already grown into a beautiful girl, with a doll-like figure, silvery, long hair that has reached her waist, and amethyst-colored, bright eyes. She only stood at around 140 centimeters in height, while the now fourteen-year-old Leinor looked like a giant next to her, having already reached a height of 180 centimeters, with the appearance of a young adult. He was fit and handsome, thanks to his father's genes. His long hair was tied up behind him while his amber eyes looked gently at Ren, still maintaining his training position.

  "Tsk, you've grown again, no?" Ren snorted, looking at him, "Not fair, I'm still this small and ft! Honestly, I measure it every day, but nothing seems to grow. Nothing!" She sighed, frustratedly, checking out Leinor one more time. "What's the secret? Milk? Mushrooms?"

  "Nothing, Ren, maybe you have yet to reach your growth spurt, and I did. Two years ago, we were at the same height! You will grow, too, I'm sure of it."

  "Fuck." She cursed, pouting, "Maybe starting so early to train did have some adverse effects. What if I always stay this small?"

  Leinor only giggled at her foul words, as he had already gotten used to them, spending most of his days with Ren since that one rainy day. Soon, he had become the bck sheep of the royal family. A Prince who always snuck out, stayed out, and went home in the middle of the night, if he even did that. Not even Reignar was that presumptuous at his age...

  "So what!" He chuckled, "You are you. Who cares what others think? You will just smack them into the ground if they start speaking about your height."

  "Ahaha, true, you know me best~" she winked at him. "Anyway, how are things?"

  "Almost there." He answered, thinking a little, "A week, maybe, and I'll be able to catch up to you."

  "Amazing! Your affinity benefits from the more extreme methods, as I guessed."

  "But they hurt like hell, Ren… I don't like them!"

  "Crybaby."

  "Ugh…"

  "Anyway, that's good." She added, ignoring his grimaces, "I want to participate in the Emperor's Day competition."

  "Next month? Why?" He asked, surprised.

  "Because I just decided." She said smugly, "And you are right. I'll show off, and when my mother asks, I tell her everything! We now have sufficient experience and a nearly completed system. I'll consult with Mom, have her try it out, and soon we will complete the missing parts."

  "Mm. I support you, regardless of what comes." Leinor nodded after thinking about it.

  "Why not participate too?"

  "Nah, I'll just cheer you on from the sidelines." He answered, shaking his head, "That's enough for me. Plus, I don't want Father and Mother to find out. I do suspect that Father is onto something, but he keeps it for himself. Otherwise, throughout the years, he would've grounded me and not let me ruin my so-called reputation."

  "Reputation? Ruined? That's new to me." Ren giggled as the light in her eyes became brighter. "Tell me~!"

  "They think, since I'm from the imperial lineage, that I'm like my Third Brother and go out to have fun. You know... womanizing..."

  "Nyahahaha! Well, you do, but still! You're a virgin! Nyahahaha!" Ren ughed, spping her thighs, dropping all pretenses.

  "Why, you are not?" Leinor pouted for being teased.

  "Yes, but I'm a girl, two years younger than you. Your counterpoint is invalid. Bzzz! Wrong. No points. I won!"

  "Ahhh… come on, that was a good comeback!" He tried, but Ren just shook her head.

  "Nope. No effort. Lazy. Two out of five. Rejected! Try again ter!" Ren grinned while Leinor also burst into a hearty ugh.

  "So, why the celebratory tournament?" He asked, fixing his pose.

  "It's for the upcoming Two-thousandth-year celebration that comes in two years." Ren replied, counting on her fingers, "Those in the top 3 in the upcoming tournaments around the year and so will have a special reward after competing in the final one, held ter, as your Father announced."

  "So you didn't just decide, you thought about this!" Leinor shrugged, already guessing his future wife wasn't just deciding now... She had this in mind since the announcement was made.

  "Err… a little? But I was unsure until now... Anyway! I'll go in, mop the floor with the others, and then I'll pocket the special prize given out two years from now. Easy-peasy!"

  "What about Zern? He will join, too, no?" Leinor hummed, not trying to shoot Ren's idea down.

  "I think. Well, he is unlucky if he gets to fight me. I think he has reached the fifth level with our method. Maybe will get into the sixth by then. He is still a little slow, but his affinity is more... earthy. He needs to figure out how to advance on his own; I can't help him with that. I tried to assist him with my powers, but his affinity was the complete counter to mine, so it was a failed attempt. I couldn't send through enough force without hurting both of us..."

  "This is a big drawback of following our system, which is not fully ready yet. Still, I wouldn't do otherwise at all." Leinor said as he looked smilingly at her, "I am not worried, though. Zern will figure it out."

  "Well, we are pioneers; the difficulty is the highest for us, that's true!" she moaned as she stretched, feeling refreshed now that her mind had been freed from worrying. "Come, let's go for a round before a bath!"

  "I'll be on top now," Leinor added in a snap, dropping the bars and coming out from his training stance.

  "Hah! Now that was a good counter, four out of five!"

  "What will get me five out of five?" He asked, flexing his arms and legs, getting ready to fight as his aura changed and a pure, white haze surrounded him, radiating out of his endless-feeling lifeforce. Even some grass sprouted out from under the snow next to his legs as he stood there, barefoot. At the same time, Ren's figure started to be cloaked in violet lightning, causing the snow to melt below her feet.

  "To push me down, you crybaby!" she ughed as she shot out like a bullet, filling the courtyard with the rumbling sound of thunder as her feet met his elbow in the air.

  …….…..

  "Did something good happen? You're literally shining, Mom!" Ren giggled, but Anya ignored her daughter at the table and continued eating her breakfast.

  Next to Ren sat Leinor, while her parents sat opposite them. Xendar only coughed a little hearing her question, but continued to munch on his bread, throwing a look at her daughter.

  "So, you are basically living here now. When do you pn to move in? Usually, it's the other way around, but we can make an exception!" Xendar ughed, changing the subject, his eyes moving to his soon-to-be son-in-w, whom he had come to accept wholly in the past years.

  "Ugh, I think that would be pretty scandalous…" Leinor whispered, "Even Father wouldn't stay silent about that."

  "Bwahaha, I'd like to see his face, that's for sure!" Xendar cackled, "Come on, Son, just do it; I'll cover for you!"

  "He's right, you know!" Ren hummed, "You should move in. The guest room is basically yours already."

  "I agree," Anya decred, looking pretty calm about it.

  "I'll think about it..." Leinor nodded, looking touched and a bit shy, feeling his face reddening.

  "Father, when can I follow you to the battlefield?" Ren brought it up, asking something she was aiming to ask since hearing the news that Xendar would leave for the North.

  "Dream on!" Both of her parents answered at the same time.

  "Ugh… but-"

  "Enough. No means no. End of the discussion!" Xendar thundered, raising his voice.

  "Uuuu…" Ren moaned, puffing up her cheeks, sulking. "No fair..."

  "I told you not to ask the question..." Leinor tried to soothe her, patting her head.

  "Still… it would be the best training!" She pouted.

  "It's the battlefield, not the training ground, young dy." Anya expined with unexpected calmness, "The demon folk in the North are strong; their bodies have natural advantages over us. They are a greatly varied group of beings, comprising different animals that gained intelligence since the Camity, and are growing stronger with each passing year. They have unpredictable abilities, especially after they take human forms."

  "They can do that?" Ren asked, eyes shining.

  "Yes, they cultivate differently, but when a demon takes its human form, its strength is equal to a Harmony Realm expert." Xendar nodded. "The main problem is that they breed really, really fast, so when their numbers swell, they unch attacks against other territories for food and resources or just to trim their numbers. That's what is happening now. They don't care about the weather; whether it's winter or summer, it doesn't matter! Our luck is that the variants coming over are usually not capable of looking human. So, our regur army can block them."

  "Oh! Interesting, I'd really like to study them!" Ren yelped, dangling her legs in renewed curiosity.

  "You sound like my Eldest Brother, ahaha~!" Leinor said as he wiped his mouth while mentioning it.

  "The First Prince?" Ren asked, a bit surprised as she had never met any of the other princes. They were rarely even in town...

  "Yup. They always fascinated him," Leinor expined, "So he moved to the border region to study them. He wants to understand them and find a way to establish a connection in order to prevent these recurring periods of war and address the issue politically. The human-variants are smart... we should be able to do something about it. That is what he believes."

  "Sadly, most of the demon folks are simple-minded." Xendar reminded him, "A lot of them are not even smarter than livestock."

  “Mmm… what an interesting development…” Ren murmured, scratching her chin, while Leinor only smiled, knowing she already had some ideas for the future.

  …….…..

  In the end, Xendar left by the afternoon, silently, without anyone in the city being aware of it. It seemed the te and quiet departure was part of some kind of pn or ambush by the army, but Ren did not ask about it, even though her curiosity was piqued.

  "Hey, want to go on a date?" Ren asked suddenly as she and Leinor sat in the living room, listening to the fmes crackling in the firepce while it started to snow outside.

  "Sure."

  "Tsk, you are getting bolder." She gasped, clicking her tongue.

  "What, you expected me to shy away from a challenge?" Leinor grinned, leaning closer. "We can take a bath together if you wish."

  "Cheeky." She giggled, giving a peck on his face that finally drew some redness onto it. "I still won! You are nowhere as good at teasing as I am~!"

  "Cheater." He muttered, "You used your lips... Anyway...So, what's the pn? What do you really want to do?"

  "Well, Zern is on duty now. Why not go with him on patrol? We could have some real fights with the rats in the city."

  "Are you sure Lady Anya will be happy about that?"

  "She doesn't need to know…" She winked at him, "Also, we are just going on a date. There is nothing wrong with that."

  "Who brings his girlfriend on a date to beat up people?" Leinor sighed, but already stood up from the couch.

  "Ohoho, girlfriend, huh? When did I become one?" she giggled as she hopped up like a spring, looking excited.

  "Since you were born, thanks to my Father."

  "Touché, ding-ding-ding, you won one round. Congratutions! Consider a reward you would like to have. Tell me by Emperor's Day. You don't need to rush it!"

  "I can tell you now," he grabbed her hand, looking into her eyes. "I just want you always to be the same."

  "What a boring request," she said smilingly. "I'll deduct some points next time for this," she giggled as she winked at him, and soon both of them were out on the streets to find Zern.