Morning had arrived, marked by rays of sunlight beginning to pierce through the crevices of the windows.
The people in the hall were all preparing to continue the long overland journey back to the Astoria Kingdom's territory. The sound of footsteps and light conversation filled every corner of the room, creating the typical morning bustle before a large group departed.
Yet amidst the busyness, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent for a moment. Everyone's attention was captivated when Arvin stepped into the center of the room and abruptly announced something important to them all.
"This morning, we will part ways!" Arvin spoke in a loud and firm voice, echoing and bouncing off the hall walls. "Because starting today, I will go with Kylen to the Flamort Kingdom to settle our affairs. So, the rest of you will return to the Astoria Kingdom first with Davin's help! By using his gate, he can cut the route and make your journey back much shorter!"
Instead of feeling surprised by the sudden announcement, everyone in the room welcomed the King of Terror's idea with highly enthusiastic cheers. There was not a single look of disappointment.
They actually felt incredibly relieved. Imagining the overland journey that usually took a long time, it could now be drastically cut down using Davin's spatial magic. They could return to the Astoria Kingdom much faster than the originally planned time.
....
A few moments later, the busyness shifted to the outside area. In the front yard of the shelter house, everyone had positioned themselves and entered their respective horse carriages, including all of Arvin's spouses.
Now, the only ones left standing outside the carriages were Arvin, Davin, Kylen, and the people from the Flamort Kingdom's representative group.
Standing not far from the carriage at the very front of the line, Davin began to close his eyes.
The brownish-white-haired youth concentrated his mana flow very calmly. The air in front of him began to distort. Slowly but surely, he tore through space and created a magical gate large enough for the horse carriages to pass through safely.
"Please move!" Davin called out loudly, giving the signal to the coachmen in the front row.
Hearing that instruction, the horses were slowly spurred. The carriages in the front row began to move forward, crossing the purplish-black glowing portal and disappearing as they entered the gate.
While the horse carriages moved forward one by one to enter the gate in turn, Arvin walked slowly approaching Davin, who was still maintaining the stability of his magic. Once they were facing each other at a close distance, Arvin immediately leaned his body forward and brought his face right next to his eighth spouse's ear.
"Please tell all of them to immediately investigate every forest around the capital two days after you arrive at the capital." Arvin whispered in a very serious tone, giving a secret command. "If during that investigation you find a cave or something that feels strange and odd, just destroy it completely without a trace. But remember, do it cleanly and do not attract the attention of the people around you!"
"Yes, My King, I will execute your command." Davin whispered, nodding slowly, answering his husband's order with full obedience. "Should we move and spread out in groups?"
"Yes, you must move in a team formation to be safer!" Arvin replied gently, ensuring his spouse understood how important this mission was. "Oh right, before that, could you make one small gate in front of me right now? I will send the bottles of Elixir of Archmage straight into our room for all of you to drink later."
Without thinking twice, Davin immediately manipulated his mana again. He instantly opened a very small gate right in the middle of the space between them, positioned highly concealed from the sight of everyone around them.
Arvin reached out one hand toward the surface of the swirling gate. In a flash, he took out nine bottles of Elixir of Archmage from his dimensional storage space. And smoothly, all the potion bottles were directly swallowed falling into the gate and landed in their room.
However, right after the last bottle went in, Arvin suddenly gave a mischievous smirk right in front of Davin's face, as if he had just realized a highly shocking fact.
"Hey cute Davin, tell me, how could you know the exact coordinates of our room to transfer all those potions?" Arvin asked teasingly, pretending to investigate his spouse. "Could it be... when Alrian and I were making love in the room that time, you secretly peeked at the two of us?"
The question thrown with a teasing tone instantly made Davin's calm face flush hot. In his silence, a deep crimson hue immediately spread to fill his cheeks.
Damn it, why would he suddenly ask about that at a time like this? Davin thought in panic, cursing his husband who sometimes asked questions at the wrong time.
Seeing the physical and facial reaction shown by his eighth spouse, Arvin naturally already knew the definite answer. He merely chuckled softly.
"No need to blush so shyly at me." Arvin said casually. His hand lifted and directly patted the brownish-white-haired youth's right shoulder gently, transmitting a sense of comfort. "Be patient just a little while longer. After Kylen and Dylan are done, your turn will definitely arrive."
Thump-thump! Thump-thump!
The youth's heartbeat pounded so fast that it felt like it was hammering against his chest cavity. He perfectly understood the meaning of those words.
He was currently Arvin's spouse, and that meant they were absolutely guaranteed to soon formalize their relationship and be bound to each other by the Life-and-Death contract forever.
Davin was indeed incredibly impatient waiting for that moment, but his panic and embarrassment from being teased just now overpowered everything else.
"S-shut up!" Davin replied, flustered, subconsciously raising the volume of his voice slightly to cover his nervousness. "Just finish your affairs with Kylen in Flamort as quickly as possible and return home immediately!"
Seeing his spouse's face looking so cute when panicked and flustered, Arvin's hand could not stay still. He gently pinched Davin's flushed cheek.
However, instead of slapping it away or trying to release the gentle pinch on his cheek, Davin actually greatly enjoyed the simple affectionate treatment.
"Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely return as soon as possible." Arvin said gently, feeling utterly endeared by Davin's cute facial expression. He stared intently into the youth's eyes. "I leave all the affairs and whatever is in the capital to all of you while I am away."
Davin returned the gaze and nodded with full conviction, perfectly understanding the weight of the responsibility his husband had given him.
Not long after, the final carriage containing Allen and several other people moved forward and stopped right next to them, waiting for the portal creator to board.
Realizing the time had come, the youth let go of his husband's hand that was still on his face with a very gentle touch.
"We will be going now, My King!" Davin said as he turned his body, walking slowly toward the open carriage door. Before getting on, he glanced back to look at Arvin one more time. "I and everyone else will be waiting for your return at home."
"Yes, see you later, Davin!" Arvin replied, waving his hand.
A moment after the youth entered and the carriage door was shut tightly, the coachman immediately spurred his horses. The final carriage moved smoothly into the dimensional gate, before finally the glowing gate shrank rapidly and disappeared completely without a trace from the sight of everyone remaining in the meadow.