"Give me some credit. If that was the case, I'd be humping you right this moment. Look at me, ready to engage in combat at a moment's notice."

"… I'm oh so amazed by your self-control, boyfriend." Luna's tone was full of sarcasm.

Kaiden chuckled, always having a good time when talking with his adorable gamer girl. "You've got nothing to feel inferior about," he declared, giving her a firm squeeze for emphasis.

Luna swatted his hand away at last. "I'm not feeling inferior!" she announced with a decisive tone. "I got over that already. I have a damn sexy body and nothing could make it hotter, especially not unneeded fat."

Kaiden gave a nod of overwhelming agreement. "That's my girl."

Luna rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth moved upward. She, too, loved the rapport she'd built with Kaiden. The girl loved it when she had the chance to speak with him on their lonesome, without the needy chicks getting in the way.

Whenever that happened, she had the time of her life and made many memories she thought fondly of.

"Let me guess, that does not mean you'll stop calling my space babe a fat cow."

"Of course not. She needs to be reminded of the fact that she is walking fat, created with the sole intention of birthing a dozen children and keeping an entire village fed with her twin milk factories."

Kaiden couldn't help but sigh. Of course, the two kittens would not stop hissing at each other.

"I agree with you, by the way. Bastet surprises me as well. She's been an aloof woman, especially when interacting with other humans who were not part of the harem. Yet she seemed to take a liking to Naira instantly."

Kaiden nodded with his eyes lingering on Bastet and the girl ahead. "It might have to do with Bastet finding something familiar in her. So far, she's only dealt with humans from the modern world. She's watched videos, learned some of the culture, all that - but it's still a very different rhythm. Too fast, too loud for someone who was living inside a desert dungeon mere weeks ago. With us, she feels at home, but with strangers? It's a different story."

He turned his attention toward Naira. "That girl's upbringing is probably a lot closer to Bastet's instinctive roots. A simpler life, a smaller community, close to nature. It makes sense she'd feel more at ease around her."

Luna followed his gaze. Naira's clothing was made from treated hides and patterned cloth, stitched with bone beads and colored thread. Her feet were wrapped in thin leather sandals, her hair braided and tied with feathers.

Compared to Bastet's desert-born attire, the Arabian-themed harem-style clothes, which she greatly preferred to wear over Western ones, the similarities were easy to spot - the natural materials, the pride in craftsmanship, the colorful design and decorations, not trying to blend into the crowd one bit.

"… You might be right," Luna admitted quietly.

"Of course I am. When have I been wrong?"

His arrogant words were met head-on with a sly smirk. "Should I bring out the list?"

"Let's move on, shall we? How does it feel to be excluded from the girl group? If you only kept your lips from sputtering nonsense, Naira wouldn't be reserved toward you."

"I'm good, thanks. The chicks can continue their talks without me; I am busy bantering with my boyfriend."

Naira suddenly stopped walking, freezing mid-stride. The girl's body went tense, and her head turned sharply toward the trees ahead.

Before Kaiden could ask, a shape dropped from the branches. Diaz landed in a crouch, blades already drawn. "We've got company. We're being surrounded. I count at least twelve."

Kaiden's expression hardened. The teasing tone vanished as if it never existed. "Positions."

The group moved instantly.

Kaiden raised his voice, clear and steady. "We are with the Awakened Association of the United States of America! Attacking us means attacking a sovereign faction under government protection!"

He lifted a hand, showing his empty palm. "We're here to help. Nothing more. There's a monster outbreak in this area, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about! We're Marked Ones tasked with monster elimination!"

The forest answered with the sharp pull of bowstrings. Figures revealed themselves from the undergrowth. These were men and women with painted faces and tanned skin, wearing woven leathers and carrying bows or spears. Their eyes held the same wariness as wolves cornered in their own den.

A tall man stepped forward. Tattoos were covering his chest and arms. His long black hair was tied back with beads, and his voice was firm. "You are not welcome here, outsiders. The Ohanari Tribe does not need your help. Turn back at once."

Kaiden's gaze met his squarely. "Is that truly the case? I came across more than a few corpses on the way here."

The words landed like stones. A few archers exchanged uneasy glances. The tattooed man's jaw tightened. "The leader and the elders forbade contact with outsiders. We will not defy their word."

That was when Naira stepped forward from behind Bastet. Her hands trembled and she nearly fell over from pure anxiety, but the girl managed to steady herself. Then, she looked back at Bastet with tender eyes and quoted,

"Drastic times call for drastic measures."

The words hung in the air.

A few of the natives gasped. Then came a chorus of voices and sharp whispers.

"Naira?! Have you gone mad?" one woman shouted. "You betrayed the leader!"

"I betrayed no one," Naira said firmly. "I only bent the rules when they needed to be bent. I chose to save my mother instead of letting monsters tear her apart. If that makes me a traitor, then I am one."

Hearing her words, the men and women shifted uneasily, with the lines in their faces softening. One by one, the bowstrings loosened. A few weapons lowered. The sound of creaking wood and rustling grass filled the silence that followed.

They, too, felt similar distress in recent days. Many of them even lost family.

Finally, the tattooed man exhaled through his nose. He looked from Naira to Kaiden's group, then nodded once toward the trees.

"Follow me. The leader will decide what to do with you."

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