"So, is there something I can help you with?" Ume asked, averting her eyes. "I also need some of those Soul Stones."

"It depends on how much you want," I replied, putting the lotus crystal back into the inventory.

"Umm, to reach the three-tailed form, I need at least a thousand kilograms of Mid-Tier Grade 3 Soul Stones," she murmured and then immediately blurted, "but I won't take advantage of our relationship. I will do whatever you ask of me in return."

I moved closer to her, raised her face by the chin, and whispered, "That's a very bold statement you just said, my fiancée. Are you sure you will do whatever I ask?"

"As long as it's not something inappropriate," she pouted.

I moved even closer, our eyes just a few inches away from each other.

"Inappropriate? Just like?"

"L-like what you asked of me yesterday and what you are doing right now," she mumbled, pushing me back.

"Come with me, I will show you something," I said with a warm smile, grabbed her hand, and took her to the basement's second floor.

---

"So the key I gave you was for this door?" she asked, touching the patterns on the closed metal door.

"Can you understand these patterns?"

"I can, but I shouldn't. If I try to comprehend them at my current strength, my mind might get corrupted."

In an instant, I placed my hand over her eyes and ordered, "Then don't stare at the door. What if you subconsciously try to learn them?"

"I'm not a child, nor am I stupid—"

"Still, I insist," I said, stopping her from protesting further.

Drawing the key out of the inventory, I unlocked the door, letting the intense brightness from the Soul Stones fill the basement.

"Take a look," I said, slowly removing my hand from her eyes.

For a moment, no word left her mouth as she stared into the huge open cave surrounded by walls of Mid-Tier Soul Stone crystals from all sides.

"Hehe, she must be too stunned to say anything," I thought inwardly as my face gleamed with a proud smile.

After almost ten seconds, she asked, her voice serious, "Was it you who killed that beast?"

Her eyes were locked on the pieces of Drathion's corpse spread all over the right corner of the cave.

"Is she mad because I killed him?" I wondered.

Drathion was also a beast from the ancient era, so it might be possible that Ume was acquainted with this snake.

"Did I make a mistake by killing it without telling her?" I gulped and then murmured, "Yes, it was me."

Without saying anything, she stepped forward, reached the place where Drathion's body lay, and moved her hand inside its body with a squelching sound.

"Ughh, what are you doing?" I grimaced hard. "The snake's blood is poisonous."

She twisted her hand inside, looking for something, pouring out the blood and its internal organs, almost making me puke.

Her autopsy went on for several minutes, filling the place with a nauseating reek and a grotesque sight. It finally stopped after she pulled out a human-head-sized cracked ball from its body.

"A beast of the ancient era with a corrupted core," she murmured, staring at the black ball. "Its realm was dropped to Greater Soul Beast when it was killed."

"You could have just asked me if you wanted to find out its realm," I said, one hand locked on my nose because of the repulsive stench.

"The beast was of a higher rank than yours, yet you fought it without even informing me." She hissed, breaking the core into pieces with the clutch of her hand. "What if something had happened to you?"

"It wasn't that strong, Ume—"

"Don't take me for a fool," she snapped, cutting me mid-sentence. "Its scale, body, and skin—everything clearly shows that it was a formidable foe for an Awakener of your realm. You must be thinking that I'm so unreliable that you didn't even bother to inform me?"

Ume didn't spare a single glance at all those crystals because she was worried I fought that snake alone.

Her worry for me really moved my heart and gave me a deep sense of comfort.

I held her hand, which was showing signs of infection from the poison, and said in a calm voice, "Sweetie, I'm really happy that you care about me, but that beast truly wasn't that strong. Look, it couldn't even lay a single scratch on me."

Well, that was a half lie. Its fang had made a huge hole in my forearm, which I was hiding inside my blazer.

She would have nagged me to no end if she found out about my injury, so I decided not to tell her about it.

"Still, from now on you must tell me whenever you decide to fight a dangerous foe," Ume murmured, calming down after realising I was unhurt.

"I understand."

I patted her head gently with one hand and grabbed her poisoned arm with the other as I continued, "Silly, look what you've done to your arm."

"Oh, don't worry about it."

With a faint glow in her eyes, several plum petals emerged from her poisoned arm and wrapped the wound inside them.

After a moment, the petals turned black and vanished into thin air, with her spotless arm emerging from within.

"Whoah, so you can use these petals to cure yourself as well," I exclaimed.

"Do you think these petals are only meant for explosion?"

"I would be lying if I say I don't."

Scratching my temple, I stated in an awkward tone, "Y-you are quite a bomb yourself, so…"

"How impudent!" Ume snapped, her face laced with a pink hue like her petals.

Her adorable fluster involuntarily brought a smile to my face as I said, "At least take a look at these crystals. They were the reason why I brought you here."

"Oh my! How many Soul Stones are these!" she gasped, her focus finally shifting to the crystals.

"Hehehe~ enough for you to reach the Mid-Tier Realm," I boasted.

"S-so what do you want in return?"

"Come on, Ume, you're hurting my feelings there," I hissed. "I'm your future husband. Why would I take anything from you when the whole of you is already mine?"

"H-husband?" she stammered, her eyes rolling, her face fuming with intense blushes, making me want to tease her further.

My face gleamed with a cheeky smirk as I said, "Now that I think about it, I do want something."

"You can't take your words back!" she blurted, clearly knowing I was about to ask for something improper.

"Hahaha, I'm just kidding, Ume. I don't need anything besides those blushes and that attractive smile on your face."

Being overwhelmed by my teasing, she pushed me out of the cave, saying she needed to be alone to focus on her breakthrough.

"It might take me about one to two months to successfully form my third tail. I mustn't be disturbed in that time," Ume said, standing at the entrance of the cave. "I will put the Soul Stones Jambavan and Vyaghra need for their breakthrough outside the gate. You may collect them tomorrow."

"As you wish, my queen," I said, giving her a gentle hug. "Focus on your breakthrough; I will be waiting for you here."

Well, that's what I said, but I had no idea that I would be needing her sooner than I thought, as a huge calamity was about to befall me.

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