According to Feralin and Gajendra, all the beasts in Vyoman had taken an oath that they wouldn't transform into their beast forms until their goddess returned. As soon as they realized that Ume was the goddess they were waiting for, they instantly transformed and greeted her. This was their way of showing the utmost respect to Ume.

In a couple of minutes, Ume returned to normal and her tails disappeared. She was trying to hide it, but I noticed beads of sweat appearing on her face.

"She must have pushed herself to release that much Soulforce," I murmured inwardly but decided not to say anything in front of the group.

"Yours Truly, we aren't deserving of being your disciples," Gajendra said, turning to Jambavan. "We are unworthy of this grand title."

"Hah! Ay don't care about that," Jambavan scoffed. "Like that brat said, Ay'll just play around with ya until Ay get bored."

The group's focus turned to me, and Feralin murmured, taking a big gulp, "The lord in the city with blonde and black hair and golden eyes must be the God of Hunt and Stealth—Lord Vyaghra. So which god are you, Sir Morningstar, nya?"

"M-me?" I stuttered. "I'm not a god. I'm a human—or a beast. Sigh… I'm not even sure what I am—"

While I was murmuring, Ume spoke up, grabbing my hand, her voice firm, "He is the person who released us from the Forest, and he is also my betrothed."

An exaggerated gasp escaped from Gajendra and Feralin's mouths upon hearing Ume's announcement.

"Many congratulations on your engagement, Goddess Gumiho!!"

"Goddess, we shall return to the Beast Kingdom and let all the beasts know about the divine return of the ancient gods, hrmm," Gajendra said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Beast Kingdom?" Ume asked, raising her eyebrow. "Have the humans and beasts separated themselves by borders again?"

"G-goddess, after your departure one millennium ago, humans began ruling the western continent and… the discrimination against the beasts increased. So the beasts left the western continent and established the Beast Kingdom on the eastern continent with an empty throne waiting for you to guide us again."

Ume's eyes glowed and her visage turned serious as she demanded, "But I heard that the Emperor of this era treated beasts equally. You dare lie to me?"

Gajendra and Feralin almost choked from the raw fear they felt from Ume's words.

"Th-this Emperor has only ascended the throne fifty years ago. He is the one who treated beasts like his own people, and it was because of him that some beasts like us returned to the western continent. If he were the emperor back then, the beasts would have never left the western continent."

Gajendra blurted out, trying to explain as fast as he could, even forgetting his dialect.

Ume's Soulforce calmed and her eyes returned to normal.

"I won't be going to the Beast Kingdom. I have matters to resolve here."

"As you wish, Goddess Gumiho," the two replied, daring not to question her.

As their godly conversation came to an end, Ume took out two space rings and threw one each toward Jambavan and Vyrion.

"Jambavan, go to the city in the west and break this ring once you reach there, and you five go to the other city and do the same within ten days."

They grabbed the rings mid-air and nodded, and as they were about to move, I spoke up.

"Wait a moment. Don't try to do anything funny because I didn't force you to take the Soul Oath. You realize that you eventually have to return here to pick your fifth member, right?"

The group immediately flinched upon hearing my warning.

"H-how do you know about the fifth member?" Vyrion stammered, his eyes widening.

"You don't need to know how. Just keep in mind that I do."

Vyrion tightened his fist in frustration, but before he could say anything, Feralin replied, "You are supported by our goddess. We would never dare to betray you."

When the group left, Jambavan stretched his legs and asked, "Yer Majesty, how soon d'you want me to reach the city?"

"You may take your time and enjoy your journey. Just reach there before the month's end."

A faint, excited smile appeared on his face as he bolted away toward the west.

As soon as he left, Ume leaned on me, taking heavy breaths.

I held her by the shoulder, wiped the sweat from her forehead with my sleeve, and said softly, "You shouldn't push yourself like this."

"It's fine since I have you to take care of me."

"Silly…" I smiled, tapping her nose. "Should we rest for a bit before entering the city?"

She nodded in agreement, so the two of us moved to one of the boundary trees of the forest.

I sat on the ground, my legs extended forward and my back leaning against the tree.

Ume sat between my thighs, her back resting against my chest. She grabbed my hands and placed them on her stomach and fell asleep holding them there.

Seeing her sleeping so soundly, my eyes slowly closed, and I also drifted into sleep.

. . .

"I'm sorry I couldn't visit you for so long. They didn't let me see you. You must have been lonely. Look, I brought someone to meet you."

"Grandma, who is this?"

"He is your Uncle Raj."

"Why is Uncle Raj not speaking to us?"

"H-he must be angry at us because… sniff… we didn't come sooner."

"Uncle Raj, please don't be angry at Inayat. Inayat promises to come every day and play with you."

"Listen to your little niece… sob-sob… Raj. Your niece Inayat has already turned four. It has been five years since you started sleeping like this. Don't you feel… sob-sob… pity for us? How long do you want your Maa to suffer?"

"Hng-hng… Uncle Raj is bad. He made Grandma cry. I won't talk to Uncle Raj!"

. . .

"No-no, wait… Please… don't cry, Maa…" I murmured.

"Maa? You were having a dream about your mother?" Ume asked, looking at me with a sad visage.

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