The late-afternoon air was soft and golden when Kael finally pushed his chair back.

The others were still chatting over the last of the fish stew—Rue and Rina giggling as Druvarn tried to steal their food with his tiny paws, Lyra humming a little tune, and Evethra quietly refilling Kael's cup though he'd already stood up.

"I'll be back," Kael said lightly, brushing off invisible dust from his coat. "I still need to see a full circulation."

No one tried to stop him. They'd grown used to his whims by now.

But when he stepped outside, he heard calm footsteps behind him.

"I'll come with you," Alenia said, closing the door behind her.

Kael glanced back, his eyes gleaming. "You don't need to, you know."

"I know," she replied, smiling faintly. "But I don't like seeing you walk off alone."

They walked side by side down the dirt path that led past the huge tree at the center of the village.

The forest around them whispered gently, the air alive with the sound of birds and the soft rush of water.

Their steps were unusually slow, as it was taking them minutes to walk across the village.

The reason for that was Alenia, who kept staring at Kael's back.

Finally, without turning, the dragon said, "You don't have to worry. I won't eat you if you speak your mind."

That made Alenia stop mid-step. Her eyes softened—almost hesitant—before she sighed and resumed walking. "I figured you already know a lot about me… but there are some things I should say myself."

Kael raised a brow, amused. "Go on then."

"I'm… a succubus," she said quietly.

He smiled faintly. "I know."

"Yes, but I'm not like the others." Her tone steadied, earnest now. "Most succubi… feed on physical desire. I don't. I feed on emotions—dreams, specifically. When people sleep, I can enter their dreams and make them live the things they crave most. In return, I consume those dreams, and they strengthen me."

Kael listened silently, eyes half-lidded as they glimmered in the afternoon light.

He could already see everything she was talking about, and he could even see things she couldn't, such as her stats, which were quite high, reaching C-rank overall.

Still, he didn't stop her because it felt like the right thing to do.

Alenia, on the other hand, continued, her voice low. "The men I served in the brothel district never touched me. They only dreamt. I gave them the illusion they wanted… and when they woke, they believed they had found satisfaction. But the truth is, I was the one who took from them—pieces of their life force, their energy."

Her eyes clouded. "It made them weaker, yes. But they were cruel men. Thieves, slavers, traffickers. I never harmed anyone who didn't deserve it."

When she finished, Kael finally stopped and turned toward her, tilting his head with that easy, knowing smile.

"So that's what this was about," he murmured. "You wanted me to know you're not… what people would assume."

Her lips parted, but before she could speak, Kael said softly, "Alenia, I never saw you as a cheap woman."

Her breath caught.

He looked at her then—really looked. The sunset caught in his golden eyes, warm and steady.

"You think I couldn't tell? You carry yourself like someone who's seen too much and still chose to be kind," he shook his head. "If you were the kind of woman who became the street lady for power or greed, your eyes wouldn't look like that."

A quiet breeze stirred between them.

"You've got a big heart," Kael said with a faint grin, glancing at her breasts. "Too big, maybe. But it suits you."

Alenia chuckled softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're far too good with words, Kael."

"Occupational habit," he said with mock solemnity. "I probably used to charm dragons for a living in my past life."

She laughed—a real one this time, light and genuine.

They kept walking until the treeline opened up to the lake. The water shimmered like glass, reflecting the fading sun.

For a long while, neither spoke. Kael stood with his hands in his pockets, eyes on the horizon.

Then, quietly, Alenia said, "Thank you."

He turned slightly, his smile soft and lazy. "For what?"

"For making me feel like I don't have to explain myself anymore."

Kael chuckled under his breath. "Then I've done my job right."

The wind carried their laughter across the water, and for that brief, golden moment, the world felt peaceful—like both of them had left their burdens on the other side of the forest.

But Kael then moved as he needed to do what he had come out to do.

It didn't take long for Kael and Alenia to reach the far edge of the village.

The faint clatter of hammers and chisels echoed through the air—men and women were reinforcing wooden posts and marking new borders around the settlement.

Among them, a familiar figure stood out.

Ronan, the wolfman.

His fur-like hair glinted faintly silver under the dying light, his muscles flexing with every swing of the mallet.

He worked silently, sleeves rolled up, his expression calm yet vigilant—like a predator pretending to be tamed.

When Kael's footsteps crunched over the dirt, Ronan froze mid-swing. His sharp yellow eyes darted toward him instantly, instincts kicking in before reason could, as he tensed, his hair standing to an end.

After all, he could still remember the 'meatballs' from last night.

But Kael merely lifted a lazy hand.

"Relax," he said, his voice smooth and amused. "I'm not here to end your day early."

Ronan's muscles loosened slightly.

"…Right," he muttered, exhaling through his nose. He handed his tools to a nearby villager and approached, wiping sweat from his brow. "...Lord Kael."

"Hm, now, the reason I came up to you is..." Kael's golden eyes gleamed faintly as the wind stirred around them. "I need your help with something."

Ronan blinked, ears twitching once. "My help?"

"Yes," Kael said simply. "Come."

Ronan glanced at the other killers who were working to make the boundary just like him, and seeing their nervous eyes, he took a deep breath.

'If he wanted to kill me, he wouldn't need to take me somewhere alone,' was the only thought in his head.

Yes, Kael did say that he needed help, but Ronan couldn't imagine how he could be of any use.

Still, he followed.

A minute later, they stood in the quiet of the forest, a short distance away from the village.

Shafts of sunlight broke through the leaves, painting the ground in shifting gold. The faint hum of mana lingered in the air like invisible mist.

Ronan stood with his arms folded behind his back, his body tensed as he realized that there was no one close to them.

Even Alenia had stopped by the boundary, wanting to observe their work.

Still, he mustered up enough courage to speak. "...How can I help you, Lord Kael?"

Kael leaned casually against a tree trunk, arms folded, looking as though he'd wandered out here for a nap. "I need to see something. Your breathing technique—how it flows."

That caught Ronan off guard. "My… breathing technique?"

"Mm." Kael tilted his head. "I've been trying to understand the structure behind how mana circulates in this world. Seeing yours might help me fix a few problems the others are having."

Ronan frowned slightly. "The other killers?"

Kael nodded once, his tone softening. "I won't tell the details right now, but with your help, I could get a breakthrough."

Kael wasn't jesting when he said that because among the villagers, Ronan was the strongest, and Kael was sure that his breathing technique was something special, as the wolfman was a B-ranker with an A-rank stat.

The wolfman, on the other hand, was silent for a few seconds, his gaze flickering toward Kael's calm, unreadable face.

Then he nodded. "As you wish."

He sat cross-legged on the forest floor, spine straight, claws resting lightly on his knees. The air around him began to still.

Kael's eyes sharpened, golden light tracing their edges.

Ronan drew in a deep breath—slow, measured.

His chest expanded as the faint shimmer of bluish mana seeped through his skin, curling like mist around him.

Each exhale spreads that light outward, like ripples across calm water.

Kael's gaze followed the invisible current—the way it entered Ronan's lungs, then spiraled downward through his core before branching into dozens of delicate channels.

He could almost hear it, like the soft rhythm of a heartbeat made of light.

The ground beneath them stirred slightly as the air thickened with power. The forest responded—the leaves trembled, the air pulsed once, twice.

Kael's brow furrowed faintly.

The flow wasn't simple absorption. It was predatory. The mana didn't merge—it hunted and devoured the weaker strands around it before merging into Ronan's core.

"…So that's how you do it," Kael murmured, more to himself than to Ronan.

Ronan's eyes opened briefly, glowing faintly blue. "What do you mean?"

Kael smiled faintly. "You don't tame mana. You make it kneel."

The wolfman scratched his head as he didn't understand what Kael meant, but he still answered, his voice rough but proud. "That's the way I was taught."

As the final cycle of his breathing came to an end, Ronan exhaled a long, misty breath that shimmered in the light before fading away.

The forest fell silent again.

Kael straightened, his expression thoughtful. "Interesting."

He turned his head slightly, his expression unreadable yet faintly amused. "You've given me exactly what I needed."

Ronan blinked, still catching his breath. "What, my lord?"

Kael smiled—a slow, knowing smile that carried both gratitude and mischief. "Inspiration."

Then he turned back toward the village, golden eyes glinting like sunlight through the trees, already lost in thought about what he'd just seen.

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