"The beauty of ignorance," Kaya shook her head. "Let me tell you a story. But first tell me. Have you ever heard of the elves? I'm sure they teach that in commoner school, right?"

Soren nodded. He had even read a book made by one.

The physiology of Eldritch Souls.

It was the book that guided him on how the Eldritch souls took the form of creatures on earth.

"Allies of the Almace Empire." He replied, still in his crouched position, hands hugging his knees on the hospital bed facing her.

"Yes. They are." She took her candy bar from the desk and munched on it as she told her story.

"The elves are a very unique race. One that the human race would have never found if not for the invasion of the Eldritch into our world.

Nevertheless, the elves have a rather unique mating custom that is not only accepted but, by structure, would be frowned upon by a lot of humans.

Well, at least most." She shook her head, taking another bite.

"Because of their terrible birth rate, they are very encouraged to have multiple partners. In fact, they call them pods.

A group of four individuals, all romantically involved with one another, free of the constraint of jealousy.

In fact, I hear they are pods that get entangled with one another."

Soren frowned at this.

"Ahhh, got you." She said, smirking. "That look tells me all I need to know. You are judging.

But don't worry, I'll tell you more.

A pod that has fewer than three members is seen as being incapable and is ostracized by society.

Much like how our society frowns at those engaged in the oldest profession known to man." She winked at him.

Soren blushed in understanding. "Brothels?"

"Yes. Those. You know, you should see a pod. They are very clingy with one another. Regardless, it goes to say that an elven woman or man could come home to meet her mates having another, and it will not move her emotionally.

You see, to them, they would rather share their partners than not have them and be frowned at by their society—losing a partner is even worse.

Mourning a loss could effectively take months and years, depending on the mate's status."

Kaya finished her candy, and then into her hair she went again—bringing out another bar.

Okay now, Soren was wondering if there was a black hole for sweets in the woman's hair.

"Now tell me, do you know about the Jabari tribe?"

Soren shook his head. "No."

"Well, they are a very barbaric bunch. It's no wonder the empire does not want commoners knowing about them just yet.

Like the elves, they are a tribe of people we only came to know when the glass broke.

However, unlike the elves, they have very, very strict requirements for finding a mate.

The process is seen as holy and is even sealed by combat that could last days.

They are a people that mate with only one partner for life. And trust me," she leaned forward a bit, her face carrying seriousness for the first time since she began.

"They do not mess with their mates. If a Jabari person finds their mate cheating, death of the mate is the only way to cleanse their honor.

And they will hunt that mate themselves and kill them, as well as the person they cheated with.

It's a very fierce display of love.

Even more, when said mate is dead, they will never take on another mate again for the rest of their lives.

This is regardless of the reason for the death.

Again, I have met a few of them. And their love, as brutal as it is, is so... beautiful."

She observed Soren's expression. He cringed again at the thought.

She did not mind this. It was a normal expression to have.

"Now tell me, Soren. Which of these two societies love wrongly?"

Soren paused, mind trying to figure out an answer to the question she was asking.

"Go on, think. Tell me. Which love is right, and which is wrong?

The elves that don't mind sharing as long as they can still have their partners or the Jabari that refuse to share and would rather pick death."

For a while, Soren found that he was too confused to choose.

"The Jabari?" He whispered, asking himself if he had picked the right one.

"Why?" Kaya asked, observing him closely.

"I don't know; is it not wrong to kill a person simply for cheating?"

"Wrong!" She stated aggressively. "You are not just wrong; you are also arrogant, selfish, and self-centered."

Soren was taken aback by those words. But Kaya was not done talking.

"Tell me, Soren." She pointed with the candy. "Who the hell do you think you are?

Who the hell do you think you are to judge how other people live their lives and love? Let me ask you. Is it your love?"

The questions came down like a hammer.

And Soren slowly came to an understanding of what she was saying.

She could see the realization shine in his eyes.

"Now you're getting it." She smirked. "The Elves and the Jabari are mere examples. But humans are not so different either.

Each and every one of us loves differently.

They are people that would not mind their partners cheating as long as they come back to them.

The same way there are others that would rather see their partners die than share them."

"The color of love..." Soren muttered.

She nodded. "Yes. The color of love—shaped by our values, plastered on us by the environment we call home.

While it determines what color our love would be, we should also remember that environment differs from person to person.

And the little time it does not, it is still painted by experience and our passion.

The best we can do is either find someone that is painted like us or someone whose color of love we can accept."

Soren nodded in realization. He remembered Slacker's words when he closed Vinegar's eyes.

He also remembered his gaze. Just because they killed Vinegar did not mean that they did not love her.

It was just that their color of love allowed it. The same way his own color of love could never permit such a thing.

"People love differently." He muttered. And then another question came. "What's my definition of love?"

(Author's note: Okay, guys. A peep into the kind of world our MC will eventually enter. And a moral lesson for us. Never forget, love is unique to the individual that owns it.)

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