Outside the mansion...

Muku and Raya suddenly appeared out of empty space.

"Hey! What the hell! We had to make sure that it was dead first!" Muku shouted at Raya as soon as they appeared.

She had acted too quickly before so he couldn't say anything.

"Come on. Both of us were there. There was literally not even the slightest aura from that thing left. So why are you still so moody? In fact, fine. You go inside. I'll go back and check freaking troublesome human" Raya replied as calmly as she could but she whispered the last part when she cursed Muku.

Without waiting for him to reply she was gone.

".... I heard that you damn brat" Muku spoke to himself then turned around to walk into the mansion.

He was mad at Raya for what she said since he also believed Legion was gone. He just wanted to be a hundred percent certain...

Anyway, he didn't get too far through the mansion gates before he saw the girls running to receive him.

The gesture was honestly a waste of energy on their part, but he couldn't help but smile.

He had missed such gestures actually. They made him feel that he was really back home. And that feeling was the best in the world...

....

Back at the battle sight...

"Whoa! I really did some damage here, huh?... Looks like a lake is already forming. Sigh, the things I do for that dumb soul-link" Raya spoke to herself then...

Plop!

She jumped into the huge hole which was already halfway filled with water despite the little time it had been since they left.

The reason for this was that they had exposed an underground river, so there was more than enough water to accomplish such a feat...

And so, Raya began her search for any of Legion's remains. And just as she guessed. There was nothing left...

The little hole from before had long been closed. There was zero evidence of its existence left after the water covered everything up.

Instead of immediately going back. The dragon girl decided to chill in the lake for a bit.

Not only would that make it seem like she was thorough in her search. But it would give a much-needed break from Muku.

Of course, this was after scanning the surroundings and not catching any signatures from R5s.

Even then, she had her teleportation on "speed dial", ready to escape at any moment's notice if a rank 5 beast showed up. She was in no shape to fight at the moment after all...

....

Back at the mansion...

Everyone soon went inside and took their seats.

"So, tell us. How was it? Well, we can guess that it was tough from all the noise we heard, the time it took for you to return and how tired you look. But still, we need details" Audrey spoke first.

"Sure, I'll tell you everything. However, Emily..." Muku replied.

"No need to say anything more. I've gotten you" Emily replied in a random gangster accent then snapped her fingers before painting at the kitchen like a mafia boss.

".... Sigh..." Elsa looked at her quietly for a moment before rolling her eyes then sighing.

She then got up and headed for the kitchen.

"Umm... What's going on here?" Muku asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing much. We played a game while waiting for you and she lost. So she's just fulfilling the bet's requirement. Which is listening to one of the winner's commands without refusal as long as it's reasonable. And I thought I'd have a little fun with it. Hehe," Emily replied.

"Oh. No wonder you were so eager. Anyway, I'll start while Elsa brings the food..." Muku replied in an understanding voice then began telling the girls about the battle.

There was no need to hold anything back so he told them everything.

From his encounter with Lewis's team, and everything else which happened. Of course, he emphasised how he gave them a chance to leave but they didn't take it. Then how Legion was made. To how he almost lost his life to the creature and Raya had to take care of it.

The part about how he almost died really surprised the girls. It was really rare for such a thing to happen to Muku.

In fact, all the times they knew in which he almost lost his life involved Monarchs or that one backlash from his bloodline... Then again, from what he said and what they knew, it was clear that Legion was the product of a Monarch's hard work. So maybe it was understandable. But still, the fact that Muku almost died just after coming back, unsettled them all. Muku had to take a few minutes to calm them down before they relaxed again.

Elsa brought his meal during the talk and he ate it as he continued. He became more energetic in his speech after the first bite and his eyes glowed with happiness.

This showed how much he had missed Emily's cooking. It was interesting how what she made was way better than what he could make even if it was essentially just roasting meat.

Maybe it was her phoenix flames which made it taste better.

Emily's face glowed in happiness even more than Muku's when she saw how much he enjoyed the meal.

Apparently, she really liked seeing the man she loved enjoying her food... Then again, most girls are like that.

"Well... At least it all worked out in the end" Audrey commented after Muku finished telling them everything.

"Yeah. That's all that matters" Muku seconded her.

"You know, I just realised something. When you were gone. Nothing too major happened. However, on the day you returned, we were attacked by two R5s. And one of them almost killed you too... My conclusion on the matter is that you Mr Muku might be cursed..." Layla suddenly interjected.

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! What the heck do you mean I'm cursed? Neither of those creatures was my fault! It's you who attracted both. How am I to blame?! How could you so easily slander me like that?" Muku was caught off guard by Layla's words to the point that he almost choked on the meat he was eating.

However, he didn't take it lying down as he fervently defended himself. How dare she try to pin their horrible luck on him?

He wasn't the one who attracted the Fishman's attention nor the one Tactoa was chasing.

All he did was save the girls from the messes they caused like the proper gentleman he was. Yet there she was saying that it was his fault with a straight face.

If he knew that things were going to end up like this, he would have let the Fishman bite off Layla's hand first before interfering.

Maybe then the shameless girl would know whose fault it was!

"I know we that technically..." Layla wanted to say more.

"Shut up! There are no technicalities involved! Hmph! To think that even you Layla have contracted Jade-disease! In fact, I refuse to take this lying down. I'm going to sleep" Muku interrupted Layla in an exaggeratedly angry voice then rose from his seat before walking away.

The girls gave him odd looks as he walked away without saying anything.

"... If you wanted to sleep you should have just said so... Why make a scene to justify it?" Layla spoke in a low voice as Muku walked up the stairs.

Whether he heard it or not, they didn't know since he didn't even pause or look back.

Hope looked at Muku's receding back for a bit before running after him.

She had delayed because she was unsure if she should follow him given how it seemed like he wanted to be alone so that he could sleep.

But then she realised that she was his beloved little sister, so she didn't have to respect his personal space or time!

"Ah!" Hope screamed as something pulled her back.

That something was a crimson thread from Audrey.

"At least let him fall asleep before going. I know you well enough to know that if I let you go now, he won't be able to sleep. However, if he sleeps, you can't care to wake him up..." Audrey explained herself as more threads attached themselves to Hope before lifting her up and bringing her back.

Surprisingly enough, wool-thin blood threads were strong enough to lift a human up.

Anyway, Hope was carefully placed back in her seat before the threads retreated.

"... Fair enough" Hope was unwilling, but she knew that Audrey made sense.

And so, she did as she was told... Not like she could leave without poisoning everyone present first anyway. And it would be too extreme to do such a thing. Plus that would get her punished by Muku, something she never wanted to experience from seeing how much Jade and Raya feared the punishment despite being punished differently.

Which made it obvious that no matter how Muku punished you, it would definitely hurt...

.....

In Jade's room...

Muku lay peacefully on Jade's bed as he thought of all the recent events.

As for why he was in Jade's room... Well, she was in his so. He could have used a guest room but nuh... Jade's room smelled better and felt more right.

The reason he left the girls was that he really was tired and needed to sleep. There was an event he went through before coming through the portal from the beast world, then there was the fishman battle, then there was the Jade "battle" and lastly but not least, the Legion battle.

So yeah, the man was spent...

And so, with many thoughts going through his head. Mostly of his happy time with Jade, the man fell asleep...