Despite the darkness of the night and the somewhat uneven ground, touching down next to the old capital of Markoth wasn't as difficult as one would think. Of course, our arrival, the floodlights shining down from above, and the fact that the two other Airships were doing the same, flying by us as escorts, was enough to rouse up everybody in the city. By the time the ramp was lowered, the whole town was awake, and I never saw so many people wanting to take a look at us. I even heard whispers calling it a Gods’ chariot, which stuck with me because they didn't mean it was the Gods’ chariot, but actually, they meant it singularly… One God’s chariot. Huh…

Just ignore it, Leon... But what I couldn't ignore was King Edric hurrying forward, wanting to welcome me personally, and constantly telling me that we should have called ahead so he could have prepared an appropriate welcome.

"It is alright!" I chuckled, patting his back. Seeing that he was still in pajamas under his robe. Most likely, he just hurriedly threw the pajamas over his body and ran forth with his guards in tow.

The truth is that I did call ahead of time, but my people didn't bother troubling him with it. This was evident by the fact that dozens of Avalonian engineers and shipwrights were already rushing forward, guided by their officers, coming from the two other airships to help the people aboard the Camelot get it back to a hundred percent as soon as possible. Watching them from the edge of my perception, I watched as they moved like clockwork, hauling tool chests and assembling scaffoldings to lift plates and panels into place. Repairs had begun before the bridge crew even disembarked... I couldn't be prouder than this.

Entering the city, I walked with Edric, letting him speak, sometimes asking a question about the refugees, and letting him inform me of everything vaguely important. It helped me ignore the countless eyes watching me. It was honestly nerve-wracking for some reason... There was a type of reverence in there that I wasn't used to. Worse, it reminded me of High Cardinal Damar, which...brrr. No, thank you. I don’t want to be like him.

Thankfully, after entering the castle grounds, they weren't able to follow us around, so my mind could rest. I quickly began scanning the courtyard for her, and I didn't need to wait long. Sasha appeared from the stone archways in the northern part of the castle. Her red hair was unbound, cascading down her shoulders in waves, and she wore a simple robe. I didn't need to guess that she was sleeping until now. I was expecting her to be reserved, but she didn't hesitate or want to wait for Edric to excuse himself. The moment our eyes met, she began walking faster, ending up in a quick run.

When she collided with me, I staggered back half a step only because she threw her full weight into the embrace, jumping onto me and kissing me so passionately that I felt like I was melting.

"I missed you..." she whispered, her voice muffled as she buried her face into my neck. I could feel how strongly she was holding me, wrapping herself around my body, sniffing me like a puppy.

"Me too..." I muttered as I caressed her body, hugging back with the same force.

True enough. We had been apart for months now, hadn't we? It was already summer, after all. The longest we had ever been apart. Realizing that my hands moved around her waist, and my fingers found the spots that I knew were her weak spots… I knew what would come. She did too… Feeling it, she pulled back just enough to look up at me, her eyes gleaming.

"Khm..." She scratched her throat, looking around, making me do the same, but... Edric probably realized ahead of time what was going on. He was nowhere to be seen, leaving us alone and pulling everyone away. Heh... Good man.

"See? Nothing to be ashamed of~!" I giggled, reaching down and kissing her passionately, and she returned it with the same aggression, moaning happily.

"I didn't expect you to be back so suddenly," she muttered after our lips parted and the glinting bridge of saliva was broken. "But I did hope you would stop by~!"

"Of course, I would! Hehe, you didn't think I wouldn't..."

"That's why I'm here and not in the Pass..." she muttered, blushing. "Come!" she pulled on me with two hands, "You need rest! And a bath! And me! Maybe not exactly in that order..."

"Yeah, let's reverse that, hm?" I agreed, following her without complaints.

In the castle's north wing, where Sasha had claimed a private set of rooms during her time in Markoth, we entered the chambers without a word because our lips were already sealed. Her hands were at my collar, pushing aside the cloak straps holding it to my clothes, and I responded in kind. However, undressing her took only one move... Maybe it was why our kissing deepened and became urgent, getting her annoyed about how long it took for me to get stripped. Well, not that I was in a hurry, as her lips were warm and soft, and I very much enjoyed rediscovering them after months of missing them.

"Hurry up," she breathed, pulling me toward the bed, pushing me down, climbing atop of me, "I'm burning up!"

"I can feel that!" I answered with a laugh, running my fingers across her body on both sides. She indeed felt like she had a fever.

I was used to it because whenever she was like this, she was indeed like a little oven. It also added greatly to the pleasure when she sat down on me like this. It was melting me, almost literally… Just the perfect heat between pleasure and passion, not yet painful.

"Hey!" She moaned, her body shivering, biting her lip, pulling my hands up to her breasts, "That was quick..."

"You are to talk!" I teased her, pinching, making her shiver once again, followed by a sharp moan, "Plus, aren't you enjoying it? I know you like it when it fills you up~!"

"True!" She giggled, beginning to twist her hips before she turned to keep slamming herself up and down on my rod with ferocious wildness. "The toys are not the same... Nothing gets close to this!"

"How long until you are coming home?" I asked, enjoying that she was the one dictating the tempo, letting herself use me and enjoy it to her fullest.

"Not much!" She gasped between moans, leaning forward, hugging me but continuing to move her hips with the same vigor, filling the room with our lovemaking's lively music. "Mhm, harder..."

"You are hopeless!" I giggled, slapping her bottom, which made her yelp happily, asking for more with a burning gaze, "We can talk after finishing... Right?"

"Yeah... Use your tongue for something else instead..." She agreed, kissing me again and slowly inviting me to take over the lead. Sure enough... soon, it was me who was on top; while she bit into my shoulders, muffling her screams, I gave her what she wanted...

...

....

.....

It was early morning, and the sun's light was creeping into the room, which was eerily quiet, at least compared to a few hours before. Not that we were sleeping—we were just resting, enjoying the aftertaste of pleasure, sticking together. Sasha was lying on me, one arm draped over my chest, her head tucked under my chin. Her hair tickled against my skin, and the steady rise and fall of her breath was the most calming sound I'd heard in days while my fingers were gently caressing her back.

"This was so good," she murmured. "Maybe we should send the others away sometimes so they can experience it too..."

"Hahhh... Evil." I giggled, watching her stick out her tongue.

"Mikan may be able to deal with it. As for Yuri and Luna? No chance." She murmured before turning a little more serious, "So? What happened out there?" Her voice was softer now, no longer teasing but curious.

"A lot," I said, and told her everything.

I recounted the ruined cities and hollowed-out lands from where the beasts probably took away the underground resources. Then, the main monster nest with its beehive flesh thingy, its grotesque occupant, the flying creatures, and finally, the use of the primary weapon of the Camelot and the subsequent massive explosion.

She listened in silence, except for one moment when I described the detonation of the monster core. Then she shifted, propping herself on one elbow, her gaze focused on mine.

"You said the core might have gone critical?" she asked. "As a reaction?"

"That's Merlin's theory. A magical feedback loop that overwhelmed it. But we don't know for sure. We couldn't risk staying as there could still be fallout... magically speaking. I am not flying into CC dust with him onboard the ship."

"Yeah... I agree." She exhaled, sitting up on me, "And now you're going back."

"Yes, that's the main idea. I came to make quick fixes, drop Merlin off, and then head back to take a second look."

"..." I watched as her shoulders tensed, but she didn't speak right away. When she finally did, it wasn't to argue. "Then you take the Lion with you at the minimum. Maybe even another mech. The Shadow could do fine."

"Huh?" I blinked my eyes in surprise, then smiled faintly. "I thought you would argue against it."

"I am your wife," she snorted, rolling her eyes. "And although I can worry about you, that does not mean I do not trust you. I'm just reminding you to take it seriously! And I trust him to keep you alive if things go wrong..."

"Heh, well, he is my dad," I answered, grinning. "Sure, I will do so. It will also be a good moment to test the effects of such a fallout on the mechs."

"Even then, please be cautious. You are also too easily caught up in theories like Merlin..." Her tone was flat but also firm. Then she looked away. "And you must stop again when coming back... Or I will argue against such expeditions in the future!"

"As you wish, my queen~!" I reached up and brushed her cheek with the back of my hand. "Don't worry; your husband won't slink away without visiting you."

"Hmph, better be!" She nodded, and then I pulled her down and pressed a soft kiss against her lips.

...

....

......

After an actual rest, bath, and breakfast... well, early dinner, I stood with my arms crossed, high on the city's stone walls, overlooking the Camelot as our workers were finishing changing its outside plating and fixing where we had some penetration issues. My people swiftly addressed the minor damage from our last battle overnight, which made me just as proud as when we first built my flying fortress.

But I wasn't alone here.

Beside my left stood my father, wearing simple clothes, stretching and yawning as if he had just woken up. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. To my right stood Pion, standing just behind a step, not wanting to be presumptuous... Something I could never hammer out, so I just let him be. Of course, I asked for both of them to find me because I would take them with me.

"It managed to damage the Camelot, huh?" Dad commented, glancing at me, making me shrug. "That monster you blew up—was it really that big of an explosion?"

"It was a big bada boom," I shrugged. "It was a walking hive, and it went out as badly as it looked. We hit its core with the gamma-ray cannon, and the entire thing went up like a second sun."

"I bet it was a once-in-a-lifetime show," Father let out a low whistle, his eyes narrowing. This made me chuckle, knowing he was a bit jealous of the others. He would have loved to see it. "So, we are going back."

"Yes." I turned to him. "And as you guessed, you're coming with me."

"Of course," he didn’t even blink. Instead, a slow smile formed under his beard. "It's about time you came to your daddy! Gosh, I was missing these days from when you were little..." he reached out, pulling me in and rubbing my hair, making a mess out of it. But I did enjoy it, even if I tried to get free.

"Khm," Pion, who had been silent until now, stepped forward, saluting. "Sovereign, do you expect more resistance? Should we take more soldiers with us?" He asked as if I were taking him, which meant I was taking his squadron but not the whole army. Of course not; the rest were sent here to protect Markoth; I don't want to bring everyone away. The Lion and Pion will be enough.

"I expect the area to still be unstable." I answered, finally breaking free from Dad's grip and fixing my clothes, "We don’t know if the monster's core was truly destroyed or not. There may be heavy CC dust in the air. Poisonous... It could affect formations, our flight systems, or even living tissue... But it may only affect mages. Merlin is already working on detection spells, but as far as common knowledge goes, CC dust is only deadly for mages. Still, if we wait too long, we’ll lose the chance to study the site in a controlled way. And I am not fond of the idea of wind blowing the 'smoke' this way."

"Sure enough," Kalash gave a gruff nod. "A good test for Lion and our troops. The armor’s thick enough to walk through molten rock, and it’s sealed tight on both the mech and our soldiers. If anything can survive in that crater, it’s us."

"I agree," Pion looked at me with conviction. "And I assume my squad is leading the ground detachment?"

"Yes. But only brought a handful of troops. Just the most experienced veterans. You’ll establish a perimeter while Dad and I examine the crater. No one else gets close until we give the all-clear."

"Understood," he said with a salute.

"Finally, some proper father and son time to spend together!" Dad chuckled under his breath.

"Father..." I looked at him with one eye, smiling, "We will need to work on what we deem proper family time after this is over!"