Little Pink Starfish

After wrapping up the long conversation with Elsis, Eira headed straight for the outer castle. This year’s winter festival was drawing unusually large crowds, and security needed extra attention. When he opened the map window to find Bloom, he saw he was with Hera at the training grounds.

“Sir Bloom, Sir Hera.”

Even though Eira called from a fair distance away, the two—whose physical abilities surpassed those of ordinary humans—reacted immediately.

Bloom, the commander of the knights, had only grown more popular with each passing year, greatly boosting the morale of knights and soldiers. The armour he wore had been personally designed and commissioned by Eira, and it gleamed from how meticulously it had been polished. Bloom, looking as though he was itching to ask about Eira’s condition, held his tongue under watching eyes and offered a polite greeting instead.

“My Lord. I hope you slept well?”

“Yes, Sir Bloom. Thanks to your concern, I did.”

“My Lord, has your… ‘important business’ concluded?”

Hera, no longer seeing a transparent Eira, winked as she asked. Though she hailed from another region, she now dressed as if she were a true local of Solar, completely unbothered by the cold. Eira couldn’t help but wonder how she built up such resistance.

“Not entirely, but I’ve managed to get it under control.”

Hera, quick on the uptake, nodded in understanding. Bloom, on the other hand, looked at Eira with such worried eyes, as though he were afflicted with some grave illness. It was then that cheerful voices chimed in.

“Hello, godfather!”

Children playing a snowball fight nearby spotted Eira and ran over, bowing deeply in greeting. Their cheeks red from playing, their eyes sparkled with admiration and awe. They were the children of the Hera and Gretel households, already familiar with the castle from a young age as they learned their parents’ duties. Eira replied to their greetings in a gentle voice.

“Hello, Nanisa. Hello, Tyra. Are you not cold?”

“Not cold at all!”

“I’m sweating ‘cause it’s hot, even!”

Their energetic voices and cute faces made Eira smile. Opening a subspace, he took out some snacks he always carried lately, and the children gasped in delight. More than the snacks, they were thrilled just to receive them directly from the Lord, their innocent joy radiant.

“Be sure to share with your siblings.”

“Thank you! We’ll definitely share!”

The polite children then glanced nervously at Yanu, who stood nearby looking aloof. After some hesitation, they greeted him in tiny voices.

“Hello to you too, Dragon, sir…”

“…Yeah.”

Though the reply was dry and utterly lacking in sincerity, the fact he responded at all made the children giggle like chirping birds as they ran off. Once they had gone, Eira brought up the issue of festival security.

“About the winter festival—I think we’ll need to divert castle guards to the temple.”

With that, Eira opened the territory window again for confirmation.

Territory Name: Solar
Lord: Solar Sing Eira
Area: Approx. 34,200 Zenta
Population: 925,421 (Note: Overpopulated!)
Debtors: Morator and 5 other territories (Monthly interest: 2,380 Sel)

Upon opening the window, Eira was met with numbers that were deeply satisfying to see. Above all, the land area had greatly expanded, reflecting the subordinate territories now counted as part of Solar. It seemed the system treated them as a type of confederation. Below were more detailed statistics.

Administration Level 9

• Heroes: Ginas (☆☆☆☆☆☆), Gretel (☆☆☆☆☆☆), +12
• Approval: 93% – The people deeply trust their lord.

Military Level 7

• Heroes: Bloom (☆☆☆☆☆☆), Hera (☆☆☆☆☆☆), +5
• Knights: 682
• Soldiers: 9,013

Security Level 8

• Safest city in the North!
• Hero Hera’s vigilante beast patrols hit record highs.

Commerce Level 10

• Trade: Record-breaking profits from exporting Skit silk and marble.
• Distribution: Trade with the South has begun. All logistics flowing smoothly.

Tourism Level 7

• Weekly tourists: 123,492
• Tourism income: Up 577% from the previous month.

Religion Level 12

• Saints: High Priest Attera De Acte (☆☆☆☆☆☆), Bloom (☆☆☆☆☆☆), +7
• Holy Relics: Multiple relics boost approval further.
• Sacred Sites: Dragon’s Rest and Bloomroad designated sacred, boosting approval and income.
• Saint Master: As Saint Master, additional approval boost.
• Dragon: Dragons are religious symbols in the North, further boosting approval.

Special Notes

• Winter Festival Season Effect: Tourist influx up 318% from last month.
• Winter Festival Season Effect: Religious pilgrim influx up 745% from last month.

One-liner Summary: A great territory is just around the corner now! XD

Every stat—administration, military, security, commerce—had developed to an incomparable degree since Eira first arrived in Solar.

What stood out most was the remarkable growth of the religion sector. When the headquarters in Sobletz moved to Solar, the entire city became treated as a Morunka sanctuary. Pilgrims visiting for holy rites became so numerous that “tourism” was now separated from “commerce” as a distinct category.

While religious visitors came every year during the winter festival, this year was especially extraordinary. Likely thanks to the new temple’s completion. The opening ceremony was also part of the festivities.

“I noticed while touring the city—there are far more pilgrims this year.”

“Many will gather for the completion ceremony, no doubt. Understood. I’ll assign extra security to the temple.”

The knight commander, increasingly reverent as if Eira’s word were law, replied with excessive seriousness—as if he would literally die for his lord.

“Sir Hera, please arrange the vigilante patrols too. Oh, and if we have the manpower, I’d like to set up a steamed bun stall near the temple… I’ll allocate extra help if needed.”

Steamed buns were one of Eira’s prized winter business initiatives. With frigid temperatures ensuring minimal spoilage during transport, tourists could buy them to take home and reheat.

“Leave it to me.”

Having done it before, Hera responded cheerfully. With the bun business booming, Wolf was practically raking in cash—and a portion returned as tax to help the territory.

After Bloom and Hera left to work, Eira looked around—Yanu was nowhere in sight. “Yanu?” he called, and a mound of snow nearby collapsed as Yanu sprang to his feet. As usual, he’d flopped onto the snow to cool his body, and snowfall during their brief chat had buried him.

As Yanu approached, snow falling off his shoulders, Eira backed away to avoid getting dusted. Yanu stopped brushing off his hair and grinned mischievously.

“Come here.”

“Nope. Don’t come. Don’t you dare!”

Eira, having been caught in such antics before, recoiled in horror—but only briefly before Yanu caught him, and they tumbled into the snow. Rolling around, Eira suddenly shrieked and jumped up.

“Ack! Cold!!”

As snow slipped into his clothes, he jumped and flailed while Yanu gleefully watched. Since taking Eira as his mate and settling in Solar, Yanu had changed. He was more playful now and even slightly more tolerant of Solar’s people.

Eira, who could read minds, could feel this shift clearly. It even appeared in stats.

Related Individuals:

• Solar Sing Eira: Mine ‖ 100♡
• Little Pebble: Tiny Thing ‖ 1♡
• People of Solar: Humans squatting on my land ‖ 0♡ [Click to View Details]

Yes… his affection for Solar’s people was exactly 0.

Though strictly speaking, that didn’t mean no affection. Since the pebble UI rounded off numbers, it could well be something like 0.00001. So if asked, “You can save only one: a Solar resident or someone from elsewhere?”—he’d probably shrug and pick the Solar citizen. That level of “affection.”

Clicking “View Details” sorted affection rankings. Vassals generally took the top spots, fluctuating daily or monthly. Among them, Bloom uniquely held the record for lowest-ranked affection among residents…

Still, even if it was more like a possessiveness than true affection, Eira considered it a major shift. Maybe if he lives another hundred years, he’ll hit 1.

Yanu was clearly learning human emotion through his mate—and for Eira, as a human, that made him genuinely happy.

…Though happy, getting snow dumped on him in this weather was still annoying. Even though it was pointless, Eira raised a blizzard with magic and buried Yanu beneath it. Yanu, loving snow and ice, simply stood tall and spread his arms to embrace the wave.

Soaking wet, the two returned to the castle. With the elderly Botello Dello now retired, his grandson Botello Oron rushed out to assist Eira out of his wet clothes. As the devoted young chamberlain delicately peeled off layers, Eira asked,

“How’s old Botello doing?”

“Grandfather’s much better now. Thank you for your concern, my Lord.”

Oron smiled as he replied. Botello had caught a cold the previous week, which had worsened into pneumonia. Fortunately, thanks to Eira’s medicine, he was recovering well, but it left a bitter feeling.

The once-young Ginas and Gretel were now competent officials. Bloom and Hera, though aging slowly, were gradually growing older. Even the once-prickly high priest Acte had mellowed after becoming a religious leader.

But unlike them, when Eira looked in the mirror, his youthful face hadn’t changed at all. In time, everything would eventually pass him by. He didn’t regret becoming Yanu’s mate or gaining an ageless body—but in those moments, he would look at Yanu.

The only one who would never die, never change, and always remain at his side.

As Yanu tore off his soaked clothes—more like shredding than undressing—he caught Eira’s gaze and grinned mischievously.

“There’s still a chance for revenge, Eira.”

“I know what you’re planning. Don’t even dream it.”

Snorting, Eira quickly shoved his arm into a dry sleeve. Once he magically dried his hair, he finally felt human again. He dried Yanu’s hair too, then checked the time. It was already time for lunch. Smiling, Eira asked,

“So, where exactly is that seafood place?”