Chương 74: Chapter 73 - The Sleepover

Ria's pov The dangerous question arrived on Friday afternoon while I was using my husband as furniture again. Ren sat at one end of the sofa with a tablet balanced loosely in one hand, reading something that had apparently managed to hold his attention despite the fact that I had been curled against his side for nearly twenty minutes.

My legs were tucked beneath me, one arm rested across his stomach, and my cheek had found the familiar place against his shoulder where I had decided all husbands should naturally provide cushioning. The condo was quiet except for the faint hum of the air conditioner and the traffic beyond the windows. School had ended less than an hour ago, which meant the silence was temporary, and I had been enjoying what remained of it while Ren occasionally moved one hand through my silver hair.

Then Ruri appeared in front of us. She was still wearing part of her school uniform, although her cardigan had already been removed and folded neatly over one arm. Her expression was careful enough that I immediately became suspicious.

"Is something wrong, sweetheart?" I asked, lifting my head slightly from Ren's shoulder while keeping one arm around his waist. Ruri glanced toward the hallway before answering.

"Not wrong exactly, Mama. I wanted to ask you and Papa something." Ren lowered his tablet enough to look over the top of it.

"What did Karin do?" From somewhere in the hallway, Karin immediately shouted, "Why do you always assume it's me?" Ren looked toward the sound with complete calm.

"Experience." Karin appeared a moment later, dragging Hikari behind her by one hand. Our middle daughter already wore the defensive expression of someone involved in whatever negotiation Ruri had been appointed to lead, while Hikari looked much too excited to be useful in any attempt at secrecy. Ruri sighed at both of them before looking back toward us.

"Karin didn't do anything, Papa."

"Yet," Ren corrected, returning the tablet to his lap. Karin folded both arms and glared at him.

"Papa." I covered the smile trying to escape and nodded toward Ruri.

"Go ahead, sweetheart." Ruri took a small breath.

"Can Lysa and some of our friends stay here tomorrow?" The request sounded harmless enough at first, so I relaxed slightly against Ren.

"For the afternoon?" Ruri shook her head.

"No, Mama. Overnight." My posture changed immediately. Beside me, Ren's tablet lowered another centimeter. Karin stepped closer before either of us could answer.

"Everybody already asked their parents if they're allowed." I stared at her.

"You asked their parents before asking us?" Karin's confidence weakened.

"We asked if they would be allowed if you said yes."

"That is considerably different from what you just said."

"It still worked," Karin muttered. Ruri closed her eyes briefly, visibly regretting the decision to let her sister participate in the explanation. Hikari lifted both hands with tremendous enthusiasm.

"Hikari already promised snacks." I slowly turned toward my youngest daughter.

"Why are you negotiating food before receiving permission?" Hikari's golden eyes widened as though the answer were obvious.

"Hikari preparing." Ren made a suspicious noise beside me. I turned toward him and immediately saw the amusement in his eyes.

"Do not laugh."

"I'm not laughing," Ren replied, although one corner of his mouth had already moved. I tightened my arm around his stomach while Ruri stepped in before the conversation could collapse entirely.

"It would only be three friends," Ruri explained.

"Lysa, Mio, and Nami." I recognized all three names. Lysa was the little Velmoran girl Hikari had attached herself to almost immediately after school reopened, Mio was a human girl whose mother I knew from Family Day, and Nami was the cat-beastkin child who had apparently decided drawing tails on everyone during our visit to Velmora was the highest form of art. Six children total. I looked toward Ren. He looked toward me. Neither of us had ever hosted a proper sleepover. Ren eventually turned toward Ruri.

"How long would they stay?" Ruri answered immediately, clearly having prepared for that question.

"Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning. Their parents can pick them up after breakfast." Karin leaned forward, her earlier confidence returning.

"Please, Mama?" Beside her, Hikari clasped both hands beneath her chin and gave me an expression so earnest it was practically an attack.

"Hikari promises everyone behaves." Ren looked at Hikari. Then Karin. Then Ruri. His expression suggested he considered the statistical probability of that promise extremely low. I should probably have taken longer to decide, but looking at the girls made the answer unexpectedly simple. Their lives had already contained more danger, secrets, and impossible circumstances than any six-year-old should have experienced, and now they were asking for something so painfully ordinary that refusing felt almost absurd.

A sleepover. I smiled.

"Yes." All three girls froze for half a heartbeat before the living room erupted. Karin threw both arms into the air.

"YES! I'm building the fort!" Hikari bounced twice beside her.

"Hikari gets sleepover snacks!" Ruri's carefully controlled expression broke into a bright smile.

"Thank you, Mama. Thank you, Papa."

"You're welcome, sweetheart," I told her, smiling back as the warmth in her face settled something inside me. Ren turned toward me after the girls began excitedly planning around us. His expression carried the calm judgment of a man watching someone discover that consequences existed.

"You realize what you've done," he murmured. I lifted my chin.

"I commanded armies." Ren nodded slowly.

"Those soldiers wanted to sleep eventually." My confidence fell by approximately eight percent.

"I can handle six children," I replied, narrowing my eyes when his expression remained unconvinced. Across the room, Karin was already describing defensive walls for the blanket fort while Hikari discussed snack categories and Ruri tried to remind both sisters that they needed to clean their room first. Ren looked toward them. Then back at me. I pressed my lips together.

"I can handle six children." By six that evening, I had developed a notebook. Ren found me at the dining table with three pages arranged in front of me, my phone beside one elbow, and a pen in my hand. Each page contained one child's name followed by categories I considered reasonably important for keeping someone else's daughter alive and comfortable for an entire night.

Lysa — allergies / medication / bedtime / food / emergency contact / comfort items Mio — allergies / medication / bedtime / food / emergency contact / comfort items Nami — allergies / medication / bedtime / food / emergency contact / comfort items Ren stopped beside the table and stared at the notebook for several seconds before slowly looking toward me.

"Are we hosting three children," he asked, "or establishing diplomatic relations?" I continued writing.

"Both require preparation." Ren pulled out the chair beside me and sat, amusement gradually overtaking his expression.

"Ria, you have a category called comfort items."

"Yes."

"They're sleeping here one night." I finally looked up at him.

"Exactly. That is enough time for somebody to become uncomfortable." Ren stared at me. I stared back. Then I picked up the phone. My husband leaned into his chair and surrendered with a quiet sigh.

"Proceed, Your Majesty." I pointed the pen directly at him.

"Do not start." Ren raised both hands innocently while I called Lysa's mother. The woman answered after two rings, her voice warm but slightly surprised.

"Hello?" I straightened without meaning to, and Ren immediately noticed the shift in my posture. His mouth twitched when I began speaking in the calm, careful tone he once described as my diplomatic voice.

"Good evening. Sorry to bother you," I said.

"I wanted to confirm a few things before Lysa comes over tomorrow." A brief rustle came from the other end before Lysa's mother answered automatically.

"Of course, Your Majesty." My pen stopped. Ren lowered the tablet he had picked up and looked at me over its edge. I closed my eyes for one second.

"Ria." Silence followed through the phone. Then Lysa's mother made a tiny embarrassed sound.

"Right. Sorry. Ria-san." I opened my eyes and resumed writing.

"Better." Beside me, Ren's mouth started moving. Without even turning toward him, I pointed the pen in his direction. He wisely kept whatever comment had been forming to himself. I returned my attention to the call.

"Does Lysa have any food allergies?"

"No, Ria-san," her mother replied.

"Nothing serious. She dislikes bitter vegetables, but otherwise she eats almost anything." I wrote the information down immediately.

"Medication?"

"None," Lysa's mother answered.

"Any trouble sleeping away from home?" Lysa's mother paused thoughtfully before responding.

"Not usually. She has a dinosaur plush she likes to keep near her when she sleeps, though." I wrote DINOSAUR PLUSH beneath comfort items while Ren leaned slightly closer to inspect the page. I ignored him and continued.

"What time does she usually sleep?"

"Around nine-thirty." My pen hovered. Then I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"Actually sleeps at nine-thirty?" There was a longer silence. Lysa's mother laughed softly.

"Closer to ten when she's excited." I underlined that number instead. Ren's eyebrow rose as he read it.

"Does she need a night-light?" I asked.

"No. She's fine in the dark," Lysa's mother replied.

"Thunder scares her sometimes, but only if it's very loud." I wrote that down too. The questions continued until Lysa's mother eventually laughed again, this time with obvious affection.

"Ria-san, she's only staying one night." I looked down at the carefully organized information.

"That is still enough time for something to happen." Ren covered his mouth. Lysa's mother apparently heard the faint sound on our side.

"Is Ren-san laughing?" I turned toward my husband. His shoulders had started shaking.

"No," I answered. Ren immediately betrayed me.

"I am." I covered the microphone with one hand and glared at him.

"Traitor." Ren smiled without remorse. When I returned the phone to my ear, Lysa's mother was laughing openly. The sound eventually softened, and when she spoke again, something gentler had entered her voice.

"Ria-san." My pen stilled.

"She'll be fine," Lysa's mother told me quietly.

"Lysa trusts you." Something tightened beneath my ribs. For several seconds, all I could see was the neat list beside Lysa's name. Allergies. Medication. Bedtime. Emergency number. Little ordinary details one mother gave another because she expected her child to come home safe the following morning.

"I know," I replied, my voice softer now.

"I just want to make sure she's comfortable." Lysa's mother answered with warmth.

"I know that too." The call ended a minute later, but I remained looking at the dark phone screen. Ren noticed immediately.

"What?" he asked, lowering his tablet. I shook my head.

"Nothing." His expression did not change. That look meant he had already recognized the lie and intended to wait until I corrected myself. I sighed and placed the phone down.

"They're leaving their children with me." The amusement left Ren's face. I traced one finger slowly beneath Lysa's name.

"They trust me." Ren reached across the space between our chairs and took my hand. His thumb passed once over my knuckles before his fingers settled securely between mine.

"They do," he said. Two simple words. They struck much harder than they should have. Three years ago, people had reached for weapons when they heard my name. Tomorrow, mothers were going to hand me overnight bags and trust me to know whether their daughters needed medicine, a night-light, or a dinosaur plush. I squeezed Ren's hand before returning my attention to the notebook.

"If you feed Lysa bitter vegetables tomorrow, I will kill you." Ren stared at me for a second.

"That wasn't an allergy."

"I know."

"Then why did you underline it?" I lifted my chin.

"Because I am a good host." Ren sighed. Mio's mother answered the next call with considerably more familiarity.

"Ria-san! Mio said you finally agreed to the sleepover." I glanced toward the hallway, wondering exactly how quickly our daughters had transmitted the news.

"Yes. I wanted to confirm a few things before tomorrow." Ren settled back beside me, already knowing what was coming.

"Mio has no allergies, correct?" I asked.

"No allergies," Mio's mother confirmed.

"Medication?"

"None."

"Any foods she refuses to eat?"

"Mushrooms." I immediately wrote NO MUSHROOMS across the page. Ren leaned closer, read the line, and murmured, "Strategic vulnerability identified." Without interrupting the call, I elbowed him lightly in the side. Mio's mother continued, apparently unaware that my husband was being disciplined.

"She normally goes to bed around nine." My pen stopped. I had learned.

"Does she actually sleep at nine?" I asked. There was a very long silence from the phone. Ren slowly looked toward me. Mio's mother eventually released a defeated sigh.

"No." I wrote BEDTIME: 9: 00 and beneath it added ACTUAL SLEEP: UNKNOWN. Ren covered his mouth again. I ignored him. The final call went to Nami's mother, and the first several questions passed without incident. Nami had no allergies, required no medication, enjoyed most food, and apparently became hot while sleeping even in winter. Then I made a mistake.

"Does Nami need anything species-specific at night?" I asked carefully.

"Different bedding, temperature, food, or anything I should account for?" Silence followed. I understood how the sentence sounded approximately one second too late. Nami's mother burst out laughing.

"Ria-san, she's a cat-beastkin child, not an exotic pet." Heat rushed into my face.

"That is absolutely not what I meant." Across the table, Ren looked down at his tablet so quickly that the movement itself became suspicious. Nami's mother was still laughing.

"It's fine. She gets warm easily, so don't bury her in heavy blankets. Otherwise she'll tell you if she needs anything."

"I understand," I replied, trying to recover what remained of my dignity. Ren murmured, "That sounded unfortunate." I covered the microphone.

"Ren, I swear." His smile widened. By the time the final call ended, my notebook contained verified emergency contacts, pickup times, food preferences, theoretical bedtimes, comfort items, and enough miscellaneous notes that I finally felt prepared. Ren leaned over the completed pages.

"You forgot blood types." My pen stopped. I looked toward him. Ren saw the exact moment the idea entered my mind and immediately reached out when I turned toward the phone. His hand closed around my wrist.

"I was joking." I stared at him.

"You should not joke while I am organizing."

"You were about to call them again."

"I was evaluating whether the information had emergency value."

"It does not have sleepover value."

"What if something happens?"

"Then we call their parents and a hospital like normal people," Ren replied, gently pushing the phone farther across the table before I could reclaim it. I narrowed my eyes, but before I could argue, Ruri approached and looked down at the notebook. Her expression brightened immediately.

"Mama, that's really organized." Every trace of irritation vanished from me. I sat a little straighter.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Ren slowly looked toward me. I ignored him. Karin appeared beside Ruri and scanned the page with open curiosity.

"You wrote down when everybody sleeps?"

"Yes," I replied. Karin tilted her head.

"Why?"

"So everyone is comfortable while they're here." My middle daughter considered that answer before her eyes suddenly sharpened with dangerous intelligence.

"Did you write down when we sleep?" If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. I slowly turned toward her. Ren stood up from the table. Coward.

"I know when you are supposed to sleep," I replied. Karin grinned.

"That's not what I asked." My eye twitched. Hikari climbed onto the chair beside me and leaned over the notebook. Her golden eyes traveled solemnly across the organized columns until her expression brightened with recognition.

"Hikari thinks Mama planning raid." I looked at her.

"Mama is planning a sleepover." Hikari pointed toward the pages.

"Mama has strategy." From the kitchen, Ren called, "She absolutely does." I turned my head toward him.

"Stop encouraging them." His laughter followed me across the room. Saturday arrived with the force of a military deadline. By noon, I had checked the living room twice, verified the spare bedding, placed extra toothbrushes in the bathroom, and reorganized the refrigerator enough that the twelve bottles of juice I had purchased sat neatly along one shelf. Ren opened the refrigerator, stared inside, and slowly turned toward me.

"Twelve bottles?"

"They may be thirsty."

"They are six years old, Ria." I folded my arms.

"Being six does not prevent thirst." Ren looked back toward the juice.

"Apparently we are preparing for a drought."

"We have guests."

"We have three guests."

"Exactly." My husband wisely abandoned the conversation. The girls cleaned their room under Ruri's supervision, although Karin repeatedly argued that "clean enough" was an objective standard while Hikari became distracted arranging plush toys according to what she called emotional compatibility. I spent another ten minutes checking blankets before realizing I had adjusted the same folded stack three times. My hands stopped. The condo suddenly felt strangely large around me. I looked toward the kitchen.

Ren stood near the counter cutting fruit into small pieces for later. Without consciously deciding to move, I crossed the room and wrapped both arms around his waist from behind. My cheek settled against his back, and the tightness in my shoulders eased almost immediately. Ren paused with the knife safely against the cutting board. Then his free hand covered mine where they rested over his stomach.

"There it is," he murmured. I frowned into his shirt.

"What?"

"You've been doing this all morning."

"Doing what?" Ren glanced over his shoulder, amusement softening his eyes.

"You prepare something, start getting nervous, find me, hug me for about thirty seconds, and then go back to preparing." I tightened my arms around him.

"That proves nothing."

"You're using me as a checkpoint."

"I am thinking." Ren's eyebrow rose.

"You apparently think inside my shirt." I closed my eyes and pressed my cheek more firmly against him.

"Yes." His quiet laugh vibrated through his back. I stayed there until my breathing settled, then pressed a small kiss between his shoulders through the fabric of his shirt.

"There," I murmured. Ren turned his head farther.

"Recharged?"

"I have no idea what you mean." I released him and returned to the living room. He watched me go. I chose not to look back because he was probably smiling. At two-thirty, the first guest arrived. Lysa stood outside our door wearing a pale cardigan over a shirt covered in tiny dinosaurs, her overnight bag hanging from one shoulder while the dinosaur plush mentioned in my notebook remained securely tucked beneath one arm. Her mother stood beside her. The moment I opened the door, the woman straightened instinctively.

"Thank you for having her, Your Maj—" I raised one eyebrow. Lysa's mother stopped. Beside her, Lysa tugged gently on her sleeve.

"Mama." The woman closed her eyes for a moment before looking toward me with an embarrassed smile.

"Right. Ria-san." I smiled back.

"Much better." Behind me, Ren made a suspicious noise from the hallway. I did not turn around. Hikari noticed Lysa before anyone could say more.

"Lysa!" she shouted, racing toward the door with both arms already open. Lysa's face brightened.

"Hikari!" The two girls collided in a hug so enthusiastic that Lysa's overnight bag slipped down her shoulder. Ruri came over to greet her more calmly, while Karin immediately began asking whether Lysa wanted to help design the blanket fort later. Lysa's mother watched them for several seconds before looking back toward me. Her smile softened at the edges.

"Thank you again, Ria-san," she said. I shook my head.

"You don't have to keep thanking me."

"I do," she replied, glancing toward her daughter.

"She's been talking about this all week." Something warm pressed beneath my ribs. I followed her gaze toward Lysa, who was showing Hikari her dinosaur plush while Karin explained something involving defensive fortifications and Ruri tried to keep the conversation coherent. When I looked back toward Lysa's mother, my voice came naturally softer.

"Tonight she isn't a Velmoran child staying with the former Queen. She's just one of my daughters' friends." Emotion flickered openly through the woman's face. Her eyes glistened, and her lips pressed together for a moment before she nodded.

"Right," she murmured. Then she caught herself and gave me a small, embarrassed smile.

"Ria-san." I laughed softly.

"Exactly." Mio and Nami arrived within the next twenty minutes. Mio's mother handed me a small overnight bag and warned me that her daughter would insist she was awake even while actively falling asleep, while Nami's mother took one look at me and immediately smiled with dangerous familiarity.

"No exotic-pet accommodations necessary," Nami's mother said. I covered part of my face with one hand. Behind me, Ren turned away because he was already laughing.

"Please leave your daughter and go," I muttered. Nami's mother laughed even harder before hugging her daughter goodbye. Once all the parents had left, Ren gathered Ruri, Karin, and Hikari near the hallway for what our family privately understood as the far more important briefing. The dragon briefing. He crouched in front of them and lowered his voice.

"No wings, no horns, no tails, and absolutely no transforming while your friends are here. Understood?" Ruri nodded immediately, her expression serious.

"Understood, Papa." Karin nodded as well.

"I know." Hikari placed one hand solemnly over her chest.

"Hikari normal human tonight." Ren stared at her. I stared at her. Ruri sighed and gently touched Hikari's shoulder.

"You don't have to announce that." Hikari leaned closer to her older sister and lowered her voice dramatically.

"Hikari secretly normal human tonight." Karin covered her face with both hands.

"That's worse." I pressed two fingers against my forehead while Ren rose beside me.

"This will go well," he murmured. I looked toward him.

"Your confidence is inspiring." Ren rested one hand briefly against my waist.

"I'm supporting my wife."

"You are predicting disaster."

"Those can coexist." I gave him the same look he had given me yesterday. His smile widened. Dinner should have been the easy portion of the evening. Ren made curry because it could be prepared in one large pot, adjusted easily, and served without requiring him to spend the entire evening trapped in the kitchen. The dining room filled with overlapping voices as six children compared school stories, argued about which animated hero was strongest, and occasionally remembered they were supposed to be eating.

Mio watched Ren serve the plates with obvious curiosity. She waited until he set hers down before looking up at him.

"Ren-san, do you cook every day?" Mio asked. Ren nodded while placing a plate in front of Nami.

"Most days." Mio's gaze immediately shifted toward me.

"Does Ria-san cook too?" I reached for my water with careful dignity. Before I could answer, Karin's mouth started curving. Ruri noticed and gave her sister a warning look. Unfortunately, Hikari reached the answer first.

"Mama can cook," Hikari explained brightly.

"Papa cooks better." My hand stopped halfway toward the glass. I slowly turned toward her.

"Hikari." Our youngest daughter looked at me with complete innocence.

"Hikari tells truth." Across the table, Ren suddenly became extremely interested in checking whether everyone had enough curry. Mio tasted her food. Her face brightened immediately.

"It's really good." Nami nodded enthusiastically while her ears perked.

"My dad doesn't cook like this either." A ridiculous amount of pride rose inside me. Of course they liked it. Ren's food was good. My husband was good at many things, although I occasionally made a deliberate effort not to tell him too often because his existing confidence required no assistance. Mio looked toward me again.

"I wish my Papa cooked like Ren-san." Without thinking, I rested one hand proudly against Ren's forearm.

"He is very useful." Ren stopped. His eyes moved toward me. I immediately recognized the mistake.

"Useful?" he repeated. I straightened.

"Handsome and useful." Ren considered the correction for a moment before nodding.

"Better." Karin groaned at both of us, while Ruri covered a smile behind her hand. Hikari nodded seriously toward Mio.

"Papa handsome." Ren looked far too pleased by the additional endorsement. I squeezed his arm.

"Do not become unbearable." My husband glanced toward me.

"Too late." I hated how easily that made me smile. Movie night began after dinner, with the children forming a half-circle of blankets and cushions across the living room floor. They chose an animated fantasy movie none of us had seen, and I initially sat near the girls because I was, after all, hosting. That arrangement lasted approximately eighteen minutes. By the time the first major battle began on screen, I had somehow moved closer to Ren.

Several minutes later, my shoulder touched his, and not long after that my arm had slipped naturally around his. Ren looked down at me. I kept my eyes firmly on the television.

"Your guests are over there," he whispered.

"They are watching the movie," I replied quietly.

"So are you."

"I can do both." Ren's eyebrow rose, but he wisely returned his attention to the screen. His lap looked comfortable. Very comfortable. Unfortunately, six children remained completely awake, and despite several recent developments in my marriage, I still possessed enough dignity not to sit on my husband in front of all of them. Then Hikari looked over.

"Mama usually sits on Papa," she announced. The room became silent. Every muscle in my body locked. Ren closed his eyes. Ruri immediately covered her face with both hands. Karin folded forward over her pillow because laughter had already taken control of her. Mio looked between Ren and me with enormous curiosity.

"You sit on Ren-san?" Heat flooded my face. Before I could construct an answer, Hikari helpfully clarified the situation.

"Hikari means Mama sits on Papa lap." That did not improve anything. Nami's ears perked with interest.

"Why?" Hikari smiled as though explaining a basic household fact.

"Mama says Papa comfortable." I wanted the Abyss to swallow me. Beside me, Ren's shoulders began shaking. I turned my head slowly.

"You are enjoying this." Ren opened his eyes and looked toward me with absolutely no remorse.

"Immensely." I elbowed his side. Across the floor, Karin laughed even harder. The children eventually returned to the movie, although Mio and Nami both looked toward us several more times than necessary. I remained beside Ren with my arm wrapped around his because moving away now would have looked like surrender. Ren knew that too. His hand settled casually over mine. I decided that was acceptable. The blanket fort became the next project, and Ren made the catastrophic mistake of agreeing to help.

What should have been two blankets draped across several chairs transformed within minutes into a list of structural requirements. Ruri wanted separate entrances so nobody had to crawl over sleeping children, Karin demanded defensive walls, Hikari wanted a throne, Lysa requested dinosaur decorations, Mio wanted fairy lights, and Nami insisted the fort needed tunnels.

Ren stood in the center of the living room holding three blankets and staring at the children as though they had presented him with an unreasonable construction contract. I approached from behind and rested my chin briefly against his shoulder.

"Still think your SS-rank office was complicated?" Ren turned his head enough to look at me.

"Yes. The office had building codes." Karin overheard and pointed toward the sofa cushions.

"Papa, that side needs another wall." Ren closed his eyes for one moment. I kissed his cheek in sympathy. He looked at me.

"Payment," I whispered.

"That's your solution to everything lately."

"It works." Ren's expression softened despite himself before he returned to construction. Twenty minutes later, half our living room had vanished beneath blankets, cushions, fairy lights, dining chairs, and a structural arrangement that was disturbingly stable considering nobody had used magic. I stood with both hands on my hips and inspected the result.

"Where are we supposed to sit?" Ren pointed toward the one remaining corner of the couch. Then his gaze lowered toward his own lap. I looked at him. He looked at me. I glanced toward the six children still awake inside the fort.

"No." Ren's mouth curved.

"Do not smile."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were going to."

"Probably." I sat beside him instead and pressed my thigh firmly against his out of spite. The pillow war began seven minutes later. Karin threw the first pillow. Of course she did. It struck Ren directly against the side of his head while he was checking the fairy lights near the fort entrance. The pillow bounced harmlessly to the floor, and my husband turned with such slow, deliberate calm that Karin's triumphant grin immediately weakened. For half a second, the room became silent.

Then all six children started laughing. I laughed too. That was my mistake. A second pillow flew from somewhere inside the fort and struck me across the shoulder. My laughter stopped. Mio lowered both hands. Her eyes widened.

"Oh." I slowly picked up the pillow. Ren looked toward me and immediately recognized the change in my expression.

"Ria." I smiled pleasantly at the children.

"Your formation is poor." Ren closed his eyes.

"They are six." I adjusted my grip on the pillow.

"Then this is an excellent learning opportunity." The living room descended into chaos. Ruri immediately organized herself and Mio behind the couch, using cushions as cover while attempting to direct sensible throws. Karin ignored every concept of formation and charged alone through the room like a tiny berserker, while Nami's beastkin reflexes made her disturbingly effective at dodging anything aimed in her direction. Hikari and Lysa formed their own alliance near the blanket fort.

Their strategy appeared to involve throwing pillows, screaming, falling over, recovering, and repeating the process with increasing enthusiasm. I kept my strength appropriately restrained. Mostly. Ren fought with the resigned efficiency of someone who understood resistance was now mandatory. At one point, Karin became too excited and pulled her arm back with considerably more force than an ordinary child should possess. Ren noticed before anyone else. He caught the pillow gently in one hand. Karin froze.

Ren looked directly into her eyes and mouthed, "Normal." Our daughter's face shifted as she remembered. She rolled her eyes, reclaimed the pillow, and threw it with dramatically reduced strength. Nobody else noticed. I did. So did Ruri. Our eldest daughter gave Papa the smallest grateful smile before Mio pulled her back behind cover. The battle ended when the children discovered cooperation. All six of them turned toward us. Ren stood beside me with a pillow in one hand.

I looked toward the suddenly united line of children.

"This seems politically concerning," I murmured. Ren glanced toward me.

"Your diplomatic operation failed." Karin pointed her pillow forward.

"GET THEM!" Six children charged. The first wave buried Ren. The second took me down with him. By the time the screaming stopped, Japan's first two SS-rank Hunters were lying beneath an unreasonable quantity of pillows while six victorious children celebrated around us. Aaron would never learn of this. I would make certain of it. By ten-thirty, the enormous reservoir of childhood energy finally began showing signs of depletion.

The girls changed into pajamas and crawled into the blanket fort, where the warm fairy lights turned the layered fabric above them into a tiny glowing ceiling. Ruri helped arrange pillows while I checked that Nami had a lighter blanket, Lysa's dinosaur plush remained within reach, and nobody had accidentally brought snacks into bed. Ren sat near the fort entrance with his back against the sofa while I eventually settled beside him.

His shoulder pressed against mine, and when I leaned farther into him, one arm came around my waist automatically. Lysa rested her chin on the dinosaur plush and looked toward me. Her small horns cast curved shadows against the blanket behind her.

"Ria-san?" Lysa asked softly. I turned toward her.

"Yes, sweetheart?" The little girl hesitated.

"What was Velmora like when you were little?" The question caught me harder than I expected. For years, stories about Velmora had become stories about invasion, collapse, hunger, war, and everything we had lost. Even when people meant well, they asked about the kingdom as though tragedy were the only thing that had ever existed there. I looked at the children beneath the warm lights. Tonight did not need those stories.

"It was beautiful," I told them. The girls became quieter. I told them about moonflower festivals when entire streets glowed beneath red lanterns. I described bakeries opening before sunrise, their windows clouding with steam while sweet bread filled the air with butter and honey. I told them about musicians playing beneath the palace terraces and children running through gardens they had been specifically forbidden to enter. Karin's eyes narrowed with immediate suspicion.

"Did you run through those gardens, Mama?" I gave her a dignified look.

"Occasionally." Beside me, Ren smiled. I elbowed his thigh without looking away from the children. Karin's suspicious expression suddenly transformed into delight.

"What about the goose?" My entire body went still. Lysa pushed herself upright immediately.

"What goose?" I stared at Karin. She smiled back. Betrayal. Complete betrayal. Ren's chest shifted beside me with suppressed laughter. I looked toward him.

"You are not helping." My husband made his expression completely neutral.

"I haven't said anything."

"You are laughing internally."

"Probably." The six children were now waiting. There was no escape. So I told them the story. A cleaned-up version. Mostly. By the time I reached the part where nine-year-old Astrea von Velmora had been chased across a royal courtyard by one extremely vindictive goose, all six children were laughing. Hikari collapsed sideways against Lysa. Karin nearly rolled out through the fort entrance, and even Ruri was laughing hard enough that her attempts to apologize became useless.

Nami's tail flicked repeatedly behind her, striking one blanket until Mio grabbed it and started laughing harder. I should have been humiliated. Instead, I found myself laughing with them. This was a story from Velmora. A stupid story. A happy story. A story about a child making a terrible decision around a bird. I was telling it during an ordinary sleepover while fairy lights glowed above us and my husband sat warm against my side. No one was mourning. No one was asking what had been destroyed.

For once, my homeland was allowed to be funny. Eventually, the laughter settled. Lysa hugged her dinosaur closer and stared thoughtfully at the lights above her.

"I wish I could've seen old Velmora," she said. The words pressed gently against my chest. I looked at her. Then at Hikari curled beside her. At Karin still grinning. At Ruri with her blanket already organized. At Mio and Nami lying among my daughters as though this had always been normal. I smiled.

"You'll see the new one," I told Lysa. Her expression brightened. She nodded. That was enough. By eleven forty-five, every child had finally fallen asleep. Ruri lay nearest one side of the fort with a book resting closed beside her hand, apparently having attempted one final page after the others became quiet. Karin slept diagonally across two pillows in a position that seemed anatomically questionable, while Hikari hugged her large rabbit plush tightly against her chest.

Lysa slept with her dinosaur tucked beneath her chin. Mio had somehow stolen more than half of a blanket despite being the smallest guest, and Nami had kicked her own blanket completely away exactly as her mother had predicted. I crouched inside the fort entrance and fixed the situation one child at a time. I pulled Hikari's blanket higher over her shoulder and brushed several strands of pale hair away from her cheek.

I shifted Lysa's dinosaur so it would not end up beneath her neck, gently corrected Mio's pillow, and checked that Nami remained warm enough without covering her too heavily. Ruri barely moved when I adjusted the book beside her. Karin made a tiny noise when I moved one pillow away from her face, then immediately settled again. When I finally backed out of the fort, Ren was leaning against the sofa watching me. His expression was unusually soft. I straightened and whispered, "What?"

Ren kept his voice low enough not to disturb the girls.

"Nothing bad."

"That answer is suspicious." A small smile touched his mouth.

"You're good at this." The words settled somewhere warm inside me. Months ago, I might have become flustered. I might have denied it or hidden behind sarcasm because being told I was good at being a mother still felt too new to trust. Tonight, I looked back toward the sleeping children. I had checked their allergies. Called their mothers. Prepared their blankets. Fed them. Played with them. Told them stories. Made sure everyone was comfortable. And somewhere along the way, none of it had felt like pretending.

I looked back toward Ren and smiled.

"I know." His eyebrows rose slightly. Then his smile widened. I liked the way he looked at me. I crossed the short distance between us and slipped my hand into his before we quietly switched off the remaining lights. The condo finally became still. We reached our bedroom without waking anyone. I closed the door gently behind us. Then I turned around. Ren had approximately two seconds before I crossed the room and wrapped both arms around his waist. My face pressed immediately against his chest.

Every bit of tension I had been holding since afternoon seemed to leave my shoulders at once. Ren's arms settled around me with familiar ease, one hand smoothing slowly over my back.

"There she is," he murmured. I tightened my hold.

"Shut up." His chest vibrated with quiet laughter. I remained exactly where I was. For most of the evening, there had been three additional children watching us. I had exercised restraint. I had sat beside Ren rather than on him. I had limited myself to holding his arm, leaning against him, and the occasional cheek kiss. I had suffered enough. Ren seemed to understand. He rested his chin lightly against my hair.

"You survived."

"Barely," I muttered into his shirt.

"You commanded armies." I lifted my head and gave him a warning look. Ren's eyes were already amused.

"They slept eventually." I smacked his chest lightly.

"Do not use your own joke against me twice."

"It became more accurate."

"You were buried beneath pillows."

"So were you."

"I was protecting morale." Ren stared at me. I narrowed my eyes. His mouth curved.

"Historical revision," he murmured. I tightened both arms around him.

"I won."

"We both lost."

"You are my husband. You are supposed to support my version of history."

"That clause wasn't in the marriage paperwork." I glared at him for another moment before my expression betrayed me and softened. Ren's hand moved slowly along my back. I rested my cheek against his chest again.

"I liked having them here," I admitted. His hand paused only briefly before continuing.

"I know." I thought about the fort. About the laughter. About Lysa listening to stories of Velmora without grief hanging over every word.

"She looked happy," I murmured. Ren's voice softened.

"Lysa?" I nodded against him.

"All of them. But yes. Her especially." For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then I lifted my face.

"Kiss me." Ren's eyebrows rose.

"Demanding." I tightened my arms around his neck.

"I spent all evening behaving." His expression became deeply amused.

"Your definition of behaving involved clinging to my arm during the movie."

"I did not sit on you."

"That was apparently heroic restraint."

"It was." Ren laughed softly. Then he kissed me. The familiar warmth settled through me immediately, pushing the last remnants of sleepover logistics, emergency contacts, blanket forts, and pillow warfare out of my thoughts. His hand remained securely at my waist while I leaned into him, and for several quiet seconds I allowed myself to enjoy having my husband entirely to myself again. When the kiss ended, I stayed close.

"Again," I murmured. Ren looked at me. I lifted one eyebrow. He kissed me again. Much better. By the time we climbed into bed, exhaustion had finally reached me. I immediately took my usual place against Ren's chest, one arm spread across his stomach while one leg hooked comfortably over his. Ren adjusted the blanket around us and began running his fingers slowly through my silver hair. I sighed and closed my eyes.

"Good day?" he asked quietly. I thought about six children screaming during a pillow fight, three mothers trusting me with their daughters, Lysa calling me Ria-san, and Hikari publicly informing everyone about my preferred seating arrangement.

"Ask me after I recover my dignity," I murmured. Ren laughed beneath me. I lifted my head enough to glare. He immediately corrected himself.

"Very dignified day."

"Better." My cheek returned to his chest. After another quiet moment, I spoke again.

"They trusted me." Ren knew exactly what I meant. His fingers slowed through my hair.

"Yeah," he replied. I closed my eyes more tightly. The feeling was still strange. Not painful. Just larger than I knew what to do with.

"I liked that," I admitted. Ren's arm tightened around me.

"Good." I pressed a small kiss against his chest. Then exhaustion finally won. Morning arrived because something was staring at me. At first, I thought I had imagined it. Then the strange awareness refused to disappear. I opened my eyes slowly and found six children standing beside our bed. Every single one of them. Hikari stood at the front of the formation wearing rabbit-print pajamas, her pale hair sticking out on one side while her golden eyes remained disturbingly alert for someone awake before sunrise.

Behind her stood Lysa clutching her dinosaur, Mio rubbing one eye, Nami with hair that looked as though she had been struck by lightning, Ruri wearing an apologetic expression, and Karin looking much too entertained by the situation. I stared at them. They stared back. Then Hikari leaned slightly closer.

"Mama, Hikari and friends are hungry." I blinked several times before slowly turning toward the clock. 6: 14 AM. Absolutely not. I looked down. Ren was still asleep beneath me, one arm loosely around my waist. I immediately buried my face deeper against his chest.

"Hikari," Ruri whispered from beside the bed, clearly embarrassed, "I told you we should wait." Hikari looked toward her older sister.

"But Hikari stomach awake." Karin folded her arms and grinned.

"Mine too." Mio rubbed her eye again and quietly admitted, "I'm hungry too." Nami's ears twitched above her messy hair.

"Same." Lysa hugged her dinosaur and gave me an apologetic little smile.

"Sorry, Ria-san." I remained attached to my husband. This was not my problem. Not yet.

"Ren," I muttered into his chest. My husband made a quiet sound but did not open his eyes. I tightened my arms around him.

"Your turn." Ren's voice came out rough with sleep.

"I cooked dinner."

"You are SS-rank." One of his eyes opened.

"So are you." I lifted my head just enough to glare at him. Ren looked back with the exhausted calm of a man who had already accepted that being one of Japan's strongest Hunters did not provide immunity from children arriving beside his bed at six fourteen in the morning. For several seconds, neither of us moved. Then Lysa raised one hand politely.

"Ren-san?" Ren turned his head toward her. Lysa shifted the dinosaur under one arm.

"Does SS-rank mean you can make pancakes?" Silence filled the bedroom. I looked at Ren. Ren looked at Lysa. Behind her, Hikari's eyes brightened as though this were suddenly the greatest idea anyone had ever proposed.

"Hikari wants pancakes," Hikari announced. Karin immediately nodded.

"Me too." Mio smiled sleepily.

"Pancakes sound good." Nami's ears perked.

"Can we have syrup?" Ruri gave Papa an apologetic smile.

"I can help." Ren closed his eyes again. My lips began trembling. Then I lost the battle. I buried my face against his chest and started laughing. Ren sighed beneath me while six children slowly joined in, although several of them clearly had no idea why Mama found Papa's suffering so funny. After a few seconds, Ren opened his eyes and looked down at me.

"You're enjoying this." I lifted my head, still laughing.

"Immensely." His expression flattened. I kissed his cheek.

"Payment." Ren stared at me. Then he looked toward the children.

"All right," he said, his voice carrying the weary surrender of an SS-rank Hunter defeated before breakfast.

"Pancakes." The bedroom erupted with cheers. Hikari raised both arms.

"SS Papa makes pancakes!" Karin hurried toward the hallway, and Mio followed her with considerably more energy than she had possessed thirty seconds earlier. Nami's tail disappeared through the doorway after them, while Ruri took Lysa's hand and reminded everyone not to run. Within seconds, the bedroom became quiet again. Ren remained beneath me. I remained wrapped around him. Neither of us moved. My husband eventually looked toward the doorway and then back toward me.

"You know we actually have to get up." I tightened one leg around his.

"Five minutes." Ren raised an eyebrow.

"There are six hungry children outside."

"They survived all night."

"That is not an argument."

"It is an excellent argument." Ren looked at me for several long seconds before his hand returned to my hair. I smiled and lowered my cheek back onto his chest. From somewhere outside the bedroom, Hikari shouted, "Hikari counting five minutes!" My eyes opened. Ren started laughing. I stared toward the door in disbelief.

"She learned that from you," I accused. Ren shook his head against the pillow.

"Definitely you." I narrowed my eyes. Then I heard six children laughing somewhere beyond the hallway. The irritation disappeared before it could fully form. I thought about the previous night: blankets glowing beneath fairy lights, ridiculous stories from Velmora, little shoes crowded near our doorway, and three mothers who had trusted their daughters to sleep beneath our roof. My arms tightened around Ren once more. I had once ruled a kingdom.

Now there were six children waiting for pancakes in my living room, my husband was warm beneath me, and somewhere near the dining table sat a notebook containing emergency numbers, food preferences, and the apparently vital information that Mio hated mushrooms. I smiled against Ren's chest. This life was completely ridiculous. It was also mine. After one final kiss against my husband's cheek, I reluctantly pushed myself upright.

"Come on, SS-rank," I told him, smoothing my disordered silver hair away from my face.

"Your civilians require pancakes." Ren sat up beside me and stared.

"Your civilians?" I smiled sweetly as I climbed out of bed.

"You're the one cooking." Ren pointed toward me.

"Former government." I laughed and caught his hand before pulling him toward the door. By the time we reached the kitchen, the children had already occupied the dining table and were debating pancake toppings with enough intensity to resemble an international summit. Apparently my diplomatic operation was not finished. I slipped one arm around Ren's waist while he reached for the mixing bowl. He looked down at me.

"You're doing it again." I rested my cheek briefly against his shoulder.

"Checkpoint." Ren smiled. Then he kissed the top of my head and reached for the flour. I stayed attached to him for another ten seconds before helping Ruri set the table. The sleepover had been loud, exhausting, humiliating, and considerably more complicated than commanding soldiers. I already knew I would let them do it again.

End of Chapter 73 Arclight Parenting Status Parents: Ren Arclight — Retired Archmage / SS-Rank Dragon Dad / Pancake-Class Strategic Asset Ria Arclight — Former Demon Queen / Dragon Mom / Sleepover Operations Commander Current Family Objective: Host first proper sleepover Return three guest children safely Maintain dragon secrecy Children Under Protection: Ruri — Ice / Emotional Anchor / Responsible Sleepover Coordinator Karin — Fire / Chaos / Pillow-Warfare Instigator Hikari — Light / Reality Risk / Classified Household Information Leak Today's Activities: Hosted Lysa, Mio, and Nami overnight Constructed strategically excessive blanket fort Lost pillow war to six children Shared happy stories of old Velmora Survived 6: 14 AM pancake mobilization New Developments: Other parents openly trust Ria with their children Ria now confidently recognizes herself as a good mother Happy memories of Velmora can exist without grief Sleepovers have already been approved for future repetition Household Status: Overcrowded Sleep-Deprived Extremely Happy Parents Stress Levels: Ren Outnumbered Pillow-Buried Breakfast-Conscripted Ria Overprepared Emotionally Fulfilled Publicly Exposed As Clingy Parenting Skill Growth: Ren: 100% (Six-Child Support Operations Successfully Maintained) Ria: 100% (No Longer Questions Whether She Is A Good Mother) Family Synergy: 100% (Three Additional Children Successfully Absorbed Overnight) Current Parents Status: Ren Papa Husband SS-Rank Pancake Specialist Ria Mama Host Diplomatic Sleepover Commander Immediate Priorities: Produce six servings of pancakes Return guest children with correct belongings Prevent Hikari from revealing additional marital intelligence Recover living room from blanket-fort occupation Operational Assessment: Mission Type: First Arclight Sleepover Difficulty: Higher Than Commanding Armies Emotional Status: Ren Proud — Exhausted — Amused Ria Trusted — Confident — Happy Future Outlook: Future Sleepovers Are Inevitable Lysa Will Grow Up Knowing The New Velmora Goose Incident Has Spread Beyond Family Containment Hikari Remains A Severe Information-Security Risk Ren's Lap Will Return To Full-Time Ria Occupation Pancake Production Is Now An SS-Rank Duty Parents Personal Statement: Ren:"You commanded armies.

They slept eventually." Ria:"They trusted me. I liked that." Reality's Response:"Once, people entrusted Ria with armies because she was their Queen. Now three mothers entrusted her with their daughters because they knew she would keep them safe. Somehow, that trust meant even more."