Night draped like a velvet shawl. After Nanai and Yafina’s feast and a steaming bath, we headed for the room Nalu had prepared.

It was the biggest in the building, yet it felt small, like a snug cabin; the bed swallowed half the space, cozy and meticulously arranged.

Warmth pooled like lantern light, the kind that makes your bones sigh.

Rooms were scarce in Nalu’s home, like shells after a tide. Lingxiao and Lingsaki insisted on sharing my bed, and Lixue wouldn’t squeeze into another with Nalu’s girls.

So the four of us crammed onto one mattress, like kittens in a basket; thankfully it was broad enough, if a little tight.

As for Lanxia, we could only spread quilts on the floor, a tidy nest under the moon’s pale gaze.

“Not only did I eat Mizumi’s cooking today, I even get to sleep in the same room as him? This dragon is blessed beyond measure!”

She never complained; Lanxia was so happy it brought tears, joy bubbling like a spring. Simple hearts are easy to warm.

Relief loosened my chest after days of grinding travel, like snow melting in sun. But… was this really okay?

I’m a guy, sharing one room with four beautiful girls. Any way you frame it, it’s weird.

Even Nalu teased me earlier, “Mizumi, you’re so lucky—just don’t ruin your health,” then shot me a meaningful look, like a fan flicking scandal.

…

Inside the room, atop the bed, the air felt like still water.

“Dear big brother, what are you staring at?”

“Big brother, do you have something on your mind?”

The sisters, still in loose nightgowns, crawled close, fabric whispering like breeze through bamboo.

A flicker of unease first, then I smiled and ruffled Lingxiao and Lingsaki’s hair. Outside, night lay cold and quiet.

It feels like we’re just wandering without a map, drifting like leaves in a dark stream.

“Emperor, you feel that too?”

“Since leaving the Nine Cold Labyrinth, I feel the same fog,” Lixue said, combing hair that shone like moonlit silk.

I’m not like Nalu and the others, with clear goals or dreams.

“Yeah. My biggest wish was to see the world outside. But after leaving the Central Continent, it wasn’t as fun as the books promised.”

Now I even miss the leisurely days of the Mizumi Clan, like sunlight on a veranda.

Especially with Xinuo gone, the road feels blank, like fog over a crossroads.

“Dear big brother, don’t overthink it! I’m happy as long as I can stay by your side.”

“Exactly. No need to be lost, big brother. What matters is the present, not the future; goals will grow like spring shoots.”

Unlike me and Lixue, the sisters felt no fog at all; they were content, like cats purring in sunlight.

…That’s true, like a knot loosening.

Brooding won’t help; as Lingsaki said, do the present well, like laying one brick at a time.

“Mm. I’ll just stick with you and Emperor from now on. Alone, I wouldn’t know where to go.”

Lixue slid behind me and leaned against my back, like resting against a warm stone. Her voice came gentle and slow.

I don’t really know Lixue’s story. I just know she’s lived with FrostyLily Dream in the Palace of Ice Crystal since childhood.

Maybe I should ask, like tapping a closed door.

“Lixue, you’re beautiful and powerful. You’ll never lack a place to belong. Any faction would welcome you if you wished.”

“By the way, you’ve lived with Lady FrostyLily Dream since you were small. What about your family? Ever think about going home?”

“As for family, I only have my teacher,” Lixue answered, her tone cool as snow.

“Huh? Are you Lady FrostyLily Dream’s child?!”

“Emperor, what nonsense are you spouting?”

There isn’t a man in this world worthy of Teacher’s eyes yet. I said ‘only Teacher’ because I’m an orphan.”

“An orphan?!”

Guilt pricked first, like a thorn under skin. I was about to apologize when she kept speaking.

“It’s not a big deal. Teacher said I was abandoned near the Extreme Cold Hell shortly after birth.”

I was already barely breathing, like a candle in wind. If Teacher hadn’t left the Nine Cold Labyrinth then and found me…

She stopped there. The room’s warmth wavered, like a draft through paper walls.

“Then you’ve lived with Lady FrostyLily Dream in the Palace of Ice Crystal ever since?”

“Yes. Teacher raised me with her own hands and trained me into a Sword Wielder.”

She is my only family, like a lone star in a winter sky.

I see, like a curtain lifting.

Learning Lixue’s past tugged at me. I took her soft hand, like holding a snowflake.

“It’s okay. You have us now, walking beside you like lanterns in the dark.”

“If you want, the Mizumi Clan will always welcome you.”

…