Full belly, clean skin, warm springs cradling me like dawn mist—nothing beats that lazy, weightless bliss.

Eyes closed, heart loose as drifting clouds—and then—

Splash!

Something dropped from above, foam and springwater burst like startled fish, and a breath broke the surface like a surfacing otter.

Who jumped needed no guessing; only she would dive like a playful swallow from the eaves.

I wiped the suds from my face, hauled the tiny water-sprite in front of me, and pinched those soft, cherub cheeks. “Hill, I told you. Rinse the suds off before you get in. And don’t jump.”

“Mmph, but it felt fun,” she bubbled, voice like silver bells in steam. “I just couldn’t help it.”

She lunged into my arms like a kitten into sun-warm sheets, tilted up, and flashed a mischievous smile that soothed me like spring rain.

Hand on Hill’s small head, I rode that warm tide of life again—until—

Stare—

Stare…

Heat like needles pricked my back; the sisters’ gazes hit like twin spotlights. Not like at dinner—this time they marched over and each wrapped an arm.

“Dear big brother, you’re spoiling Hill,” one huffed, jealousy fluttering like a ruffled sparrow. “You’ve been ignoring us.”

“Yeah, since dinner you let her hog all the sweetness,” the other added, words like puffed cheeks in steam.

Their tones clinked with complaint like chopsticks on porcelain. And because it’s a hot spring, we’re bare as moonlight—this embrace is trouble in every sense.

My arms sank into soft warmth like marshmallows in hot cocoa; peace went skittering like a startled crab across wet stones.

“Hill’s still a kid,” I sighed, the plea thin as a reed in wind. “Don’t do this. Let me soak and breathe.”

I slipped free like a fish from a net and flicked their foreheads, a light tap like rain on bamboo.

“Eh, Lingxiao, what fun are you talking about?” Hill’s clear eyes blinked like pools at noon, not knowing she was the pebble that rippled all this.

“It’s not fun,” came the pout, sharp as a plum’s tang. “We’re saying you cling to dear big brother too much.”

“Right,” the other chimed, a bell-note through mist.

“What’s strange about that?” Hill beamed, pure as first snow on pine. “I love playing with Boss.”

Hill’s innocence was a lantern with no dust; jealousy slipped off it like water off leaves.

“…Lingsaki, picking a fight with a child makes us feel like fools,” one muttered, voice flat as cooled tea.

“Mm. Same,” the other breathed, a matching feather-fall of words.

“Ehhh? What are you two even saying?” Hill tilted her head, curiosity bobbing like a lotus bud.

Lively is nice—fireflies over summer water—but sometimes I want quiet, a sky without birds. Right now, my head aches like a drum in steam.

“Emperor, sounds lively over there.”

Wrapped in a towel, Lixue stepped into the spring like a white crane touching water, eyes bright with amusement.

“Lixue, help me out,” I said, grasping at a straw in the current. “I just want a peaceful soak.”

“Nope,” she smiled, a crescent moon behind thin cloud. “Noise makes it fun. Should I join too?”

That smile was a blossom and a knife; I felt trouble budding like thorny roses. Time together has warmed her; the cool ice now carried a hint of mischief’s flame.

“Please don’t,” I begged, shaking my head like a wet dog. “It’s headache enough.”

I pried Hill’s arms loose, hands careful as lifting a teacup.

“Eeh—Boss, I still want a hug,” Hill pleaded, clinging like ivy to a warm wall.

Maybe it’s the long time apart; her clinginess flowed thicker, like honey warmed by coals. I don’t dislike a cute girl’s cuddles—but time and place are currents too.

Hill leaned in again; the sisters stiffened like cats at a door, then clamped on me once more, guarding their patch like twin foxes.

A few minutes ago I was a cloud on a breeze. Now I’m a log jammed in a stream. Can a man soak in peace?

“Seems being too popular isn’t all peaches,” Lixue laughed, delight glinting like frost in sunlight.

Fine, fine. If she doesn’t stir the pot more, I won’t ask the moon to lower.

As that thought drifted by—

Lixue slid in behind me, back to back like twin stones in a river, her crown resting light on my shoulder. Wet hair carried flower-scent that tickled my ear like a feather.

…

It was our morning siege all over again—front, back, left, right, soft walls like clouds. I couldn’t move a finger without brushing petals.

“Emperor, this is pretty nice,” Lixue murmured, voice warm as tea steam.

“What do you mean?” I couldn’t catch the thread; her words were smoke.

“After what happened in Sait City,” she said, eyes deep as night ponds, “you know this world isn’t that peaceful. So this noisy everyday? It’s precious.”

That fight carved ripples in her; I could hear it like distant thunder. The enemies were from another world and hostile to the Mizumi Clan, maybe even the reason for invasion. Worse, the infamous Former Demon King could rise again like a shadow before dawn.

I don’t think all this will reach our doorstep, but the wider peace will quake like reeds in a storm.

“As long as it doesn’t touch us,” I said, palm rubbing Hill’s soft hair like smoothing silk. “And the Basiloth Empire mess is handled by home. It should be fine.”

“Boss, you can’t say that for sure!” Hill’s face lifted, seriousness sharpening like frost on glass. “Master and FrostyLily Dream left long ago because the Worldgate had issues. No news yet. It’s not simple.”

“The Worldgate’s in trouble? Hill, tell us everything,” Lixue cut in, voice turning cool as spring water. My gut tightened like a drawn bow; if Xinuo and FrostyLily Dream still weren’t back, it had to be grave.

It might even tie to Wilsar’s lot, that shadow creeping like vines through cracks.

“I don’t know much,” Hill whispered, guilt small as a curled leaf. “They left too fast…”

She told us what she could, each word a thin thread in mist. Not much on its face, yet the weave appeared when I squinted at the pattern.

After the Worldgate faltered, Xinuo and FrostyLily Dream went to fix it and vanished like stars behind cloud. Changes on the Northern Abyss Continent started surfacing then, like reefs at low tide.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but it won’t be rosy. If even Xinuo and FrostyLily Dream can’t resolve it fast, the knot’s a tough one.

“Dear big brother,” Lingxiao sang, voice sweet as candied haw, “that’s not for us to fix now. Don’t waste your breath. Let’s train and grow stronger.”

“Lingxiao’s right,” Lixue nodded, resolve like a drawn blade. “What matters is raising our strength. Trust Teacher and Sir Xino with the Worldgate.”

“Mm. That makes sense.” I let the worry drift like leaves downstream; overthinking is smoke without firewood.

For now, calm the heart, face the coming training like a sunrise—step by steady step.