"Raising two children while taking care of a pregnant wife doesn"t leave much free time for training. Besides, it"s not me being slow so much as you being relentless. Do you at least have a girlfriend?" Ryman said while returning the embrace.

Lith was happy to hear that his long since lost friends were all right and that Protector"s manners had significantly improved. In the past, he would have opened the conversation by asking Lith about his mating habits.

"I do have one."

"Is she the one in the ring?"

"No."

"Is she the one waiting for you on the doorsteps?"

"It"s a long story." Lith said.

"Come inside. I doubt you are here just to see me."

"I would never leave Selia and the children in the middle of winter for a social call. I"m here because you need my help, Scourge. Is this your new house?" Ryman said while pointing at the Viscount"s manor.

"It is now. Remember to watch your mouth. I"ve yet to share any of my secrets with anyone."

At those words, Ryman lost his cool and stopped in his tracks.

"No one knows about Solus, the Awakening, your other form, or Carl?" He said with a whisper.

When Lith had given Protector part of his life force to repair his damaged mana core, the Emperor Beast had accessed to all of his memories, even those from his life on Earth.

"Tista knows about Solus and Awakening, Phloria knows about my other half, but that"s it. Only you and Solus know everything about me." The tone Lith used made it clear he was still unwilling to open up.

"Who is this guy? How does he know my name?" Friya had put away her sword when she had seen the two men hugging, but her confusion still remains.

"He is…" Lith was searching for a plausible lie when Protector cut him short.

"We briefly met during Balkor"s attack. You know me with the name of Protector, but I"d like you to call me Ryman Fastarrow. Selia says I should always introduce myself with a real name rather than just a t.i.tle."

Friya racked her brain, trying to remember where she had heard that name before. Her mouth almost dropped onto the ground when she realized their guest"s ident.i.ty.

"No way! You are…" Lith snapped his fingers, Blinking all three of them back inside Friya"s room before it was too late.

"…an Emperor Beast. How can you possess a human body?" A Hush spell prevented her voice from being heard.

"I didn"t steal anyone"s body." Ryman said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Once we reach this stage of evolution, we can shapes.h.i.+ft. It"s not a big deal, a lot of creatures can do it." Lith didn"t like how Protector looked at him while saying that.

"Yet it"s a big secret among beasts, like the fact that they can talk." Lith chimed in.

"He is putting a lot of trust in you. Most humans would go crazy if they knew that beasts and plants can shapes.h.i.+ft. Do you remember Gadorf the Wyvern? He was able to do the same."

His words calmed her a bit, but not much. Suddenly she had no idea how to recognize who was human and who was just pretending to be one.

"I need to sit and something strong to drink." She shook her head, hoping the room would stop spinning soon.

"How is Selia doing?" Lith asked.

"I had to propose to her to make her move away from Lutia on such short notice." Ryman"s words made Friya choke on her drink.

"Isn"t Selia a woman? I mean a human? Are you two really married?" She blurted out.

Lith had to repress laughter. The same Protector who was always so patient and kind, the closest thing to a magical father figure Lith had, was now dilating his nostril in annoyance.

"Yes, yes, and yes. If you keep stating the obvious, I"ll never get to the point, though."

Friya became beet red and hid her face behind her gla.s.s.

"I need something stronger." She thought as she put the wine away and took a bottle of Griffon Fire out of her pocket dimension. A single malt whiskey with over 50% of alcohol content.

"Everything went fine until our first daughter was born. Thank the Great Mother, after almost getting killed I became proficient in healing magic, so Selia didn"t need a midwife. It would have been a mess since Lilia had quite a fur."

Friya had one shot at the word "daughter" and another at "fur".

"Was she a hybrid?" Lith asked, giving Friya plenty of reasons for a third shot.

"Yes. Useless to say, Selia didn"t take it well. She yelled at me for lying to her and kicked me out of our house. To be fair, I didn"t lie. She never asked and I never thought of a reason for telling her about me being an Emperor Beast."

"How could you not tell her? That"s a pretty big elephant, you know?" Friya said.

"I came out of the woods naked, I told her I knew her for a long time and I had uncanny magic powers. I thought it was pretty obvious."

"She must have thought you were a friendly but nutjob mage! What kind of logic is yours?" Another shot bit the dust.

"Is my life a drinking game or what? G.o.ds, now I understand why you never speak about yourself with anyone. Silly me thinking you and Selia were just paranoid." Protector took the bottle away. She had already started slurring her words.

"Are you saying that Lith is an Emperor Beast too?" Friya was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"No, he"s not. His body is on par with a veteran magical beast, but it"s weak compared to an Emperor."

"Shut your d.a.m.n mouth!" Lith couldn"t believe how stupidly sincere Ryman was.

"He must have survived this far because Selia has him under her thumb." He thought.

"I need more alcohol." Small sparks of light appeared around the bottle, making part of its content fill her gla.s.s again.

"Master of s.p.a.ce, remember?" Friya was happy her ability with dimensional ability was able to shock the two monsters she was sharing the room with.

"After a few days, she calmed down and allowed me to return home. Selia was still pretty p.i.s.sed off, but she had no idea how to raise a hybrid which made her desperate for help. She was afraid that if humans found out about Lilia, they would kill her.

"After I managed to make our daughter turn into her human form, things went smoothly and after a few months, she forgave me. Now everything is settled. We had a son, Leran and now Selia is carrying our third one.

"Selia picked all of their names in your honor. She says that without you, we would have never met and that without your sacrifice she would have been forced to raise our child alone. You are their G.o.dfather, so you should visit them sometimes."

On Mogar, it was custom to name a child with the same initial letter of the most esteemed member of the family as a good omen. Lith was moved by Selia"s consideration towards him.

After Lith told him the part of his story Friya was allowed to know and they were caught up, Protector explained to them the reason for his coming.