Inside a dim cave—
Lior and Yuki walked forward.
"Long time no see…"
Both of them stopped.
Standing ahead… was Kayu.
"So, how have you been?" he asked with a casual smile.
"Same as before," Lior replied calmly. "Actually… I had a question."
"Oh?" Kayu folded his arms. "Go ahead."
"Do you only operate between the Cult Kingdom and the Shin Kingdom?"
Kayu chuckled.
"Nah… I've got multiple portals. Around ten in total—including this one."
"This," he added, gesturing around the cave, "is just my main base."
"Oh…" Yuki leaned forward curiously. "Then how much do you earn from this?"
Kayu thought for a moment.
"Well… just from this portal alone—I handle around 10 to 15 trips per week between the Cult Kingdom and Shin Kingdom."
"Each person pays 60 silver coins… so that makes roughly 9 gold coins weekly."
"Which means… about 28 gold coins per month."
"And that's just from this single portal."
Yuki froze.
"…28 gold coins… per month?"
He leaned closer to Lior and whispered,
"If I compare that to my restaurant… we barely earn 1–2 silver coins monthly… This is insane…"
Ignoring him, Lior asked,
"You said your other portals are all within the Shin Kingdom. What do you mean by that?"
"Simple," Kayu replied. "Even if I have portals connected to places like the Cult Kingdom, Naco Country, or Kulakata Kingdom… they all route through the Shin Kingdom."
"Why?"
"Because about 40% of travelers want to reach the Secret Sky City."
Lior's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…And it's easier through the Shin Kingdom."
"Exactly," Kayu nodded. "The alliance between the Shin Kingdom and the Secret Sky City is… special."
"Three years ago, during the war against the Black Primordial Demon—"
"Even when victory seemed impossible… the Secret Sky City sent their top army."
"And their leader—Priya."
Yuki blinked.
"They actually did that…?"
"Yes," Kayu said. "Other kingdoms could've refused—but they didn't."
"That's why traveling from the Shin Kingdom to the Green Land Jungle—and eventually to the Secret Sky City—is much easier."
"No heavy restrictions. No barriers. No strict permissions."
"I see…" Lior murmured.
"So people come to the Shin Kingdom just to reach the Secret Sky City," Yuki added.
"Correct," Kayu said. "But also for other routes."
"For example—someone from Blegree Kingdom can come to Shin via portal… then use another portal to reach the Cult Kingdom."
"No inspections. No complications."
"…Efficient," Lior said.
By then, they had reached the portal.
"Oh, by the way," Lior said, "if I need to travel again… how do I contact you?"
Kayu pulled out two cards and handed one to each of them.
"This has my number."
"You can call me anytime."
"Phone number…" Yuki muttered in amazement.
"…Got it," Lior said.
Without wasting time—
They stepped into the portal.
Shin Kingdom Border
They emerged near the mountain at the border of the Shin Kingdom.
Meanwhile… Night Time — Royal Palace
Inside the palace dining hall—
A large table was filled with food.
Seated around it were Bit, Precious, Tety, Bety, Pretty, and Satu.
Everyone was eating peacefully—
Until Satu suddenly spoke.
"…When?"
Everyone looked at him, confused.
"When… are you getting married?" he continued casually, eating as he spoke. "Your nephew is already engaged… you're almost 30… and still single."
He set his spoon down and looked directly at Bit.
"Your brother and sister-in-law are gone… but your nephew is still here."
"So what's stopping you?"
Bit hesitated.
"…Well… I… like someone."
"WHAT?!"
Everyone froze.
Tety leaned forward excitedly.
"Who is she?! Is she from this kingdom? A princess? A queen from another kingdom?!"
Bit turned red.
"…I…"
"SPEAK," Satu said.
"…She's from the Secret Sky City."
"—!!"
Precious, who had been silent until now, suddenly reacted.
"WHO?!"
Pretty immediately kicked him under the table and whispered angrily,
"Why are you so excited just hearing 'Secret Sky City'?!"
"…Nothing," Precious muttered.
Bit continued,
"She's a head secretary… named Gesha."
…Gesha, Precious repeated in his mind.
A faint voice echoed—
"…Who would've thought? A human falling in love with a goblin… how amusing."
It was Kail.
Satu shrugged.
"Doesn't matter who she is. Just get married already."
Bety leaned forward with a grin.
"So? What's your love story like?"
"…There isn't one," Bit replied calmly.
"I haven't even confessed."
"And I don't think she would ever love me back…"
Precious spoke up,
"That's not how it works."
Everyone looked at him.
"Love isn't something you can force… it just happens."
"But hiding it because you think the other person won't feel the same?"
"That's wrong."
"If you love someone—at least try."
The table fell silent.
Pretty raised an eyebrow.
"…Wow. I didn't know you could talk about love like that."
"And honestly… I didn't think you believed in it."
"…Why not?" Precious shrugged. "I've always thought like this."
"After all… I'm a devotee of Lord Krishna."
"…Lord Krishna?" Satu frowned. "Who's that?"
"…No one important," Precious said casually. "So, Uncle Bit… when are you confessing?"
Bit took a deep breath.
"Next month."
"There's an alliance meeting between the Shin Kingdom, Secret Sky City, Blegree Kingdom, and Gazakil Kingdom."
"It will be held in the Blegree Kingdom."
"She'll be there."
"…So I'll confess when I get the chance."
"Yuu-huu!!" Bety cheered. "Uncle Bit is finally confessing!"
"I'll come with you," Precious said.
"…Why?" Bit asked, slightly tense.
"Relax," Precious said. "I'm not coming for your love story. I just want to see the meeting."
"…Fine," Bit nodded. "You can come."
"Besides… you've become quite famous after capturing those gangs last year."
"Yeah…" Precious smirked faintly.
Bety suddenly asked,
"By the way… does anyone know when Lior will return? It's been over a month…"
"…He'll be back soon," Precious said calmly.
"…I see."
The conversation continued—
Before everyone eventually left the table.
Meanwhile…
Inside the Shin Kingdom—
Lior and Yuki had arrived at a village.
They were sitting inside an inn—
Eating food.
Unaware—
That their next journey…
Was about to become even more complicated.