"I want to join too~"

"...Please do not scare me like that."

Iseul clung tightly to him and rubbed his cheek against him, so Qiong Xing peeled him off and held him back with a hand as if telling him to wait.

"What did you do with what I asked you?"

"..."

Qiong Xing sighed as Iseul averted his gaze as if trying to hide something suspicious.

As expected, he had probably dumped the work on his older brother, Raon.

"I only asked you to do things you were actually capable of, correct?"

"...I am sorry."

"Pfft."

For some reason, both Katarina and Sarin burst out laughing while holding their stomachs at Iseul’s honest apology.

"Well, I guess Lian was right to say that."

"In a way, Lian is more mature than him."

Qiong Xing did not fully understand, but it seemed they meant Iseul was childish.

"I agree. Lian does what she is asked properly."

"I, I can do it too! Just... slowly."

If that was the case, he should just do it quickly.

Still, since Iseul at least tried this time compared to before, Qiong Xing let out a small sigh and also handed him tea as he looked dejected.

"When you get back, make sure you properly apologize to Raon, understood?"

"Okay!"

His energetic reply made the two of them burst out laughing again.

Just as Qiong Xing was about to ask what was so funny...

"Move! Lian’s Mama!"

Iseul was shoved aside as Lian jumped directly onto Qiong Xing’s lap.

"Lian? What are you doing..."

"Rui too~"

"Yue too~"

As if launching an attack, the twins suddenly rushed at Iseul.

"Eh? W-wait, wa-"

Iseul panicked as the twins clung to him.

He trying to escape, but he ended up falling over.

Qiong Xing watched him for a moment to see what he would do, but Iseul looked up at him with teary eyes as if asking for help.

He really does not need to look at him like a discarded puppy...

Rui and Yue were left with Katarina and the others, while Lian was entrusted to Elias.

"Did you get hurt?"

"...No."

Qiong Xing said it was good and offered his hand.

When Iseul took it and stood up, Qiong Xing opened his arms as if welcoming him, and Iseul cautiously hugged him.

"Thank you for trying. You were lonely, right?"

"Yeah."

For him, that was already a good amount of patience.

"It is alright. I understand. So let us keep trying together, okay?"

"Yeah, I will try. I am sorry."

It felt a bit like being a parent, but unlike the innocent Rui and Yue, Iseul as his destined mate buried his face in Qiong Xing’s neck and sniffed him.

It was not as if he smelled bad, but it was still complicated in its own way.

After being sniffed for a while, Qiong Xing brought Iseul along and everyone resumed drinking tea together.

As soon as Qiong Xing sat down, Lian immediately climbed onto his lap as if declaring it was his spot, but as long as she did not bully Iseul, Qiong Xing let it be.

"Qiong Xing~ I brought them~"

While they were quietly drinking tea, Qiong Xing noticed Albe returning with someone he had asked for help.

"Thank you, Albe. Fei, thank you for your hard work as well. Sorry for calling you so suddenly."

"It is fine, but..."

Even while replying, Fei seemed curious about Katarina and the others, stealing glances at them repeatedly.

"I will introduce them. This is Katarina and Sarin who have been taking care of me in town. And he is... a relative of Joa."

Qiong Xing finished the introductions, mixing in a few small lies.

"And, as you can see, he is also a beastman."

"You can tell just by looking."

"Right. As I said before, we are going to move, but he will be staying here."

Yes.

While Qiong Xing and the others were moving, most of the residents in the hideout would relocate to the dragon territory.

However, some could not adapt well to the environmental changes and chose to remain behind.

That meant someone needed to stay and manage those people, and when it came time to decide, Fei volunteered.

"We cannot tell you the exact location, but I would like the two of you to make sure people do not come near this area."

"You mean you want us to protect them?"

Sarin frowned and Qiong Xing shook his head.

"No, that is not it. As long as people do not go deep into the forest like before, that is enough."

It was not a place that would be easily discovered, but caution was still better.

"I just want you to leave those who are living quietly alone."

"Then why are you asking us to do that?"

Katarina tilted her head, suggesting that if the request was simply to leave them alone, it might have been unnecessary to say anything at all.

Qiong Xing gave a wry smile.

"For both of our sakes, I suppose."

"What do you mean?"

"There were times when they had to harm humans in order to protect themselves. Because of that, there were also adventurers who got caught up in it."

"..."

Just because someone was a beastman, being killed for it was something no one could accept.

It was true that they had struck back in resistance.

"I think there are requests that require going into the forest, but I would appreciate it if you could avoid this area as much as possible."

For the sake of protecting humans and also for protecting beastmen.

"Alright. We will do what we can within reason."

"Thank you. If anything happens, he will act as a bridge between us, so please take care of him."

Katarina and Sarin were people Qiong Xing could trust without worry.

Joa also bowed his head with them, and although Fei still did not fully trust them, he nodded as well.

"It is fine. He is a very reliable person, so he will not abandon his work halfway like Iseul does."