Burden

Upon entering Amalie's Bakery, Paul immediately spotted Beidou sitting at a table with Jean and Ganyu. They noticed him around the same time, so Jean and Ganyu promptly rose to their feet while Beidou simply observed his approach with a knowing smile on her face.

Speaking before her more dutiful counterparts could greet Paul, Beidou remarked, "You're looking more manly than the last time I saw you. That's good."

Returning a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, Paul replied, "I guess you could say I had my eyes opened. Don't worry; from now on, I won't be making that same mistake."

Nodding her head in approval, Beidou downed the contents of her glass before slamming it on the table with a bit of force and drawing looks from the entire dining room as she half-shouted, "Well said!" before following it up with a much quieter, "We'll make a King out of you yet."

Creasing his brows, Paul felt compelled to refute Beidou's statement but ultimately decided against it. He had no intention of overthrowing any of the established countries, but if becoming King would allow him to attain his objectives, he would consider it.

"I've decided we'll be leaving within the next two to three days. It's a few weeks earlier than we originally planned, but there are some things I need to prepare before our journey to the Capital. First and foremost, I need to meet with Ningguang."

With Paul directing his words at her, Ganyu dutifully nodded her head and replied, "There are some risks, but I should be able to ferry everyone over the mountains. I'll just need to travel slower than I would on my own."

Though she could travel well over the speed of sound, Ganyu knew from past experiences that ordinary people couldn't endure the conditions of high-speed travel. The atmospheric pressure would force the air directly from their lungs, and the wind chill was so biting that the air temperature would drop as low as -60°C. With moisture condensing on their bodies due to the temperature differential, the average person would be dead in as little as three minutes.

Rather than questioning Ganyu's reasoning, Paul asked, "At your reduced speed, how long would it take to travel from here to the Strife Zone?"

Having already calculated how long it would take her to transport Paul to pretty much every major destination in the world, Ganyu readily replied, "If we took the route over the mountains, it would take approximately twelve hours. The safer route around the mountains would take around two and a half days if I ran without rest."

Since her form of flight involved literally running across the sky as if there were invisible footholds, it was a little more taxing than the more common forms of aviation employed by dragons and other magical creatures. They used mana to propel themselves through the sky on invisible membranes, a feat aided by their large and magically conductive wings.

Without having to consider between the two options, Paul declared, "We'll travel the safer route. I'm not in that much of a hurry, and I'm not going to jeopardize everyone's safety to save a bit of time."

Adopting a faint smile, Ganyu replied, "I understand. When you're ready to leave, please let me know. And please tell everyone to dress warmly. Even if I travel at a reduced speed, it's bound to get cold very quickly."

Nodding his head, Paul shifted his attention to Jean, asking, "Can I leave this to you? I need to talk with Amalie, and I should probably spend some time with Esme. She isn't going to be happy about our departure."

Returning a nod of her own, Jean confidently replied, "Leave it to me. We had already started to purchase supplies when you expressed your desire to depart a few days ago. We can have everything prepared by tomorrow morning if necessary."

Feeling that tomorrow was a little too soon, Paul shook his head and said, "Let's make it the morning three days from now. I still need to speak with Princess Andromeda and ensure Roxy's enrollment goes without a hitch. After that, I'll need to talk with Count Schmidt to nominate someone as a proxy to maintain our agreement. I'm hoping the Guildmaster will accept, but there are a few others that come to mind if she refuses."

After his many contributions to the Ranoa Magic Academy, Paul was fairly confident the Principal would agree to just about anything he proposed. It would probably cost him several hundred AGC, but that was a small price to ensure the relative stability of the Western District.

Children like Esme deserved to have a future that didn't involve becoming slaves, laborers, or prostitutes...

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After parting ways with Jean, Ganyu, and Beidou, Paul ascended to the second floor in search of Amalie. When she wasn't working the floor or helping out in the kitchen, she could usually be found watching over her rather rambunctious children.

Opening the door to the former nursery, Paul's expression softened as he found Amalie sitting in a rocking chair as her triplets, Leo, Leon, and Thea, fumbled around with the letter blocks he had a carpenter create for them. They were nearing ten months old, but due to the rapid maturation of the Beast Race, they resembled 2~3-year-olds.

Hearing the door open, Leo's, Leon's, and Thea's heads and eyes abruptly snapped towards the entrance. When they realized the intruder was Paul, their momentary caution was immediately replaced by excitement as they charged toward, leaped at, and climbed on him.

Though Leo and Leon crawled up to his shoulders and used his hair to maintain their positions, Paul was marginally more concerned by Thea slipping into his undertunic and squeezing her head through the opening of his shirt. Members of the Beast Race relied on physical contact and marking to express themselves, so as the triplets' surrogate father figure, Paul had to get accustomed to receiving scratches and getting peed on.

As that thought crossed his mind, Paul felt a warmth spreading across his shoulders, courtesy of Leo. His smile immediately cramped, but he did his best to appear calm as he met Amalie's apologetic gaze and asked, "How have they been?"

Exhaling a sigh, Amalie rose to her feet as she replied, "Thea has started trying to mouth out words, but Leo and Leon are more interested in play-fighting than learning how to speak, read, or write."

Since he was aware that it was common for Beast Race children as old as six to be unable to speak, Paul wasn't too concerned with the triplets' lack of progress. Even Ghislaine didn't learn to speak coherently until she was around ten.

Though he had to jerk his head to the side when Leo tried to bite his ear, Paul maintained a smile as he said, "Don't let bother you. I bought these toys because I wanted to, not because I expected you to turn your kids into geniuses. I'm happy so long as the five of you can live comfortably. You deserve it."

Feeling her body heating up despite the mating season concluding a few weeks prior, an affectionate smile developed across Amalie's face as she asserted, "We might not even be here if it wasn't for you...you saved mine and Esme's lives and created a future for everyone in the Western District. Even if I-"

Interrupting before Amalie could finish, Paul plopped his hand down on her head and said, "Stop. You know well I was only doing what I believed was right. Neither you nor anyone else owes me a damn thing..."

Running his hand over Amalie's ears and along the side of her head, Paul was about to lean forward and kiss her when Thea kicked out her feet to prevent him from doing so. From the infant cat girl's perspective, she was about to be smothered between them, so she had an adorably panicked expression on her face as she fought to prevent it.

Exhaling a soft chuckle, Paul used his free hand to caress Thea's head before adopting a more serious expression and revealing, "I actually came to talk to you about something important. I'm planning to leave three days from now...I-"

Interrupting Paul this time, Amalie shook her head and said, "It's okay, Paul. I've been steeling my heart ever since we first discussed this a few months ago. Go, be with your family and pursue your dreams. You've done enough...Esme and I..."

Unable to keep up her supportive facade, Amalie's eyes began to tear up as she hugged herself and began to shake. She knew she didn't have the right to impose on Paul, but she had never felt more safe and secure than when he was around. He had provided them everything they would need to thrive, but Amalie knew it would only take a single man forcing his way into her life to ruin everything they had built together. She would do her best, but she wasn't strong enough to suppress her instincts and protect the things Paul had given her...

Sensing their mothers' duress, the triplets promptly dismounted from Paul in an attempt to comfort her. Leon, ever the mama's boy, even went as far as to hiss as Paul reached out his hands to caress Amalie's face and wipe away her tears.

Voicing his thoughts aloud, Paul muttered, "I hate seeing women cry..." in a gentle and soothing tone. In hindsight, he probably could have come up with something better, but he made up for it by saying, "I guess you'll just have to come with us. I can't take you with me to the Capital, but I can at least take you someplace safe. Somewhere I'll be able to visit you, Esme, and the triplets whenever I'm free from my travels..."

Though her hearing was exceptionally sharp, a trait common among the Beast Race, Amalie couldn't help thinking her ears were playing tricks on her. She knew she was nothing more than a burden to someone like Paul, so she didn't think it was possible for her to accompany him. Sure, he had promised to escort her to the Great Forest sometime in the future, but she was pretty sure he was just trying to give her hope...

With Amalie continuing to cry, Paul was beginning to feel anxious. He was bad at trying to comfort people under ordinary circumstances, much less when there was a trio of cat-eared toddlers glaring at him.

Fortunately for Paul, Amalie eventually came to grips with what she had heard, tentatively inquiring, "Do you mean it? Can we...can we really come with you...?"

Forcing a smile, Paul replied, "If it gets you to stop crying, I'll carry you on my back the whole way..."

Though she felt a sudden urge to scratch him for making a joke, Amalie's smile promptly returned as she realized her ears weren't playing tricks on her. She felt terrible about imposing on Paul, but the thought of being able to leave Sharia and build a life together somewhere else was like a dream come true. Paul had brought so much warmth and light into her world that she could no longer imagine being happy without him...

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After helping Amalie to calm down, coaxing the triplets with sweets, and changing into a fresh pair of clothes, Paul met up with Ei and Eula before heading to his next destination. Esme's popularity had skyrocketed ever since she became the de facto 'Little Boss' of the Western District, so she could often be found loitering around the school with a rather large group of her fellow children.

Upon finding the increasingly confident cat girl trying to teach some of the younger children how to read, Paul attempted to avoid any potential waterworks by directly informing her that she would be accompanying him, her mother, and all of her siblings when they departed Sharia in a few days. She was a little sad knowing that she would be parting with her newfound friends, but the thought of separating from her family was a lot scarier. Thus, even though they wouldn't be leaving for a few days, Esme mustered up all of her courage to say bye to her friends before returning to Paul with a resolute yet teary-eyed expression on her face...

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