So, just like that, our vacation got ruined entirely, and the trip to Europe was canceled. Obviously, the US authorities didn't fail to bring up Tihana's case, which by their law was not adopted by me, because the documents were destroyed while everybody was under Ixa's influence.

Will, though, stepped in, and somehow managed to fix the situation. It took a few annoying days, but it was only the beginning of the bureaucratic nightmare we had to go through.historical

As the Mexican government entered the stage, it became way worse. Celestine stepped up, proposing to adopt the two kids whose names were Leonel and Carmelita since they felt safe with us.

She worked her ass off with Tihana to help them to adjust to the new environment despite the terrible trauma, which held them firmly in its grasp.

I had to be careful not only at home but with the bureaucrats too. My hands were itchy to slap a few people on this journey, but I reminded composed, knowing it was not worth it. If not for my girlfriend, I would probably just threaten them all to give me what I wanted. This little thing made me notice that she was making me a better person.

One of those tiring days, as we were in bed, tired after everything we had to go through from early morning she proposed something.

She was right next to me, looking at the ceiling, just like I was.

- Let's get married - she just threw at me.

- Ok - left my mouth before I even knew.

- I think we should do it in Arc. Invite our families, and friends - she then added.

I didn't say anything, just rolled over to kiss her.

- We will do whatever you want - I then added. - Big wedding, a small wedding. Just as you want it, as long as I'm the husband and you are the wife.

She smiled. Then, through the rest of the night, we kept talking about the ceremony. I doubted there were any marriage laws in Arc, so I immediately thought of Will to be the master of the ceremony. I wasn't the only one with this idea.

Morning came, and we informed Tihana during breakfast about our plans.

- Finally - she said rolling her eyes. - I thought that I would have to kidnap you both and force you to do that.

- Yeah, as you could - I said to her.

She stuck her tongue in response, which made the two new, almost, members of our family laugh. It was the first time when I heard them react in such a way. Throughout all this time they seemed too timid to even speak to me.

Up to that day, they would only talk a little with Tihana. Barely did anything with Celestine, and tried to avoid me completely, so it felt nice to see them open up even this tiny bit.

We joked around a bit more, but then we had to return to the grim reality of chasing the officials in both America and Mexico. Everything was dealt with eventually, although more behind the scenes than in a proper way. Will was the one who had to pay the heaviest price, promising a bunch of things to the greedy assholes, who wanted to seize the opportunity.

After we dealt with that, we straight-up returned to Arc. Everything was still awkward since the language barrier was too much for both me and Celestine, but I already was planning to deal with that problem with some crystals.

I took care of that, making the children unlock the 'Linguist' class, so they would be able to speak English, which was a gateway to normal communication in the city since everybody was using that language.

With that out of the way, we began preparations for the wedding. Celestine took care of planning the whole thing, while I got in charge of delivering the invitations. As I was going so, I visited the new headquarters of Wuxia.

Previously, when I went there to invite Hatta to my, and Will's, grand speech, he wasn't there, but this time I bought him. Straight at the entrance.

- Finally! - I yelled as soon as I spotted him.

He looked different. Gained some muscle, and changed his regular attire. Now he had a red robe with golden patterns embroidered on the chest and around the sleeves. He also had a staff with a high red gem on the top part of it.

- Hi - he said and smiled. - I heard you were looking for me. I already learned everything from Will.

- Where the heck have you been? - I asked.

- I'm spreading Wuxia around. I'm building our branches in other cities, and each time I had to in-person talk everything through with everybody - he explained. - What about you? I heard you went on vacation.

- Yeah. I did - I confirmed.

- So what brings you here now? - he asked.

- I'm getting married, and I wanted to invite you in person. We will have the proper invitation printed and everything, but first Celestine needs to figure out how she wants the whole thing to go... - I sighed.

- I'm so happy for you - he smiled. - You deserve a bit of love after everything. I actually heard about her from Will, and he says she is a nice person. He also said she is gorgeous.

- Yes, she is - I couldn't hold my smile.

- I would love to talk more, but I have to go no - he added then. - I'm leaving again, but I will be back in a few days, so let's catch up then, ok? Oh, and about that thing you are planning with Will... I'm in. You did us dirty with all the secrets, but I get that the circumstances reacquired you to do it this way, so I don't hold a grudge.

He patted me on the shoulder, then left.

- Thanks? I guess - I managed to squeeze out of my mouth, watching him go.

He was much more confident than I remembered. He also had much more energy. It was a good change.