Kai ended the fusion with Amber, and the Phoenix girl appeared beside him, crouching and reaching to the ground to touch the ashes left from burning the masked figure.

"Hmm, strange." She muttered. "This is not something left behind from burning a human."

"What do you mean?" Kai asked curiously as he looked down.

"Usually, when you burn humans to ashes, they will leave a really bad smell, and the ashes would be a bit rough. But this.. this is as smooth as when you burn wood to ashes."

"But they move and speak. We even exchange some words."

"They were indeed speaking words." Amber stood up and smiled at Kai. "I told you, didn't I? You will change your view of the Supernatural World tonight. I had already guessed they would use this method to get the Spirit Foxes."

"Once again, can you explain it to me in a simple way? As you know, I am new to this Supernatural World." Kai replied while being a bit annoyed.

Amber had always teased him, but this wasn't the time. He just burned two figures to ashes, and his mood wasn't really good. No one would feel good after they killed people unless they were crazy and had a mental illness.

"Fufufu, don't worry, Kai. I will explain everything to you. For now, let's return to that little fox and tell her about this, alright?"

That was a good idea. He knew that Rena would be worried about them, so he nodded.

"Alright."

'Priority first.' He added in mind.

***

Returning to the temple, Kai and Amber were greeted by a running Rena.

"Welcome back!"

Her expression was especially big as she jumped to them.

"Woah!" Kai exclaimed as he caught the small Rena. She was light, and he lifted her easily, spinning around because of the force behind her run before stopping and putting her down.

"You are back! And.. And you're fine without any wounds! I am glad.." Her voice cracked a bit as tears began to build around the edge of her eyes.

Kai smiled at her and patted her head.

"We are fine. You don't need to cry."

"N-No. It's not like that." Rena rebuked as she shook her head. "I am crying because I am happy. You fulfilled your promise and protected my siblings. I am really glad about it."

"I see." He nodded, moving her hand to pet Rena. She looked rather cute, like a little sister around the neighborhood. Her three tails moved around as she enjoyed being petted. Closing her eyes, she nuzzled her ears against Kai's hand to enjoy the sensation.

Both of them looked rather close. But, someone wasn't as happy as them on the side.

"Cough."

Amber coughed loudly to get their attention.

"I believe that's enough. I still have something to tell Kai, and maybe you too, little fox."

She spoke in a lower tone, visibly different from how she normally spoke.

Being sensitive to mood and emotion, Kai could feel something wrong with his contracted Phoenix. She was.. unhappy and was ill-mood. So he immediately took his hand away from Rena, much to the three-tailed fox's disappointment.

He didn't want to make Amber mad, at least not right now. He was curious about what he needed to tell him about the ashes from earlier.

So they quietly went toward where they had sat earlier. Rena followed suit and went to the back with the excuse to prepare another tea and disappeared while skipping around.

"She looks so happy," Kai commented, then glanced at Amber. "Are you by any chance jealous that I got too close to Rena, Amber?"

"Who said that?" Amber replied quickly, but her expression said it all. She averted her eyes from Kai and pouted a little.

Looking at her, something inside him was tugged. Like.. He wanted to tease her more. This was his chance to tease the Phoenix girl that often teased him.historical

"My, Amber. I don't know why you are so easily jealous. What if I suddenly find a girl I fancy and marry her?"

"You can't!" She shouted loudly and slammed the ground with her hand creating a loud bang, turning toward him at the same time and narrowing her eyes. Phoenix fire appeared around her, threatening to burn the entire temple if she didn't control it right now.

"You can't marry other girls that I don't approve of!" She added with vigor as she leaned toward Kai. The fire disappeared; it seemed like she regained control over her fire again.

"Wait wait, what do you mean by that!" Kai raised his arms in defense and asked Amber. "Even if I like this, I also want to get a girlfriend, you know?!"

"I know. That's why.. I said I wouldn't approve of any random girl, that is! If they want to be together with you, then they at least need to be strong enough to stand by your side. Or rather, you can just marry me! Isn't that okay too?"

'That was ridiculous!' Kai shouted in mind.

He heard Amber say 'I love you' a few times, but he thought it was just a joke from her as he didn't feel anything different from the girl. But.. seeing her looking serious right now made him think twice.

"You can get many other girls too. You can contract with other Mythical Beasts and marry them if you want. I don't mind, but I want to be the first! Do you understand, Kai?"

"I don't!" He replied immediately.

That was too much information to get in a single minute. He knew she was serious.

She truly loved him and wanted to be his wife. Then she dropped the bomb by saying he could contract with other Mythical Beasts and marry them too if he wanted.

What did she think a Mythical Beast was? A collectible monster that could be put inside a ball? While he didn't think having a harem was bad, he was still corrupted by modern thinking of having only one wife.

"Don't worry. A lot of people in the Supernatural World married many girls at once. Polygamy is totally legal here. You can also marry a person from another race. The Slayer Organization has a certain branch to settle something like that."

"That's reassuring, but let me think about that, okay?!"

In the end, he decided to stall it. Another reason why he couldn't answer at that time was that he heard Rena's footsteps coming from the inside.

"Alright. We will talk about it again. Don't worry; we have a long time tonight." Amber licked her lips with a hungry gaze. It sent a shiver down his spine for some reason.

'Did I make a mistake teasing her? Damn.. I shouldn't have done that.' He regretted it instantly.

As he thought that, Rena appeared while holding a tray with three small cups of green tea. She approached them and placed the tea on the small table in front of them. Amber also returned to her position as if nothing had happened.

After giving Rena a small thank you, the three-tailed fox smiled and sat across from them.

Coughing in his hand to get rid of his embarrassment, he glanced at the Phoenix girl and said, "Now, Amber. Please tell me about what you find out."

"Sure." Amber nodded. "The two invaders were just marionette puppets. They are not real people, only controlled by a Talisman inside their bodies. That's why they were so weak and left strange ashes."