The Great Hall was filled to the brim with every Aki that was able to come, each eagerly awaiting for the party to start.

  A very eager few were standing near the barrels of floor juice with mugs in hand, licking their libs, eager and excited for even the smallest drop.

  If it hadn’t been for some of Solk’s tougher-looking men standing by the barrels, a few would probably already be drinking their own weight worth.

  However, they didn’t have to wait for too much longer as Solk walked through the crowd of Aki in a dignified manner, befitting a royal.

  Each and everyone quickly got out of his way so there wouldn’t be any delay for the party to start.

  And it wasn’t long until Solk stepped up onto a table using a chair as a step.

  He turned around and looked out onto the sea of Aki, his tail lazily swinging from side to side as if he had all the time in the world.

  Slowly and calmly, Solk raised up his hand, and instantly, everyone became quiet.

  Solk cleared his throat before he addressed everyone. “I welcome each and every one of you to tonight’s party.”

  “As I’m sure at least a majority of you have heard, it is in celebration of my son’s health, and as for the others here tonight, I know it’s only because of the floor juice,” Solk said with a quick smile as a fair few in the crowd let out a laugh.

  “I only have this to say before we begin,” Solk said to the eager crowd. “Count yourself lucky none of you have to be on duty tonight.”

  Once Solk had finished, Apsi and his band started to play as Solk’s men, standing by the barrels of floor juice, started grabbing mugs from a sea of hands and giving them back to whoever they could.

  And in all that orderly chaos, Kenneth stood by the great hall exit.

  While he did want to come, and it was probably expected of Solk for him to come, he wasn’t really sure how to act.

  ‘A party is a party no matter which world you are in,’ Kenneth thought as he looked around for someone he at least knew well enough to talk to.

  However, it was the equivalent of looking for a needle in a haystack. A continuously moving and tall haystack.

  ‘Well, it’s all too clear, and I can no longer deny it,’ Kenneth thought. ‘I’m short. A hundred and eighty-six centimeters don’t stretch that long anymore.’

  All joking aside, Kenneth scanned the room to the best of his ability and noticed Nya in the corner of his eye.

  “At least I can talk to her,” Kenneth muttered as he turned around, seeing her walking out of the great hall carrying two mugs.

  And it was clear to see she was heading toward Ulric, who was sitting all by himself while sharpening his spear.

  ‘Ain’t no way I’m gonna be a third wheel,’ Kenneth thought as the awkward meme sound played in his head.

  Kenneth was about to start looking for someone he at least knew when, out of nowhere, someone he knew found him.

  “There you are!” Jinki yelled over the loud murmuring as he wrapped his arm around Kenneth once again.

  “Hello, Jinki,” Kenneth loudly responded.

  “Surely, you can say something better than that, friend!” Jinki laughed as he gulped down a mug filled with floor juice.

  “It is good to see you again,” Kenneth once more loudly said.

  “Better,” Jinki responded as he started dragging Kenneth along with him through the crowd. “I have to introduce you to my other friends and mate.”

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  ‘I guess this will be interesting,’ Kenneth thought as he let himself be dragged along. ‘I suppose this is better than just awkwardly standing alone all by myself all night.”’

  For once, everyone wasn’t staring at Kenneth, but that only meant it was that much harder to maneuver through the crowd. But Jinki’s persistent nature was something to admire as he moved gracefully through the crowd with Kenneth in tow.

  It was almost like a game of ladders and snakes where you’d get closer to your destination and then get set back a bit. Eventually, both made it to a table where a few Aki were sitting.

  “Commander…” One of them spoke before they trailed off at the sight of the black healer.

  With a big happy smile on his face, Jinki yelled over the crowds, murmuring, “No need for such formal language tonight, Hoota. It’s a party; just call me your lordship.”

  A few cracked a smile at such an obvious joke, but it felt like none of them really reacted to it as all stared at Kenneth.

  ‘Should have guessed as much,’ Kenneth internally sighed. ‘I am a bit of a deal breaker.’

  “What’s wrong? It’s a party; you should drink and laugh, not look like you all do now!” Jinki said before gulping down more floor juice from his mug.

  “Is this really the black healer?” One of the Aki asked.

  “I do hope you haven’t gone blind!” Jinki cackled. “This is the one and only, alright!”

  Suddenly, the Aki who had asked rose from her seat, and Kenneth got a good look at her. She was a bit shorter than Jinki, and her fur color was a mix of white and orange.

  Her eyes were laser-focused on him, and it felt a bit weird, to say the least. However, it quickly became much weirder when the Aki quickly wrapped her arms around Kenneth and pulled herself closer to him.

  His head met her chest.

  “Thank you so much,” the Aki said to the surprise of everyone else watching, including Kenneth.

  Kenneth stood there, completely immobilized, as only one thought ran through his mind. ‘I thought this only happened in movies.’

  “Should I be worried,” Jinki jokingly remarked.

  “I’m just saying thanks to the healer for gifting you the flower,” the white and orange fur-colored Aki happily responded.” And besides, you should know well enough we belong to each other.”

  “I suppose this is enough proof of that,” Jinki responded, holding up his arm to show everyone a small, violent, colored piece of cloth tied around his wrist.

  “Congratulations, command… Jinki! “Hoota cheered as he raised his drink in celebration.

  “It has only been a little over one-third of mating season, “ Another Aki at the table remarked before raising her drink. “Congratulations, you horny bastard!”

  “I am that good, but I did receive a little help from my friend over there,” Jinki said, gesturing over at Kenneth, who was still being embraced in a hug by Jinki’s mate.

  “Considering the fact you are being embraced by my mate, I do feel it’s prudent to at least introduce you to her,” Jinki said

  “I can do that myself,” Jinki’s mate interjected as she let go of Kenneth.

  It had certainly been an unexpected situation Kenneth had found himself in, but it had felt oddly good to be embraced like that.

  “My name is Selisio, and as I’m sure you’ve guessed, this is my mate Jinki,” Selisio said in a happy tone of voice over the loud murmuring of the party while making the gesture of greeting.

  Of course, Kenneth reciprocated the gesture. “Good to meet you.”

  “You could put a little more effort into that!” Jinki laughed once more, wrapping his arm around Kenneth and gulping down the last of his drink.

  “Already drank it all. What a pity,” Jinki said dishearteningly before getting swallowed by the crowd in search of more floor juice.

  Suddenly, Kenneth felt a hand on his back that pushed him closer to the table.

  “Come sit already. I’ll get you a chair,” Selisio said, turning around and seeing an empty seat right next to her.

  Confused, she looked at the two others and asked. “Where did Kiki go?”

  “Wait, she left,” Hoota said, surprised, his mouth full of floor juice.

  “As always, a keen and observant hunter, ladies and gentlemen,” the Aki beside Hoota said, swirling her drink. “She left the moment Commander Jinki arrived with the black healer.”

  “She probably just went for more floor juice,” Selisio said, looking around for another chair.

  “I wouldn’t count on it. She took her drink with her,” the Aki next to Hoota said, looking down at her drink as she kept swirling it around and around. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that.”

  “Why are you accusing me, Qpoka?” Selisio gasped.

  “Huh? I’m accusing the one beside you,” Qpoka said, dumbfounded.

  “Oh, I see how stupid of me,” Selisio laughed as her tail swung wildly from side to side.

  All three looked at her for a moment before the situation returned to what it was before.

  “My accusation still stands,” Qpoka said, her gaze solely focused on Kenneth.

  Kenneth looked at her for a moment, completely silent as he calmed himself. “And why do you think I have done something?”

  “A few rumors I heard here and there involving an arrow to the knee,” Qpoka responded, still swirling her drink. “And it would so happen that not too long ago, you, as well as Kiki and three others left the outpost for a bit of time.”

  “If you are accusing me of shooting someone with an arrow, then you are sadly mistaken. I have never done such a thing in my life,” Kenneth responded defensively.

  “Hmph… and why should I take your word at that when Kiki left the moment you arrived,” Qpoka remarked. “To me, that’s pretty telling of something, at the very least.”

  “She did push a knife up against my throat a couple of times,” Kenneth responded as the tension between the two grew. “That might be why she left.”

  Selisio nervously tittered back and forth, obviously wanting to say something to ease the tension, but she seemed unable to find the words as Hoota drank from his cup, pretending not to notice anything.