Kire spotted Envy, who seemed to have read her mind, and huffed, sitting on the opposite side of the entrance to the kitchen. “He’s always in a bit of a mood—but alright. Enchanting something for Ysaryn would mean he’ll be staying up late too, right? I suppose he needs more than an hour.” She looked at Envy as he smoked, pondering on his question. “It’s hard to be ready for something so unpredictable. But I’ve always been just right behind him. Probably because I always went on the hunt alone, and was only learning to use the power I had been given.” 

She sighed, lacing her fingers together behind her head as she leaned back. “I’m so close. Whether I’m ready or not, I’m finishing it.” She looked at the cigarette in his hand. “I have a cousin who loves to smoke. You’d probably enjoy her company. And I have a giantess friend, around your size.” She smiled, picturing the friends she had back home, before sinking into thought. “Can I tell you something?” she asked, looking sidelong at him. 

“Ysaryn calls me ‘Chieftess’. Because that’s what I am—what I used to be back home. You have kings and queens here, but back home there are little kings and queens who answer to me.” She sighed. “I was what they would call the Empress of Amria. Under my crown and my House are many kingdoms in a whole continent, and other smaller realms throughout the world. Not all of it, but it is a sizeable empire. But in no small part because of Ikegai and my hunt for him, I failed to see my empire slowly being undermined. And I lost it. I had to take my family and run while the Gemini took the Capital. That’s why I haven’t resumed the hunt for six months. I’m a ruler in exile, and my mistakes had played a large part in my fall. We’ve managed to beat back some of their forces and now we’re on a stalemate of sorts.” 

She closed her eyes, sighing. “So believe me, even if I die trying, I will finish this hunt. Set to right at least one thing in my long list of debts.”