Lukas turned, following the sound of Melody’s voice.

He noticed a door set into the side wall that he’d walked past without even recognizing. He walked across the room and pushed it open.

Before him was a balcony, stretching out wide, with a low railing running along the edge.

Melody and Akira stood near it, looking out over the city. The afternoon light fell across the rooftops below them, and a breeze moved through, ruffling Lukas’s hair as he stepped outside.

Then he saw the pool.

It sat at the far end of the balcony, built flush into the floor, the water catching the light in slow shifting patterns. Beach chairs faced it in a neat row, each one angled slightly towards the view beyond the railing.

Lukas smiled at that.

"I like this place," Akira said, her eyes still on the skyline.

"I could stay out here for days," Melody agreed. She looked down at the pool, then back at the city, then at the pool again.

Then she jumped in.

The splash was loud. Water hit the tiles and the chairs and reached as far as Akira’s legs.

Melody surfaced laughing, pushing her wet hair back from her face. Then she cupped both hands and sent a wave of water directly at Akira.

Akira looked down at her soaked clothes. She looked up at Melody, then a mock furious expression came upon her face and she leapt into the pool.

The second splash was bigger than the first. They came up side by side, already laughing, and the splashing war started immediately, with no rules and no clear objective beyond getting the other one as wet as possible.

Lukas stood at the edge, watching, grinning with his arms crossed.

"Get in," Melody called after seeing him standing there.

"I’m fine here." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"No you’re not. Join us," Akira said.

"I’m not really a huge fan of getting wet."

"And do we look like we are?"

They climbed out at the same time. Each one took one of his hands.

He pulled back, still laughing, planting his feet, but they were persistent, and after a few seconds of resistance he let them drag him forward.

Then they threw him inside the pool.

The water was warm, soaking through his clothes instantly. He came up already reaching for them, and pulled both of them back in before either could escape.

What followed was several minutes of complete chaos.

Melody and Akira formed an alliance, coordinating their splashing with surprising effectiveness. Lukas fought back as long as he could.

Eventually, he raised both hands.

"Fine," he said, laughing. "You win."

They cheered.

He climbed out of the pool and stood on the tiles, water running off him in steady streams.

He looked down at his soaked clothes, then peeled them off, leaving only his underwear.

He squeezed the water out of the wet clothes before bundling them under his arm and headed back inside, leaving his wives still laughing in the pool behind him.

He picked a bedroom at random, stepped into the adjoining bathroom, and showered.

Fortunately, there was hot water on demand, and it felt good as it ran down his skin. He toweled off, opened his spatial ring, and dressed in clean dry clothes.

Then he made his way to the kitchen.

He moved along the counter, pulling open cabinets and checking what had been stocked. There were vegetables, proteins, dry goods, oils, and spices. More than enough to work with.

He picked out what he needed, set everything on the island, and reached for a pan.

It was time to cook.

He began chopping up the ingredients, washing them, and before long, the pot was bubbling.

The smell reached the living room before anything else.

Lukas had been at the stove for twenty minutes when he heard footsteps. He didn’t turn around.

Melody appeared in the kitchen doorway first, dressed in her underwear and hair damp. She stopped and breathed in.

"I knew it was you," she said, grinning. "I could smell it from the balcony."

Her stomach rumbled loud enough for him to hear it.

He glanced back at her. "Go shower. Both of you."

Akira appeared behind Melody, also damp, also already looking at the stove. "Can’t we just—"

"Shower first, food later," he said.

They left.

He kept cooking, turning the food in the pan and adjusting the heat.

The kitchen was well equipped, with everything where it should be and nothing missing. Whoever had stocked it had known what they were doing.

Ten minutes later they were back. They were both clean, dry, and dressed, drifting to the island and leaning against it, watching him work.

"Melody," he said, without turning around. "Get the plates."

She pushed off the island and began opening cabinets until she found them, setting three out on the counter beside him.

"Before we forget," Akira said.

She reached into her spatial ring and retrieved [Temptation] into her hand. She turned the sword and pressed the edge to the pad of her thumb. Blood welled up immediately.

She dismissed the sword back into her ring and retrieved her key card, holding it flat. She let the drop of blood fall onto its surface.

The card glowed softly for a few seconds before returning back to normal. She tucked it away, looking at the two of them.

Melody was already reaching for her own [Cursed Blade]. She nicked her thumb, pressed the blood to her card, and watched it glow. "There. Only I can use it now."

"Lukas," she said, looking over at him.

He was busy stirring, spoon in his right hand. He held out his left, the key card already between his fingers.

"Help me do mine."

She took the card, then pressed her [Cursed Blade] to his thumb. Blood welled up, then she touched his card to the blood, causing it to glow like the others before dimming back to normal.

He held his hand out and she placed the card back in his palm. He sent it into his spatial ring without breaking his rhythm at the stove.

"Thanks."

A few minutes later, he set down the spoon and reached for the plates.

He dished out the food, portioning each plate carefully, and carried them through to the dining room.

Melody and Akira followed, taking their seats on either side of the rectangular table. Lukas set a plate in front of each of them, then took his own seat at the head of the table.

For a moment, no one spoke as they ate.

The food was good. Lukas could tell from the way Akira slowed down after the first few bites, eating with more attention.

Melody made a quiet sound of approval and reached for a second forkful before she’d finished the first.

From the light streaming through the living room windows, the afternoon was already slowly turning to evening. They’d really spent most of the day on the road, first to sector seven, then here to sector four.

After a few minutes of silence, Melody finally looked up from her plate.

"Now that we’re settled in Salaria," she said, glancing at Lukas, "what’s our next move?"