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The ref raised his arm. “Welcome to the fifth round of the tournament! We start with our remaining winged combatants, Roc and Ingram!” As the audience cheered in anticipation, the two foes glared each other down. Normally, Roc would enter the ring with a stoic scowl, sharpening his mind for battle while spitefully feeding on the boos from beastman haters, but this time, he was smiling.

“I’ll admit, we could have certainly used a healer and an archer on our team. But I know how Sophia feels about me, and how you feel about Valia. If the four of us traveled together, she and I would have been a distraction to you two, and your relationship would have suffered for it.” He stood over Alexis and held out his hand to her, just as he did when they spoke in the snow. “You two deserved a fresh start, a chance for your love to bloom in the sun instead of wither in our shadows. I apologize for the arrest and messiness that happened after I beat Seraph, but I am glad to return here and see you two living your lives, free and in love. That’s all I wanted for you two.”

Her dad snored steadily as usual, while Sarah cradled a warm load and a half in her jaw. Being so busy with work, he must have been backed up. So excited was she to make her dad come, Sarah didn’t know what to do now with a mouthful of it. Her first thought was to swallow it and enjoy the feeling of it sliding down her throat, but there would be time for that soon.