"Koumei-saaaaan—" If Koumei had to be honest, he wasn't really listening to Alibaba at all. It was the same for every single time. Whining about Kouen about not giving him time to take a break, which result in he can't olay with women, blaming Kouen for indirectly making him unpopular.

The younger brother of Kouen started to space out.

"..mei-san? Kumei-san, are you listening to me?" The voice calling his name woke him up from his daydream, he could see Alibaba with reddish cheeks and watery eyes, ready to burst into tears.

"Y-yes? I'm listening, of course." Koumei didn't expect he would be caught spacing out, Alibaba is not that dumb. "I understood the brother king is an ass, I'm planning to make him suffer from the workload he used to give me back then before you were here." He tried to reply with general statement, hoping he could trick the Prince.

Koumei waited for his reaction.

Alibaba's smile widened, he knew Koumei is better than Sharrkan.

"Koumei-san! You're really unlike my master!" Alibaba's stared at Koumei with glittery eyes. The stare was too shiny for Koumei who seems like came from the underground. "When I talked to him, he didn't care—he didn't even pretend to care!" Alibaba remembered the time he was kept teased by Sinbad and Sharrkan just flirt with any woman who passed their table and completely ignored him. It was cruel. He was still young, he didn't want to spend all his life practicing without having any fun.

"Maybe it would be nice to work with you instead of Kouen-san." Alibaba always thought Koumei is more caring and knew people's limit, especially Koumei is lazy—or maybe his workload will be increased? He hope not.

Alibaba was giggling after saying that, only to be stopped by Koumei's expression. Mouth opened and eyes stared straight at Alibaba, he wondered if he said something wrong. Probably he went too far with badmouthing Kouen? No matter what, Koumei is his brother and swore loyalty to him. Maybe saying he'd like to work with someone else made him could betray Kou Empire at any time.

The blonde was screwed.

"K-Koumei-san…? Did I say something wrong?" He tried to ask Koumei, waving his hand in front of the general's face.

Five seconds, Koumei realized he was spacing out again. He was surprised when it seems Alibaba noticed him more than 'complaint dump'. It made him happier—was his standard always this low? It was nice, nonetheless.

"No, I was surprised that you want to work with me, probably I can shift all my work to you." The topic wasn't 'Kouen' anymore, but 'Koumei'. It formed a faint smile on Koumei's face, although he covered it with his fan. Alibaba continued his rants about Kouen, but now Koumei listened to every single word.

"I realized you're pretty fit for a shut-in." Alibaba suddenly changed the topic, probably talking about Kouen made him bored.

"Of course, I'm still a general. I have to maintain my body to be able to fight." He answered with pride, although he's not that tall compared to Alibaba. He looked at the shorter man, Alibaba gave a vibe of strayed puppy that wanted to be pet. He wanted to keep Alibaba in his hand—although he can't.

Or he can? Besides, Kouen seems pretty close with Hakuei, Alibaba wasn't THAT important to Kouen personally. Alibaba could aid them in war and work.

"Hey, are you done resting, brat?" Suddenly a husky voice was heard by both of them. Koumei looked up and Alibaba turned around to find Kouen was behind him. Alibaba was terrified while Koumei kept his composure.

"I only let you go because you kept mumbling and whining, distracting me from work. Now get back to work before I gave you more." Kouen easily carry Alibaba with his hand. Alibaba whimpered 'Koumei-saaaaan' until the voice turned to small sobs.

Maybe asking Kouen to let Alibaba work for him sounded pretty good.

Kouen was in the their palace's garden when Koumei approached him.

"Brother king, is it alright to have Alibaba helped me with work?" Koumei requested it politely, although he was pretty nervous. It was weird, he wasn't particularly needed Alibaba, but he wanted Alibaba to accompany him.

"Do you really need his help?" Kouen replied with a question, which Koumei responded it with a nod.

"Well, not for long—maybe." Koumei wanted to keep Alibaba longer if he could. "And he can still do your share of work with me." Kouen wouldn't lose anything, except if what Kouen seek in Alibaba is the very same reason Koumei wanted him.

"If you need help, you can ask him—but I don't think that he needed to move to your workplace." That means a 'no', Koumei didn't seem want to give up.

"It's easier for him to learn what I do by watching me." Koumei is not bad with argument, he could persuade people easily, maybe Kouen too.

"You can always teach him directly in my place, I don't see why it has to be in your place." Kouen didn't even glance at Koumei, which rose a suspicion from Koumei. He tried to guess why Kouen had to have Alibaba with him, because he tried to have a positive thought that Alibaba was nothing aside from plaything for Kouen.

"It would be easier and it might distract you from work." This would be the last argument, if Kouen kept saying no, then Koumei will give up. Alibaba had opened to himself a little bit, so the development is going well.

"Are you interested in Alibaba as well?" Kouen changed the topic, because he rarely see Koumei would spend some effort over someone. He was really lazy, so this kind of action couldn't be ignored easily.

"I'm not—as well?" Koumei denied the fact, but he couldn't pretend to not hear that Kouen said 'as well'. Does it mean that Kouen was interested in Alibaba? That's the reason why Kouen didn't let Alibaba go from his grip?

Kouen scoffed, he felt like winning for some reason. Watching Koumei that stared at him with disbelief, and also the sense of losing that was shown on Koumei's face… It was amusing, maybe he would explain why he didn't want Alibaba to move from his workplace.

"Well, I don't see why you couldn't come to my study tomorrow." Kouen smirked and left the place, leaving Koumei alone in the garden.