Inside the second floor of Rigbarth Outpost, the morning sun shed its light onto the bed there. Though the light did not cover Ares's eyes directly, it provided just enough warmth to gently rouse him from his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes and yawned, pondering whether he should lie in bed a little longer.

"Nnn…" Ares's left arm was immobile and hot, and he quickly realized why. He looked to his left and found Scarlett, now his spouse, still asleep and hugging his arm tightly. "No, Beloved…"

Ares thought to himself, a little worried, "what could she possible be dreaming of?"

"Beloved, please, no more onions…"

Ares stifled a laugh with all his will. Some things, like Scarlett's dislike of leeks and onions, would never change. When the two rangers first started dating, Ares had tried to make Scarlett overcome her revulsion. However, eventually he decided that because Scarlett ate plenty of other vegetables, it would be fine for her to dislike just a few of them.

Ares reached over with his free hand and softly caressed Scarlett's face. Her expression softened before she opened her eyes. "Mmm, good morning, Beloved."

"Good morning, Sweetheart." Ares smiled at his lovely partner.

Scarlett looked down and released Ares's arm with a start. He chuckled a little in response.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I… think so, yes." It seemed Scarlett wasn't bothered by her dream. "I feel quite well rested this morning."

"That's good. Hmm, should we eat breakfast?"

"Yes, let's." In truth, Scarlett wanted to lie with Ares a bit longer, but her sense of duty always prevailed in the end, and she joined Ares in preparing the day's meals. The two cooked their own breakfasts, and for lunch, Ares made Scarlett a tempura bowl while she made a doria for him. Once breakfast was eaten and lunch was packed, the two rangers greeted Livia before walking outside to their shared field. It was a pleasant spring morning, with some clouds decorating the sky. Finding their familiar training dummy, the two stood side-by-side, Ares on the left and Scarlett on the right.

Scarlett turned to Ares, "are you ready, Beloved?"

He nodded, "ready, Sweetheart!"

The two rangers began simultaneously charging their spell seals. As was familiar now, they rotated their arms and rune power, oscillating the seals. With perfect synchronization, Ares threw his spell seal upward and to the left, while Scarlett threw hers upward and right. The two spell seals flew in mirror paths, curving downward before converging at the training dummy, ensnaring it with a powerful combined magic. The spell seals seemed to form a heart at the moment they collided; now they crossed over each other as they both bound the training dummy.

Ares turned to Scarlett and simply beamed at her. She returned a warm smile, clearly satisfied with their collaborative technique. "I think it's beautiful, what we've created," she spoke.

"Yeah. There's no one else I'd rather do this with, Sweetheart." The double seal was far stronger than just two spell seals put together, but more than a useful technique, it was proof of how much their bonds had grown over time. Ares walked over to the training dummy, battered by extensive use but still standing strong. "You've watched over us too, all this time. Thank you for your guidance." Scarlett followed Ares and held his hand, and the two of them bowed to the dummy with respect. Scarlett then turned to face her partner.

"When I first became a ranger, I never imagined I would marry my coworker, let alone someone who would help me grow in so many ways. Every day has been filled with so much joy, and now I can't imagine going back."

Ares nodded, and he held Scarlett's hand in both of his. "I feel the same way. I want to keep walking forward with you, for the rest of our lives."

"Beloved…" Scarlett and Ares wanted to kiss, but under the stalwart gaze of the training dummy, neither ranger could make any moves.

After fidgeting awkwardly, Ares decided to speak up. "Oh right, what should we do with our skill stones?"

"Well," Scarlett and Ares each took out a skill stone from their bags. Ares held a stone for Curved Throw, while Scarlett held a stone for Twisting Throw. Thanks to Darroch and Livia's guidance, Scarlett and Ares were able to imbue the knowledge of their invented techniques into these unique stones after a couple months. They still retained the knowledge of their original techniques, so they had no use for these. "We can already execute these skills, but other rangers might make good use of these. Maybe we should give these to Captain Livia and ask her to make copies of these stones."

"That sounds good." Ares stared at the stone in his hand. "I'm glad that our improvements are helping other rangers at the same time."

"I agree. I'd like to think we're paving the way for the next generation of rangers, so they can grow safer and even stronger." Scarlett paused, then placed a hand on her stomach with a gentle smile. Ares nodded and also gingerly placed his hand on hers. "Of course," Scarlett continued, "that's only if they want to become rangers."

"Oh? I kind of thought you'd want to have a family of rangers."

"I wanted that at first, but one reason we fight as rangers is so others won't have to. As long as our children grow up to be safe, happy, and kind, they can become anything they want."

Momentarily surprised, Ares nodded. "You're right, Sweetheart. Whether they want to be rangers, bakers, or anything else, let's make the best possible future for them."

"Agreed. Well then, shall we be on our way?"

With that, the two rangers began their day's work. Ares needed to finish watering his crops before capturing a wanted monster. Scarlett, meanwhile, had to test a new patrol route she had drawn. By now, they had settled into their routine lives, but to them, routine also meant a constant journey of helping each other grow as rangers and as people. These days, they were also busy preparing to welcome a new member of their family. Their household was about to become much more lively, and they both were optimistic for what tomorrow would bring.