Fia's little hand was soft, but Riku kept it professional, letting go right away and flopping onto the ground beside her.
'What a strange human', Fia thought, glancing at him, then at her own hand before sitting down too.
She was just as exhausted as he was. Blood Destruction didn't have much backlash, but it still took a lot out of her.
"Princess! Are you alright?" A few minutes later, dozens of Werebeasts arrived, looking anxious.
But when they saw Fia and Riku sitting peacefully together, they froze, confused as could be.
The ruined land and shattered mountains scared them, but this calm, friendly scene made even less sense.
"Um, Fia, did you win?" the leader finally asked, glancing nervously at Riku.
All the others looked on, hoping their princess had captured the human.
"No, I lost completely," Fia said softly.
Shock spread across every face. They couldn't believe it.
"Fia, you really lost? Did this human capture you?" the leader pressed, his aura flaring with the signs of Blood Destruction.
The other Werebeasts glared at Riku, ready to jump him.
"Don't get the wrong idea, I lost, but I wasn't captured. We'll talk about it later. Treat Riku-san with respect," Fia explained quickly.
"...?" The Werebeasts glanced at each other, completely lost.
"Fia, could you prepare some hot water later? I'm feeling a bit grimy," Riku said, giving Fia's blue hair a playful rub.
"Don't touch my head! It'll stunt my growth!" Fia pouted. "And your hands are dirty!"
"Relax, don't worry so much," Riku said, grinning and ignoring her protests, still ruffling her hair.
Fia puffed up her cheeks, pretending to be mad, but there was a faint blush on her face, she actually kind of liked it.
Riku smirked to himself. There really were similarities between Fia and her descendant, Izuna. Izuna liked being patted on the head, too, though she had her own quirks.
"..."
Seeing their princess let a human pat her on the head was too much for the others they just stared, dumbfounded.
Not long ago, these two had been mortal enemies. Now they were… friendly? They couldn't make sense of it.
Still, no one spoke up. Riku's power was obvious if their princess had lost to him, none of them dared pick a fight.
"Riku-san, please come with us," the old chief finally said, showing some respect.
Riku nodded, walking alongside Fia and the others, still patting her head, which made her keep protesting in an adorable way.
He couldn't help but smile, her hair really was soft.
The rest of the Werebeasts just watched, jaws dropped, as their "invader" walked home with the princess and chief, chatting like old friends.
They had no idea what was going on.
Later, as Riku and Fia soaked in the hot springs, the others finally worked up the courage to ask the chief what had happened. But his answer was still, "I don't know."
That left everyone even more confused.
But right now, Riku and Fia were both just enjoying a nice, relaxing bath.