POV Aron Brightcloud

The clothing store differed from the restaurant we had walked by earlier. Where the restaurant had made one feel relaxed and comfortable, this building told one of its magnificence and elegance.

Naturally, Sephiroth had found the most expensive store in the entire city. Sighing, I followed her in.

Once again I debated over my decision giving her so much freedom. Yet in the end I came to the same conclusion. I enjoyed having someone that behaved normally. All the other people acted either as if they were above or below me… Moving along the rows of elegant and colorful clothing, I tried to find Sephiroth. I was still searching when a familiar voice sounded behind me.

“Young master, what do you think? Does the dress suit me?”

Sephiroth had used the time I had lagged behind to change into a curve-hugging ball gown.

It’s revealing cut accentuated Sephiroth’s curves even more than normal. The red color gave her a seductive and devilish appearance, beguiling everyone to look at her for a longer duration.

Not minding my stare, Sephiroth gracefully walked towards me. Her hips swaying seductively. I only managed to snap out of it after she had reached the halfway point between us.

“What do you think, young master?” She asked a second time, fully aware that she had spellbound me.

Clearing my throat, I answered her truthfully. “You look gorgeous! It really fits you.”

“Thank you, young master!” Full of happiness she stepped closer to me and slipped her arms around my right arm, clinging to me with her entire body. Her head was suddenly right beside mine. She looked up at me with her soul capturing eyes.

With an Iron will I broke free of her.

“What did we say? Don’t push it too much.” I disconnected myself from her. With her it was like walking on a tightrope, If you let your guard down, you fell.

She looked at me innocently. “Aw, don’t be so stuck up, relax a little.”

Hearing her answer, I thought to myself. Yes right, If I had relaxed, you would have broken through my mental walls long ago. A change of place was needed. I didn’t trust myself to stay here and preserve through further attempts.

Although I had an innate resistance to normal women, I was only barely able to hold my own against her. Sadly, the equation didn’t account for her wearing beautiful and revealing dresses. I had felt my defenses crumble one after another. A minor part of me already began to ask itself, why not stay a little longer? Surly helping her for a short amount of time wouldn’t hurt, right?

Exactly because of that I had to leave.

“Know what? Why don’t you stay here and try more clothes? While you do that, I will visit the weapons shop on the other side of the street and have a first look. We can meet up later and discuss our findings, okay?”

“But master, to whom should I show the clothes and ask for advice, if not you? Can’t you stay a little longer? We can go together afterwards.”

“Sorry, but I should search for a weapon. I want to have enough time before deciding. I am positively convinced that you will find clothes that fit you. The red dress is truly gorgeous and looks stunning on you.”

Mollified by my compliments, she didn’t try to change my mind any longer. Danger avoided. I left the store before she could come up with new ideas.

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POV Sephiroth

Seeing Aron leave, she clicked her tongue. He was fighting off her seduction attempts easier and easier. It made her incensed at not getting her way. Now she wanted him even more.

She quickly changed out of the dress into her usual attire and followed her charge. Although Sephiroth played as his date for this trip, that didn’t mean she had forgotten why she had become acquainted with him. His safety was her top priority. She could have reminded him and behaved like a guard, but he would have been more tense and made it much harder for her to worm her way into his heart.

She stealthily followed him into the weapons shop. Not being at his side gave her additional options. Sephiroth was still a mischievous demon at heart. In her eyes, having to protect someone didn’t mean that she couldn’t make his life a little more interesting as well.

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POV Aron Brightcloud

Sword after sword hung in racks, filling up the entire room. Some were longer, some smaller, some were black, others glinted like they were a piece of art. So what did I want? I needed one that was similar to the practice swords I had been training with, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t buy additional swords for the future.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I knew that my main path lay in magic, yet I had to confess that fighting with the sword had something invigorating to me. Even if I concentrated on magic, I still liked to train with the sword in my free time.

Focused on the weapons, I missed the bulky man coming in my direction.

“Good day Young master, how may I help you?”

Hearing the sudden words, I jumped slightly.

“Hello, I was looking for a sword.”

“Very well, you are at the right place. We have swords for every occasion. Do you need something light and lean for quick attacks or movements? Or do you prefer more weight and power, letting you break through enemy defenses easily?”

I remembered the sword I had fought with.

“It should be a lean one-hand sword, not too long and thick, but it needs to survive a mighty swing. I don’t want one of those thin toothpicks that are so well liked by most nobles. Clashing head on with my enemy has to be possible, yet it is imperative that I can wield it with only one hand. I might want to use my second hand for additional actions.”

The smith quietly listened to my requirements before he softly nodded and turned towards a rack farther back in the store.

“Please follow me, I think I have exactly the right sword for you.”

After some rummaging in the back of one of the racks, he got a hold of the sword he wanted. He brought it over and gave it to me to try. At first glance its appearance was bland, but when I gripped it in my hand and gave it a swing, it felt exactly right. The sword felt much better compared to the practice swords I had used before.

“A retired combat mage had sold it to me once for a good price. Normally these swords are much more expensive, but its rune inlay has been damaged during a fight. Its power has declined. It is now comparable to a normal sword, albeit much sharper and more durable.

“I like how it feels, it also meets my needs perfectly. Could you please put it aside for me? I will come back later.”

Even though I was happy with it, I still wanted Sephiroth’s thoughts on it. Had I bought a gun I could have sung a song of all the details one had to pay attention to, but swords were not included in my education.

I suddenly heard noise from outside. Something was going on.

What had happened now? Why did a picture of my most liked and hated guard pop up in my mind all of a sudden?

Surely she hadn’t been able to land herself in trouble during the brief time I had left her in the clothing store? There should have been only women around, no potential dangers in there. Still, I couldn’t stop the foreboding feeling from spreading, I needed certainty. My legs carried me swiftly towards the commotion.

The first thing I caught sight of when I left the shop was a wooden carriage. Led by four horses, the symbol of a black raven adorned its sides.

What were the people of Ravenhorst doing here?

I scanned further and found more details. Naturally, I saw the one person I didn’t want to see. Sephiroth stood right in the middle of it, next to the carriage, surrounded by four guards that were trying to push her towards the wooden door. The dispute had garnered the attention of the surrounding commoners. A lot of them had stopped their activities and watched.

Without pause, I acted.

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

Hearing my voice, Sephiroth immediately calmed down and called out to me.

“Young master!”

The guards that had at first tried to disregard me gave me a second glance.

“Young man, don’t mettle in the affairs of nobility!”

At the disrespectful answer, I felt the part I had integrated from former Aron become furious immediately. How dare they treat me like this! I was the young master of this barony. I allowed no one to talk to me like this!

My part that had come from the other world reared its ugly head as well. During the last two weeks after I had lost my combat state, my cold and calculating mind had been further smothered into oblivion. It had been lulled into “sleep” by all the happiness and fun I had. Only at this moment, did I realize how the absorbed soulpieces, Sephiroth and my new family had changed my usual temper to a much more mollified and gentle one.

Now, as the filthy reality had come knocking back at my door, the old, clinical and cold routines came to life. I felt a small part of my combat state awaken as well, combining itself with my normal mentality. Good, it was regenerating. Soon I would be able to use my complete tool-set once more. I quickly scanned my surroundings a second time. Thread assessments came in from all around me. Many plans of actions were composed and discarded shortly after until I had found the one that fit best.

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POV: Sephiroth

Seeing Aron coming to her rescue, Sephiroth felt relieved. After having checked on her master in the weapons shop, she had seduced one of the people outside to make life a little more interesting. The plan had been to see how Aron would deal with the love-stuck man who should try to steal her away from him. To her horror, the man turned out to be an undercover guard of another baron that had been on his journey through Mendres.

The other guards had taken notice of her, and with that, the young baron who they were guarding. Immediately smitten with her, the baron had ordered his man to deliver Sephiroth to him.

Luckily, Aron arrived at the last moment. She didn’t want to find out what would have happened if she had entered the cabin.The guard didn’t pay much attention to Aron and didn’t realize that he was speaking towards a baron.

As she was looking in Aron’s direction she saw the change that came over him. At the beginning he seemed worried, then his face changed for millisecond to one of pure apathy and coldness before settling on a mask that still appeared friendly to people that didn’t know him. Everybody missed that change apart from her.

She had made a mistake and that mistake could cost her much more than she was able to imagine at the moment.

Sephiroth had always known that there was a part of Aron, that was much darker, calculating and even callous. But she had forced it out of him soon after she had become his bodyguard. At least she had thought that.

After she had gotten a better hold of him she had quickly forgotten about his other state. But seeing him now, a lot of details she had payed little attention to became suddenly clear. Now she realized that what she had seen was only a tiny bit of the true behavioral pattern.

How could he have been so malleable? He had come directly from the battlefield. That war had been waging for years. Something must have happened to him, letting her smother that callous part of him much easier than it would have been normally the case.

At the same time that had lead to her massively underestimating the pervasiveness of his character trait. Had she realized that earlier, she would have never brought him out into the open this early. She would have made sure that he buried that nasty thing forever. Or at least long enough for her to build a stronger relationship. It was a great tool against others, but she for sure didn’t want to have it pointed at herself.

She didn’t know what it was, but it made influencing him much harder.