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I'm feeling sick. It has nothing to do with being thrown by Rine, though it didn't help at all. I mean, I looked for her to ask some questions to find a way to improve my combat skills, then she first jumps at me to embrace me, sweaty herself, which does make her somehow even more alluring... well, there seems to be nothing that makes Rine less attractive.

“Phew...” I'm just stuck, and I can't think myself out of the problem while Jii-san can't answer any of my questions. I want to leave, either with or without the farmers, but I can't bring myself to force them into my decision nor to let them face the barbarians alone.

However, the last fight with the barbarians showed how underprepared we are. Jii-san and Rine will be fine, but I'm borderline and Kyou-san and Ara-san don't stand a chance if the fight drags on, and both of them know that.

Still, I made the decision to help, and I want to uphold it, but the only solution before us can only occur in case the enemy acts like we want it to, which sounds like a really stupid condition.

I swap to [Pikeman] to calm my nerves. I said to the farmers that I can only help that much, and the moment things go south, I will abandon them.

Shit! SHIT!

…

I just have to endure it. Or better, find a way to improve in the limited time we have. I need ways to crack the defense of these barbarians. For a second my inner eye sees an exploding barbarian, and I'm glad I'm already in [Pikeman], as I would vomit once more otherwise.

...that's what I want to be able to do as well, right? No, it's what I need to be able to do. It doesn't matter if I want to or not. If I can't do so much, how will I return home? Also, Rine did her share of gore in front of my eyes already, so I should be used to it.

I have my options. I could try to expand my use of hero surges. Three are too few, problem is that I don't have an idea how to do that. Do I just use all I can do every day and my body adapts? Is it the body in the first place? I mean, I get brutal headaches, so is it a mind-thing? Probably.

Another option would be to learn a new [Skill]. If I can do that, I would have a tool that's only limited by SP which I can regain as long as I have time to chug a potion.

Third option would be to learn how to use my tools better. That's more or less what made me survive the last fight.

“What's wrong, lad?” Jii-san gets closer, both of his arms are splinted, as Kyou-san's healing spells are that much weaker with non-heroes.

“Phew...” I guess he's my mentor at the moment. Though I hate how he mentors me. “I doubt we can win this.”

“Bah, winning this is easy enough.” Easy for you to say, you overpowered geezer! “You just want to protect. That's a lot harder.” A dark shadow falls on his face, yet he changes it to a broad grin: “Though I never had anything to protect, so I don't know the weight of it.”

He sounds like he thinks of himself as a bad guy. Well, he is a barbarian, so he probably is. “We should have attacked right away, and let you handle it.”

“You're right.” He may say that, but there is no affirmation in his voice. “What would have been the worst that could happen that way?”

“We... would have scattered the barbarians, who would spread and attack all the farmsteads. Also, we can still meet a barbarian stronger than you, which would bite us either way...”

“That's why you're a leader, and I'm just a warrior.” I guess he doesn't think about details much. “In my experience, the Northwinds are just a bunch of cowards. If you scare them enough, they will scram.”

“And that Tren-thing will give them the opportunity?” I hate relying on a stupid tradition to solve my problems.

“Yes. We fought them already, and they're as gutless as ever.”

“I'd rather call that cautious.”

“I think there is a difference. I can't say what exactly, but it comes with character.”

“Phew...” I also have no idea. “Isn't there a new [Skill] you can teach me?”

“Not yet. My guts tell me that it's too early. Eventually.”

“Come on! There are-” I want to say that there are lives at stake, yet I'm too surprised that I'm about to say it myself. It sounds like I care about these people, instead of wanting to calm down my sense of indebtedness.

“Too early. Don't worry too much. Let's grab dinner instead.”

“Fuck!” After that last curse, I join Jii-san to the tables where dinner is distributed.

There are way too many people here. “Red Ranger!” “We stay strong!” “Thank you!” You're all going to die if I fuck up, you know!?

Jii-san waves at the cheers, while I quicken my pace to get my food as quickly as possible. It's gonna be tasteless mishmash anyway, cooked long enough to get rid of any discerning feature.

“Here you go, Red Ranger.” I take my wooden bowl and spoon and take a sip while walking. ...alright, Kyou-san helped. Still a mystery how she can give her personal taste to even that glop.

“Don't want to sit with the rest?” Jii-san asks, but I wave at him and retreat right away. I really hate being the center of attention. I guess back to the shed, this seems to be the one place where nobody looks. Well, I could also retreat to the room I've been given.

“Dear!” Fortunately, Rine thankfully stops two steps in front of me, which means I won't spill the hot glop on my pants. I was very concerned about that. Behind her are Kyou-san and Ara-san, I guess they had a late training or some sort of girl talk. “Hello.”

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A simple greeting? “...that's why you ran at me?”

“Tehehe.” She slowly gets closer and grabs my arm. For some strange reason, she seems overly happy, smiling dumber than usual. “I'm just happy to see you.”

While saying this sounds like her, I'm somewhat concerned, as Ara-san gives me some strangely cautious and curious vibes. Not that I can see it in her face, but she doesn't hide it from her spirit at all. “What's wrong?” I ask her.

Her eyes tilt a bit, I guess she's basically shrugging her shoulders. Her eyes are on Kyou-san, who looks very pissed. “We need to talk!” She says in a forceful manner.

“Can it wait?” I lift my bowl to show her that I like to eat first. I'm pretty sure that she wants to complain, given that she's been right all along about leaving the farm and how the last fight just hammered this in brutally. Better get an earful on a full stomach.

“No.” OK, I probably did something else that pissed her off as well. “We're talking in your room.”

Rine sends me a smile and a wave, while Ara-san worries me even more by speaking softly: “Give me a second to remember your face.”

How overdramatic. Oh well, as long as she has fun at my cost...

We enter the room, and I sit down on a chest and start shoveling the glob into my stomach. It's still hot, after all. Also filling, which is necessary considering how many mouths there are to feed. After gulping down the rest, I try to extend this period of relative quiet: “What's even in that?”

“Vegetables.” She answers stiff and quick: “Basically, every vegetable we had with some meat and a lot of grain. Giving it flavor was a challenge.”

“Ah.” OK, mentally prepared. “Alright, then start.”

Kyou-san looks at me as if I asked her to do an improv out of nowhere. Come on, you're the one who wants to speak to me.

She takes a deep breath, then she commands: “Take off your armor. Let me check your wounds first.”

Maybe she needs time to find a good start? Oh well, I use [Doff] to open all the belts of my armor immediately, slipping it off my body.

“Stand up.” Is she doing a check-up? She only needs to look at me or my status to do that! I mean, every bruise I get is listed there. Or via her [Check-up]-skill, and she can heal them with her spell without even seeing the wound. It does help though.

“Phew...” Well, she's the party healer. I stand up and roll up my sleeve to show her my newest trophy, given by a shoulder-throw from Rine. “Here it is. Nothing major.”

“Not what I want, but let's take care of that first. [Heal]!”

“OK, what are you after?”

“...change to [Student]. I want to take a good look at you as one.”

“Ah.” This makes sense. She knows that Jii-san trains me in that form and is concerned how my body holds up as one. Or maybe she wants to make sure whether my [Student]-body does change with training and needs to look at it directly, as the status wouldn't give her that info?

Oh well, I change. Standing before her as a [Student] is uncomfortable though, as this reminds me of two things: The time we were doing the pilgrimage, when I wanted to break the curse, before I got her cursed herself... and back when we were in school, even though it feels like an eternity ago.

She looks at me without a hint of the disgust she used to have, which makes me too conscious about how my belly shows. Her face calms down, she checks every nook and cranny, like I'm an animal on display.

Though it still feels strange, as Rine's and Ara-san's attitudes earlier only makes halfway sense towards it. I guess they didn't know why Kyou-san wanted to talk to me, and I'm thankful that we do it while alone, as I can imagine Ara-san's bad jokes and Rine's encouragement, which would make me feel even more conscious.

I'm not fat, I just have a bit of a belly!

She touches my cheeks with her hands, looking me directly into the eyes. Her dark eyes seem very fierce. She looks at me like I'm a bargain she brought home and is now considering if I was worth the price.

Then she swaps to [Student] herself, it's only a subtle difference between [Priest] and [Student], but I notice how her hands get a bit smoother, like she has just used hand lotion on it. Why did she change, though?

“I give up.”

...huh?

You gain 2 WP. You didn't kiss for so long! Finally you're engaging in one of the most basic acts of partnership.

It's just a small touch, but for half a second, our lips were on each other. As I blink to realize what is happening, Kyou-san licks her lips once and then pushes them onto mine with a loud smack.

She shoves me, and I didn't notice that we somehow turned enough to be in front of the bed, my legs touch the frame and I fall on my butt, but she neither let me nor my lips go. On the contrary, she now licks my lips with her tongue, which gives me all kinds of reactions.

While one part of my brain tries its best to shut the rest of it off, I have many thoughts. Questions, like what and why. As her hands start to caress my chest, my flabby no-muscle chest, I think about how Rine would think about it, trying to find guilt inside me.

Wait, she knows. Because of the message. Wait, wait. She knew beforehand! That's why... wait, wait, wait, Ara-san as well! Also, this is exactly the case she mentioned when we became a couple.

Kyou-san lets go of my lips and looks at me with upturned eyes, probably full-knowing how powerful that is, as her beauty and cuteness could bring down anyone without a doubt. “No?” The way she puts shyness and desire into this single word is meant to make a man fall.

Ah fuck it. Literally.

―○●○―

You gain 2 WP. Your sister-wife finally followed your example and kissed your husband. Isn't it nice to share good things?

It is, and I'm very happy for her. I wish her good luck.

Though I also envy her, as currently I can't get intimate with Dear.

You gain 1 WP. Your sister-wife and husband took off each other's clothes, exploring each other as they do. Why don't you join in as well?

I can't, but soon. Yet it means that Kyou and Dear are both together. Finally.

Ah, they were married way before I joined, I guess? So does that mean I'm next?

I look at Ara, who is the third wife. Though she vehemently denied her interest to become Dear's lover, she did give the general idea to help Kyou. “I apologize, Katarine-san.”

“Huh? For what? I'm fine with it.”

“I mean, I made a joke about humans humping each other all the time, and for that I apologize. I thought you just went along with the joke. It wasn't a suggestion and I’ve realized that the sex-crazed humans are more of a reality than I thought.”

… So she wasn't serious? But she listened to Kyou's plight!

You gain 20 WP. Your sister-wife successfully used her hand to-

“Ah!” I quickly dismiss the message as my face heats up. I mean, I want to know, but I also want to respect their privacy!

“Maybe Ken-kun is a quickshot?”

“I'm sure that it's just because it's his first time, he will definitely-”

You gain 10 WP. Your husband is really good at being gentle, as he j-

“AH!” Another quick message dismissal. While it's not like watching them, it comes dangerously close.

“More finger action,” Ara comments on this, probably reading every little detail of the messages. “This is good for our WP-count, which in return will empower us. If they engage in it on a daily basis, we could even try some of the more obscure options.”

I try to imagine whether Kyou and Dear would even want to be intimate with each other every day. Probably, I mean, I may not have much experience, but I think I would like to do it every day myself.

Ah, that thought is indecent!

You gain 100 WP. Your husband and sister-wife have lost their vi-

“AH!!!” Why do they keep popping up!?

“You were right, Katarine-san.”

“Huh?”

“It seems that Ken-kun got it ready again.”

“Please don't say it!” I'm sorry Kyou. We're way too informed right now! “Please Ara, we need to respect their privacy!”

“Then they should be quieter. I can hear them through the walls.”

I try to catch it, but I can't hear them at all. “Should we move?”

“I'm rather thinking about returning to our room and masturbating a bit, as it's very stimulating.” Wait, then she would be next to them!

I mean, if they were fine with it, I shouldn't interfere, but as long as I don't know, I will act like Dear and Kyou want privacy.

You gain 100 WP. The essence of life is-

As I shove the message aside, I have indecent pictures in my mind, and even get in the mood! “Let's move!” I take Ara's hand and drag her to the dinner tables. We haven't eaten yet, and the volume of all people should also block the other sounds Ara is hearing.

“Katarine-san,” Ara says in a very exciting voice while entering the room, even though her face is as unmoving as ever: “We should think about how we want to tease them later. We already got some fodder.”

“Ara, that's not-”

“What's wrong?” It's Grekk, who is bringing two bowls to us. “Sit with me, I'm kinda lonely here.” I think he was sitting with the elders though? “Rine-kun looks red. Something happened with Kenta-kun?”

“Well...”

“Ken-kun is porking Momo!”

“Ara!”

First comes the wonder: “Oh?” Then the surprise: “Wait, what?” Finally the admiration: “Ah.” Then he looks over his shoulder: “Seems like nobody listened.”

Ara's ears are raising: “I was careless.” Her ears move in all directions, her eyes also scan the room: “Affirmative, some are wondering what we're talking about. We should sit down and eat to not get more attention.”

Then it hits me as well. The farmers here don't know about the curse, but they know that Dear and I are lovers. While doing adult stuff with someone other than your spouse isn't forbidden by the Divine Laws, it is still very frowned upon, as marriage is sacred and being lovers is the step before this.

You gain 10 WP. Your sister-wife appreciates your husband's ge-

While I try to not blush too hard, Ara silently puts her spoon back into the bowl. Grekk notices that: “Is something wrong?”

“Katarine-san and I get constant updates of what is happening, which in this case caused me to lose my appetite.”

“I better don't ask.” Grekk seems to be nonchalant about it, but he also doesn't pry much, which is really appreciated. “Just eat and try to ignore it.”

Ara seems to have spaced off in thoughts, this happens sometimes. On the other hand, I take my spoon and while it's hard to tell what this is supposed to taste like, it tastes good. Kyou helped with it, after all.

I hope all works out for her.

You gain 5 WP. Another time, your husba-

Maybe I don't need to worry at all.