At the end of the show, it was time to say goodbye.
The time I spent with the circus people was short, but they were all very kind to me and my group.
“Mr. Ester, thank you so much for helping Simbad. I will never forget it. When we reach the capital, we would like you to visit our circus again. And thank you for trusting us, Miss Kharla. It was a pleasure to meet you and your friends; you all were very charming people,” said the terrifying clown…
The clown’s farewell was not as emotional as the farewell from the city of Cuencas, but we had to continue on our way.
When we were all in the new carriage, we left the circus.
As we traveled at night, we took turns sleeping.
Chizze, Raiza, and the dryad would sleep in the carriage tonight while Kharla and I drove.
I prefer to have Kharla accompany me due to her ability to detect danger. I don’t understand how it works, but I feel safe with her by my side.
However, I think Kharla and Raiza still haven’t made amends.
At this rate, we’ll reach the next village in three days. I just hope to avoid more problems, at least tonight.
…
…
…
That same night, in a hidden hideout in the Empire of Dredprism, a woman was eating a delicious dessert… it was a strawberry pudding.
She had such a happy expression that she looked like a little girl. She was Eurisia, the Scorpion Herald.
“I almost died in that fight with the idiot brother’s girlfriend. Although I doubt he has the strength to subdue that woman, I barely managed to get away with it. But it doesn’t matter now; I’ve done my job. I deserve this reward.”
“I doubt it,” said a man in golden-yellow armor as he entered Eurisia’s room.
“Master Ámbar, I just finished the task you gave me…”
The man took the dessert from her hands and threw it on the floor. The woman cried. The man regretted throwing the pudding.
“I don’t know what to do with you. You are my greatest creation, but you are so foolish. I shouldn’t have only taught you to fight.” The woman continued to cry while looking at her dessert on the floor.
“I’m very sorry; I think I went too far, but I had to punish you for failing your mission,” said the man.
The woman stopped crying and, with a dead and empty gaze, looked at Ámbar.
“Didn’t you realize that you didn’t kill that dryad?”
Eurisia responded to Ámbar’s words: “But, master, I left her body in pieces.”
“I’m sorry to bring you the bad news, but her connection with the prince remains the same, so she is still alive. You’d better finish your job before they meet, or you’ll lose more than that pudding.”
Eurisia, still with a cold expression, stepped on the remnants of her dessert. Her gaze filled with hatred and frustration as she bit her lip so hard it started to bleed.
…
…
…
Two days had passed since we said goodbye to the circus people. We were training, more specifically our compatibility with Kharla, as she has an ability that allows her to enhance a person and control their actions in a fight.
The Sacred Connection!
Now we want to understand how Kharla’s abilities work.
“Chizze, stay still and wait for my orders. Kharla, prepare your spell,” said the bossy elf.
The training consisted of a match between Raiza and Chizze with Kharla’s support.
“By the power of the goddess, bless this person with bravery, strength, and courage. Grant them the power that we all have in our souls and hearts. Sacred Connection,” recited Kharla.
As soon as she finished her spell, Raiza and Chizze began to fight hand-to-hand.
I remember the first time they fought; Raiza completely outmatched Chizze, it wasn’t even a real fight. Now it’s different.
I know Chizze has become somewhat stronger on this journey, but with Kharla’s help, she is much closer to closing that gap.
I shouted to the two women: “Stop. There’s no need to see who wins, as in a non-lethal fight it’s only necessary to see what they are capable of. It’s clear to me that Kharla can enhance a warrior to a level somewhat similar to a hero, but I’m still worried because when Kharla uses her powers on Chizze, there are no side effects on Kharla. But when you did the same with Raiza, you fainted from the pain.”
Raiza and Kharla exchanged glances, but Kharla looked away and said: “Since I was young, I have used these powers. I don’t know why I am the only person who can do this… my father never told me why I can do it, but it doesn’t matter. When I’ve used this ability with Carlo Dante’s doubles, there were never any problems, although they weren’t very strong people. Chizze is stronger; even so, there isn’t much difference between her and the doubles. But with Raiza, it was different…”
Kharla took a deep breath and looked Raiza in the face.
“When I connected with you, I felt a lot of pleasure. I felt like I was born to meet you, I felt your strength, and I know you are much stronger than you’ve shown, but… I feel like our connection is incomplete, it’s as if you are incomplete. Even so, I can maintain the connection with you for a minute, but after that minute, I have to force the connection, so it would be very dangerous for me to try again.”
Raiza took Kharla by the hand. “Connect with me, confirm your theory, and let me also feel our connection. Last time I couldn’t feel it because I was focused on the fight.”
Without saying a word and without letting go of each other’s hands, Kharla used her magic, “Sacred Connection.” They sat facing each other.
…
After one minute and seven seconds, their connection broke.
“Ester, check that Kharla’s body hasn’t suffered any damage,” said Raiza while still holding Kharla’s hand. I noticed that Kharla had bled a little from her nose.
Using my healing magic, I found that only a blood vessel had burst and her body had no other damage, but that minute had exhausted her.
Raiza said: “Now I understand that we have a strong connection. Even though I didn’t make any moves, I could feel every muscle in my body, how we shared our senses. I think we were both born to meet each other.”
Kharla smiled at Raiza’s words; I even noticed a bit of blush on her.
“Well, now we understand how Kharla’s ability works. I guess it’s not worth using her magic on me… hey, and what shall we call that magic? I propose ‘Hero’s Support.’”
Raiza and Kharla looked at me with indifference; I also felt Chizze’s cold stare on my back.
Kharla responded: “Thank you for the suggestion, Mr. Ester, but I prefer to call it ‘Sacred Connection.’ It sounds less silly.”
With a nervous voice, I said: “Yes, you’re right, ‘Sacred Connection’ sounds better.”
…
…
…
Two days later, we arrived at one of the great cities of the Empire of Dredprism: the city of Nessy. It is a beautiful city; I think it looks better than Zhanty.
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I also noticed that it is a religious city. Murals painted on the walls, those paintings are based on verses from the sacred word. I was drawn to a mural based on the verse of the lady of the lake…
It tells that the lady of the lake will give her sacred sword to a true hero…
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A young boy comes to see the lady of the lake. He asks her to give him her sacred sword, but the woman refuses. Instead, the boy asks to at least see the sword.
The boy carefully observed the sword with the lady of the lake. He memorized its design, and when he grew up, he used a forge to create his own copy of the lady of the lake’s sword.
Over the years, he achieved great feats with that sword and once again returned to the lady of the lake to see if he was worthy of the real sword. But the lady of the lake never gave him the sacred sword.
She told him that a true hero does not need a sacred sword; he himself will make the sword he wields sacred. It is said that the man was buried with that sword and, upon his death, the sword was recognized as a sacred sword by the church.
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I was marveling at the city, but my companions were very tired. Since we had a Dryad that we needed to keep hidden, it wasn’t a good idea to go to an inn. Furthermore, in this elegant city, there didn’t seem to be many places to camp, and we definitely wouldn’t buy a house here, as we would only be staying a few days at most.
“Kharla, come with me to find a place to stay and you two keep your eyes on the Dryad. If a fight breaks out, avoid making a scene; I don’t think this city will be very tolerant.”
We headed to the merchant’s guild to rent a house.
“Mr. Ester, a question,” said Kharla. “Tell me,” I replied. “Why didn’t you ask me to use Sacred Connection with you?”
I scratched my cheek and looked away. “Well, you always mention that my aura bothers you, and I thought you wouldn’t want to connect with me…”
I also remembered Raiza’s words, who said she wasn’t human, and I feared that Kharla might confirm it.
“I wouldn’t mind doing it with you, but let me prepare my body and heart.”
Was it my imagination, or did she wink at me in that last sentence?
At the guild, we were able to rent a small furnished cabin on the outskirts of the city. According to the contract, the cabin had two rooms with two beds each. Since Chizze always sleeps with me, it should be enough. The house also has a large yard filled with plants and trees, perfect for making the Dryad comfortable. It is also away from curious eyes and ears.
It was simply the perfect house.
We had to rent the cabin for a month, even though we would only stay a few days, but no one rents a cabin for such a short time.
Once we had the lease agreement, we met up with our group.
Now we needed to buy some food.
We stopped by an inn and ordered three baskets of food with the best local cuisine.
While they prepared the meal, we went to the market to buy a variety of fruits, although I noticed something strange.
They were selling barrels of purified water by water mages. In the countries where I come from, people usually drink water from wells and rivers, and only boil it before consuming it, but most don’t even do that…
Instead, in this city, they drink water purified by the best water mages… incredible.
I bought a barrel of purified water since I noticed that the Dryad only drinks water. I also noticed that my companions bought some bottles of wine.
After picking up our food baskets, we went to our cabin on the outskirts of the city.
As we walked through the outskirts of the city, we noticed that the area wasn’t as elegant as the houses in the center of Nessy, but for our purposes, this area was perfect.
We enjoyed the food baskets, which weren’t quite to my taste. The meals were different styles of soups with noodles and breaded meat, a rare combination for me, although my companions seemed to enjoy the food a lot, especially Raiza. I guess she loves the food from her homeland. The Dryad also seemed to enjoy the purified water.
I tried the water; it has a neutral taste, neither sweet nor salty, which was new to me.
In every place where I drank water, it had a different taste depending on the metals and mineral levels in the water, so water with such a neutral taste was something new to me.
After eating, the girls started drinking wine and chatting among themselves. I was surprised that the Dryad could also enjoy wine.
Honestly, a harem isn’t as great as one might imagine. It’s true that it has its advantages, but sometimes I miss my friends and our male conversations.
I wonder if Amelia felt the same way about not having anyone to talk to about girl stuff.
I took a jug of the purified water and went up to the roof of the cabin to simply observe the stars.
Even though I traveled so far from my homeland, the sky is always the same…
“It’s a beautiful moon tonight, Ester.”
I felt a strong shiver run through my body. I recognized that voice, but the speaker was a girl no older than 10, with long dark hair, a white dress that contrasted with eyes as red as blood…
image [https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/079/019/259/large/duval-saul-ytut.jpg?1723730586]
I had never seen a girl as terrifying as her, but she had an oddly familiar presence.
What confirmed my suspicions were the gloves on her hands… they were my old gloves…
“Charlotte?”
“I’m glad to see you haven’t forgotten me. Don’t worry, I won’t harm you; I just wanted to say hello since I’ve finished my last contract in this city and need to leave before the uprising begins.”
“May I ask you something, Charlotte?”
“It depends on what you ask.”
I swallowed, trying to control my fear. “What did you come to do in the city?”
Charlotte smiled and said, “Let’s make an informal deal. Heal one of my hands and I’ll tell you whatever you want, but if you try to harm me, I’ll kill you and tell you nothing.”
I didn’t have the courage to say a word. I simply took one of her hands and used my regenerative magic on it, returning it to normal.
“Thank you, Ester, but I want you to know that I won’t be returning your gloves just yet. Now tell me, what do you want to know?”
“Tell me what’s going to happen in this city and why,” I requested calmly.
Charlotte smiled and said:
“The Demon King has forbidden us from harming humans outside of the battlefield. He said it would be bad for his plans.
Some demons ignored his orders, like the Celestial Kings Sapphire and Ruby, who decided to attack civilian towns with their army, thus accelerating the Demon King’s dominance, but at the cost of angering him.
As a final opportunity, the Demon King ordered them to fight against an army of volunteers and soldiers from Dredprism, who witnessed the Demon King kill the Celestial Kings, the very demons who devastated their country and killed their families willingly. Ironically, all those people were avenged by the Demon King himself. Since then, many humans see the Demon Lord differently, but not only humans, also demons. He didn’t hesitate to kill his most powerful soldiers, and he did it with barely any effort. So, demons have learned to obey without question.
The orders were not to directly attack humans, but we could help them destroy each other. That’s why he allows civilians fleeing the war to safely reach other countries that are not prepared to accept them. He wanted to create those frictions because he doesn’t want a united human front; he wants to see humans destroy each other.
That’s what I came to do here, in this city. There is discontent with how the country has handled the war against the Demon King. It’s ironic; it’s the country where life is best on the continent, but where its people are most dissatisfied with their leaders and want to rebel. I only gave them the power to do so. Now this is a problem among humans, and I must leave before I am accused of intervening too much.”
...
I was stunned by her explanation. I never thought the most powerful and prosperous nation was hanging by a thread.
Charlotte gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and prepared to leave.
“By the way, Ester, they have the sacred sword from that lady of the lake story. Personally, I don’t believe in that story, but the power of that thing was real. They were able to destroy the body of the deceased with whom they buried that sword. I can barely believe that, even in death, that man did not let go of his sword. They had to reduce his corpse to ashes to take that sword. Wow, humans can be worse than demons with the right push. The Demon King is right; it’s better to wear them down and let them kill each other.”
Once Charlotte finished speaking, she vanished into the dark night…
“I can no longer feel her presence. Damn, if what she says is true, I don’t have time to lose.”
At that moment, I heard an explosion in the center of the city. A lightning bolt emerged from there and surrounded the entire city with a purple barrier, similar to the color seen in the monster zone.
The city was trapped, including our cabin.
Interestingly, the barrier was near the backyard of our cabin. I approached the barrier, touched it with my hand, and my hand caught fire with black flames that didn’t burn my body but rather my vitality.
Fortunately, Raiza had lent me the knife we stole from Tommy in Zhanty. Without a second thought, I used it to cut my hand. It fell to the ground, and after a few seconds, the black flames ceased.
Once I ensured the fire was out, I reattached my hand using my healing magic.
Even though I healed my hand, it still hurt.
My companions emerged from the cabin, somewhat frightened.
“Mr. Ester, what’s happening?” asked Kharla, while Chizze approached to examine my newly healed wound.
Raiza looked at the sky and said, “This seems to be a demon attack.”
I replied, “You’re wrong, it’s a human attack.”
Chizze approached me with a lost look.
“Master, you smell really good.” Chizze started licking my hand, cleaning the remnants of my blood.
“Lady Raiza, I don’t want to be a princess in Rusthia or be an adventurer. I want to be with you always.” I think Raiza and I were equally surprised when Kharla gave Raiza a kiss on the cheek.
“Master, I want to have your puppies. Throughout this journey, we haven’t been able to have sex, and I’m very stressed.”
Chizze tore my shirt and I saw her eyes… they were the eyes of a hunter looking at its prey. But then Chizze fell asleep next to Kharla, who was still trying to kiss Raiza.
“Oh, by the goddess, it’s a good thing I stopped them before things escalated,” said the Dryad.
Raiza responded with some anger, “What did you do to Kharla?”
“Sorry for interrupting your romantic moment. I just put her to sleep with some spores from a sleeping plant. But the real problem is this cage we’re trapped in. I recognize this magic; it’s one of the Demon’s capital treasures, the Orb of Lust. It makes humanoid races surrender to their darkest desires… It’s clear that this magic wouldn’t affect the elven hero, but why does the priest seem so calm?”
“That doesn’t matter, this is an emergency. That orb… it must be part of a plan to create friction among humans. I think the human who orchestrated this entire plan also has the sacred sword of the princess of the lake,” I replied to the Dryad.
Raiza said, “But that sword was a legend.”
“The story told in the sacred word might be false, but the power of that sword is real and dangerous. As in the legend, only a true hero should wield it; if an unworthy being uses it, the sword can corrupt that person,” said the Dryad, adding, “There’s no time to lose. You two go and stop this disaster before the situation becomes irreparable. And don’t worry, I’ll take care of your sweethearts. At least I’ll show that I can take care of myself, at least for a while.”
We heeded the Dryad’s words and headed to the center of the city to try to stop this disaster.