That man was strong, I was using the elixir and still almost went down, I seriously need more "Strength" and "Endurance". But he really didn't expect me to be able to use [Electric Magic], I was his worst opponent since he was wearing chain mail. I'm thankful for Roxanne.
The girls told me how it went. Two of the men got caught unaware by [Melt Skin] and then the elementals finished them off. Alissa killed the blond man instantly but the other two near her weren't so distracted and she was forced into melee. She held on until Roxanne dealt with her side, then turned around and used [Fire Whip] on one and an elemental knocked down the other, then Alissa managed to finish them at the cost of a shoulder wound. She even had to use an anti-venom, she was going to get paralyzed.
Hana burned 1 to death with her [Fire Breath] and dealt with the other two by herself until support came. One got an arrow to the eye and the other got stunned with a small explosion near his head and then skewered by Hana's winged charge.
In the end the taunt didn't really work since they were frenzied by their lust and evil desires. Mentioning my name might also have had the contrary effect since I was far from being threatening to them.
"Why did they attack us like this? They all threw their lives away..." I ask.
"Their bounty plates say they did some pretty heinous things," Hana answers.
"Bounty plates?"
"A simplified ID plate. You put a lot of blood in it and it tells you the name, the crimes of the person and if they are still alive when the blood was taken," Roxanne explains.
"They weren't mere thieves, they would have tried to extort us if they were. Only the wicked would throw their lives away so easily," Hana adds.
"So it's my luck that strikes again…"
"We all knew what you meant with 'isekai protagonist luck' and we don't regret it, don't think about blaming yourself," Alissa says with a strict tone.
"Okay..." I let out a weak smile, "Ah… my 'Sanity' went down a point."
"What value is it now?" Alissa asks.
"Seven."
They all look concerned.
"Is it bad?" I ask.
"Yes… you should seek guidance from the priests," Alissa says, Roxanne nods.
We rest for a while and I feel hungry, my stomach is empty so we take an early lunch. I meditate to regain mana and it really calmed my heart.
We move again in search of a minotaur. After half an hour Alissa finds one and we sneak close to investigate.
I see a 2-meters tall monster. It has a black bull face with two large and sharp looking horns pointing forward, an incredibly muscular black human body that would make a bodybuilder blush, - no underwear, and muscular black horse legs.
We immediately turn away, Alissa and Roxanne are blushing, Hana shrugs.
"If it's too big it's no fun you know, pain is still pain," she says.
After 2 more embarrassing encounters with male minotaurs we find a female. The embarrassment is not much better, the female has 4 large human breasts and a visible vagina between the legs, no pubes.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," I say.
"W-we can handle it. I-it's not so bad, we will get used to it," Alissa says while blushing.
I breath in deeply and summon a very large and tough earth elemental. Once Hana and Alissa let out their arrows I let it charge and stay back.
"MOOOOO!" The female bovine roars.
The minotaur immediately charges towards the elemental with its horns pointed forward. The two clash and the horns get stuck in the chest of the elemental who grabs the minotaur while Hana and Alissa fill it with arrows.
I cast a few [Lightning Bolts] and it helps stop the minotaur from struggling for a while. The minotaur can't escape, this is the strongest elemental I can make, it's made specifically to be used to bear-hug the enemies to death. It has arms made of lead and there's a hook on one hand and a loop on the other, once the lock is made there's no escape.
The minotaur receives multiple arrows to the chest, flank, and neck. It starts to choke on blood and has difficulty breathing. The elemental hugs harder and ribs crack. After a few minutes the minotaur stops struggling and goes limp, it's dead.
"That was easy," Roxanne says, stretching.
"Well, it did use a huge amount of my mana. Also, the dew made it weaker," I answer.
"Ah well, I guess I can't start relaxing yet," and she lets out a smirk.
I store the body in my "Items".
"Let's go home, I wanna rest tomorrow, the classes start at the 1st."
They all nod and we move towards the town again. Alissa evades the monsters easily. We go back the way we came and enter the black door.
We get out and the ground is incredibly wet and muddy.
"It rained while we were inside," Alissa says.
"I had actually never seen it rain since I came here," I say.
"Dry season is ending," Roxanne says.
We move away from the exit when Alissa senses an unknown monster.
A cute little thing appears. It's a half-meter tall white bunny, its cute pink paws appear when it jumps forward, its cute little pink nose twitches when it smells us, and its cute little eyes look at us. Then it charges towards Hana and opens it's mouth, showing an impressive set of bloody and sharp teeth. Hana skewers it at the same time Alissa puts an arrow through its body.
"Aaahh..." I let out a moan.
"Ooh, a Rabid Rabbit, lucky we found one, they are always being hunted so much around here," Hana says while waving the body around.
"Oh, I leveled up. A-anyway, just store it in your [Item Box]," Alissa says in a worried tone.
Hana stiffens for a moment and stores the corpse, she cleans her spear and we continue moving.
We finally reach the border of the Sea of Trees and we see a cloudy grey sky.
"A bit depressing," Roxanne says.
"I like rainy days. Specially with some calming music," I say.
"Hm, I understand," Alissa says.
I pull out the dinghy and we go back home, I just cuddle with Alissa on the back row while Hana and Roxanne cuddle on the front row. My heart still feels messy, I need some time to recuperate my energy.
During bath, I make out and enjoy Roxanne while Hana puts Alissa to sleep with her hands. Roxanne has something very alluring on her that I can't explain, when she puts in some effort she can look so sexy I feel intoxicated, is this the effect of "Charisma"? I just know she healed my heart a little more, when the airhead goes away she can be quite gentle and loving.
It was nearly sunset when we passed the north gate. We are all tired so I ask Alissa to not make dinner, we just eat an "Items"-ready meal.
I go to sleep immediately with Alissa in my arms, Hana and Roxanne are together tonight.
Today is the 30th.
I wake up moaning, I feel a wet and pleasing sensation between my legs. Morning piece of heaven again. It reinvigorates me.
My [Summoning Magic] increased by 3 (now 15+8), my [Mana Control] and [Mana Efficiency] raised by 1 (now 0+6 and 0+5) and my MP increased by 20 (now 510).
Alissa gained 1 point in [Bow Use] (now 23), 1 point in [Sense Presence] (now 6) and 1 point in [Hawk Eyes] (now 2). She has 5 points left.
"Wolfy, you should visit Ciel. Tell her about the dungeon," Alissa says.
"You are not coming?" I ask.
"No, you should talk to her alone. I wanna visit Selina.
I smile, I like that she's wanting ro do things on her own, though right now it makes me a bit sad to be away from her.
"I'll go deliver the bounty plates to the guards," Hana says.
"Leave the minotaur in the backyard, I'll milk it," Roxanne says.
"You can do it by yourself?" I ask Roxanne.
"Yeah, it doesn't require [Dismantling] so I'll be fine, then you can take it to the guild later."
"Thanks, you are all so helpful," I say.
"No thanks needed, we are your soon-to-be wives," Alissa says a bit proud.
Hana goes to the guards HQ with the carpet and I ride Alissa to the temple, she will get me back once I finish. Hana doesn't have much mana so she can't use the dinghy, it's not really mana efficient in comparison to the carpet.
I get inside the temple and anxiously look for Ciel, not only I'm anxious to talk to her but I'm very conscious of her lately. I find her on the clinic and wait for a while until she has a break.
"Good morning, Mr. Ryder. You wanted to talk?" She comes with a smile.
"Y-yes, please…"
She stares at me for a moment then leads me to an empty room. I pull out some cookies and the hot tea Alissa prepared beforehand.
"Thank you, I love these cookies. Now, is something bothering you?" She asks.
I tell her about my encounter with the rapists. She looks at me very worried.
"You froze and then you went berserk. It's not uncommon but it's rather unfortunate for you I guess, though finding wicked scum like that is a bit of… Bad luck," she cringes, she knows my nickname, "But what are your concerns about this?"
"I don't want to freeze again, I'm the leader and I'm supposed to call the strategy for how to deal with them."
"Doesn't Miss Hanafuria have the most experience in dealing with these things?"
"Still. I have my pride as the leader, I want to have a clear head to make the right decisions, I want to change and become someone capable of protecting them on all situations."
"I understand. Then what did you feel that made you freeze?"
Fear, anger, self-hate, disgust, the image of them being raped in my mind, it's such a storm of emotions I don't know what to say.
Ciel understands I'm hesitating to answer.
"Then let's think like this, what did you feel after you killed that man?"
"Disgust. I felt dirty, I felt I did something wrong and I was afraid of something doing the same to me."
"Even though that man was considered evil by everyone in the world and would be executed on sight?"
"It's just… yeah, I feel bad even though I knew he was evil. I also feel the same with monsters, I don't wanna hurt them, I feel no pleasure in giving pain I just want to keep others safe."
"Even monsters? Even though they have an unstoppable instinct to kill us all?" She seems a bit surprised.
"Yes… I was born on a peaceful place, I never fought until I came here. I just can't let myself not feel guilty about it, I think I will lose a piece of myself if I don't feel like this."
"I see..." She nods, "Then why do you fight?"
I have been thinking about this a lot.
"Because I can, because I would feel bad if I didn't try. I know I have talent so I have to help people to a certain extent, I won't throw my life away but if I don't at least try to fight I will feel bad about myself. And now I have something to protect, those warrior women depend on me and I depend on them. I have to fight and grow so I can be stronger for them."
"Oh, so you are a peaceful man who realized your talent, your power. You fought for others even though it hurt, fought for your lovers even though you might fail. You have compassion for your enemies and feel no joy in giving them pain. You want to grow and fight more even though your heart wants to stop."
I remain still, stunned.
"I kind of understand why you have 3 wives now," she smiles, "You are someone worthy of protecting and who can also protect."
"W-what? Why does that make me 'worthy'?"
"Plenty of monsters are made mirroring some property of us, this is why many of them look humanoid. Our minds and those of breeder-types are extremely similar, the main difference is that they have the instinct to kill us while we have an instinct to survive. This is why there will never be peace between us. They will always try to kill us, no matter how intelligent they are.
"So when we fight for our lives and exterminate with extreme prejudice some of us start to enjoy it. The feeling of your heart beating fast, the feeling of taking a life, the glory of winning, those things are addictive. But even the God of War wasn't like this. Those who revel in the pain lose what makes them different from monsters, they acquire the instinct to kill and lose the instinct to survive. Among the hunters, it's difficult to find someone who's not like this."
"I fight for myself, because I enjoy it, because it's my talent". I remember Targua's words.
"To keep your humanity intact, to fight for others instead of yourself, to have a sense of duty in protecting others, to not throw away your own or your loved one's lives. These aren't really the marks of a hero, they are the marks of a great person. You don't have to, or rather, you shouldn't change to protect them, you shouldn't change the core of who you are, but you should learn to control your emotions."
"Control…"
"It means you have to continue feeling this pain, this guilt, you shouldn't look to discard it, you should look to control it."
It's the same things Alissa told me after we killed our first Young Ogre. They don't want me to change since that's who they fell in love with, they want me to suffer, to continue this way and they will ease my suffering. They succeeded for the most part.
"You will need willpower, meditation, self-reflection, and self-control."
Wait, one of these is a bit…
"W-what falls under this 'self-control'?"
"To not let yourself exaggerate on your hedonism to the point you hurt yourself. For this, you need to be self-conscious about what is your limit, what is bringing you harm, and what is actually that 'harm'."
I cough.
"I-indulging myself… in my women, would be… considered lack of 'self-control'?"
Ciel stops for a moment, she thinks and turns her head away. She's blushing.
"T-that would be for you to decide."
"T-their love is w-what keeps me sane so… I don't think it's harmful."
"I understand…"
I sigh. This world is painful, it's full of death and grief. There's no way out and I already created my roots here, this is my choice, my path, and I will see it through. I will live here and die of old age and have a big family and many children with each of my wives. I will protect them and keep them happy and they will do the same for me. There's nothing else to be said, we will suffer yes, but we will do it together. Such is my vow to them and to this world, I will see it through!
I feel something change within me.
"My 'Sanity' increased by one."
"Oh? If you don't mind can you tell me the value it is right now?"
"Eight."
Her eyebrows scrunch in concern.
"It's good it's increasing but it's still low."
I know that Roxanne, the one who lost a fiancee and wasted a part of her life has a value of 12, so mine really is low. Though it's a bit convenient that my mental health can be analyzed with a single number.
"Whatever you did that increased it continue doing. You had a change of heart or something a moment ago?"
"I renewed my determination to live in this world and remembered my vows to my fiancees."
"That is good. Pray to the Goddess of Love then and she will help your loved ones in finding a way to support you better. Also, pray to the Goddess of Will and she will help your mind stay together."
"I will. Thank you. But my 'Willpower' is already 15, isn't my problem something else?"
"Hm… perhaps. Since you are also a mage meditation shouldn't have that much effect, then your problem could be either self-reflection or self-control."
I think its self-control, I already think to myself a lot.
"Ah, why doesn't the God of Existence kill wicked people like those rapists?"
"The humanoid gods aren't omnipotent, the God of Destruction is also interfering with their powers, so praying is the best way to catch their attention. Wicked people like these would eventually meet their demise, but unfortunately, they will bring a lot of pain until they do. Pain and suffering is also a part of our core, a realm with only pleasure and happiness would wither like the God of Order wished. And finally, the humanoid gods want us to grow and find new ways to deal with the pain, not just depend on them for everything."
"I understand. It seems there's no escape, this is just how life is."
No matter which world or realm it is, evil will always exist.
"But... how do people get branded as wicked?"
"There's the Three Sins. Rape, sadistic torture and senseless murder. Perform any of these and you might get instantly branded. Branded as in, it will show in your 'Crimes'."
Gotta pay attention to the wording here, "sadistic" and "senseless", which means it's not an absolute.
"The Lord or the temple can also perform a ritual to mark crimes in their status. Though I don't know how it works, only that a Judge is the one with the authority to allow it to happen."
Well, these things aren't really of my concern.
"Thank you for your help, Ciel. I'm grateful for your guidance."
She lets a warm smile that tickles my heart.
"I'm only doing my job. Thank you for talking to me and bringing me these cookies, they are delicious."
I chuckle and say my goodbyes.
It's still early to call Alissa, I have to kill a bit of time.
I go inside the temple look at the statue of the Goddess of Love. She's a half-meter tall woman with butterfly wings coming out of her back, a pixie. She has a round face, plump cheekbones and a round nose. She's smiling and looks friendly, like someone who overflows warmth out of her eyes. I should pray to her.
Hello, Goddess. I never prayed to you yet but I think you are already helping me. The women that I met, those 3 that became my fiancees and even Ciel, they are wonderful people, aren't they? I don't think I could have met such people in such a short amount of time if it wasn't for someone interfering with my fate, my life is too good right now for it to be a coincidence.
I found 3 women who believe in me, trust in me and are in love with me, even the flawed parts of me. I found a woman who has such a good heart and she even guides me on this scary world. Life is too good right now. Thank you for this and I hope you can help them, guide them, so we can help each other more.
I go to the back of the priests quarters and enjoy their small garden again. I sit on a chair and start thinking.
"Ah, so you were here," says a voice that tickles my ears.
Arantos sits on a chair in front of me.
"Good day, Mr. Arantos."
"Good day, Mr. Ryder."
He turns towards the flowers and observes them.
"You were looking for me?" I ask, after a minute.
"Yes. I wanted to ask you something," he slowly turns to me, his face is serious.
"What is it?"
"What are your intentions with inviting Ciel?" He says, expressionless.
I freeze. This man is serious, he's looking at me intently, he's measuring my response, he's measuring my soul. I don't think I should lie to him, I don't think I can lie to him.
"I think she would be really useful to the fellowship and also, if our relationship progresses… p-perhaps I could propose to her..." I say, sweating. I placed my bets.
"Oh what a relief!" Arantos breathes out and smiles.
"Eh…?"
"If it's you perhaps you can make her leave this place."
"Eh…?"
"Hohoh, it seems you are completely unaware. Mr. Ryder, Ciel is 21, she's passing the normal marriage age, it's gonna be very difficult for her to find someone if she keeps running away."
I blink blankly at him.
"That girl… that woman, actually. She lived in the temple, then she fought for the temple, and now she lives for the temple. It's time for her to do something for herself."
"You… think she would be fine with me?"
"Yes, it seems you are the reason she found a new happiness and a new piety. But she still doesn't want to cut the umbilical cord. Because she's a priestess, if she doesn't find love then the Goddess of Love will be very disappointed in her."
"Why would that be the case?"
"The Goddess of Love is her favorite god, she prays for the children every day to give them happiness but she never prays for herself. It is very frustrating seeing her forgo her happiness for others, it is not fair no matter how virtuous she looks."
"Self-sacrifice is not seen as a good thing?"
"That's not self-sacrifice that's merely running away from happiness," he frowns.
"If the head priest says this why doesn't she listen?" Now I'm curious.
"Because she's running from her fears. This is her business so I can't tell you more, but if it's you she will come around and join you. I'll put in a little bit of effort," he winks.
"So you really trust me that much?"
"She told me you have a blessing. Who am I to mistrust the gods?"
Wow, blessings really are convenient.
"You may not be the best man there is, since you know, you already have 3 others," -I repress my urge to cringe at his sharp gaze- "but you should be the best for her right now. Now I only wonder if you are trying for a blessing from the Goddess of Love, Mr. Ryder, four women! That's a bit much, I sure hope you have the vigor to keep them all happy," and he smirks.
Not even the priests are prudes in this world.
"I can only thank you for your help and trust, head priest, I will certainly work hard to make her happy," I give a light bow.
"Make sure you do. When she joins I would like for you to remember to have her visit once in a while, she's like a daughter to me, I will certainly miss her," he looks at me with warm eyes.
"Understood."
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
"I will be taking my leave, until later, Mr. Ryder," he waves and leaves.
I stay there for a while, thinking. The head priest himself approved of me, ain't that lucky?
At 10:30 AM I call Alissa back with the ring. When we reach home I see she's in a really good mood. I guess I wasn't the only one who benefited from a talk.
Hana got a good bounty, around 80 silver for each head. These guys were really scum, they called themselves Red Smile. They were acting on another dungeon and stealing from adventurers but they started killing people, that's when the gods marked them as "wicked". Once the guards started hunting them they moved to this dungeon and got greedy. Bounty kills aren't publicized but the word still gets out, so our fame grew a little more.
After a simple lunch, we go out to buy some new things. I found a bed big enough for 5 people. It costs 1 gold, a little expensive but I'm already thinking of Ciel. It's called "Harem-sized". The vendor gave me a few smirks when he saw all of us.
Alissa found an ivy to put on one of the outside walls of the house and 2 string-of-hearts to hang on the stairs to the second floor. We found a magic stone candelabrum, bedside lights and we also bought a few more books of children tales.
Hana got a decoration sword and shield to put in front of her room (that she barely uses) and with that we decided to order pieces of embroidered cloth to put in front of our rooms, Roxanne's are going to be potion bottles, Alissa is gonna be a bow and arrow, and mine rows of elemental heads. Though the dark elemental is only a black circle, no one wants to draw that nightmare.
Alissa got a few sets of tablecloths and I found a nice painting of the fantastical roots and color patches of the Sea of Trees that we will put on the second floor.
Alissa brings us to a narrow street and Hana smirks. Alissa lowers her head a bit and I think I saw her blushing. We stop in front of a store and I widen my eyes. I see lingerie.
"How did you find this shop?" Roxanne asks.
"I was taking a shortcut when… these clothes called my attention. I knew that Wolfy would like them as soon as I understood what they were for."
"Oooh yeah, we didn't get some for Roxanne yet," Hana says and chuckles.
"What?" Roxanne looks confused.
She looks at me who's frozen, then at Hana who has an evil smile, and then at Alissa who's blushing and looking away.
"Oh..." She realized, then she looks a little nervous.
"Nobody touches Roxanne today, tonight she will be mine. We better find some lotion for her tail too," I order.
Roxanne squirms as fear and lust fight inside her heart.
"Let's go inside," I order again.
Lingeries, costumes, scents, oils and a separate section with toys that bring fear into my heart. Yes, this is a sex shop.
"Buy panties for each one too," I whisper to Alissa, she nods and they all go to the lingerie section.
I look around and buy a few scented candles and oils, they really help when you want something more comfortable and sensual. I go to the lingerie section and grab one of the not-synthetic pieces of lingerie.
"Excuse me, what kind of cloth is this? How was it made?" I ask a female attendant who's wearing a uniform a little too revealing.
"This is Snow Weave, it was made by the elves at the High Forest. It uses an extremely small needle moved entirely by [Telekinesis]. Since it's very weak it's not popular but its spreading among the nobility around the continent."
No surprises there, nobles are gonna be perverts like me no matter where you go. But now I have another reason to go to the High Forest.
"You heard that Alissa, if we go to the High Forest we gotta remember to stock up."
Alissa's head rises from the clothing racks and she nods with a serious face. My fetishes are not something to be taken lightly.
I don't see which clothes the women got so I'm getting anxious, I don't want to ruin the surprise though so we go back home.
The bed took some effort to fit, we had to move the wardrobe and now there's barely room for the bedside lamps, we can't even walk beside the bed but at least we can all sleep together.
After the strength exercise routine, we take a rather quick and tense bath since nobody is touching anybody else and we have dinner. Alissa found not-cinnamon and introduced us to a very fragrant orc meat dish, it even impressed me, I only know one recipe with cinnamon and meat. Her cooking is improving.
-
Today is the 1st of the 7th month.
Alissa wakes me up excitedly.
"Wolfy, Wolfyyy! Hana! Roxanne!" She jumps on all of us.
After making sure we are all not groggy anymore she tells us.
"I got a blessing from the Goddess of Love! Also, 2 levels in cooking. But a blessing! I never expected this, specially from her!"
Her tail wags excitedly and the others applaud in happiness. I'm dumbfounded.
"Not even the gods see you as a slave anymore, Alissa. For them you are the loving wife who needs to support her soon-to-be husband," Hana says.
Alissa freezes.
"That's right! I thought it was a bit wrong for me to be the one to propose first, so I'm glad you got the recognition for your efforts, you are the one with the deepest connection to Wolfy," Roxanne adds.
I just smile and hug her. I don't care what anyone might say, if even the gods recognize us then there's no doubt we have true love between us.
I feel I changed too. My "Strength" increased by 1 (now 9) and my [Enhanced Semen Recharge] increased by 1 (now 3), my "Piety" increased by 2 (now 12) and most important of all, my "Sanity" increased by 4 (now 12).
It's like I'm seeing more colors, the world is more vibrant and my mind is clearer, this is such a heartwarming feeling. I tell them what I feel.
"The blessing..." Alissa looks at me with wide eyes.
"It must be the blessing," Roxanne nods.
"You are fated to be together," Hana says.
I laugh, such a crazy world. We are bounded together and I think it's intentional. I have a curse that I can't sleep without her and now she has a blessing that helps when she's near me.
"Well, thank you Goddess of Love. I prayed to her yesterday and she already answered."
This morning Alissa and Roxanne are beaming with happiness while Hana and I are tired but satisfied.
I use [Summon Small Golem] twice, it's a level 15 spell while the elementals are level 20. These golems are yellow clay dolls the size of a toddler but with the dexterity of an adult. I never used it before because they are useless in combat but now I understand they can be somewhat useful servants, we can use them to slowly clean the house and to help in preparing some ingredients. Our own little Roombas.
This morning they are going to make mayonnaise for us, surprisingly people don't know about it here. Perhaps they are afraid of using raw eggs but I can use [Diagnosis] and level 20 [Light Magic] [Purify Body] if it really makes us sick.
Alissa and I go to the hunters guild first. We will report to them the blessing and then sell the monsters, after that we will report to the temple too. Even if it keeps attracting attention to me I learned it's good to let people know about blessings, doors open much easier with them.
We enter the guild and we spend some time looking at the requests. It's busy right now because this is the time most new requests are posted and the hunters look for jobs. I feel Alissa stiffen and I turn to her.
"Are you 'Good Luck' Ryder?" A raspy male voice asks.
Alissa is glaring at a tall, muscular, tanned, and scarred man. He has a buzz cut and a jaw so sharp it could cut. His eyes glare at me.
"Why do you ask?" My posture stiffens but I manage to maintain a poker face.
"A small boy like you got the Symbol and now the Red Smile? Gotta be a joke," he scoffs.
"Why do you care?" Alissa says in a cold voice.
"Can't let the others get fooled by lies, if someone where to rely on a fraud they would only meet death," he takes a step forward.
Alissa stands between us.
"There's no need for master to prove himself or to waste time with low-life's like you."
He takes forward another step.
"You let your women do the talking for you? Do they also hold your cock as you take a piss?"
"She's right, though," I say.
He takes another step.
"You should know I'm a magic swordsman, if you take another step I will sic a dark elemental on you."
His scornful expression turns into a glare. The guards put their hands on their swords. Dark elementals are born out of nightmares, they attack by inflicting pain and suffering to others, they are especially strong against humanoids.
The man stares at me, he's trying to see if I'm bluffing or not. The people around us already gave us a large space.
I summon a large Kangal dog, he growls at him.
"You still doubt me?"
The surroundings gasp, I know summoning magic takes a while to chant but I can do it instantly, this should be enough to make me look dangerous.
I notice a pang of fear in him but he quickly controls it and his fearsome expression returns. He laughs and shrugs, then he turns away and leaves, finally the guards relax. I let out a sigh and control my rapidly beating heart. After the rapists dealing with a bully seems easy.
Using offensive magic is the same as drawing your sword, it's a serious offense, but magic is all mages have. Mages are bad in close quarters but fighting them bare-handed is impossible, so picking a fight with a mage is either suicide or you are about to do something serious. Summoning an elemental here would be right on the border of crossing the line.
Still, if I didn't do it like this the other bullies around will think I'm easy pickings. Hunters are proud and competitive, they like to brawl and measure their dicks, this town is specially aggressive because of the Sea of Trees. I tried to avoid spending too much time here as this situation is something that could happen but I guess I got too famous too quickly. You have to nip it in the bud or they will come back.
"Let's never come here alone," Alissa says.
"Agreed. But I'm surprised he knew about the Red Smile so quickly."
"Perhaps they had accomplices. Groups like these don't sprout from nothing," she whispers to me.
Bounty hunting is a dangerous job, it attracts much more attention than hunting monsters.
I see a request asking for confirmation of sightings of a dragon, I have a bad feeling about this.
"Why did you call me 'master', though? You can call me by my name in public."
"Ah… um. I slipped, eheheheh," she scratches her head.
I shrug at her adorableness.
"Let's finish things here quickly," I say.
We find a female attendant and give her Alissa's ID, she inspects it and then frowns, it's the sex skills, right? Then her eyes open wide. The attendant hurriedly goes away and then comes back a minute later and returns the ID.
We go to the dismantling room and enter since its open.
"Oh, good morning Mr. Ryder. Should I call Sonny?" Gordon asks with a smirk.
"Sorry to disappoint but I only got normal monsters this time."
Gordon makes an exaggerated disappointed face.
"But anyway, do you ever take a break? You are the only one I ever saw here."
"Why should I since I can get a share of the meat the hunters bring? I'm getting my lunch and dinner right here, right now," he says with a smile and spreads his arms.
I guess this job might be heaven if you are a meat enthusiast.
I pull out the proofs we got, the needles and the bodies of the Burkanolf, the huge Zinotue and the milked minotaur.
"You said 'normal' but these are quite the catch. Hahaha, even you have your expectations warped by now."
I shrug.
There's nothing special so we take our rewards and leave. We get 20 silver per body.
Every so often there's a priest about reciting some prayer out loud. There's always a few people praying along. Alissa tells me today starts the month of Prayer and this is one of the traditions of the Festivals of Seasons.
We go to the temple and we find Ciel at the orphanage refereeing a game with the children. She looks at us with curiosity when we approach. We greet each other.
"Miss Ciel, this is amazing, I got a blessing from the Goddess of Love!" Alissa excitedly tells her.
Ciel opens her eyes wide and slowly gives a wide smile. Then she looks at me.
"I can only guess why."
We let out shy chuckles.
"You want to register it? The temple would be very interested in hearing your story."
"Yes, we came here to do this."
Even though the story is personal since it's mostly about my mental health, Alissa will tell it without sharing too much of the embarrassing details.
"I don't think the temple registered your blessing too, Mr. Ryder. Would you like to tell your story also?"
I get a little uncomfortable. I got the blessing because I told I was going to help and bring some of the knowledge from Earth, this is not something I can tell the temple yet and I can't lie to them. Alissa knows this.
"I can't, it's too personal for me."
"I understand, there's no obligation to do it," Ciel hurriedly responds. She knows I'm reserved.
Ciel calls another priest to continue as referee to this strange game and leads us to a consultation room inside the temple. She brings 2 other priests, Arantos and a scribe.
Alissa starts her story. She was born as a slave and trained on how to be a tool, she abandoned her dreams of living a quiet life, of marrying and having children, of exploring the world in an adventure, of learning arts and crafts, of indulging in books and plays. She made peace in her heart that she will be forever a tool, a slave, she only wished to bring pride to her clan. She always prayed for the God of War and the God of Endurance to have the power to become the perfect servant. Then she was bought by me and started serving me with pride.
She quickly realized I'm not someone who treats others like tools, which made her feel insecure in her duty. She found the kindness in me when she saw that I felt pity for monsters and hated hurting them. She pleaded to me to rely on her so she would keep my heart protected, which she believed it is something precious in this world and needs to be protected. She didn't need power to protect my body, she needed power to protect my heart.
It worked, as I had no more nightmares about killing and felt secure near her. As I relied more on her and the other women, our love progressed and we decided to marry. She no longer simply saw herself as a tool, she wanted to grow her heart so she could share it with me. That's how she would help my heart keep together.
But it wasn't enough and I felt a deep wound when I was forced to kill the Red Smile. So she guided me to Ciel again, she knew that only her love is not enough, she needed more help from the outside. Ciel guided me to pray, not to gather more power to myself, but to the ones who helped me. As I acknowledged the effort of my lovers and prayed to the Goddess of Love, she saw we understood each other and granted Alissa her blessing. This blessing wasn't just the Goddess showing her appreciation, it was a true gift that now helps my mental well being.
Even though the most embarrassing details are hidden I'm still blushing heavily. Even though Alissa is also blushing her voice is strong and she continues the story without shame or fear. I have to control my heart every time Alissa mentioned she loved me, it moves my heart too much.
A female priest hides her face and I hear her sniffle. Arantos is smiling at me and gives me a wink. Ciel is both embarrassed since she's part of the story and happy at what has been told.
"There's not much else to say besides a heartfelt thank you, Mr. Ryder and Miss Alissa," Arantos says," For sharing such an intimate story you give us the knowledge and security in confirming that we are guiding others in the right path. Your names will be blurred but the story of this blessing will help many others in the future. Please come back and tells us more one day.
The scribe finishes writing, then Arantos motions and they all leave, except for Ciel.
"I'm shocked… You truly are someone special Mr. Ryder," she says.
I want to deny but me and Alissa having a blessing is a bit much, if my women decided to call me Mr. Hero I would have little strength to stop them.
"I wish I wasn't, I'll just deal with it and move on quickly."
She laughs.
"Sounds like you."
We say our goodbyes and go back home. We warn the girls about what happened in the guild and give a quick retell of what happened at the temple, their worried faces turn into embarrassed smiles. Even though we are not embarrassed near each other, telling others these things makes even Hana shy.
The summoned golems are being helpful so there's not much to do. We just enjoy a calming cooking session.
After lunch Alissa will take me to the university, there are morning classes but they aren't popular though, no one here is as insane as those on Earth who think 7 AM classes are a good idea. Roxanne will make some potions for selling and Hana will train in the guild's training grounds.
"Hana, you only use [Pain Conversion] with me right...?" I shyly ask.
"Ahn? Yeah, it would be disgusting to do it with anyone else. Wait… are you jealous...?" She stares at me. I try to make a poker face, but I fail, "Hah! Yes, that's it!"
She comes and buries my head in her - chest.
"This freakish woman is all yours, body and soul. No one will ever give me the same pleasure as you do, except Roxanne," she coughs.
"Your choice of words concerns me but I understand the sentiment."
She laughs.
This helps in reducing my anxiety.
The university is bustling with activity, young and old, cute, to strange, to tough, traditional clothing, to uniforms, to exotic. There's an even bigger carnival of colors here.
I'm rather lucky I'm considered a researcher, normal students requires a uniform. A grey jacket with the symbol of the university woven over the heart, a grey jumper with a black stripe at the collar, a collared plain white shirt, plain black low leather shoes, and grey pants. For women the dark red skirts with black thighs are optional. A black robe with the university's symbol and a pointy hat is given to everyone to use, even after they graduate.
Alissa drops me in front of a classroom building, I wish I had more time to explore the many other facilities here but I'm always busy.
We share a goodbye kiss and Alissa runs away. I sigh and stare at the building for a while. I feel a change within me, my sanity dropped back to 8 and the world gets blander.
Well shit, it seems the range of that blessing isn't very long. I half expected something like this. I'll tell Alissa later, but she's probably gonna be concerned in leaving me alone from now on.
The classrooms are concrete buildings with a bit of Gothic decoration over the windows and door archways. The statuary is very warm and awe-inducing, it has knights, mages, depictions of weapons, ingredients, books and magic tools. It has plenty of colored shining stones and the walls are painted with warm colors around the range of blues and greens.
My schedule is [Space Magic] today, then [Nature Magic] tomorrow, then [Electric Magic], then [Blessing Magic] then finally training for [Reduced Mana Cost].
I enter the class and feel a somewhat nostalgic but also distressing feeling. The classroom is full of uniformed teenagers and children, most are near my age, there's not a single researcher there. I'm back in high school.
I stop and scan the room for an empty seat. The whole class turns to me, a few students hastily sit down. Hold on…
"Good morning, professor," says a girl on the first row.
I reflexively cover my eyes with my hand and cringe.
"I'm not the professor, I'm a researcher."
Murmurs and snickers start. Yep, high school. I sit down on the last row, no need to put more eyes on my back. Soon enough the class is completely full, there must be nearly 100 chairs here.
I pull out my notes and the introduction book I was lent, you have to pay a deposit that will cover any damage to this book. It's a hardback leather book, a little yellowed and old but still perfectly usable and even has that nice smell of old book.
It's exactly 1 PM, a nostalgic bell chimes and in a minute a gnome appears. Gnomes are half-meter tall, white-bearded, pink-skinned, chubby, cute, and round-faced little men. They are a male-only race who depends on pixies, a female-only race, to procreate. It's rather rare to find one away from Gnomeria. This one has their cultural red cone hat with a simple blue baggy robe. A garden gnome, I have to work very hard to suppress my laughter.
He walks towards the front and floats towards the professor's table.
"Good afternoon, little ones. I'm professor Ludwick Wicksloptcut," his voice is rather high pitched and raspy, "My specialty is [Space Magic] and [Earth Magic]. As you can see, I'm a gnome and we have very little physical strength, on the contrary of dwarves who absorb the powers from the earth and acquire strength, gnomes require to use [Telekinesis] and [Item Box] to move nearly everything worth moving, so we became masters of [Space Magic]."
He scans the room and his eyes pause on me for a moment.
"Let's do a quick introduction, please say your full name if you have it, where you come from, and if you have any specialty you already acquired please announce for us. It is always a good thing to share what we know," he smiles while looking at me.
The professor gives a remark or two after each introduction and quickly moves on. Most have one or two skills, likely one or two points in a magic from one of the 5 basic elements, earth, wind, fire, water and electricity. It seems these are the most common magic schools because they are easier to understand.
"I'm Wolf Ryder and I come from a far away land. My specialty is Summoning, and I know a bit of Light, Blessing, Electric and [Nature Magic]."
"You are the newest researcher with the blessing from the Goddess of Knowledge, right?" He asks with a smile.
Murmurs start again. What's the point of this?
"Yes."
"I see, we eagerly await the results of your research."
He smiles and continues the introductions.
"I'm Lyle Rizek, I was born in the capital Mac Gantus, my specialty is [Electric Magic]," says a young boy with a round face, black disheveled hair and a very well made uniform. He's the poster child of innocence.
Rizek? Could it be a relative of the old mage who bought the Symbol at the auction?
We finish the introductions and the professor starts the lesson. Space magic is basically manipulation of gravity. [Telekinesis] is the manipulation of gravity to every single atom on the target object at the same time, [Gravity Crush] is self explanatory, [Item Box] is a cut in our space by opening a temporary hole where neither gravity nor time exist, [Gate] is basically a "wormhole" from science fiction.
The explanation is very roundabout, it seems they do not have such a clear understanding of this magic. But I have actual knowledge of physics from Earth so it becomes much easier to understand.
Since gravity bends space and time, perhaps this magic school should be called "Gravity Magic" instead. Though so far there's no mention of a spell that manipulates time except [Item Box] which freezes an object in time.
Perhaps I could create a "Time Magic" school if I dedicate myself to it, though I'm not that knowledgeable about this part of physics. Creating new magic skills require a strong will, good [Mana Control] and a deep knowledge about what you want to create, I'm not exceptional in any of these requirements.
This class has been basically an introduction to math, kinematics and mechanics. They don't seem to have any deep knowledge about astronomy, which would help in understanding the principles of gravity since it's the most visible when observing the stars.
Perhaps this is a limitation of this world, the stars could be just a simple background instead of gigantic balls of burning matter. Is this world even round? Do we even have an orbit around the sun? Before the God of the Sun existed the length of days and nights could be influenced by magic on the surface, so perhaps "space" is a bit different here.
While the teacher talks I start to get bored so Ipractice [Telekinesis] on my magic pen. Its different than moving it by hand, you apply gravity and the pen accelerates on the direction of the gravity you applied. Turning is very awkward, you have to apply a counter gravity do decelerate and then the gravity in the direction you want to go. It's basically flight in zero-gravity plus a bit of drag from air. Reminds me of space-flight simulators.
I feel the world gets brighter and a minute later the bell chimes, it's exactly 3 PM. I go out and Alissa is waiting for me at the entrance to the classroom building, we have a 30-minute break. We go to the buffet nearby, it's basically a bakery mixed with a restaurant, the restaurants in the universities on Earth got nothing on this one.
The buffet is a square building where each side has a covered area with enough tables and lavish cushioned chairs for at least 1000 people. The second floor is actually a restaurant as the tables can be reserved and a waiting staff is ready to serve. An engraved path shows the directions the students should move through and were the lines should form, like a car road for people.
Inside there's a myriad of expensive snacks and sweets along with tea and juice choices. I don't stare much since it's just going to provoke my stomach. The prices are all rather expensive and Alissa could actually make a good deal of them if I wished to, also, aside from the afternoon tea and chocolate I'm not that much of a snack person.
I don't buy anything. With the milk from the minotaur Alissa prepared a small cupcake with cream for us and some mild tea to go with it, it's citric with tones of lemon. The other girls already got their cupcakes, we have to share fairly everything Alissa makes.
"The blessing stops working if you go too far," I tell Alissa.
She looks dejected. I let out a small chuckle.
"There's no need to be so sad, it's not like I'm gonna go insane just because you aren't nearby, the only change is that the world looks a bit blander. I believe the only problem would happen when you are far away for a long time, but then I would already be suffering from nightmares."
"Still, I thought my love for you would be enough to heal you."
"I'm a bit uncomfortable to say this but I think I'm cursed," I smile bitterly, "This situation with my nightmares and 'Sanity' level is just too ridiculous to be just a trauma. I have some knowledge of psychology from Earth and this is too much."
"You think so? But why doesn't it show on your 'Status Effects'?"
"Perhaps it's related to why I was sent here and why I have the ability to manipulate skills, it's something beyond the laws of this realm."
"Something beyond…"
Alissa looks at the distance and thinks. Someone is approaching us.
"Hello, Mr. Ryder," says a student. It's Lyle Rizek, he's followed by another boy and a girl.
"Sorry to interrupt your break, but I had to talk to you, brother Dennis didn't tell me you were the one with the blessing."
"Dennis? From Thunder Storm?" I ask.
"Hoho, he will be happy you remember."
Well, I'm not happy to have to remember him.
"Hm, oh, is there an old mage in your family specialized in [Electric Magic] that's part of the lords court?"
"Wow, you met grandfather Werner?" He smiles wildly.
"Not really, just saw him from a distance."
"Still, must have been a very interesting occasion. Ah, was it during the auction of the Symbol of Hate?"
"Yes, that was it."
Alissa keeps a poker face but I know she's annoyed by looking at her tail, I share your sentiment.
"Please have a seat," she motions to them.
"This is my fiancee, Alissa," I present her.
I told Alissa to never show the slave mark, they don't know she's (still) my Blood Slave.
They sit but look at me dumbfounded. Lucky for us the cupcakes are already gone, Alissa pulls average cookies for them.
"I-I'm Garanae Taranoa," says the male student. He's tall and strong with square face and thin eyes. He has white-blond short hair combed backwards. He has a strong and confident atmosphere. His gaze is locked on Alissa, I already don't like him.
He said his last name, is he a noble too? Also, what's with these names full of a's, is this part of the local culture?
"I'm Ha-Hatara," A thin girl with black hair, green eyes and a long ponytail. She has a protruding thin chin and large lips, rather cute. She looks scared and twitchy. She's also staring at Alissa, don't tell me you swing that way?
"I'm Lyle Rizek."
"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Garanae, Miss Hahatara, Mr. Rizek," Alissa says and nods towards each."
"No, i-it's actually Hatara."
Alissa tilts her head in confusion. Cute.
"Oh, I see, Miss Hatara," she corrects herself, "Tea?"
Only Garanae accepts.
"Mr. Ryder, why are you at the beginners courses?" Lyle asks.
"I learned magic differently, I have to make sure I'm not missing anything important in my foundation otherwise I will suffer in the more advanced courses."
"Differently? Where do they teach magic differently than the one taught here?"
"On my homeland, a faraway place," I smile innocently.
They raise their eyebrows.
"Where would that place be?" Lyle insists.
"A faraway place," I keep my smile frozen.
Garanae glares at me. I have no intention of lying about my past, even with Roxanne's knowledge about her continent it's not enough, it would be difficult to create a convincing lie. Instead of lying I prefer that people think I'm reserved and unapproachable. Adventurers don't care about each other pasts or birthplaces, but other people aren't like this, specially people like Lyle and Garanae, who seem to come from noble families or at least rich households.
"I see… Are you a noble?" Lyle stares me.
"Something like this," I lie.
"What…?"
"On my homeland, I'm not a commoner but not really a noble, it's difficult to explain."
The lord of this land is very pragmatic since Rabanara is basically an isolated small piece of land, he can't deny the help of the adventurers so he has a close relationship with them. But that's not the same for other nobles, specially for someone like Lyle who was born in the capital, he might not be comfortable talking to commoners. Not being seen as a commoner is the best but I can't lie that I'm actually a noble, nobles have the title "True Noble" or "Noble Descendant" on their status screen.
Lyle furrow his eyebrows and sighs. Did you finally decide to stop prodding me?
"Then perhaps you are like me, I'm a mage knight's daughter," says Hatara.
"Yes, something like that," I say and smile to her.
Thanks for the help on my lie, knights are above commoners but not considered nobility.
She's shy, she immediately looks away and Garanae glares harder.
"Oh, I understand," Lyle looks pensive.
"Did you truly defeat the Symbol of Hate?" Garanae suddenly speaks.
"Yes, what did you hear about me?" I raise an eyebrow.
"You bravely took the sword to the Symbol, you cornered it but due to its inhuman agility it managed to land a blow on one of your companions. To not risk anymore lives you charged into it and held it in place long enough for the mages to destroy it with a powerful and fearsome spell," he retells the tale with a stern expression."
"From the way you speak you only heard it from a bard. It's a bit of an exaggeration."
Bards exaggerate everything to make it more dramatic and to fit the song better.
"So it seems," he says and narrows his eyes.
Alissa and I send a glare to him.
"Did you ever fight a monster before, Mr. Taranoa? Fights are never glorious like the bards tell."
Garanae grunts and looks away. His clothes are as fine and impeccable as Lyle's, he's likely a noble who had a life more sheltered than even Earth-me.
"You shouldn't forget the others who where there. The man who valiantly held against the Symbol along side me, he threw himself at the monster to give me a chance. The mage girl who kept hitting the monster spell after spell and distracting its attention. Alissa who was there and kept hitting its eyes with her arrows, reducing its speed and even saving my other companion from death. And finally Roxanne, my other fiancee who endured a spider leg going through her stomach and used her genius magic to explode the Symbol."
Oh shit, I forgot about the other archer guy.
"Ooh~..." Lyle is a bit interested.
"Oh..." Hatara looks scared.
"..." Garanae is silent "… Wait, another fiancee?"
I blush slightly, can't help it.
"Well… after fighting to the death together it's easy to develop feelings towards each other."
Alissa nods and the others look surprised. Garanae then turns his surprise into a frown, he looks at Alissa then at me.
"How shameless! How many other women are you going seduce?!"
"G-Gara, that's rude," Lyle interjects.
"I actually have a 3rd fiancee," I say and smile.
"T-three… h-how do you..." Lyle stutters.
Hatara is blushing. Garanae is even angrier. Should I tell them I plan on adding another?
"There's still room for one more," Alissa says and winks at Hatara.
Her face goes red and she looks down.
"L-Lyle! Let us go, It's better not to associate with men with such warped morals," Garanae stands up and leaves in a hurry, the other 2 follow him while stunned.
I watch them go away and look at Alissa, who looks satisfied. I'm enjoying her slight personality change.
"Thank you, that last attack was perfect."
"Eheheheh," she shows her tongue, "I enjoyed it, too. People with such sense of honor won't mix well with us."
"I agree. But why are they like this? Doesn't the gods approve of polygamy?"
"Not explicitly. From what I understood some people believe that adding more than one person turns love into pure lust and they don't accept that as a valid marriage."
"Even if the gods are present during the wedding ceremony?"
"It's not like that, the gods only interfere when things turn really bad, so a not-so-bad marriage can exist while still being invisible to the gods."
"I guess it's why wicked people still exist."
"Exactly."
We spend the rest of the break cuddling and getting stares. Then the bell chimes and the class resumes.
Garanae sends me a glare when he enters, Lyle looks a little sad and Hatara avoids my eyes. Oh wait, Hatara might actually believe Alissa was serious, this is kinda bad.
I sigh as the world loses color again and focus on the lesson. The professor actually taught us integration and derivation to calculate loads, I kind of didn't miss this from my graduation on Earth. It's somewhat surprising that the amount of students having problems is small, there's not really a well-made public school system here so they all must have had been taught this at home.
At 6 PM the world gets color again and the bell chimes. School's over, time to flaunt my cool mount to the other teenagers and bask in the glory I never had during my teen years.
Some of them have their own flying tools and immediately bring them out with a *poof*, filling the air with flying robed figures, but no one has a large orange fox that they can ride and run among the crowds. Alissa can show off her acrobatics by jumping over people or jumping on the wall and jumping again. I'm a bit worried the guards might complain, though.
We get home and soon enough Hana appears, all sweaty and tired, but with her traditional fearsome smile. With that, we can have our usual bath together.
"Welcome home son, how was you first day of school?" Asks Roxanne in a childish tone.
"Mommy~, someone wanted to bully me because I have 3 fiancees," I answer in the same tone.
"Oh? What a naughty child, don't mind him, he's only jealous of all the filthy and freaky sex we are having," Hana enters the stupid joke.
"That might actually be true," Alissa says.
The season of the starchy vegetables is starting, we get not-french fries and some minotaur meat that Alissa found now that she's confident in her cow meat appraisal abilities. After that, it's more cuddling while Alissa and Roxanne read and then bed, nobody has the stamina because of yesterday.