How did it end up like this? I was currently facing Lux who wanted to fight me to somehow prove my worth as he put it. We were in the backyard training area with the sisters at the side cheering me on. Shadow was sitting next to the girls licking her paws, unconcerned with what was going on. Lux was fully healed and had his sword and shield while I had my spear in my hands, my sword at my hip, and magic.

It had been a week since I had talked to the sisters and built up enough courage to talk to Lux. I tried to persuade him to accept my relationship with his daughters without a duel but it didn’t work. Instead, he wanted to immediately fight me with the sisters making him wait until his arm was fully healed.

This allowed me to finish learning the earth manipulation spell which was the only thing I had going for me. Lux hadn’t watched me practice the spell so it would be a surprise for him. I didn’t think it would be enough to beat him, but the girls were hopeful.

Lux had also somehow made sure the sisters didn’t sneak into my room for the past week. I’m not sure what he did or said to them, but they had stayed in their own rooms at night. When I asked them about it, they acted peeved but wouldn’t say what happened. I found I had grown accustomed to one or both of them snuggling up to me at night so missed the company.

I had also spent the last week coming to terms with my feelings. Not too long ago if someone had given me the choice to either fight Lux or leave his daughters alone, I probably would have taken the easy way out. Now, I might not want to fight him, but was determined to make him approve of me. If this was the only way, then so be it.

I wanted to continue seeing the girls and build more of a relationship. Since I was stuck in this world, I decided to find whatever happiness I could and grab onto it. I didn’t have much dating experience, but the girls were both easy to get along with. I had asked and there didn’t seem to be any problems with dating between the different races and it was fairly common to see mixed couples.

We slowly circled each other, neither making a move yet. I had the reach with my spear but doubted I could make it past Lux’s shield. Lux had been the one training me with the spear so knew all my moves. My only chance was using my magic and I only had two spells to attack with. For whatever reason, the wind blade spell took slightly longer to cast than the earth spell. Ann thought it was because I had a better affinity with earth-based magic.

I somehow didn’t think Lux would give me enough time to cast the wind blade spell. I started things off by making a couple jabs with the spear which Lux was able to easily block. Next I tried using earth magic to enclose Lux’s feet and prevent him from moving. It worked momentarily and I was able to circle around to his back but before I could land a hit, he was able to rip his feet free and dodge.

I quickly backpedaled as he took a swing with his sword and came after me. Lux was faster and I was forced to put up a wall of earth to block the next sword swing. The wall of earth also blocked his line of sight for an instant which I used to cast a wind blade. Somehow, he was barely able to block the wind blade with his shield after cutting through the earth wall and then plowing through it.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

This put him off balance however, and I capitalized by jabbing with my spear at his exposed legs. He jumped backwards to avoid the spear thrust, so I also backpedaled to give myself enough room to cast another wind blade. I made the next one more powerful and I could hear Lux grunt as it impacted his shield. Lux charged again to prevent me from firing off any others.

I used another earth wall and then waited until Lux cut through it before casting earth spikes which were basically just spears of pointed rock that I could make come up from the ground. He was in the process of jumping over the remains of the wall and didn’t notice the earth spikes until it was too late. The spikes tore at his feet and legs before he used his shield to crush the remaining spikes. He then rolled over the shield to launch himself past the spike trap and get to me.

This caused him to let go of the shield but I couldn’t capitalize since he was quickly in range for melee combat. I frantically tried to bring my spear into play, but Lux easily cut the spear in two with his sword. I dropped the broken spear and rolled to the side, trying to get away. Lux turned to face me and I opened up a hole in the earth where his foot was about to step.

This caused him to stumble and I made the hole bigger and deeper, making him fall into it. By this point I was out of mana and panting from exertion. I unsheathed my sword and took a stance over the pit, waiting for Lux to make the next move. Without mana, I couldn’t bring out its true power but it was still a sword.

I was only able to make the pit slightly deeper than Lux was tall and I could see him standing at the bottom looking up at me with what I could swear was a grin. I thought I must be delirious since Lux wasn’t known for his smiling face but then I caught the sound of laughter which got louder until it was a roar. I slowly lowered my sword as Lux put his away.

“Well done boy. You might only be a human, but you have earned my praise. I put my daughter’s lives in your capable hands now. I’m sure you won’t let me down. Now, help an old man out of this godsforsaken pit.” Lux said from the bottom of the hole. I reached down and helped him out as both girls ran over.

I was crushed in vice like hugs and showered with kisses from the sisters. Ann used her healing magic on both of us, not that I needed it. After that we had a bonfire and celebrated into the night. The celebration continued into the bedroom where I didn’t get much sleep that night. I woke up with a sore and bruised body but was happy nonetheless.

After the duel was behind us, we had to prepare for the trip back to the fishing village. That meant deciding what to take and what to leave behind. The magic bags were great, but they still had their limits. Ann wanted to bring the whole book collection but that wasn’t possible. She wasn’t happy but was finally persuaded to go through the collection and take only the most important books.

While I had been training and practicing my magic for the last week, she had been going through the books. At least now she seemed to have a good grasp of what was included in the collection so it would be easier for her to decide what was most important.

All of us would be carrying regular bags in addition to the magic variety but still a large portion of the loot in the loot room would need to be left behind. In addition to loot, we had to bring food and supplies for the trip. I didn’t know the value of anything so had to leave it up to Lux and the girls to decide what to bring.

I helped out where I could and enjoyed the lighter mood in the mansion. It was nice that we no longer had to hide our relationship and could openly show our affection for each other. The girls took full advantage and one of them was always close to me. I thought I might feel smothered having two girlfriends or that they would fight over me but we all got along and I enjoyed their company. Lux seemed happier as well, but it might have just been my imagination. It was hard to read the man. He definitely didn’t go any easier on me during training. Just like that, it was nearing time for us to leave the mansion we had been calling home.