“Dinner, huh?” Lin licked her lips. “This princess wonders what we will be eating today.”
“Something filling, I hope,” Kari said. “All that shopping has made me hungry.”
“You two are such gluttons,” Fay sighed.
The girls were led off by a maid dressed in black and white, while Garret led me to another bathing room. I took a quick bath rather than a long one. Then I got dressed in the black pants and white silk shirt provided to me. When I emerged, Garret was waiting.
“I shall lead you to the dining room, Master Eryk.”
“Thanks.”
I still couldn’t get used to being called “Master Eryk,” but it wasn’t as if I was completely inexperienced. A few members of Brave Vesparia had called me that. Of course, most of them called me “Commander” or even “Boss,” but that was neither here nor there.
We walked up a set of stairs, which meant we were being led to the private dining room as opposed to the public one used to entertain guests. As we did, Garret spoke to me.
“I must thank you, Master Eryk.”
“Really? For what?”
“For being there and supporting Lady Kari, for treating her like a normal girl, for loving her unconditionally and without regard for her status.” Garret offered me a smile, something he didn’t do often. “Lady Kari has been alone for a very long time. No one has ever treated her as you do. Please continue to be there for her.”
“That isn’t something you need to ask of me,” I said. “But since you have, don’t worry. There’s nothing in this world that would make me leave her.”
“I am relieved to hear that.”
Garret opened the door leading into the private dining hall, and I walked inside to discover that Kari, Fay, and Lin were already sitting there. They sure bathed fast. I was expecting them to take longer than me, but I admittedly enjoyed long baths more than Kari did. The three of them were, like myself, dressed in something different. Kari wore a light pink gown, Fay’s was dark red like her hair, and Lin’s was purple and showed a lot more skin than the other two.
With them were the rest of Kari’s family. Rainer, Valence, and Dante were seated next to their sons, Mykkel, Geirolf, and Earland. All of them were dressed in the same refined yet simple clothing that I wore now. Of course, Empress Hilda was sitting at the head of the table. She wore a simple gown of pure white with gold at the hem. Her bust, smaller than her daughter’s, was emphasized by the simple clothing.
“I’m glad you are here.” Empress Hilda smiled at me as I took a seat next to Lin at the end of the table opposite the empress. “Now we can all eat.”
Dinner that evening was braised beef. It was served in a bowl-shaped plate and mixed into it were chopped vegetables like carrots, onions, and broccoli. The meat was delicious. I had to pause when I felt the beef melt in my mouth and release a burst of robust flavor. It took everything I had not to try and scarf the food down after that first bite. I resisted, but sadly, Lin had no such compunctions. I almost flinched at the way she inhaled her food.
“Your next expedition into the Demon Beast Mountain Range is tomorrow, correct?” asked Empress Hilda as a means of making dinner table conversation.
“That’s right,” I said. “This time, we’re going with Catalyna and several others. Oh. I suppose you already know that.”
Empress Hilda wore a strange smile. “Indeed, I do. And? Who else is going with you aside from Catalyna?”
“We’re not sure.” Kari shrugged as an exhilarating smile appeared on her face, her eyes shining like beacons in the night. “We have absolutely no idea who else is going, but I think that’s part of what will make this trip fun. The excitement of not knowing is thrilling.”
“And there she goes into her own world again,” Fay teased.
Kari either hadn’t heard or was purposefully ignoring her friend as she dove into an explanation about the ruins she was hoping to find. Empress Hilda listened to her daughter with a somewhat bemused smile, like she couldn’t quite figure the girl out. She would nod at certain points, make exclamations at others. I felt like she was humoring Kari. However, it was clear from how attentive her eyes were that this woman, whose very bearing and every movement screamed regal, was listening to every word her daughter said.
“You say that like you aren’t also excited,” I said to Fay, blowing gently on a slice of beef before placing it in my mouth.
“That… I mean, yes, I am excited, but it’s not like I am that excited,” Fay muttered, her ears turning red. She also stuffed a slice of beef into her mouth, but the action was more forceful than before, perhaps to cover up her embarrassment.
“You sure about that?” I teased. “Don’t you find the idea of all four of us traveling together on another adventure nice? We’ll explore new areas, meet new people, test our skills, and spend our nights together in the same tent.” Fay’s cheeks were now red along with her ears. Smiling, I pushed her just a little further. “You three even decided to buy a single futon for us to share. Surely you're excited by the prospect of us sharing it together.”
By this point, Fay’s face looked like it had caught fire. I was sure it would be possible to cook on it, though I didn’t dare say such a thing out loud.
The girl opened her mouth to retort, but before she could get a word in edgewise, the sound of someone slamming their fork into a plate echoed around the room. All conversations ceased as everyone looked at Geirolf. The youngest of Empress Hilda’s sons was standing up, his arms shaking with emotion, and his face an angry shade of red.
He was glaring at me. His eyes were like daggers.
“I’m finished with my meal,” he announced before storming out of the room. We all watched him go, and flinched when the door slammed shut.
“I wonder what that was all about?” Dante muttered as he scratched his head. He seemed baffled by his son’s strange behavior.
Mykkel was the one who answered him. “Jealousy is a very ugly thing.”
“Hmm…”
“Sorry, Eryk.” Kari smiled at me as she stood in front of her bedroom door. “But I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re kicking me out?”
“Just for now,” she reassured me.
“We’re having girl talk,” Lin added from over Kari’s shoulder.
Fay, who I couldn’t see, spoke from somewhere inside of the room. “Boys aren’t allowed.”
“There you have it,” Kari agreed.
This was something I never encountered in my past life. Kari and I were always together back then, never straying far from each other unless we had no choice. Her wanting me gone was a new experience. That said, I did believe it was a good thing. Kari needed some female friends.
“All right. Fine. I know when I’m not wanted.” I raised my hands in surrender, causing Kari to giggle. “I’ll see you girls later.”
Since I had been kicked out of Kari’s bedroom, I wandered down the hall, wondering where I should go. I technically had my own room here, but I hadn’t used it in a while. For the past three days since we’d been staying here, the four of us had been sleeping in Kari’s room. She said it was so we could get used to sleeping with each other, but I was sure it was an excuse to goof off. All we had done was talk all night, get into pillow fights, and then pass out on top of one another.
This also wasn’t the first or even second time I’d been kicked out so they could have a “girl talk.”
As I was wandering down the hall, the sound of grunts and shouts of exertion caught my attention, causing me to pause before I turned in the direction they were coming from. I went over to a window and looked down. This window overlooked a courtyard, which was currently occupied by a single person.
Geirolf Astralia.
He wore the gauntlets I’d seen him using during our trip into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Each fist was coated in a light green layer of wind, which was launched forward every time he threw a punch. His punches h
ad some extra kick to them. When he threw one, he twisted his torso and put his entire weight into each fist. This increased his attack power, but it also helped channel his Spiritual Power into his Spiritual Wind Technique, which looked like a flowing wind style technique that relied on creating a ceaseless flow of attacks.
“He’s pretty good,” I muttered to myself.
“He is at that,” a voice said to my left.
I turned around as someone walked up to the window I was looking through. That person stopped on the other side of the window.
“Mykkel,” I greeted.
Smiling at me with that mild manner of his, Mykkel glanced at the figure below, who was covered in sweat and breathing so hard nasally gasps emerged from his mouth, but he refused to stop training. Sweat poured down his face and neck as he moved through the forms. I didn’t know what style of combat he used, but it seemed a tad rough.
“Try not to let Geirolf’s actions upset you too much please,” Mykkel said. “He’s been jealous of you ever since you won the Spiritualist Grand Tournament.”
“Jealous, huh?” I muttered. “Because of Fay?”
“She’s just the latest of many reasons he’s jealous of you,” Mykkel answered with a chuckle. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “As the youngest of us brothers, Geirolf has always been compared to us. ‘Why can’t you be strong like Earland?’ or ‘How come you don’t have Mykkel’s intelligence?’ are things I’ve often heard our fathers tell him. I know our parents are just pushing him to be the best person he can, but they put a lot of pressure on him. It doesn’t help that he lacks the natural talent Earland and I have.”
“That sounds an awful lot like bragging,” I muttered.
“Does it? I don’t mean it to.” Mykkel paused for a moment. “I do not have great strength like Earland does, but I was gifted with a high intellect. I can make plans, figure out logistics, and use our comparative strengths to come up with strategies that cover each other’s weaknesses. Earland, on the other hand, was born with incredible strength. A single punch from him can shatter boulders, and his Spiritual Power is the strongest among us brothers. On the other hand, Geirolf was not born with natural abilities like we were. He is what you’d call average. He has to struggle and work twice as hard every single day just to get the same results we do.”
I glanced down at the courtyard below, where Geirolf was now on his hands and knees, his back and shoulders heaving as sweat dripped down his body to form a puddle on the ground. He looked ready to vomit out his left lung.
“So… to sum it up, Geirolf was already struggling to keep up with you two, and then I come into the picture, and suddenly there’s this no-name guy who not only won the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, but is also courting the girl he has a crush on,” I said. “That about right?”
“More or less,” Mykkel admitted.
“Hmm…”
I parted ways with Mykkel a little while later and traveled toward Kari’s room, thinking about our conversation. It seemed Geirolf had it harder than I thought. Perhaps that was also why he felt the need to pick on his sister. The stress from dealing with the pressure to match up to his older brothers caused him to lash out at the one person weaker than him… except that was no longer the case. Kari was stronger than he was now. Easily. By a long shot.
I still didn’t approve of how he picked on Kari. No matter the circumstances, bullying your younger sibling was a terrible thing to do, but I at least understood why he might do it.
“Maybe I can give him a hand,” I said to myself, though I wasn’t sure he’d accept my help. It sounded like he saw me as a rival, someone to beat. He’d probably think I was pitying him and refuse my help if I offered.
It looked like the girls were done with their “girl talk.” When I knocked on the door, the one who answered was Lin.
“Darling, you’re just in time,” she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the room.
I didn’t know what I was in time for, but when I entered the room and received several pillows to my face, I realized they’d been planning this. As the two pillows fell to the ground, I got a good look at the smiling faces of Kari and Fay. They were dressed in simple nightgowns that went down to their cute feet. Lin’s black sleepwear looked more like negligee.
I picked up the pillows and smiled.
“You are going to get it,” I said, raising my hands above my head and tossing the pillows at them. Well, that was what should have happened. When I found my arm locked in place, I looked up and saw a tail trapping my limbs. “What?!”
“Now, you two!” Lin shouted.
That seemed to be the cue for Fay and Kari, who raced forward and bodily tackled me to the floor. A scuffle quickly ensued. I had no idea what the scuffle was about—not until Kari lifted my shirt and Fay began tickling me.
“What are you—no! Wait! Stop that right now!”
My demands were not met. Fay continued to mercilessly tickle my sides, and I soon became breathless and unable to fight back. All I could do was laugh until Fay began running out of juice herself. Once she began slowing down, I knew that was my chance.
“Counterattack—wait! Not the tail again!”
Unfortunately, I had forgotten about Lin, who wrapped her tail around my legs and kept me from launching a counterattack at the pair. I tripped and fell on the floor. Now on my stomach, Kari jumped on top of me and began her own attack. While I tried to buck her off, she was tenacious and clung to my back, not relenting for even a moment. Even when she did, Fay or Lin would launch their own attacks to keep me pinned.
My torturous night lasted for a long time before all three girls were exhausted. We lay in a bundle of limbs on the floor, breathing heavily, sweat clinging to our skin. All of us were smiling though. That was what mattered.
I must have fallen asleep at some point. I opened my eyes again to discover that Lin and Kari were sleeping on the floor with me, surrounded by pillows. However, one of us was missing. A glance at the window revealed Fay, who had placed a hand on the windowsill as she stared outside at the twin moons.
“Can’t sleep?” I asked, extricating myself from Kari and Lin. It was harder than it looked, but I had experience with being wrapped up in a Lamia’s tail. I just replaced myself with Kari.
I watched for a moment as Kari wrapped her arms around Lin and pulled the girl closer, while Lin’s tail curled around Kari’s waist and legs. The blonde frowned for a moment as though she sensed something out of place. She settled back down, however, her body relaxing into Lin’s embrace as the Lamia buried her face in the blonde’s boobs.
Fay smiled at me as I walked up to her, but it wasn’t what I’d call joyful. I sensed worry in her smile.
“Not really.” She turned back to the twin moons floating on the horizon. “Every time I think about going back into the Demon Beast Mountain Range, I remember what happened to you and feel this unease deep in my stomach. Even though I’ve been training so hard, I’m worried that I won’t be strong enough to help you when the time comes.”
Nodding, I wrapped my arms around her from behind. Fay released a startled squawk, but it was soft and didn’t wake the two sleeping on the floor. Pulling her to me, I enclosed my arms around her waist until my front was pressing against her back, then placed my head on her shoulder. Her body was warm.
“You really don’t have much confidence in yourself,” I said.
“It’s… not that I don’t have confidence in myself. It’s just… I can’t help but worry about whether I’ll be able to help you when the time comes.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?” I asked. Fay said nothing. “I’m not saying it’s wrong to worry, but you should also recognize your own strength. You’ve always been strong, Fay. During the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, you went up against opponents with more experience than you and won. Also, you are much stronger and more experienced now than you were back then. If you went up against those same people, even Catalyna Kriger would not be able to d
efeat you.”
“Do you really think so?” asked Fay.
“I would not say this if I was not completely certain of your strength.”
Fay didn’t speak for a second. When she did, her voice was soft. “You have a lot of confidence in me, don’t you?”
“It’s important to have confidence in the people you love.” My response caused Fay’s cheeks to flush.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
“That isn’t something you should thank me for.” Smiling, I placed a kiss on her neck. Fay’s breathing hitched as I kept my lips pressed against her skin. Then I moved, kissing her a little higher each time until I reached her ear.
“E-Eryk,” Fay mumbled as I kissed her ear, then her cheek. Reaching out with a hand, I turned her head until she was facing me. I stared into her emerald eyes, half-narrowed with a seductive quality that drew me in, though I knew her seductiveness was not something she did on purpose. That was just how her eyes appeared.
“I am never giving you to anyone,” I said as a possessive feeling came over me.
“Huh?”
Fay looked confused, but the expression soon left when I leaned in and kissed her. Her startled gasp was muffled by my mouth. I kept my hand on her cheek, and after the initial shock wore off, Fay began kissing me back. She opened her mouth and I slipped my tongue inside.
As the kiss continued, Fay turned around in my arms and pressed her chest into me. She wasn’t wearing a bra or bindings, which meant I could feel her inverted nipples through the fabric of our shirts, just barely. An electric sensation shot through my body at the tender elasticity of her chest. Her arms went around my waist and tightened, further emphasizing this feeling.
When I finally pulled back for air, Fay gasped as if she’d been left breathless. I wasn’t much better. I reached up and placed a hand on her cheek. Fay leaned into it, closing her eyes as she placed her hand against mine.
“Let’s go to bed,” I whispered.
“Okay,” Fay whispered back.
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