WIEDERGEBURT

by Varnell, Brandon

  I didn’t blame her for falling asleep near instantly. We had journeyed into the Demon Beast Mountain Range, skirted the edge of death, and returned home after being mentally and physically drained. I was honestly shocked she had come to me tonight.

  As thought after thought popped into my head, my eyes slowly grew dim, then they shut entirely as the sound of Kari’s soft, gentle breathing pulled me into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 11

  Disappearance of the Leucht Family

  It took twenty-four days to travel from the northwestern peninsula to Vesperia—the city in which the Explorers Guild was located. After emerging from the jungle that made up a good portion of the peninsula, Kari and Eryk headed for the nearest town and found a caravan willing to let them travel with them in exchange for their services.

  During their time traveling with the caravan, they learned about what had been happening on the continent while they had been in Niðavellir. The war with the Sekbeists was still going strong. It appeared Warp Gates were being opened inside of ruins all across the continent. Several towns and villages had been destroyed, though none of the larger cities were occupied as Vahn had been. On that note, it seemed the Paladin Sect and Battling Valkyries had managed to secure that city during their absence, and it was now one of their side’s most fortified strongholds.

  Three months had passed since their battle in Vahn.

  The amount of time that had passed was shocking. Kari never could have imagined that one-third of a year would have gone by while they were stuck in that other realm. While her sense of time was skewed in that other realm thanks to the constant blood-red sky, it didn’t feel like three months had passed. In fact, if she went by the number of times she and Eryk had slept, then only thirty-three days should have passed during their stay in Niðavellir. That was just a few days over half a month.

  “I think time passes more slowly in Niðavellir,” Kari theorized as she sat with Eryk in one of the carts belonging to the caravan they were traveling with.

  “That’s as good a theory as any,” Eryk sighed, leaned back, and crossed his arms. “But… how would that work?”

  “Well, it’s a different realm, isn’t it?” Kari said with an excited smile. “It only makes sense that time in a different realm would be different.” She tilted her head and cupped her chin. “That said, I am curious to know what sort of mechanics there are regarding time between realms. How does it all work? Why does time in Niðavellir pass more slowly than time here? The days we spent over there didn’t feel any slower or faster, but surely there is an explanation for why so much time has passed in this realm when so little time passed in the other one.”

  “I suppose we could ask one of the Dweorgs when we see them again,” he said.

  “Yes.” Resolutely nodding, Kari decided that would be the first thing she did after meeting with the Dweorgs again. “That’s exactly what we will do.”

  Since the area surrounding Midgard was made up of mostly plains, there were a lot of roads that crossed and intersected while leading to different cities, villages, and towns. The one this caravan was traveling on was wider than most. It was a well-used road. Vesperia was a large city similar to Vahn in size, and it was located at a major cross-section between Midgard and a few dozen smaller towns, meaning many people passed through it. Currently, the road we were on would lead to Capistrana, a smaller city that was a few days travel by caravan from Vesperia.

  “Think our sect mates are worried sick about us?” Eryk asked.

  “I’m sure Felicia is worried sick, though I doubt Markus is.” Kari giggled a little. “In fact, he’s probably glad that you’re not around.”

  “Ugh…”

  When Eryk’s shoulders slumped, Kari couldn’t stop herself from snickering. Markus and Felicia were two sect mates with whom their relationship was very hot and cold. They got along with Felicia quite well—a little too well, if you asked Kari. The woman had once asked them if she could share their bed. It was quite audacious of her. Eryk had turned her down, of course, which Kari was grateful for, but the woman was persistent and kept asking. Fortunately, she kept from doing anything too dastardly like trying to sneak into bed with them. Her fraternal twin brother didn’t appreciate how Eryk had refused to acknowledge his sister’s feelings.

  “Give me a break. None of that is my fault,” Eryk complained.

  “Not interested in letting Felicia share our bed?” Kari asked.

  “Would you like her sharing our bed?”

  “Of course not. You’re mine and mine alone.”

  Kari had never once considered sharing Eryk with anyone. Perhaps if her former best friend were still alive… but she had died even before the Demon Beast Invasion of Nevaria. There wasn’t another person in the entire world with whom Kari would have considered sharing her man.

  “I feel the same way.” Eryk grimaced. “She’s a nice woman, but honestly, some of her hobbies disturb me.”

  Kari’s smile became a little fixed. “Yeah… I don’t blame you.”

  By hobbies, Eryk meant her collection of erotic male-on-male fiction. Felicia was one of those women who seemed to adore reading erotic stories about gay couples. As a reader herself, Kari believed it was wrong to ever judge someone for their preference in fiction. Everyone deserved to like what they liked without having others judge them. However, Felicia not only read fiction about men having sex with other men, she also wrote it as a pastime.

  One of her stories, which she and Eryk had accidentally read when she left it on a table in the library, had been about Eryk.

  Eryk. And her brother.

  Shudder.

  Setting aside Felicia and Markus, Kari was sure Danivan, Axel, and the others would be worried about them. She and Eryk had grown close to all of them. They had even been introduced to everyone’s families since they all lived in Vesperia and had spent many nights with them, eating dinner and chatting into the early hours of the morning.

  As their topic of conversation changed from what their sect mates must have thought about their disappearance to what they would do after getting home, a woman riding a Strut came up to their carriage. Her middle-aged appearance was emphasized by the slight wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. She didn’t have any gray in her brown hair, though. The basic brown pants and vest over a white silk shirt marked her as a standard merchant. Her outfit had no real adornments outside of a small pin on her chest, which represented her association with the Merchant’s Guild.

  “Hey, you two! I forgot to ask when you said you wanted passage, but where are you heading?”

  “We’re going to Vesperia,” Eryk answered for the two of them.

  “Vesperia?” The woman’s face paled as the blood was drained from it. She looked shaken, and that made Kari’s stomach clench.

  “Is something wrong?” asked Kari.

  “Wrong? Have you been living in a cave?” the woman asked. What she said next shook Kari to her core. “Vesparia was destroyed by the Sekbeists about a month ago. It’s nothing but ruins now.”

  I woke to the sight of golden threads like silk filling my vision. For a moment, I wondered why. There weren’t any decorations with gold threads in my hair, far as I knew, and in fact, I didn’t think I had any decorations in this room period. It wasn’t until I looked down and found Kari snuggling against me that I remembered what happened last night.

  That’s right.

  Kari and I had made love.

  A sigh escaped my lips as I closed my eyes and settled back down, allowing myself to be comforted by the lulling warmth of Kari’s body. This was the first time she and I had sex in this new life. Perhaps it was because of how long it had been—I’d not had sex for a couple of decades at least— but I’d completely forgotten about just how good it could feel.

  It was more than just the sex, though. Sleeping with Kari like this, cuddling underneath the blankets after sharing a night of passion, ranked up there on my list of favorite past times. Back in my previous lif
e, snuggling together after a night of working had been something she and I did on the regular.

  These senseless thoughts filled my mind when someone knocked on the door. I groaned. However, in the interest of letting Kari sleep some more, I replaced my body with a pillow and snuck out of bed to answer it. In my haste, I almost forgot to put on my clothes. After slipping on my pants, I opened the door.

  “I see you had a good night,” Rainer said with a smile.

  I froze upon being confronted by Kari’s second father. “Um… yeah…”

  Cold sweat poured down my forehead as Rainer investigated the room—and more specifically, the bed. There was no way he could miss Kari sleeping there. What should I do? What should I say? My mind fell into a nervous breakdown as I wondered whether it would be safer to stay and confront this man or run away before he could try to skewer me. I was pretty strong. I mean, you know, I could kill A-Rank Demon Beasts and stuff, but the fury of a father was not to be underestimated.

  Damn it! I never had to deal with this in my previous life, so I had no idea what to do now!

  “Relax,” Rainer said in a soothing voice that didn’t soothe me at all. I felt like it was the calm before the storm. “I’m not going to do anything to you.”

  “You aren’t?” I blinked. “Really?”

  “Eryk.” Giving me a look as he placed his hands on his hips, Rainer asked, “Do I look like the kind of man who would happily murder his daughter’s boyfriend because they had sex last night?”

  “Uh… no,” I admitted. “If anything, Valence seems the type to commit murder.”

  Rainer snorted. “Don’t let him catch you saying that. Anyway, I’m assuming your night together was consensual?”

  “… Yes.”

  “Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Rainer smiled at me as he placed a hand on my shoulder. It was warm and comforting, like a father giving his son a reassuring pat. I tried not to shudder. “So long as Kari consented to it, I do not have a problem with the two of you sleeping together. You’ve made Kari happier than I’ve ever seen her. To be perfectly honest, I’m glad she gave herself to someone who makes her this happy.” His smile became a little strained. “Had you not come along, we might have been forced to let Kari marry into the Leucht Family. I much prefer you over them.”

  “I suppose… I can see where you are coming from,” I said at length.

  “Right. So there’s no problem,” Rainer repeated. “In either event, I came to get you because I’d like you and Kari to wake up and refresh yourselves. Lady Hilda wants to see you all for brunch. She has news on the Leucht Family.”

  Now that I knew Rainer wasn’t going to try and skewer me like an overprotective father, I calmed down. Nodding, I said, “I understand. Give me just a moment to wake up Kari. We’ll head down together.”

  “Good. Lin and Fay are already with Lady Hilda, so don’t keep them waiting.”

  As Rainer left, I closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt an odd sense of tension drain from my body, like I’d been high-strung the whole time Rainer and I spoke. It must have been because Kari and I had sex last night. No, rather, it was those stories some of my sect mates in Brave Vesparia would tell me about how they had to deal with angry parents after taking their spouse’s first time.

  Shaking those thoughts off, I went back over to the bed and sat on the edge, admiring Kari as she lay on her side. She was hugging the pillow I had replaced myself with, but it didn’t seem to suit her taste. The frown on her face all but said she was dissatisfied with something. I know it was weird to feel proud of something like this, but I prided myself on making a damn fine pillow.

  “Kari.” I placed my hand on her shoulder and shook her. “Kari, it’s time to get up. Rainer came by and said your mother wants to see us.”

  Grumbling under her breath, Kari released her grip on the pillow and opened her eyes. She glanced around for a moment before locking eyes with me. It seemed to take her a couple of seconds before she realized why I wasn’t sleeping with her. Rolling over to her other side, she graced me with a sleepy smile.

  “Morning, Eryk.”

  “Good morning.”

  Unable to resist that sleepy face, I leaned down and kissed her. I was happy when she returned it. Ever since coming back to the past, one of the things I wanted to do the most was act like an “overly affectionate and love-struck idiot” with Kari, which was what some of my sect mates often called me. Personally, I thought hugging, cuddling, and kissing the person you loved was perfectly natural. People who thought that was weird were the weird ones.

  “Rainer came by and said Empress Hilda wants to see us for brunch,” I said after leaning back.

  “Brunch?” Kari questioned me as she sat up. The covers fell from her body, revealing several marks on her neck and also her bare breasts. Love bites. We hadn’t fully removed her nightgown last night either, so that was still on, though it was bunched around her waist.

  “It looks like it’s early afternoon.” I gestured to the window. “We slept in later than usual.”

  Kari glanced out the window to see the bright sun shining through it. There were a few clouds in the sky. Judging from the position of the sun, I could say that it wasn’t quite noon, but it definitely wasn’t morning anymore.

  “I guess we were really tired… after what we did last night,” Kari replied carefully. Her cheeks were glowing. I suppose even Kari, who had reached a point where she could kiss me in public without concern, would get embarrassed after mentioning how she and I had sex for the first time.

  Chuckling, I asked, “How do you feel?”

  Kari took a moment, tilting her head as she shifted underneath the covers. “I feel… sore. And disoriented.”

  “After what we did last night, I’m not surprised.”

  “Last night…” Glancing down at the bed, Kari grabbed the blanket tightly. “Last night was… really amazing.”

  “It was amazing for me too,” I admitted.

  Kari nodded even as her cheeks darkened. “It felt… really good too. Really good.”

  “What are you getting so embarrassed for?” I asked, though I didn’t give her a chance to respond before leaning down and kissing her again. I stood before she could recover and, keenly aware of her eyes on me, grabbed our clothes, set hers on the bed, and began getting dressed. “Come on. We’ll need to get dressed if we want to meet with your mother.”

  I threw on my white shirt and buttoned it up, slid my socks on, and cinched up my belt, all under Kari’s watchful eye. She was frowning at me. However, after a moment, she sighed and stood up.

  “I feel a little silly for being the only one who is embarrassed about what we did last night,” she mumbled.

  “I’ve been waiting for last night to happen since I fell in love with you,” I informed her. “I guess you could say I’ve been prepared for this day, so I have no reason to be embarrassed.”

  “Is that how it is?” Kari asked as she picked up her still very wet panties, blushed bright red, and dropped them on the bed.

  “That’s exactly how it is,” I replied with a grin.

  I got dressed quickly, but Kari took longer. The reason was that she didn’t have a change of clothes. She’d come to my room last night in nothing but a sheer nightgown, so I had to offer her the few spare clothes I had brought with me for… well, occasions like this. I hadn’t been lying when I said I had been waiting for this moment, though I would be lying if I said I had planned it just like this.

  My original plan involved me coming into her bedroom. It hadn’t involved her propositioning me first.

  “By the way, are you feeling all right?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes. I’m just distracted a little. I guess I’m still feeling a little overwhelmed, but also...”

  “Also?”

  “Well, it’s nothing major really. I just had a very strange dream last night.”

  “What about?”

  “It was abo
ut… you know? I don’t quite remember.” Kari furrowed her brow. “It all seemed so clear when I woke up this morning, but now it’s fading and I can barely recall what it was about. I think it involved you, though.”

  “Hmmm. Maybe you dreamt about what we did last night?”

  “M-maybe.”

  I thought it was cute to see Kari blush like that. She’d always been the one making me blush in our previous timeline. It was somehow nice to see the shoe on the other foot.

  We walked down to the first floor and went our separate ways. The bathing room I used was on the first floor of the west wing and the one she used was in her room, also on the first floor, in the east wing.

  The Imperial Royal Palace was divided into three wings: East, West, and South. I didn’t visit the south wing very often since that was primarily the servant’s quarters. The Imperial Royal Guard charged with protecting Empress Hilda and the rest of this mansion lived there along with several scullery maids, butlers, and maidservants.

  After taking a quick bath and getting dressed, I was led up to the third floor and directed toward the east wing by a young butler.

  Rainer hadn’t been lying when he said that Lin and Fay were already waiting for us. The two women were next to Empress Hilda inside of an informal dining room, sitting around an expensive glass table with several chairs as they ate scones and pastries, and sipped tea. On a side note, Lin was the only one not eating the pastries. She had a large plate full of roasted meat. The scent of garlic wafted from her plate and made my stomach clench.

  I couldn’t deal with such a robust scent first thing in the morning.

  Fay looked like a nervous wreck. She had never eaten with Empress Hilda without Kari and me present, so I was sure she felt like panicking without us there. On the other hand, Lin didn’t even seem to care, but when I took her haughty personality into account, I figured she just wasn’t the type to be bothered by royalty.