“Y-yes…” their leader said through gnashed, jittering teeth.
“Good.”
The Spiritual Aura and intense Spiritual Pressure suddenly disappeared. The five Nevarian Spiritualists slumped against the ground, bodies covered in sweat and shaking. Relief was clear as day on their faces.
Darling walked up to Lin and reached out with his hand.
“Come on,” he said. “We’re leaving.”
“Are we going back home?” Lin asked as she placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her along. Darling’s hand was surprisingly delicate, but it was also very warm and reassuring as Lin tightly gripped it.
Darling shook his head. “Given what just happened, I believe we should head to the Imperial Royal Palace and talk to Empress Hilda. The sooner we make it known that you aren’t a Demon Beast, the better off we’ll be.”
Lin nodded, but she didn’t say anything as they moved through the streets. She slithered slightly behind him as he led her by the hand. Alarms were still blaring all over town, but he seemed unconcerned by the noise. She wasn’t that bothered either since he wasn’t. However, there was one problem that she was dealing with.
Her heart. It was slamming against her chest.
“Darling… this princess, she is sorry… for leaving the house when you told her not to,” she muttered in a regretful tone.
“Don’t worry about it. You left the house because you were worried about me when I didn’t return home, right?” His words stunned her, but when Darling turned his head and looked her way, all Lin could do was nod. Her cheeks became warm when he smiled. “I assumed as much. This incident was as much my fault as yours, so you have nothing to apologize for.”
“This princess understands,” Lin said softly. “Thank you, Darling.”
“Don’t mention it.”
* * *
I took Lin all the way to the Imperial Royal Palace, which took almost two hours to reach. Part of the reason was because of just how far the Imperial Royal Palace was from my home. However, the biggest reason was definitely because of how many times we were stopped by Nevarian Spiritualists who thought Lin was a Demon Beast. I couldn’t rightly blame them for thinking this way, but honestly, anyone who actually looked at her should have realized that she wasn’t a Demon Beast.
How many Demon Beasts had the upper body of a beautiful girl? None.
I had traveled across the entirety of Miðgarðr and even visited another realm entirely, and yet I had never once seen a Demon Beast with a human appearance. Humanoid, yes. But human? No. Definitely not.
When we at last reached the top of the mountain upon which the Imperial Royal Palace sat, we came upon the gate that kept random people from entering. Several people were already waiting there. Dante, Rainer, Valence, Empress Hilda, and Kari were all present when I arrived, and seeing how I had an entourage waiting for me, I decided it would be rude to keep them waiting.
It was almost amusing how, immediately after verifying who I was, their eyes strayed to Lin. I really couldn’t blame them. Lin was a Lamia, a race that had never been seen in Nevaria before (or at least for a couple thousand years), which of course meant her snake lower half was quite exotic. The fact that she wasn’t wearing any clothes and her modest breasts were bouncing free for everyone to see probably didn’t help.
“I’m sorry for causing all of you to worry,” I said as Lin and I reached the gate.
“It is… no concern.” Empress Hilda’s eyes had yet to leave Lin, who for once actually looked uncomfortable as she hid behind me. “This is… a Lamia, if I am not mistaken.”
“You’ve seen them before?” I asked.
Empress Hilda shook her head. “Not in person, no. However, there are several books in my library documenting the existent of Lamia. They don’t go into extensive detail, but the books describe Lamia as being extraordinarily beautiful men and women who have the lower body of a snake.”
“That sounds about right.” I nodded. “In any case, would you mind if we all traveled back inside? I’d like to discuss this matter somewhere more comfortable. Also, Lin hasn’t had dinner yet.”
As if my words were prophetic, Lin’s stomach chose that moment to rumble. Everyone stared at the snake girl as her face became beet red. Huh. She never got embarrassed when that happened around me. As Dante and Rainer chuckled, Valence coughed into his hand as though trying to hide his amusement, and Kari and Empress Hilda merely smiled.
“Why don’t we head back to the dining hall then?” Empress Hilda suggested. “We can have a dessert wine while our chefs prepare some food for your friend.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I said.
“Y-yes! Um, thank you very much!” Lin replied, mimicking my actions. “This princess is very grateful.”
As the seven of us walked toward the house, Kari wandered up to my side, the one opposite Lin, and looked between the two of us.
“You mentioned your name was Lin, right?” Kari said with a smile. “Do you mind if I ask how you know Eryk?”
“Darling saved this princess’s life,” Lin replied.
“Darling?” Kari glanced at me, frowned, and then looked back at Lin. “Why do you call him ‘Darling’?”
Warning bells went off in my head, prompting me to open my mouth. Nothing good could come from letting Lin answer Kari’s questions. I had to beat her to the punch and say something first.
But I was too late.
“Darling is this princess’s husband,” Lin declared proudly, puffing out her chest.
“Her husband, huh?” Kari glanced at me. The look on her face was… odd. I couldn’t quite describe it. Amusement mixed with anger? Exasperation perhaps? I didn’t know, but I was sweating buckets now.
“That is correct.” Lin nodded with an imperious demeanor. Her mannerisms reminded me of a very spoiled princess. “After Darling rescued this princess from a couple of boars, she decided to make Darling her husband. This princess even gave him the Ring of Marji.”
“Ring of… Marji?”
“This.”
At Kari’s uncertain look, I raised my hand and showed off the tattoo around my ring finger. It looked like a ring of thorns wrapped around my finger. Next to it were two puncture marks that hadn’t healed even now.
“So this is the Ring of Marji? I remember seeing that before.” Her eyes narrowed. “I thought you said it was nothing.”
I sighed at her accusing tone. “At the time, I thought it was nothing. I didn’t even know what it was until quite a few days later. I’ll explain everything soon, so please be patient with me.”
Kari looked at me with a frown, but she didn’t say anything else, causing me to sigh in relief.
We adjourned back in the dining hall, though not before Lin was given a large and comfortable robe to wear that hid her breasts and vagina, and Empress Hilda ordered one of the chefs to prepare a meal—one with plenty of meat after I mentioned that Lamia were primarily carnivores. As the seven of us sat around the table, a maid brought out a bottle of wine and seven glasses. While she did pale upon seeing Lin’s snake tail thumping against the floor, she did an admirable job of masking her fear as she poured our wine.
“Now then,” Empress Hilda began as she sat at the head of the table, “I would appreciate it if you explained what a Lamia is doing in Nevaria and how you know her.”
“Right,” I said with a sigh. “You’d better brace yourselves because this is going to be a long story.”
Now that I finally had an opportunity to explain Lin’s case, I didn’t hesitate to inform the empress, her husbands, and Kari about how Lin and I met. I told them about how, when I found her, she was just a snake being attacked by a group of wild boars, how she bit me and gave me the Ring of Marji, and how she followed me home. I made sure not to leave anything out. I even told them about how I woke up one morning to find her sleeping in my bed in her Lamia form. That said, I neglected to mention how she’d been completely naked. They didn’t need to know that.
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br /> By the time I was done, our wine was finished and Lin had scarfed down six plates worth of lamb.
“That is quite a story.” Dante stared at his empty wine glass as though expecting it to automatically refill itself. “If it wasn’t for the evidence sitting right in front of me, I’m not sure I would have believed any of it.”
“Who could have imagined there would be another race of creatures aside from humans and Demon Beasts,” Rainer mused as he stroked his jaw. “And to think they live in the desert that borders Nevaria. Several brave men and women have journeyed into the desert, but none have ever returned. It was later declared too dangerous to travel and so no one has ever been allowed to enter.”
While the others were musing on Lin’s origins, Kari looked like she had a bazillion questions for the girl. The way her eyes sparkled as she stared at my companion was quite telling. I imagined Lin would be getting interrogated about her home soon enough.
“This is definitely intriguing information.” Empress Hilda had not drunk all of her wine. She swirled the little bit left in her glass as she studied Lin, who looked so content as she patted her stomach that it was hard to take her seriously. “However, I don’t think this information is something we can do anything with right now, so let us shelve it. The important issue is figuring out what to do with you.”
At the mention of “what to do with Lin” arose, the snake girl quickly leaned over and plastered herself to me.
“Lin is staying with Darling,” she declared as if that was the end of the discussion.
Empress Hilda, Dante, Rainer, and Valence all shared a look. All of them except for Valence, who remained stern, looked amused by her quick response.
“That isn’t what we were talking about,” Empress Hilda assured her. “Your presence will be something of a shock to the people of Nevaria, so we need to figure out how to introduce you to them so our Spiritualists don’t chase you like they did tonight.”
“Oh…” Lin seemed relieved. “Can’t you just have this princess walk around in broad daylight with Darling? He’s the champion of that tournament thingy, right? This princess is sure people will realize she is not dangerous if they see us together.”
“A fair point. I guess that’s about all we can do for the moment anyway.” Empress Hilda nodded after musing on that idea for a while. “We’ll begin coming up with something more concrete tomorrow. For now, I think you two should spend the night here. It would be safer for you both.”
I couldn’t disagree with her on this point, and so the two of us agreed and were shown to our rooms, though we didn’t head inside right away. Kari wanted to speak with Lin, so we headed into her bedroom and talked. Well, I say we talked, but I really mean Lin and Kari talked. Kari asked Lin all kinds of questions about her home, about her people, and about anything else she could think of. The girl was practically starry-eyed as she spoke with the Lamia.
Of course, Lin had no trouble whatsoever when it came to talking about herself, though she didn’t have much information to give. It seemed she’d been forced to abandon her home when she was fairly young and only remembered bits and pieces. Her knowledge wasn’t clear enough to give Kari a full picture, but it was more than enough to satisfy her adventurer’s curiosity.
I was happy to see Kari and Lin get along like this. Of course, there was a bit of an issue when Kari mentioned how Lin needed to wear clothes. That resulted in an argument over common decency, a concept that Lin didn’t seem to understand. However, for the most part, the two of them seemed to find a lot of common ground despite having only met.
The excitement of the night must have been too much for Lin because she eventually fell asleep on Kari’s bed. She was sprawled across the sheets in what must have been the most lackadaisical posture ever. Kari and I listened to her soft snoring as we stood by the window.
“It seems you are carrying even more secrets than I realized,” Kari said as she rested her hand on the windowsill.
“I’m sorry for not telling you about Lin.” I toyed with one of my bangs. “I always intended to say something eventually, but since she’s a Lamia… I kinda figured I should wait until after I won the tournament.”
Kari nodded. “The fame from the tournament would grant you the clout you needed to protect Lin and let her leave your house.” She smiled and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “I am beginning to understand how you think. You’re a very kind person.” She glanced over at Lin who was dozing off on the bed. “You always put others first, even people you’ve just met. That must be what attracted her to you.”
“If you have the power to help someone, then you should put that power to good use.” I also looked at Lin and felt my chest grow a bit lighter. “Someone I know once told me that.”
“This person sounds very wise,” Kari said.
“Aye. Very wise.” I smiled at the irony, wondering how Kari would feel if she knew those were her future self’s words to me. “Anyway, I still don’t know what I should do about Lin or this Ring of Marji yet. I’ve been wracking my brain, but I’m honestly at a loss.”
“Do you need to do anything?” asked Kari.
I frowned at her. “Isn’t that obvious? That girl has it in her head that I’m her husband. I can’t just keep stringing her along like this.”
“Who said anything about stringing her along?” Kari returned my frown with one of her own.
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
The two of us stared at each other, and I had this really bad feeling that we were not on the same page. Kari seemed to realize that as well. She raised a hand to her mouth and giggled.
“I do not think you understand what I’m trying to tell you.” Kari glanced back at Lin and a warm smile suddenly lit up her face. With the moonlight spilling in through the window, her appearance seemed even more radiant than usual. “That girl… she really loves you. She’s even gone so far as to give you that Ring of Marji, which seems to link you two at a spiritual level. I don’t think it would be a bad idea to return her affection.”
Breathing in through my nose, I stared at Kari. “Are you suggesting I court her as well?”
“Well…” Kari smiled at my expression, which must have looked quite incredulous. “I have already told you to court both myself and Fay. Would it really be so bad if we added another girl to the mix?”
“I… if that is what you think is best, then I don’t mind.” I glanced at the happily sleeping Lin, then back at Kari. “Are you sure about this?”
Kari wore a wry smile as she stared at me. “If we decide not to do as I suggested, you would begin to feel incredibly guilty about choosing me over them. You might not say it, might even deny it, but I can tell you are very fond of Lin and Fay. I don’t want you to go through this kind of hardship when I have a perfect solution that will make everyone happy. Furthermore, I don’t want Fay to suffer any more than she already has. Also, you are all that girl has.” She gestured to Lin. “She’s all alone and has no one else to rely on but you. That means you need to take responsibility for her.”
“You’re right. I know you are. It’s just…” I scratched my head and sighed. “I feel like I’m betraying my feelings for you by accepting them.”
Kari’s eyes grew soft even as her cheeks turned red. She raised her hand, hesitated, and then gently placed it on my chest. I could feel the warmth of her skin through my clothes. It sent a jolt like lightning through my body.
“You do not know how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” she muttered, looking up at me with eyes that were somewhat wet with emotion. “It really does make me so… so incredibly happy. But it is because you feel this way that I want you to accept them. I know that you would never betray your feelings for me. Having spent so much time talking to you, having watched you fight in that tournament for my sake, I understand your feelings better than anyone. I also know that for as much as you try to deny Fay’s feelings for you, your feelings for her aren’t so black and white as you�
��d like to believe. I think you know that.” Kari nodded at Lin. “It’s the same for her, isn’t it?”
While I was used to the future Kari being able to see right through me, it was somewhat stunning that the current Kari already knew me so well. We had only known each other for three months. One hundred and eighty-nine days was not a very long time. However, she was already able to see through me like we’d known each other for years.
“You really are incredible,” I muttered, placing my hands over hers.
Kari took a step closer, long locks of blonde swaying as she shook her head. “I am not the one who is incredible. In just three short months, you’ve turned my life around. I never could have imagined that the quiet young man I met in the library three months ago would change my life so thoroughly. Thanks to you, Mother is going to let me explore the world outside of Nevaria, I’ll hopefully be able to rekindle my friendship with Fay, and I met a Lamia, something thought to only exist in legends. You have given me so much. To be honest, I feel a little guilty because I haven’t been able to do a single thing for you.”
“Just being with you is enough.” I wrapped my fingers around her hand as a warmth filled my heart. “If I can remain by your side and see your smile every day, that’s all I need to be happy.”
I was wondering if maybe that was laying it on a little thick. Kari’s face had lit up like someone smashed a Spiritual Fire Technique into it. However, the wide smile on her face wiped away my worries.
“You might be satisfied with that, but I want to do more for you. So much more.” She took another step forward and stood up on her toes. Her hands slid from my grip and went to my shoulders. “There are a lot of things I’m not ready to do yet, but there are some things I wouldn’t mind us doing right now.”
WIEDERGEBURT: Legend of the Reincarnated Warrior: Volume 4 Page 21