I stared at Caly in shock for a few moments as I tried to understand what I had just heard. Admittedly I am not the best when it comes to deciphering a woman's intentions even when it is stated as clearly as Caly had. Though I already had a lot on my mind already so I might be a bit slower than normal.
What was worse is I realized I wasn't as irritated by the idea as I thought I would be which bothered me a bit. I was concerned about how Karen and Megan would react, but I wasn't angry about the additional complication. I briefly wondered if it was a part of the bond, but I dismissed that quickly. While it would be easy to blame, I knew myself better than that. No matter how complicated it made my life, I couldn't be mad at a beautiful woman for showing an interest in me.
Why couldn't this have happened before the world began its trip into chaos?
"Let's head in and get something to eat." I told her.
Caly nodded as she watched me closely.
Before we could go far my elementals appeared in the air in front of me.
"That is going to get annoying." Delilah commented.
I shrugged. "It wasn't my idea." I told her.
"What happened?" Enya asked looking back and forth between Caly and I.
"What do you… oh interesting!" Delilah said, seeming to realize something.
"Don't go poking around in my head." I told the two elementals.
"Didn't need to Master." Delilah replied.
Enya giggled.
I frowned but decided not to follow up on it. I already had enough stuff on my mind.
"Seriously Master, your love life is turning into a daytime drama." Delilah told me.
"Three girlfriends and now a fiance." Enya added with a laugh.
"Three?" Caly and I asked together.
"Karen, Megan, and Grace!" Enya said ticking off her fingers with each name.
"Grace doesn't count little one. There might be interest but there isn't any intent." Delilah told her. "And Megan is still iffy."
"Okay I can understand Grace, but how can you say Megan is iffy." Enya argued. "There is definitely interest and intent!"
"Interest yes, intent? Only because Karen is pushing her." Delilah replied.
I frowned worriedly upon hearing that.
"Okay maybe not pushing, but definitely encouraging." Delilah corrected herself quickly.
I shook my head. "I need food." I stated, then headed for the door of the restaurant. Caly caught up a moment later and followed beside me while the elementals floated at head height.
"So two girlfriends?" Caly asked.
I nodded and shrugged. "Kind of." I replied then pulled the door open for her to enter first.
Inside the restaurant the same hostess greeted us but she didn't seem to recognize me, which was fine by me. The place was more crowded than when I had been there earlier, so we had to wait for a bit.
As we waited I pulled my phone out and sent a text to Karen and Megan asking how it was going and letting them know I had been brought back to Red Line Grill. I hesitated for a moment before letting them know a woman had come back with me, though I didn't include the fact that she was my fiance.
A couple minutes later we were led to a booth for two and left alone. Caly elicited some looks from the other men in the restaurant but no one bothered us. I grabbed the menu and handed it to Calidea. "Can you read English?" I asked curiously.
Calidea nodded. "This agreement between our families has been in the works for a long time. Once the Wallous family decided which country they were going to settle in we were taught the local language so we could communicate with our future fiance." Calidea explained.
I nodded. "That makes sense."
Calidea giggled. "You didn't know about any of this before today." she stated.
"Nothing." I agreed.
"Must be a shock." she stated.
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah."
"So any questions?" she asked.
I was about to but a waiter appeared to take our order. I ordered a sweet tea and a bacon cheeseburger with avocado on the side, it had sounded great a few hours ago and I was determined to eat it this time around. Calidea seemed uncertain even after looking through the menu for a while then just ordered the same thing I did.
I chuckled but since I had no idea what she preferred I couldn't suggest anything else for her.
Just as the waiter left with our orders I got a text back from Karen that they were still waiting to check out, then they would head back to pick us up. It was short, simple, and filled me with dread.
"One of the girlfriends?" Calidea asked with a smirk.
I nodded. "Karen. They are shopping for supplies and will head here to pick us up when they leave the store." I told her.
"So questions?" she asked me again.
I nodded. "Why did you come with me?" I asked her. "As much as I would like to think it is my good looks, I know it isn't."
Caly smiled and nodded. "You are handsome, but no." She replied then was silent for a moment.
I patiently waited her out as she seemed to gather her thoughts.
"It is hard to explain as you know nothing about our families. So I let's just say that this is an opportunity that I can't miss." she told me.
"Opportunity?" I asked.
Caly nodded. "My family is huge, and because of that there are a lot of factions within the family. While we would never abandon a member of the family, those in the weaker factions receive less favor and opportunities." she told me.
"And you are from one of the weaker factions?" I asked.
"The weakest." she agreed.
"So how is this an opportunity?" I asked.
"Two fold." Caly replied. "The most obvious is the rapid growth. I am sure you have experienced the gate openings and the energy you absorb from them."
I nodded.
"That is why most of the girls volunteered, no matter how well everything else goes, they would still be able to skip years of work just by being here." she told me.
I nodded, that made sense to a degree.
"And the other?" I asked.
"Honestly the other is worthless now that our families have decided to back out." she told me.
I frowned but didn't press. "Alright, so why?" I asked.
"Why did I come anyways when it was evident that this will be a lot more dangerous than what I had been expecting? Especially when I had a perfectly good excuse not to?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Same reason. I want to get stronger, and given what I heard it sounds like I will be able to grow a lot more here than I thought I would be able to." she replied.
Delilah snorted.
"As for the danger, there is you." Caly continued.
"Me?" I asked.
She nodded. "Earlier your shadow elemental said you were a purple core." she stated.
"She did." I agreed.
"Lady Alderan dismissed that believing your elemental was trying to make you seem better than you are. I on the other hand think that your elemental was lowering the mark." she told me.
I stared at her for a few moments. She really was pretty. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Why do you think that?" I asked curiously.
Delilah and Enya giggled having caught my drifting thoughts.
"Them." Caly replied, indicating my elementals.
"Huh?" I asked.
"While a purple core can easily support two elemental contracts, this world has only begun to awaken. As such I think it would be hard for anyone within the prime cores to be able to support two elementals with this thin ambient mana." she concluded.
"I didn't even think of that." Delilah said, sounding impressed.
"Is she right?" I asked Delilah.
Delilah shrugged. "Probably. Grace is a blue which is one grade lower than purple and I don't think she could do it." she replied.
"So I was right!" Caly stated excitedly.
I nodded. "I have a gold core." I told her.
Caly immediately frowned which turned to a glare a second later.
"He is telling the truth." Delilah spoke up.
Caly looked at Delilah then to Enya who nodded. Then she started to laugh, loud and hard for a while.
Our drinks arrived as she regained control over herself and wiped the tears from her eyes. I sipped my drink and waited as she calmed down.
"I will do my best not to cause you trouble. Which of your girlfriends is the head?" she asked.
"Karen." Delilah informed her.
"Karen." Enya said a split second later.
"I will speak with her once we have a chance too. I also give you official permission to sleep with her." Caly told me.
"Huh?" I said stupidly, did that mean she has given up on me already? While that would make things a lot less complicated, I admit I felt a bit disappointed.
"That was quick." Enya commented, her thoughts seeming to mirror my own.
Delilah snorted. "Smart girl, fighting Karen for first wouldn't go well for you. As she is now I am sure you can take second from Megan if you are earnest."
Wait what?!
Caly laughed at my expression. "There is obviously a lot you don't know about our cores. Given your previous station within your family, and the early awakening of this world that can be forgiven." she told me.
"So my being a gold core makes you willing to become a member of my harem?" I asked to confirm.
Caly chuckled. "You being a copper core would definitely make me willing to be one of your wives Daryl. There is a huge difference between a prime core and a metal core, and I promise you I will explain it all later." she told me then gave me a heated look that made me squirm in my seat. "As for you being a gold core? Let me think." she said then paused for a few moments before continuing. "It's like telling a gold digger that you are the only heir apparent to a multibillion dollar enterprise. Even though you may not be that great right now, your potential is so high she would eagerly jump into your bed with every intent on tying you to her with a child."
I tried to wrap my head around that for a moment, but even with my mental ability I wasn't getting it.
Caly sighed. "Where I am from marrying a young gold core is like winning the lottery." she simplified.
"Oh." I said finally understanding what she meant.
"Is being a gold core really that great?" I asked.
"Yes and no. Last I heard your father is also a gold core. For his age it is impressive, but not exceptional, for you who just awakened? Yes, very." she informed me.
That didn't make sense, how could my father be a gold core, he seemed a lot stronger than I was.
"She is right." Delilah spoke up. "Your father is a gold core."
Caly noticed my confusion and gave me a sympathetic smile. "I promise I will explain, but before that, I believe that is our food." she told me.
I looked behind me and sure enough our food was heading towards us. That was perfect as I was starving. Hopefully this would all make more sense once I had filled my stomach.