Yawning and standing up to realize the woman was gone, I began to panic uneasily and was conflicted because this is now the second time she went missing.
"My gosh, not again!" I shouted in agonizing sadness.
"Master..." a voice came from behind which I turned quickly because I knew instantly who was speaking to me, which made me uncertain.
"You are alive!" I ran up to her and gave her a huge hug, "I never... Thought you'd wake up from all that happened yesterday." I still wallowed keeping her in my arms.
"Oh my, thought I wasted away did you?" the woman said who seemed like she found something but hugged back.
"Well... I wouldn't say I did think that, but I did worry a bit much, although I'm glad you're awake." I cried a little due to her disappearance a moment ago, and kept a strong sense of my dignity in front of her.
"Master, stop being cute for a moment, or I'll push you down again." she smiled gleefully at the thought.
"I'm not being anything remotely close to cute?" I tilted my head wondering why she thought I was.
"Well, never mind that, I got something to tell you Master." the woman said, holding onto my hands firmly and looking be deadly serious in the face.
"What could that possibly be? And you're scaring me with that look." I said quietly, calming myself down.
"I've found a nearby tower, but it's guarded by some girls." she told me, expecting a reaction of some sort.
"And how many girls are there exactly?" I asked with a peculiar look on my face.
The woman sweated, and pulled something out quickly, which appeared to be a beaker with a green neon substance inside, and shoved it back in a brown slightly torn bag she had.
"I-If we say that they're seven girls, how would you react?" she said sweating a bit.
"Contrary to belief, I wouldn't leave you for them as, strictly speaking, I will not sway that way and me... Love you more than ever." I proclaimed speaking in a somewhat formal way.
The woman blushed momentarily, but went back to her usual mature self with a smile she shows more than I could see, although that face can change expressions at any time which was curious to see; and quite fearsome at the same time.
"Master, I would like to go see these girls and ask them for something." she requested, although there was no need for her too.
"I mean go ahead, If there's something important you need from them," I told her, "but make sure nothing bad happens once you meet them."
"No, Master, we're going out there together." she pointed out.
"Mm." I stood in place for a moment, losing my composure, "yeah, leave me out of it."
"I'll take you by force Master, there's no need to worry." then she held me like a football and ran down the stairs, and went outside of Charles's house.
This didn't surprise me, but I was quiet and frozen in place as my mind was in a state of abysmal at this moment in time.
"Burgh... I don't feel so great, can we stop here?" I begged though it appears like we are already where the tower is, and where the girls are guarding it.
"Master, I'll put you down, only because we are at the tower." she said while I knew that we were, but that didn't put much of a positive mood on me.
"Why did I have to come again?" I said to her grumpily.
"I need you to be there to witness what you're about to see, Master." she looked at me and turned her back to walk forward to where two girls are standing with batons, staring at us menacingly.
"What do you chumps want?" one of the girls called out, readying her baton to hit someone right in the face.
The woman pushes me a little forward so I could speak which didn't surprise me since she felt a weird presence around them, which I did notice but didn't pay attention to too much.
"Calm down fine ladies, whose clothing looks like they were finely ironed by some random means," I said, knowing what will happen next after inspecting their clothing, and commented poorly and continued, "We are here to... Find the leader of this place." I nervously told them.
The other girl who had black short hair and a ponytail that wasn't neatly tied which made it look messy was giving a hand signal for the girl who had long red hair with one of her eyes covered due to long bangs, which was readying her baton to be put away, in which she did.
"I'll handle this Elysia," said the tall, short hair girl, "I am Jia, and you guys?" she asked.
"Oh! I am Liam, or you could call me Ito for short and the one behind me is... Well, my girlfriend. " I said since I still didn't know the woman's name surprisingly enough, we've been traveling for a few months now.
The woman walked toward Jia and whispered in her ears, who made a shocked expression and kept quiet, which was odd by a lot but I kept quiet not to anger anyone.
"Well, if you guys are here for the meeting and would like to inspect us go ahead." she said, confirming that it was okay to go inside the tower.
"Inspect?" I said in confusion looking at the woman.
"Ahaha, Master, I came here before quite some time ago." the woman said behind me.
"Huh, you did? Well, I can see why from their reaction to you." I said, puzzled.
"What are you two waiting for, go right ahead into the tower as we don't have all day!" shouted Elysia.
"Alright, we will." I said, walking forward into the tallest tower.
Laughter filled the room instantly while walking in which spooked me as the woman went ahead of me without getting terrified and went upstairs as I followed her. Though oddly enough the more we go up, the more it seems like the way to the very top seems more time-consuming.
After some time, though we finally managed to reach the top, which was not at all painful but I lagged behind a little while walking up and wondered why there wasn't some sort of elevator-like machine.
However, when we got there, I screeched when something appeared in front of me that I didn't expect due to it never happening once until now.
"Tone it down will you?" the girl with a slightly low tone voice said, who was the one standing in front of me.
"Oh, hello there.." I calmly said, but she turned to some other girls who I couldn't see very well, "uh, hello?" pausing for a brief moment before a long-haired blonde girl with princess crowned braids, whose clothing looks like a witch, with some torn parts but still looked like a beauty, turned back to me.
As I thought that, the woman murmured madly, but kept to herself while holding onto my sleeves.
"You are... Ah, that girl behind you." She said, recognizing the face of the woman.
"You guys know each other?" I said with that in mind.
"Yes, Master, we do, but only because I need them to make something for us." the woman said puzzling me by a little.
"So we weren't inspecting but helping them by making something?" as my boiling urge to make a contraption of sort went high and was excited about what they were working on.
"I'm sorry to break it to you, Liam if that's your name," the braided blonde hair girl whose name appeared to be Kelsi from a hanging name card from her pockets, "but we are doing this specifically for you, and it isn't a machine or however you call it." she exclaimed with a blank expression.
"What?" as all my hopes dawdled down, but was still expecting something from it.
Though now that I seem to mature quite a bit from my old habits, I was interested why they wanted to make something for me, which I expected the woman would have a say in it, but she was looking at shelves from the walls with sets of triangular flasks with liquids in them.
"What would you guys even need us to bring forward what you guys are making?" I said without thinking about those chemical flasks that piqued me because I saw them in my old world.
"Just some soil that is frozen, and maybe some fine green leaves that grow on trees with droplets of water." said one of the girls whose name was Kayoki with curtain-like bangs and braids on the side of her hair.
"..." I paused, but proceeded to shake my head, but realizing that in a pouch I had on me was the same ingredients they told me to get, "well about that, I have those things you've mentioned." which shocked Kayoki and the others but realizing there was two missing from this group.
Elysia And Jia then walked in casually being the last of the witches it seemed and told the others, it is time to start mixing the ingredients they bought as well, with the ones I had as well.
Everything went pitch-black the moment later and a candle was lit, and everyone brought a long stick to stir with, except me, of course, and the woman since we're not sure we'd be of help with seven people who four of them I don't know yet, they're doing more of the work than us two.
While waiting, I looked through some shelves with flasks while the woman was reading a book about insects fighting in a different dimension that somewhat made me want to look at its contents after she's done reading.
『Hm...』
"Not you again." I said in my mind, hoping this being would finally leave me alone, but not a chance would that happen.
『Haha, don't be so harsh lad, I was only checking how it was going for you.』
"Please leave, if I have another headache it will only torture my sleep schedule." I asked politely.
『I'll leave you to make those beautiful girls you a gift then.』
"Shut up! They are not even close to the woman's beauty!" I shouted out.
"Huh?" a girl named Della looked at me surprised, only to then go back to dropping ingredients in the cauldron and stirring with a bulky stick.
"Damn it, why did he have to come out right now." I said in my mind with a very stressed look on my face with some tears.
"Master." the woman called out to me.
"What is it, can't you see I'm disappointed." I kneeled and slammed the ground lightly with my fists.
"I don't know what's wrong with you, but your woman is asking you something so answer her, will you?" said the girl whose name was Hannah with red tied-up hair.
"Master, they are finished." the woman said, pulling me up by my arms.
Not a second later though one of them named Sarah who was the leader due to her presence alone shoved a flask in my mouth and raised my head, making me gulp down whatever this oddly tasting liquid was that tasted metallic.
"Ugh, this is awful." I shriveled up wanting to get rid of this very bitter taste.
Not soon after I began to feel like I was merging with another being that would make me one person with another personality, but myself, thinking about only one that could've merged with me.
『...』
Becoming weird and amused at what was coming out behind my back, I said, "ah, I see, so you've been found out my other self, or should I say a mysterious being that has entered my mind by some type of force in this world." I chuckled which angered the shadow who now showed itself out of me, and had a vicious appearance and growled with sharp teeth and drooled a lot like a wolf.
『So ??? Knew about me, I'm delighted, but is this really how I go out?』
"Well, you'll still be able to communicate, but under Liam's surveillance and acceptance." claimed the woman who smiled angrily.
『Hm, so he'll know all my knowledge stored up, won't he? Well, that's fine as I don't have much to teach him.』
"Aren't you a wolf in sheep's clothing, though?" I asked, staring at this shadow who had taken over my mind some chapters in.
『At least I wouldn't have to listen to your constant thinking.』
"Thankfully, I wouldn't hear your nagging voice anymore." I turned my head away from it.
『Fine by me, we were never pals, to begin with!』
Somewhat that hurt me, but I've done the same to the mysterious shadow and apologized, but it did not listen and looked at one of the witches.
『Hm, Liam it seems like you have a potential second wife.』
"What?" he whispered in my ears about Elysia, being the second wife, which confused me.
『Ah worry not, it's just my intuition.』
"And who said we were not pals hmm?" I smirked happily.
『You not long ago.』
"Don't make me feel bad alright?" I frowned, but got patted on the head by the shadow before being completely merged which has changed my appearance drastically.
"Wait, this ain't normal is it." I only came to realize that the only possible way to merge a person to another is by magic.
Everyone in the room, though had opened jaws, thinking how this view is too stimulating for them and some even closed their eyes.
"What?.." I stared at them, hoping I didn't do anything to them.
"Master you've become more handsome than ever before!" the woman squealed and hugged my chest and commented on how soft it became.
"Since we got the payment beforehand, you guys can go out now." Sarah said blushing, and pulled down a lever that brought up a flat circular wooded elevator that had strong strings attached to each side point, and nails that kept metal iron in place.
"Metal?!" I looked in disbelief below.
"That's a decoration and was painted." said the woman who broke all my hopes for almost asking the witches if they had any left.
"Disappointing, is it not." I sighed.
After a while, the elevator reached this floor, which I and the woman walked forward onto it and Sarah waved at us as well as the other girls who were glaring at me taking a picture with an old-fashioned camera.
We waved back, of course, but I became agitated while we were going down, due to not realizing that they had this type of elevator and walked up that many stairs back then.
"I'm getting quite tired." I said to the woman, who told me to hold onto her behind.
"It's been exhausting for you hasn't it Liam, well don't worry for you are my lover and my master and I will care for you." she smiled and kissed me.
"I know we haven't done it in a while, but if you'd like, tomorrow we'll take a break and do whatever in our heart's content." I yawned before passing out.
"In a new house, of course, I'll surprise you with that when you are awake, Master." the woman happily said before walking us back to Charles's house to retrieve some luggage.