The three lovers walked side-by-side, hand-in-hand as they slowly made their way through the dorm grounds and into the Inn. The world didn't stop for them so although it was a huge moment for them, it was still hectic as workers dashed in and out of rooms to restock and they could hear orders being called in the other rooms.
They entered the kitchen and Sharla wasn't there, the girls were a bit sad not to have someone who was almost like a mother, to comfort them in their time of need but they stayed strong and held their heads up high.
The cooks who knew what was going on felt pity for the girls, not Alex, and watched the sad figures go by before going back to work a little more depressed than earlier. Entering the dining area, Alan also wasn't where he normally was and it was another worker they all worked along side before.
He paused his drinking shaking for a moment and waved to them, even Alex. Since he had managed to get friendly with a few of the guys, it wasn't as awful working anymore. Some of the workers teared up slightly and said their condolences like a funeral was going on.
His ladies accepted them with bright smiles to hide their sorrow and they made their way to the door. Before they could get there however, a few of the miners came up and Old Ben was among them as a ring leader of sorts.
"You're finally leaving huh?" Old Ben snorted and chuckled.
Alex smiled a bit and nodded.
"Well, good luck out there kid. Don't die on us." He grinned and held out his hand.
Alex let go of one of his hands that was attached to his woman and gave him a strong handshake. Just when he thought it was done, Old Ben pulled him into a hug and pulled him down to the ground.
The difference in their size was big, considering many of the miners were actually dwarf or dwarf kin and were barely 4 feet sometimes. It was pretty normal for there to be other races mingling a bit, especially dwarves since their blacksmithing talents were always needed.
As a more nomadic race, that traveled wherever there was gold and a good mountain, they wound up here in this remote town as miners. They didn't mind the work and they were able to come to know such a talented young lad like Alex.
"Don't die you hear me?!" Old Ben's voice cracked as he started crying.
The dining room was quiet as Alex was getting emotional with the miners. The sad scene made several tear up and the girls giggled quietly with tears coming down their face. As his girlfriends, they always worried about how little time he spent with others.
A good wife would always make sure their husband had good friends since there was only so much they could do as women. Sometimes it took a man to get another man to open up and that was exactly what was happening.
For some reason, Alex burst into tears and got all the other miners to surround him in a big group hug. Some other people he kind of knew or were friendly with also joined in and they blocked the front entrance for those who tried to enter.
After a while, they broke up the hug coughing and clearing their throats to pretend nothing happened and get back their manly intimidation. This caused the room to erupt in laughter and helped lighten up the dreary mood.
With one last pat on the shoulder, Old Ben moved aside and Alex led his women in his arms outside. The morning dew was still trying to melt into the grass around the inn and the slight chill of the air from the last hints of winter made the girls shiver a bit and cuddle up closer.
As Alex came during the end of spring, and beginning of fall, he spent most of his time here during the colder months. It was just now starting to heat up, but he wouldn't be able to spend the beautiful springtime with his girls.
They walked hand in hand all the way to the north gates of Floren. Here, there was a caravan getting set up, hooking up the horses to the wagons and carriages while people dressed in merchant and guard attires mingled with each other.
Feeling the end was near, the girls got even closer to him and their eyes started watering again. Just before they could burst into tears again, someone called out to them and saw a group of people they were familiar with all standing together.
Alan, Sharla, Emma, Grace, and even Marie were all together waiting for them.
Sharla and her daughter were a bit teary-eyed since the conditions of the two roommates he loved made them feel a similar way. While Grace and Alan had similar nonchalant, passive faces like they didn't care.
He glared at Marie and the woman only sighed and stayed behind as the 4 people spoke with Alex, Alicia, and Kaya.
The blonde and Brunette cried as they were comforted by mother and daughter while Grace came over to Alex's side and Alan spoke to him near the girls.
"All set?" He asked like he was just going out for a stroll.
Alex took a deep and shaky sigh before nodding.
"As set as I'll ever be I guess." He wasn't entirely sure if he was missing anything but it was too late to turn back now... literally since the merchants were calling out that they would be moving out in 10 minutes.
There were things like watches in this world but they were expensive since the parts were small and this world didn't have as much finely detailed everyday items unlike Earth.
Alex couldn't be bothered with those thoughts as he talked a bit longer with his mentor.
"Thank you for everything, even though you almost killed me... several times." Alex said, emphasizing 'several times.'
Alan chuckled a bit which was rare for him.
"I just didn't want to see someone go through the same thing I did. There will definitely be a lot of death further down your path, especially for you, who will definitely shake this kingdom, this world, to its core.
"I may not have done it right, but I did the best I could to impart my knowledge to you. And remember, always stay away from-" "-from nobles, yes I know." Alex finished for him.
This saying became kind of like a proverb that Alan always repeated to him. Just like "don't fuck crazy women," and "always aim for the balls or tits." They were not the kind of advice you'd think would be helpful but they actually were.
Stupid things like this could actually benefit him so although he played it off as a joke since they were funny, he still took them to heart. Having said goodbye to Alan with a firm handshake, he moved on to his wife and child who gave him big hugs.
They cuddled up a bit too close for comfort, making Alan's eyebrow twitch and forcing him to cough to break them up. Emma managed to sneak in a kiss on his cheek and Sharla gave him a similar but more worried checklist about everything he had.
Although it probably wasn't the same, the Setters were the closest thing he had to family in this world other than his girlfriends. He had grown fond of them as well, even if he was still terrified of them at times.
He gave them big hugs and Sharla ruined it by asking him if he ever got the "kill me now" skill. Most of those there were confused but Alan slapped his forehead and Marie said,
"Oh God, you taught him that horrid skill?" She was only sitting off to the side since she knew she would ruin the mood, but she couldn't help herself this time.
She was also a victim of the bone-crunching technique, and she only managed to do it once before she cursed it off with crying eyes. She never bothered to learn it but her husband did. He could remember just how much pain he went through and it still haunted him to this day.
He had to massage his temples for a bit to relax.
"Why kind of skill is that?" Alicia was pale and afraid to ask but still did so anyway.
The younger girls all looked to Sharla for answers and even Grace was a bit curious since her master didn't teach her this.
"Do you want to show them?" Sharla asked Alex and he began to sweat.
"Is that really a good idea right now?" He had a feeling someone would faint and didn't want their last goodbye to be like that.
"Oh, I'm sure they can handle it." Sharla waved it off like it was nothing and Alex had to look to Alan, and even Marie for help, but both just shook their heads and turned away.
They didn't want to get involved since Sharla was very serious about her medical thingies and knew she would get her way anyways.
With a sigh, Alex turned to his girls and told them not to freak out, which only served to freak them out, and promised them he would be fine. With pale faces and shaky hands, they watched their boyfriend step half a step back and stretch a bit before he suddenly broke his arms?!
Alex felt a lot of pain in his body but held it inside not to show that it was hurting him. His girls started crying and came rushing over to make sure he wasn't hurting himself. Emma was the unfortunate one and couldn't even take a step before she passed out.
Alan quickly caught his daughter and princess carried her sighing. Alex quickly fixed his body and tried to calm down his girls when a system notification blocked his vision.
[Skill acquired!]
[You have learned the Kristcömer'thi technique!]
Alex quickly got rid of the notification since Sharla already briefed him on what he would get. It basically made his body more flexible and allowed him to "break" certain parts of his body more quickly, safely, and without any pain.
It would undoubtedly come in handy but that was for another time.
While he was calming down the crying girls, the person who called out earlier at the caravan called out once more for the last call. Alex's heart sped up and his girls also started crying more.
Was their boyfriend going to be okay? Did he just break his arms and need medical attention? This was all happening too fast and they all just wished time could slow down.
He gave them each deep passionate kisses and hugged them tightly one last time. While that was happening, Emma managed to wake up and paled when she realized he really had to leave. She left her father's arms and hesitated a bit.
Her father raised an eyebrow at her movements, not having a good feeling from it but he didn't say anything as usual. As Alex began to pry himself off his girls reluctantly, he grabbed Grace's hand and started walking toward the carriages.
"Ah fuck it!" Alan heard his little girl say before she dashed in front of the departing young man.
With no time to react, she planted her lips on his, surprising everyone in the area, even the people getting into the carriages who were watching the drama unfold. Alan let his mouth open wide and as well as his eyeballs that threatened to pop out of their sockets and his wife made an O-face and covered it with her hands with an "oh my."
She blushed as well but she would never kiss the young man, especially in front of her husband. Even Grace had her eyes wide open as she felt another competitor enter the ring. It was bad enough to always have catfights with Alicia and now there was another woman trying to steal her Master?!
Emma broke the quick kiss off and smiled at him before waving goodbye and going back next to her parents like nothing happened. Alan just followed his daughter's figure with his eyes in shock. Emma felt uncomfortable under his stare and everyone else's before calling them out.
"What? He's hot and I'm old enough. Stop trying to always control my life!" She glared at her father but Alan just couldn't seem to come out of his shock.
Sharla sighed and told her daughter they would have a long talk about this later, hiding the fact that she also did something with him.
'He even got to my daughter without me knowing. Cheeky bastard!' She thought as she looked at the man who was constantly waving to Alicia and Kaya as he got checked in and entered the very back of the caravans to say goodbye.
Alicia and Kaya had many questions for their boyfriend and Emma but now was not the time for it. They knew he was a womanizer but it was just shocking that he would get with the daughter of the strongest man in the region. It was like he didn't like living and they really wanted to knock some sense into him.
Unfortunately, they had no time and saying a proper goodbye was better than getting mad at each other and departing with awful feelings. They didn't want to say anything they would regret, and risk having him never come home.
Grace sat next to her Master who was on the end of the cart waving through the opening with teary eyes. Although she would never show her emotions just like with everything, she felt something in the pit of her stomach that was like the opposite of the fluttery feeling she got when loving her Master.
She wasn't sure what it was but she didn't like it. Of course, she was probably feeling sadness or guilt, maybe a mix of both. She may not see eye to eye with the two roommates, but even she would come to care for a rival after spending so much time in close quarters with them.
She shared a dick with them and exchanged each other's juices plenty of times so they would definitely break down the walls they built against each other eventually. The caravan started up as they felt the cart bump around as the horses got going.
Alicia and Kaya came up close to the gate entrance but didn't go further than the few guards standing there. They called out his name, said I love you's and told him to be safe. He didn't say anything since he wasn't really sure what to say.
He was never great with expressing his feelings so sex came naturally to him since he could prove his love with actions rather than words. He was more of a "do it" guy rather than one who explained his feeling in full.
The lovers grew smaller in each other's vision as the carts moved further down the bumpy road and the girls slowly stopped shouting since he probably couldn't hear. They hugged each other tight and cried their eyes out as the caravan got smaller and smaller.
They were scared for the future, unsure whether they would see their boyfriend alive or in a casket the next time he came to this town. They were comforted by Sharla and Emma, as Alan and Marie stood on guard.
"You think he'll be fine?" Alan spoke aloud but it was mostly to himself.
Marie snorted and turned around to walk away.
"Not my issue, things will only get better now that he's gone." the bitchy Shogun left for the Mayor's manor.
When she turned the corner so she was out of sight, she scowled a bit before it turned a bit into a more frustrated worry. She still hated him, especially after what he got as an "apology" from her, but she still cared a lot about Alicia especially.
She promised not the harm the girl or stay in her life, but she really wanted to apologize and make amends with her. To her, Alicia was like a young Sharla, so for her "best friend" to push her aside as an evil who tried to kill the one she loved, it crushed her heart.
As Marie debated in her mind about what to do, the group of girls plus Alan heard a shout in the distance.
"ALICIA. KAYA. I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH. I PROMISE TO COME BACK IN A YEAR'S TIME!!!!"
Echoing across the valley, Alex shouted his lungs out with the power of his over the top 2nd Ring power. Those in the carriage with him were shocked by his sudden out burst and how loud he was. None of them had the skills to probe yet so they assumed he was a higher Ring than he actually was.
"Family?" An older man in plain leather armor and a scruffy beard asked after Alex climbed back into the cart.
His heart was racing as it was the first time he really let his feelings out into words. He could say "I love you" easily since he did it every day. Sure he meant it since it was directed to his girlfriends, but it was different to say it from the depths of your heart and soul like that.
He took a second to calm down before he turned to the man who asked him something and answered.
"Girlfriends."
*ppfffttt!*
Another man spat out his drink onto another who complained after hearing the ridiculous thing come out of that man's mouth.
"You're joking right?" The same older man asked with wide eyes.
Others in the cart also gave him weird looks, thinking he was an idiot or trying to show off so they scoffed at him. The older man was probably one of the only people who kind of believed him since he was one of the people who watched the drama for a bit.
Family members normally wouldn't kiss so passionately like that so it made sense, but it was still hard to believe.
"Sure..." Alex brushed off their disgust for him after getting so used to it.
He leaned on the cart while looking out the opening into the wilderness around them, slowly watching as his home disappeared onto the horizon.
Grace leaned on her master as well and closed her eyes and the master and slave pair began their journey into the unknown.