[Level +2, +1 Lust Experience]
⟪Unlocked Skill: Lionetta Flurry Fist ⟫
[Bonus! You dominated and were got dominated!]
⟪Learned Spirit Magic: Barrier⟫
Grendel was sitting on a merchant's carriage, his eyes watching the distant Lionetta village fading into the shroud of green flora. 'That woman...'
He was thinking about Narua after their passionate night, almost lost in a trance with a faint smile on his lips.
'You are You. To me, I only know the Grendel that beat me in combat and sex, he who saved my daughter.' Her words kept repeating in his mind.
They meant more to him than a sack of gold right now, a woman who knew his true lineage and identity yet chose the nobody Grendel even...
***
[Flashback To before leaving]
She prepared breakfast for him, her lovely humming voice soothing his tired ears. It was the first time he had slept with a woman since awakening, and the feelings were very soothing.
'Her lust, desire and greed are so pure... like a gentle cloud floating along the surface of a pond.'
'Rather more than last night, even the slightest impurities have vanished.' He thought, looking at her body from behind with his shimmering green eyes.
Like a new wife, she wore a fur apron while naked underneath, preparing their meals; her eyes seemed to glisten with affection whenever she looked his way showing a warm smile nothing like the fierce woman he first met.
"Grendel~ are you leaving?" She gently kissed him while asking with a soft but supportive voice.
"Forgive me, but I want to find a goal in this life. Not as me before, but as the new Grendel... Is it selfish to mate with you and then vanish?"
Her muscular arms enveloped him, holding him tightly as she purred softly, "If I was not the queen and leader of our tribe... I would have left with you. But this is not my story—your destined partner is not just me."
Narua stroked his chest with a bittersweet smile, "Aruru is a little shy and hides her true feelings. Our tribe's females are very strong-willed and normally fall for men quickly... From the moment you saved her. I believe she must have begun falling for you."
"So, please. Take care of Aruru, my beloved treasure."
"It is her your story is destined for. Not this middle-aged woman. Think of me as a notch in your bedpost..."
She was mature—beyond his thinking, her lust, greed, and envy faded from his sight, showing a different emotion. It wasn't a sin...
A brilliant golden light, soft and enveloping like the sun...
He saw the Runic Board and felt a sudden twang of guilt and ease wash over him. 'She... those superimposed colours are Chastity and Patience... 2 of the saintly virtues.'
She gently kissed him several times, the beautiful colours like her silver hair and golden eyes...
Grendel felt his heart accelerating, holding her beautiful face before softly kissing her nose. "I will come back when the day comes that I can make this Lionetta cover the continent!" He didn't know if the feelings were his, or maybe they were both the past Grendel and His feelings.
A strong desire to achieve this goal... As if it was a step towards his true fate.
"I will marry you and your daughter."
The feelings seemed to stem from deep within the darkness of his soul... feeling his golden light triggered by hers.
He kissed her gently, and as the merchant was leaving soon, he needed to leave. Grendel wished to stay longer and enjoy the first warm embrace since his mind became clear.
But he couldn't...
Not yet.
[End of Grendel's POV]
[Narua's POV]
Her eyes seemed to become wet, turning away from him as she watched his reflection leaving slowly, her daughter running up towards him with a red face before pointing at him with her usual attitude.
"If you mean that..." She whispered gently, "These girls won't have to grow up without a father... I can expect you to keep your word... right?" Her hand stroked her stomach, a strange feeling on instinct that the Lionetta tribe were given.
They could tell when they were fertilised and how many cubs would be born.
"How will these three little ones shock you when you return? Papa?"
She watched them load onto the caravan—her smile was like the morning sun without a sense of doubt or worry as her mother came closer. "You could have gone with them if you wished, my child... I have never seen your eyes so filled with affection and desire."
"Mother... Although my heart yearns to be with him. I cannot endanger these girls, and little Aru is already so crazy about him... How could I spoil her first love?"
The elderly woman's dull eyes suddenly became clear, her weak self like some lie! Now beaming with life, she took her daughter's hand. "Naru! You... !! You have a litter of 3!?"
"And their bloodline purity... It surpasses even yours!"
"Mmmm... that's why I let him go—he is not someone to be kept here forever..." Narua's voice seemed a little weak before it became more vigorous. "Yet that man. He swore to return and to make our tribe the strongest... Haha."
With a pleasant smile, the old lady seemed to become 20 years younger, her scarred body and damaged feathers a testament to her harsh life.
Looking towards the distant carriage, her eyes narrowed with a fierce light. "I will ensure they are not disturbed as they grow, my daughter."
A powerful bird's cry from her mouth sounded before 10 females with thick harpy and lion fur around their necks and head appeared, kneeling to the old woman.
"Your Excellence! Your Majesty!"
"The Raven guard!? Mother?"
The kneeling female warriors did not flinch or move silently, awaiting their orders. A secret unit that protected and killed unwanted foes. Their total numbers are unknown; these were the most elite, normally tasked with protecting the princesses.
"Protect the Heiress, Aruru and our future King Grendel, the boy who carries the scent of our forefather. They have offended the idiots of that kingdom. Protect them even if your bodies should rot!"
"Hah! Yes, Your Excellence!"
*Woosh!*
With a gust of wind, the 10 females vanished as the old woman, Aruru's grandmother, stepped forward with her eyes scanning the village. "Narua, let us improve the village defences and prepare for his return."
"That boy is not one of a simple destiny. Let us use him as he used your womb and heart. Fufu~ cheeky boy... knocking up my daughter and stealing my granddaughter... If I was 100 years younger, would he try me too?"
Narua only watched her mother, no longer acting weak, as her grey hair turned raven black and her curved spine straightened.
She was the idol of Narua... The greatest Lionetta warrior in the past 2,000 years. Garuda II."
[Narua POV end]
Because of one man's visit, the fate and future of the small Lionetta tribe were changed forever, but who knew which way the winds of fate would blow?
After three days of eventless travelling.
The carriage of Aruru, Moko and Grendel arrived at the human city of Pellitas in the Kingdom of Zeuras to the east.
All in the hopes of becoming Mercenaries.