"You know… I'm kind of starting to like the idea of building a second house out here."
The grassy plains just outside of the forest had become our respite from danger multiple times now. Just feeling the clean air on my sweat-drenched body after it all was enough to say I wouldn't mind living this close to the in-laws.
Then again, on second thought…
As soon as we were through the portal, I let Mana hop off me and carefully set Elane down on the grass and collapsed beside her to catch my breath. However, the moment Mana's ass hit the ground, I pulled her back to her feet and over to me and started searching for wounds. I honestly couldn't help myself.
I lifted her chin to the sun to see her face better. I held her arms to look them over closely. And I tugged at every part of her dress to see the smooth skin beneath it. I even pulled her shoes off to check her feet. I left no part of her unchecked and she just smiled whimsically through it all.
Finding nothing, I fell back into the grass and let relief take me. Her health bar said she'd taken a hit somewhere, but she looked entirely fine. I sighed and turned to check on Elane. Our health potions had topped her off, but she hadn't woken yet.
Her axe had dug itself deep into the soil, its handle pointing up to the sun after flying through the portal. A true testament to its make, rather than its maker, the thing didn't look remotely beat up, bent, chipped or even scratched.
Still, after all the risks we just taken, I was going to have to ask the Goddess why exactly it was that none of us got any EXP from Tillmann when he died. Since Yua and Mana, and by extension myself, all got EXP from the other thieves, the only working theory I bothered with was that the killing blow had to come from either me or my slaves to get the boost. Meaning letting the bear finish him off screwed us over.
That is not to say that Yua and Mana didn't level up, though. Both gained a new level after all that mess. Mana even gained a second class.
"Speaking of…"
Sitting up, I held a hand out to Mana and she took it happily, dropping her bow to plop down on her spot on my thigh. Yua continued to stand, diligently keeping her ears on the forest while I recharged my mana.
"Let me see this."
Without waiting for her to give the okay, I pulled Mana's quiver off her shoulder and inspected its contents. After a quick comparison of her remaining arrows against how many she'd started with and I guessed she'd fired at least six.
One, for sure, helped Yua escape her bindings, but my hearts sank at the thought of how she managed it. How they both did.
"Mana…"
"Hmm?"
Without another word, I slipped a hand up her skirt. My hand bored under the waistband of her panties, over her pubis and between her thighs. There, I let my middle and ring fingers slip inside her without further warning. This was the best way to get the truth out of her. I was beyond caring how awkward this action was.
Her ears stiffened, but her smile brightened as she leaned into me. We needed to talk, and now she was ready to listen.
"What happened, Mana? How did they take you from the inn?"
"Oh…" her ears drooped. She must have thought this was going to be a happy conversation. "That man we met there, the one that smelled like mating, he came to talk after you and Big Sis left."
Understanding she meant Arthur, as he'd just finished with a prostitute before we first spoke, I prompted her to continue.
"What'd he say?"
"Not much. He just said that he had an idea of where the spriggans were, so I went with him to find them."
I pinched my eyes shut. If that's all it took to get her out of the room, it was a Goddess-send that there were no dingy white vans with the word "candy" spraypainted on their side in this world.
"Mana… Why would you believe that?"
She tilted her head, her big blue eyes staring at me in open confusion. Sensing that something was worrying me, she tugged at the front of my pants and slipped her own hand inside to grasp me.
"His heart wasn't lying."
"But he tricked you, didn't he?"
If Tillmann was right about half-truths being capable of tricking the ears of a cat-kin, him saying he might know where the spriggans were must have been some sort of double speak, he did actually know they were in the forest, but not exactly where in the forest. It was a simple trick, a play on words, and I was fairly certain I might have believed him as well.
"Then what happened once you got here?"
"Hmmm…."
According to her explanation, which came with minimal detail, they arrived here by cart as we thought, but as soon as she spotted the barrier in the distance, she finally realized their trickery and tried to jump away.
Arthur caught her by the wrist and easily overpowered her. Pinning her arms to her sides, he even went so far as to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep her from drawing the attention of the forest's wildlife. Like this, she was carted into the barrier.
However, after enough constant squirming, she managed to squirm enough to take a good bite out of Arthur's hand. This caused him to let out and she fled into the trees with her bow. She didn't say so, but I assumed the bite had something to do with why he was drunk.
"Then one of the humans chased me," Mana continued with a sigh. "I lost him easily in the forest, but he wouldn't leave me alone. So, I had to keep moving."
That explains why I had such a hard time tracking her.
"Then he found you?"
"… Yea."
"And he hurt you?"
"No. I hid again before he could."
I shifted my grip on her, inside her, and she tightened a bit. "Mana, you don't need to spare me the details. If he hurt you…"
If she managed to gain the Archer class before coming to help us, then it only made sense she killed him. So, I would not be getting my revenge for whatever he did, but I still wanted to know.
"He didn't," she insisted. "I hid. He said some mean things and I ran. Then he kept chasing me, so I shot an arrow at him. It missed, but…"
"Mana, I can see your health bar. If it wasn't him, how did you get hurt?"
"…" puffing up her cheeks into a pout, she said nothing.
"Mana…"
"Mmm… Fine!" she huffed, pointing to her shoes. "These things made me slip on a branch. I fell out of a tree and landed on my butt. That's how he found me. I got up and ran, and he chased me again. I shot some arrows at him, and he kept chasing me."
"You shot him and he kept chasing you?"
Was the guy a friggin' terminator or something?
Still pouting, Mana shook her head, grinding her ears into my chin.
"No. The string on the bow you gave me is still too hard to pull. I couldn't aim right while moving. I… I missed all my shots until I was able to get away from him. When I had a chance to take my time and, because he couldn't see me, I was able to hit him."
"Is that why you hesitated to help us?" Yua chimed, kneeling beside us, unconcerned with how intimately I held Mana. She must have decided we were in the clear.
"Hmph… My arms were getting tired. And I didn't want to hit you. Or Big Bro."
"Well…" Yua started, huffing. "You wouldn't have had it so hard if you didn't abandon your training."
"Mmrk… Sorry."
Man, these cat-kin show no mercy at all. She was in danger too, Yua.
Content with her answers, I slipped my hand out from under her skirt and wrapped my arms around her. As I sighed and thumped my chin on her head between her ears, she met me halfway and pulled her hand out of my pants.
Her swishing tail said she was also content with how things ended, but learning that she almost got caught just because of how strong her bowstring was put me on edge. The Casanova points I put into her Strength stat must have been the only reason why she could use it in the first place.
Navigating my menu to her status page, I put her new points into her Strength. It felt off dumping so many points into an Archer's Strength stat right off the bat, but we didn't have much choice in the matter. We can't let that happen again.
I did the same for Yua, but I did set a few points aside for her Vitality as well.
"There," I said. "You should be able to use your bow now."
"Eh? Really?"
Her ears perked up at this and she reached for her bow. Aiming at the nothing in front of us, she wrapped the index and middle fingers of her right hand around the string and tried to pull but…
"Big Bro, I can't do it if you're holding me. Can you let go for a second?"
"No."
"But you said…"
"No."
Metaphorically putting my foot down, I tightened my arms around her shoulders. Giving way almost too easily, she quietly set the bow back down. Pulling her knees up to rest her feet on my ankles, she let me hold her.
Letting out a relieved sigh of her own, Yua scoot over beside us and linked her arm with mine, nuzzling her cheek into my shoulder.
This was supposed to be just a simple plant-picking mission and I'd almost lost both of them. If Elane hadn't showed up, we'd…
"Well… ain't this cute," groaned a voice beside us. "Getting all lovey-dovey."
Lifting herself into a seated position, and using a posture just as unladylike as Mana was want to use, Elane rubbed her cheek. Her health bar was maxed out, but she grimaced as though she could still feel Tillmann's punch.
Her cobalt eyes met mine, saw the three of us together, and she fell back onto her hands.
"What'd I miss… We win?"
"Well, the bear did."
"Eh. Good enough."
Nodding, she lifted her arms and looked herself over before adjusting her coat over her chest again. Then, suddenly, she looked up and turned before quickly spotting her axe beside her. She sighed and fell back onto her hands.
Nice to know she worried enough to check on us before her gear, but she was looking oddly relaxed after nearly dying.
"Elane," I started. "Tillmann was your friend, right? Aren't you upset that he…"
"Died? No. We haven't spoken in years and, besides that, he chose that path for himself. This is just the result of his choice. It's sad to see him go, but after what he did, the best he's going to get out of me is a toast in honor of our past."
"I see…" I was surprised that she'd even go that far for the man that tried to kill her, but a more pressing thought came to mind. Elane was without her usual dog-eared entourage. "Erika tracked us, right? Where is she?"
Surely, even she would have had to enter the forest to pinpoint our location for her mistress, but knowing the bear had been so close made me worry. Elane, however, waved the question off.
"I sent her back to Guerraway. I wasn't about to bring her into that mess." She looked up to the sky, to the sun and nodded. "She took the carriage with her, so she's probably back at our inn by now."
"Carriage…" I repeated, but thought better than to question her.
Of course, a carriage was involved. It's not like she would have walked all this way just to meet with me. Must have been a fast carriage, though.
"Anyway!" Elane shouted, jumping onto her hands and knees. I was all but forced to watch the generous sway of her breasts as she hurriedly crawled over to me. Remembering her declaration of her intentions for me, I felt my cheeks heat up.
Grinning, no blushing, she said, "So tell me about your world! Where is it? How did you get here? Magic? N-No, maybe we should take this slow. Just tell me its name!"
"Uh… I…"
It'd slipped my mind, but she did mention my old world before saving us. Only, I struggled to remember how she found out in the first place.
Once again, I traced back my memories of all our conversations and sighed when I found the answer.
I'd briefly brought it up right after getting drunk with her, before we parted. And here I thought that chat went well. I mean, except for Mana showing up to the tavern in the nude, but that was another matter entirely.
Damn… Maybe if I just tell her I only said that when I was drunk, she'd…
"Ooooh, come on!~" she begged, slinking her arm around mine, tearing it off of Mana to shove it between her breasts. "Don't be a tease! I know it wasn't a joke. You keep mentioning that bra-thing like you're absolutely sure it exists. Yet, I've been all over the world and I've never even heard mention of it before. Once I realized that, I started to wonder if it might be something common from your old world."
Shit… And I mentioned that before I got drunk, too. I guess sober me's just as much of an idiot as drunk me.
"Oh, and Erika already confirmed you weren't lying when you brought it up."
Fuck…
Elane hugged me tighter, forcing my arm deeper into her cleavage and by the gleam in her eye, I was one-thousand percent positive that she hadn't even noticed.
However, as Elane's arms tightened around mine, Yua's hold slackened until she let go entirely. Facing me down with her emerald eyes, she crossed her arms.
"Alex… What is she talking about and why is your heart starting to panic? What's this other world thing she's talking about?"
Oh boy….
"Big Bro?" Mana chimed, looking up at me. And once her big blue eyes landed on me, I broke. She wasn't even begging, just confused, and I was powerless.
"Alex?" Yua repeated.
"Big Bro?"
"Come on! Come on!" Elane joined in.
"Okay!" I shouted.
For all my broken abilities, I couldn't fend off the assertions of three beauties at once. Forcing myself to accept my fate, I sucked in a deep breath, cleared my throat and turned first to Yua.
"I'm sorry. I guess I've been lying to you. Well, maybe not lying, just not telling the whole truth. Then again, maybe there were a few lies in there as well…"
Tilting her head in open confusion, Yua said, "What do you mean?"
With another breath to steady myself, I closed my eyes. I was beating around the bush. I'd wanted to keep this a secret, but if these girls were going to choose to be with and fight with me, despite my flaws, then they had a right to know.
"I'm not from some far away country… I'm from another world."
"YES!" Elane shouted, her smile nearly splitting her face in half. "I knew it! I knew it! No. Wait. Wait. Wait. Yua, Kitty, he's telling the truth, right? Right? Oh, please say yes."
Looking bewildered beyond compare, Yua all but ignored the blonde to stare fixedly at me. She was deathly silent for a long moment, even her tail was still, but then her ears gave a flick and her eyes widened. As did Mana's.
"… He's telling the truth."
"YEEEEEES!!!!"
Jumping onto her knees again, Elane ripped my arm out of her cleavage and clamped her hands over my cheeks, squishing them. Forcing me to face her glowing, excited eyes, she pressed her lips onto mine.
I blinked, but the sweetness of her kiss was so intoxicating that I felt my resolve weaken. She pressed me further, shoving herself between Mana and I. Mana was forced to fall back, looking equal parts confused and intrigued.
Elane pushed her tongue against my lips like a battering ram forcing its way into my mouth. At the same time, she squished her ungodly soft, giant breasts into my chest. She nearly pushed me to the ground just to deepen the kiss further.
But her embrace came to a swift end before I could slip past the shock to fully enjoy the happening.
"Stop that," Yua said, shoving Elane off me. "Let him talk first."
"S-Sorry," Elane pouted, touching a hand to her lips as she fell back on her ass. Pressing and rubbing her thighs together, she said, "I suppose I got a little ahead of myself. It's just… Learning of a new world that is ripe for exploration was probably… no, it was definitely the sexiest thing I've ever heard!! It made me a little we…"
"Quiet!" Yua barked, her tone growing increasingly annoyed. And I had the odd, sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with me being kissed right in front of her. "Alex, what are you talking about? Another world?"
Seeing that Yua pre-emptively covered Mana's mouth to prevent her from distracting me, I continued. She leaned into me hard, the fire burning in her eyes all but daring me to try and weasel my way out of this, but I was not up to the challenge.
"Okay, okay! I'll explain…"
I left nothing out. From everything that led up to my eventual self-isolation, to the loneliness that influenced my decision to buy Yua, to my sudden death and the Goddess that reincarnated me. I spared them no details as they needed to hear it all.
After repeated interruptions by a certain enthusiastic blonde, I did also end up detailing certain aspects of how Earth differed from Ternia, namely that there was no leveling or class system, no world magic instantly detecting thievery or magic in general and, of course, no slavery. At least, not in my part of the world.
Thanks to all the detours, the explanation took longer than needed, but I was sure I got the point across.
Call me a narcissist for thinking the subject of my own death cropping up would have soured the mood a bit, but it didn't. The reactions of the three were each night and day.
Elane was overjoyed, smiling as giddily as though my every word were covered in the world's sweetest honey. Unable to sit still, she repeatedly rubbed her thighs together. I even caught a hint of staggered breathing, as though the fatigue from our earlier fight was only just catching up to her.
Mana, however, looked vacant, empty. Her big blue eyes were open, but she didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. She just pouted. Not because she found out her mate wasn't what she thought he was, but because Elane had snatched her off my lap during the explanation to once again forcefully hug the girl into her breasts. Resigned to her fate after several failed attempts to break free, she let the woman hold her.
Finally, there was Yua. My first wife. She was likely the one most affected by my reincarnation, but she stayed quiet throughout the details. Her arms were crossed and her ears gave the occasional flick, but not from interest. I could tell she was searching for lies.
It hurt to see, but I wasn't just the man she'd brought home to meet her parents. I was her master. It would be understandable if she was starting to doubt my rejection of that title and what it meant to her after learning of all my other lies, but she just sat there, her brow furrowed and her emerald glare undaunted.
I was compelled to look away when her eye twitched, but I forced myself not to. I was ready to pay the price for my lies. Whatever that may be.
Except, the punishment didn't come. Her eye twitched again as she sighed deeply, almost painfully.
Finally, she spoke.
"… I suppose that explains why you don't seem to have any common sense. You weren't born here."
"Y-Yea… Thanks for always teaching me. And sorry for not telling you sooner. I was just worried about how you'd take the news."
Her eye twitched again, but before she could speak, Elane jumped in after attempting to, but failing to compose herself. A light sheen of sweat making her shine, her cheeks were bright pink.
"S-So, this old world of yours… Earth, right? Any chance you could take me to it?"
"Sorry, but I don't think that's possible. I'm pretty sure I'm stuck here for good."
On a whim, I did try to open a portal to Earth a few weeks ago, but nothing happened. Same with trying to teleport to the Goddess's realm. If there was a spell that could do it, I didn't know it.
"Ahhh… Damn it. I was so close, but now it just feels like a tease…"
Looking as though all the wind had been sucked out of her sails, Elane dropped her chin on Mana's head and sighed. Mana's cheeks puffed, but with Elane's arms firmly wrapped around her waist, she could do little else.
"Sorry," I said. "I'd take you if I could."
"Mmm… It's not too bad. I mean, if your memory is as good as you say it is, you can still tell me about it, right?"
"It is, and I can share plenty with you."
"Then that's more than enough," she smiled, then touched a finger to her chin in thought. Seeing a chance, Mana tried to remove herself from the blonde's lap, but just one arm was still too much for her. Elane continued. "Actually, it might be even better this way."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that, thanks to my Cartographer class, I can instantly map out any new area I set foot in. This is usually exciting in its own way, but I prefer to take my exploring slowly. And if I can't go there, then it's sort of like the mystery never goes away!"
"That's certainly one way to look on the bright side…"
Just at the idea of new lands excited her enough to risk her own life, but finding out she can't actually go there hasn't quelled her enthusiasm even slightly. Her passion for exploring was well beyond what I thought. It was actually pretty admirable.
Speaking of… Now that I think about it, she did make me a pretty lucrative offer back in her mansion if I brought her this exact sort of information. And then there's what she said back in the forest to consider.
My cheeks started to burn at the sight of this bombshell of a woman as she rubbed hers against Mana's. It almost felt like a crime to break the two up, but as a man, I should be the one to bring it up again, right? After all she did for us, it was the least I could do.
We all made it out of there alive. We were safe, but I could still feel some of the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was pumped.
So, I cleared my throat and…
"Elane, about what you said earlier. In the forest."
"Hmm? Oh!"
Her cheeks turned a little pink as the meaning of my question sank in. She waited for me to continue.
"Well, if it's okay with Yua and…"
"Big Sis?" Mana interrupted; her pout replaced with enough worry to make her ears wilt. "What's wrong?"
Suddenly, something ominous caused a shiver to jolt up my spine. A mountain's-worth of pressure was pinning me down and I had no hopes of moving it.
Had I over stepped my bounds? Of course I did. Obviously, I should have brought this up with my girls before I ever even considered it. Yua heard Elane's confession, and she could likely hear my heart skipping at the thought of accepting it. She accepted me being with Mana so easily, but what if that was purely because they were already good friends. I got ahead of myself.
Quietly, slowly, I turned. Ready to face the consequences of the infidelity I had only considered committing, I was instead met a strange sight.
Yua's brow was furrowed, her face red as she gritted her teeth. Her eyes bore into mine, keeping me rooted. But then her eyes twitched, as did her neck and shoulders. No, it was her entire being. As if an endlessly arcing current of electricity was rampaging throughout her body in search of a way out, she spasmed where she sat on her knees.
Then she sucked in a pained gasp.
"H-Hey there!" Elane shouted, setting Mana aside. "Calm down, Yua."
"Calm down?" I repeated.
If the thought of me taking another wife upset her so, then we definitely needed to talk. But she didn't say a word. Just clenched her teeth, glaring at me as the twitching progressed.
"Alex," Elane said, caution coloring her voice. "This is the slave spell's rebound effect. You have to say you forgive her to make it stop!"
"What? But doesn't that only kick in if…"
Wait, what?!
"Alex!" Yua yelled, twitching as though her skin were on fire. "Give me permission to hit you!"
"Wha… Come on, Yua. I'm sorry I didn't ask you first, but we can still talk about this peacefully."
"Give me permission! I can hit you if you let me! Please! As your wife and mate, you must let me do this!"
"I…"
Yua continued to glare, continued to twitch and Elane sank back. This wasn't her fight or her fault. Mana, too, stayed back.
I was speechless. Ever since we met, before she ever had a reason to want to, Yua acted as though she were my shield. And now she wants to…
No, this must be the way of her people. This offense must be more serious than their usual method of conveying a point. She wanted to talk with her fists and it seems I needed to listen.
I sat up on my knees and faced her. And when I found the tears spilling down her cheeks, I hurried to end her suffering. Hopefully in a way that transcends this moment to become permanent.
"Yua, as your master, I forgive you. And from now on, if you feel I truly deserve it, you can hit me without repercussion."
I had no idea if that would work in the long term, but the moment I got the words out, both Yua's twitching and her pain stopped. Gasping, she sucked in a breath of air and squeezed her knees.
Then, once her breathing was steadied, she lunged at me.
Tackling me to the ground, she straddle my hips. Without a word, but still crying, she grabbed the collar of my shirt and yanked me towards her. At the same time, she reeled back and smashed her forehead into my face.
Pain split the world in two. On one side, only agony. On the other, a daze kept me from moving. A river of blood ran off my chin and, suddenly, I couldn't breathe through my nose. My body tried all on its own to gasp for air when my clenched teeth refused a breath, but every involuntary attempt had the pain flaring up all over again.
I touched a hand to my face and felt my nose snapped at an awkward angle. She'd broken it in one hit. She really didn't hold back. That fact alone caused my daze to deepen.
Just as she said, the spell's rebound didn't seem to have an effect on her, but her tears hadn't stopped, they'd doubled. And yet, she pushed her palms against my chest and they began to glow with a warm green light that helped the pain start to fade.
"Why!" she cried. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"I'm sorry. I just barely found out too!"
"What are you talking about?" she said, pinching my nose between her fingers. With a quick twist of her wrist, and another sharp burst of pain, she snapped my nose back into place. "Why didn't you tell me about your other world sooner?!"
"I-Is that what this is about? I thought you were angry about Elane wanting to…"
"Shut up!" she shouted, gripping my collar again before slamming me onto the ground. "Why didn't you tell me? If you warned me you weren't from this world, I could have taught you better. I could have kept you from making so many mistakes. I could have saved us from so much suffering. You know nothing of this world or its people! You should have asked for help sooner! It's like you were trying to mess your second chance at life!"
"I don't know about that," Elane cautioned, hand up. "It sounds a little like he was just trying to act like life here was similar to one of those video-game-things he mentioned."
"No! Elane, you don't know the half of what he's done. Apparently, the first thing he did since coming to this world was take out a loan just to buy me. One he never could have paid off if it weren't for his abilities. And he didn't even know me! Then he nearly gets himself killed multiple times in the dungeons. Then he mouths off to a noblewoman, you, like it's nothing. Then he gets drunk, has sex with Mana against her daddy's will and then, on the same night, he sneaks into the barrier to confront Tillmann by himself! And he almost died!!"
Still fuming, and with tears still streaming down her cheeks, Yua clenched my shirt tight in her fists. She wanted to hit me again, but her sobs stayed her wrath.
"Then he hesitates to kill while we were fighting. And because of that, he almost died! Again! If Elane hadn't shown up, you'd be dead right now, Alex. Dead!"
"I-I'm sorry. But I never even had to consider taking a life back on Earth. Most people don't."
"Exactly! This world is nothing like your Earth! This world is not a peaceful place. Animals, monsters, demons and other people are a constant threat here, and none of them are going to hesitate to kill you if you give them the chance! There are so many things about this place that you just don't understand, and you can't keep walking through it all assuming you know everything. Because you don't!"
"…"
I had to defend myself. Maybe there was nothing to say. She was right about everything. My hesitation didn't just risk my life, but hers and Mana's as well. Even little Mana didn't hesitate to kill when the need arose. She was born into a warrior's culture, but there was no part of her petite frame that looked capable of killing.
And yet, twice today alone, she managed it simply because it needed to be done.
"This has to stop," Yua said finally. "I love you. I love you so much, and I don't want to see you die knowing you could have prevented it. Knowing you already died once just…"
Yua wiped her cheeks, sniffled, but the tears came right back after just a glance at me. She buried her face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, returning her violence with a gentle, but very firm hug. Her shoulders continued to shake as I rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry. I thought I needed to keep my past a secret so you'd accept me, but it looks like all it did was make you worry."
"Why would you think that?" Elane cautioned to ask since Yua wasn't able.
"Because we met when I bought her as a slave. She rightfully resented me for it. I didn't want to add to that by telling her I came from a place where slavery was seen as wrong, only to then jump at the chance to buy her as soon as I could."
It was a moment of weakness I've admitted to time and again, but I wanted her to see me as a good person at heart.
A bit of a perv that unknowingly can't keep his eyes to himself, sure, but I wanted to be someone she could trust. But I suppose keeping such a big secret from her made that impossible.
"Well," Elane said, crossing her arms. "Looks to me like all that worked out just fine. You risked everything with your secrets, and she failed to notice. Sounds like you both made a mess of this, so now you're truly equals."
Yua's ear twitched at this. Turning her head on my chest to face Elane, she said, "How is this my fault?"
While I surely would have felt a pressing danger had that question been directed at me, Yua's tone was nothing but confused.
Elane shrugged.
"He has all these strange abilities and traits, more classes than he knows what to do with, and he clearly knows little about life here. Seems kind of obvious that there was something strange about him."
"He did say he was from far away…"
"And that doesn't mean anything. I can promise you that there's nobody else on Ternia that has abilities like his."
"That you know of," Yua said. "They could be hiding them like he tried to do."
It's not like she knows literally everyone on this planet. Still, with confidence pulling her lips into a smirk, she shook her head.
"Unlikely. Take his multiple classes for example. We are all limited to two. Countless Kings have ordered experiments to be done to try and prove it was possible to gain more, and every single one concluded that it is impossible. No exceptions have ever been found. None. That's why I became an Adventurer and not an Axe Warrior. The Adventurer class just happened to come to me first."
I had little choice but to agree. If all it took for to gain a second class was to meet some sort of requirement, then if that requirement was known, then the experiments would be as easy as doing that task and seeing what happened.
Yua, though, looked oddly impressed as she wiped away her tears.
"I had no idea people tried that. I thought people just assumed and accepted their limits."
"Mhmm," Elane nodded and when she stopped, her eyes landed on me, only to switch back to Yua. "There's plenty that neither of you, or Kitty, know. Same as him. It can't be helped with your upbringing. So, I have a proposal. But first…"
Mana huffed at this, but made room for Elane as she knelt before us. No, her attention was solely on Yua.
"When we first met, I treated you like a slave. But seeing you two now, I know that was out of line. So, please accept my apology." Elane bowed her head, but then her shoulders went stiff. "Er, normally it's customary to offer to drink together, but all my rum is back at the inn, so…"
"It's fine," Yua said and a light giggle brightened her mood. "Even if Alex only ever treats me as a wife, I will always be his slave as well."
"Right… About that," Elane glanced at me again and bit her lip. Then, clasping her hands together in prayer, she quickly lowered her head again until the ends of her hair brushed the grass. "I… If you accept me as his third wife, I'll help teach you both about the world!"
"…"
Yua looked to me, but she was clearly just as baffled. Mana, though, only sighed. Both girls waited, as if to see if Elane planned on saying something else, but the blonde kept her head lowered. Even though her strength was almost as explosive as Tillmann's, her shoulders trembled as though her prayers were too heavy a burden.
"Why are you asking me?" Yua said finally.
"I already know Alex wants to fuck my ass," Elane said confidently, and I had several questions. "But as his first wife, it's only right that I get your permission. I-I know I got a bit ahead of myself when I kissed him earlier, but I was just overly excited. I don't mean to get in your way."
Yua sat up on my lap, her tail gave a quick flick, and I suddenly couldn't bring myself to remember if I ever answered her question on what Elane's original proposal meant.
What felt like seconds ago, I thought I'd stepped out of line for even thinking about this, but she was seriously considering it. I wasn't about to deny my feelings, but the knowing their potential fulfilment rested with Yua's contemplative expression and not with my own efforts as they were with both Yua and Mana, I was conflicted.
I, a man, was essentially being proposed to by another woman through my wife. No level of intelligence or experience could have prepared me for this.
Meanwhile, Yua stared at Elane's chest, her ears occasionally flicking. Whatever it was she heard helped her come to a quick decision.
"I already know Alex's feelings for you, but… Elane, are you aware that Alex made several terrible mistakes after getting drunk with you?"
"I-I am now, but…" Elane paused. She squeezed her eyes shut and, after taking a moment to breathe, she took my hand between hers. "You're right, Alex. What you said at the tavern, I mean. So, I'll accept your offer to save me from being outed as a thief. I'll be your slave, but only…" she paused again, squeezing my hand tight. "But only if you order me not to drink so much."
"Order you? You don't need to go that far."
"I do. It's not something I want to give up entirely. I do love my rum, but I don't think I can force myself to stop once I get going like I used to. I mean, I can't even admit when I'm drunk most of the time. I feel ashamed of myself for needing to ask, but I do need to."
So, ordering her was supposed to prevent her from taking her drinking too far? I wasn't so sure about that, since I used to have a similar problem dieting while still occasionally eating junk food. I'd always make up some need for a tasty reward, such as reaching a weight loss goal, completing a project at work and so on. I only ever meant to indulge the one time, but it'd always snowball into gorging myself on snacks. And naturally, I'd fail whatever diet I was on at the time.
Just once was never enough. It was an odd way to use her situation to her benefit, but with the slavery spell forcing her to drink in moderation, it could actually work.
"Please," she continued, blushing. "Despite my standoffish past, I do want to be your loving wife. A good wife. It's been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. My parents died when I was really young, so I can't remember how it felt to live with them, but I've heard plenty of stories from those that knew them. All of them mentioned how devoted my mother was to my father and, if you heard the stories about him that I did, you'd think she was a saint." A rueful smirk crossed Elane's lips, but she powered through. "I don't know, it just made me happy. I wanted to be like her someday, but I can't do that as I am right now."
I knew she was an orphan, but to think she succeeded in tracking down people that knew her parents. Given her extensive history of traveling, it made sense, but I didn't picture her as the sentimental type. With how hard she had to work to lift herself up out of the gutter, I would have assumed she resented them a little. But instead, she found them inspiring.
And here I was, all but ignoring my parents' existence and blaming them for my failures right up until my death.
"You don't know your parents?" Mana squeaked, her ears flat as tears welled in her eyes.
Putting on a comforting smile, Elane let go of my hand to reach for her. Mana flinched at first, likely thinking she was about to get hugged again, but all Elane did was run her fingers through her long black hair.
"Don't worry about me, Kitty. I managed just fine without them."
Mana tried to smile back, but her lips quivered anyway. I had to imagine she might be missing her parents now after leaving the way she did. She let Elane pet her and even went as far as scooting closer to her.
But Yua was not so easy to break. Still clenching my shirt, she looked from me to Elane, to Mana, back and forth between them, her ears flicking all the while. Her gaze came to a rest on me, her emerald eyes asking for something without a word. I couldn't know what it was without forcing it out of her, so I just said what I wanted to say.
"Yua, I want to promise you that my love for you and Mana will never change, and I truly did mean what I said by the river the other day, but I do love Elane as well."
Yua nodded, but leaned into a whisper, "… Even though she threatened to kill you?"
"Even then."
I can't say I was certain of it back then, but I believe I was smitten to an extent. That's why I asked Yua to stay her fist and tried to talk Elane down when I had every right to resort to violence.
There was something more than her looks that attracted me to her. Something I couldn't explain. Something I felt in my bones. It was the same as Yua and Mana. And just like them, I didn't want to lose her.
And thankfully, Yua seemed to understand this as though she could read my mind. Her ears gave another thoughtful flick and her attention returned to Elane.
"Elane, before I give you my answer, would you make me a promise?"
"Sure. Yes, anything. Just name it."
"… I want you to apologize to your maids for treating them so roughly."
"Apologize?"
Yua nodded resolutely. "Yes. Until Alex found me, I was scared I'd someday end up in the hands of a terrible, abusive master. You weren't as bad as the sort of master I was expecting, but the way you treated Erika when you were drunk wasn't too far off. And I assume the others were treated the same."
"…"
Unable to deny it after we both witnessed her drunkenly order Erika to do something she clearly didn't want to, Elane stayed quiet, and Yua continued.
"I'm not asking you to humble yourself by dropping to our level, but as a slave myself, I need you to understand our pain, our fear of being ordered around like an object."
"… I'll do it. No, I think I need to. For the most part, I think, I treated them kindly, but I can't deny how brash I am when tipsy… erm, drunk."
"Good," Yua said with a nod. "I wouldn't like it if the maids ended up ganging up on you later. It's best to apologize before that."
"Th-Then you accept?"
Finally, after what felt like years, Yua's lips curled back into the smile she deserved to wear all the time.
"I do. I welcome you as Alex's third wife."
Elane sucked in a gasp she quickly covered with her hands. I also had a hard time repressing the happiness tugging at my cheeks, but then Yua turned to Mana. Of course, as my second, she had every right to weigh in as well. Only, she'd been mostly quiet until now. She seemed conflicted as her big blue eyes shifted between the three of us.
I, and probably Elane, started to worry that her aggressive hugging might have ruined her chances. But then Mana shrugged.
"Why are you looking at me, Big Sis? You know our people don't care how many other mates our mate has, so long as he treats us all equally."
What?! I knew they didn't mind multiple partners, but she makes it sound like the number could be infinite.
"Mmm," Yua nodded with a hum. "But it's still your right to say no."
Mana glanced at Elane again, her cheeks turning pink before she whipped her attention away in what could barely be defined as a huff.
"I don't mind Booby-Lady coming with us as long as Big Bro still treats me as his mate."
"O-Of course I will," I stuttered.
"Yes!" Elane shouted, making Mana jump in surprise. Only, she jumped straight into the hug Elane lunged at her with. "Oooh, Kitty, thank you! I'll be a good mate for him! And I'll make sure to play with you plenty, too!"
"Ack! Get your boobies off me!" Mana complained, her cheeks burning as she pushed against Elane's chest. "I can't breathe! Big Bro! Help!"
Watching the two hug it out, I couldn't help myself but laugh. Yua, too, giggled a little. Her ears gave a small flick as she watched Mana squirm to no avail.
She laughed and turned just in time to see Elane crawling back towards us. Obviously, she'd won her little wrestling match with Mana, so the smaller girl was easily dragged alongside her. Holding my cat girl around the stomach with one arm, she extended a hand towards me.
"Here," she said. "I'm ready."
"You sure you don't want to wait? I don't mind if…"
"Nope. I made up my mind last night that if I got Yua's permission, I'd do this. And after seeing these two, I'm confident you'll treat me right, so it's fine. The other troubles can come later."
"Right…"
There was going to be the issue of losing her title and of getting called back to the capitol, but we'd face those together.
I placed my hand on hers and cast the Slave Binding spell. Our hands glowed and a short second later, her status window popped up between us.
As it had with the other two, it showed every detail of their personal information, including things she might not have wanted me to see. She didn't so much as bat an eye as she watched me read through, but still, who would have thought a such a well-traveled woman like her, especially with a mouth like hers, would be inexperienced?
Suppressing a smile, I checked through her stats and found that her Strength and Vigor were both already 60. Understanding how she was able to swing that axe so easily didn't make this any less of a shock. Her high Vigor must have had something to do with her being able to take Tillmann's punches without exploding into a fine paste, but that made her other stats a bit of a concern.
Almost all her other stats rested in the mid-twenties, except for Magic. That one sat at a lowly level 5, like it'd never been touched before.
"Elane, have you never tried magic?"
"Hoho? Noticed that, did you? I did try a time or two, but the spell books I found always bored me to tears. So, I gave up reading them and just re-read my maps when I was bored."
I nodded to myself. If she never learned and used a spell, then it made sense for her stat to be so low. Likewise, her Strength and Vigor being so high had to be from her choice in weapon being so heavy, and because of her travels. This more or less confirmed my theory on how, without my intervention, this world's people passively level their stats by simply doing something related to it. Pick up and swing a heavy axe, you level your Strength. Go for a run every day, you level your Endurance and so on. Plain and simple.
And since Tama's level wasn't too much higher than Elane's, but he could tank Yua's strongest punch without so much as moving the way Elane had, then that meathead must truly spend his every waking moment training and fighting.
Shaking my head to rid myself of any and all thoughts concerning that no-show, I read through Elane's classes, abilities and traits.
Unlike Mana, who effectively came to us as a blank slate, Elane's had plenty to work with.
Her Cartographer class had the abilities the Detect Map, Instant Mapping, Auto Draft Map and the passive trait, Perfect Sense of Direction. Each one of them looked perfect for creating maps, obviously, but the Auto Draft one reminded of when I watched her quill fly across a piece of parchment to draw the map I'd ordered. I suppose I had probably been too distracted by her slovenly appearance to notice her cast it.
Aside from that, her Adventurer class held no abilities. Instead, it had only the traits: Strong Back, Iron Stomach, and Camel. After asking about them, she told me that Strong Back somehow eases the burden of whatever you carry, sort of like it makes you stronger, but only when it comes to carrying something. Meanwhile, Iron Stomach and Camel both allow you to survive days without food or water. Essentially, hunger and thirst build up much slower. So, it seems this class was primarily geared towards surviving in the wild for extended periods of time, rather than fighting.
Still, seeing that her Adventurer class was only level 19, which was lower than mine, I grew confused. I remembered my status perfectly, but I opened my status page just in case and confirmed that I had none of these traits listed there.
It was the same with the Swordsman class, too. I didn't have any of the abilities the thieves used. The Monk class I got from punching Tama did have Iron Fist listed, but it came with the class. So, what's with the discrepancy? Was there some other requirement I failed to meet?
And speaking of discrepancies…
"Elane, what's Berserker Rage?" I asked and she stiffened. "It's listed as one of your abilities, but it's not tied to either of your classes."
"Oh, uh… It makes me temporarily stronger."
"Eh, really?" Yua gasped. "But I thought only Alex could have abilities outside of classes."
"N-No, that's not true," Elane said. "It's rare, but it's possible. I haven't really looked into it much, but I know they're referred to as Blood-Line Abilities, since they're somewhat likely to be passed onto children whose parent had them."
"Wait," I laughed. "So you were born with both a super rare class and a rare ability? Talk about lucky."
Even if Cartographer wasn't a combat class, that's still like pulling a super rare character in a gacha game.
"Haha… Yea, lucky."
Her eyes fell and, somehow more worryingly, her grip on Mana's slackened. In turn, Mana stopped squirming and turned a concerned look at her.
Assuming that I'd overstepped a little bit after remembering both what blood-line meant and that she was an orphan, I quickly dropped the conversation.
I cleared my throat. "Anyways, I've seen enough. Are you ready?"
"Yes. But don't forget your promise."
"I won't… Slave Binding!"
Again, a window popped up asking if I wanted to make her mine and, seeing the determination in her cobalt eyes urging me forward, I hit Yes without hesitation.
[Elane Bellenfort Has Become Your Slave]
[Slave Master Class Has Reached Level 3]
"Alright. It's done. Welcome to the family, Elane."
"Hmm? That's it?" she said, lifting her arms over her head to look herself over. "I thought I would have felt something change. What if I… Well, would you look at that. My status page really won't open for me anymore."
"Did you want to see it? I can confirm that you're no longer a Thief."
Perhaps the only benefit of the Slave Binding spell was that it removed that dangerous tag. Though, what it replaced it with wasn't exactly better.
"No, no. It's fine. I'm just a little surprised that I feel the same. I feel like nothing has changed."
Yua nodded, rubbing her chin into my chest. Mana, too, nodded her agreement.
"Yup," Yua said. "You'll only feel different once he gives you an order. No matter what he asks for, you'll feel compelled to do as he asks. So long as it's meant as an order, that is."
"R-right. Well, I won't lie, after years of being on the ordering side, this is weird for me to say, but I'm ready for my first order, Master."
"Haha. None of that. Call me whatever you want, but please, don't call me that."
"Hoho? Alright then, Husband. I'm ready for my order."
Her sultry tone caused a shiver of delight to run up my spine and Yua giggled as though she could hear it.
"Ahem!" I started, masking my joy with a serious tone. "Elane, excepting the occasions where I give you permission, you are forbidden from getting drunk."
At this, Elane's entire body stiffened, and her eyes went wide. Without a word, she turned over her palms, inspecting them. It was almost as if she were shocked not to find a bottle there. She turned her face up to the sun and drew in a deep breath.
Forcing her to give up the temptation and the desire to drink herself into a stupor in this way felt odd, but she looked as though a giant weight was removed from her shoulders.
Adding the stipulation that I could give her permission to get drunk wasn't part of the agreement, but I was sure there'd be times where'd she'd want to celebrate something with a few drinks. So long as we were alone and at home, I was sure that'd be fine, but she'd have to hold on until she gets most of it out of her system.
"Amazing," she said finally. "This certainly isn't the sort of marriage I'd been longing for, but," she sighed with a bright smile. "This is definitely nice."
"Ah right, about that," I started, cheeks burning from excitement. "Tillmann mentioned getting married under a priest that could keep quiet. But do you think we could find one like that? For the four of us."
Elane raised a smirking brow at me, but it faded quickly when she thumped her fist into her palm. Mana tried to use this chance to flee her hold yet again, but the blonde was too fast for her.
"Right, you may not know, but slaves can't get married legally."
"Oh, I see…"
No wonder she was so mad when she first became a thief. Not only did it ruin all the work she'd done in life, but it ruined her chances of having a proper wedding.
"Hahaha. Don't worry about it," she said, wrapping her arms around Mana's chest. "I'm perfectly happy thinking of us as mates, similar to the cat-kin. They don't have weddings either, you know?"
"I noticed, yes."
According to Yua, literally all they did to officiate their pairings was have sex. No rings, priests, or churches needed. It was nice in a way, since it alleviated the headache of preparing for all that, but it would have been nice to have the experience.
Although, remembering that conversation forced me to remember the part of Yua's explanation that mentioned how her people were known to decide to get together to moment they noticed their mutual feelings, only to then throw down anywhere. And that was regardless of who was watching. So, I wasn't sure if this was the better option in the end.
Yua giggled again, and like she noticed what I was thinking, prompted Elane.
"Now that Alex has fulfilled his promise, I won't be letting you forget yours."
"Hoho? No need. I'm not planning on chickening out of apologizing to the maids. I'd be more concerned on if they were willing to listen, but I suppose our husband can just order them to, right?"
"Sure. But it'd mean more if you convinced them to listen."
"Ugh… Maybe you're right."
"Wait," I said. "Wait. Wait. Wait. What do you mean I could to order them?"
Elane blinked at me. She then smiled warmly. A little too warmly and that only made me more confused.
"Gods, Yua, how do you control yourself in front of him? Knowing his lack of common-sense stems from him being from another world makes me so… Mmm. Alex," Elane said, cheeks flushed. "You are aware that slaves technically can't own anything, right?"
"Of course. Yua told me that weeks ago."
Elane nodded. "Good. Then what do you think happened to all my stuff? It doesn't just disappear. Everything I once owned now belongs to you. That means my mansion, my coin, my axe, my slaves and my ass. Everything is yours now. Well, except for my title. I can't pass that to you, unfortunately."
"What?!"
I threw open my menu again and flipped through it to find the girl's status pages. Yua's showed up, of course. As did Mana's and now Elane's. But flicking past hers showed Erika's. And Silla's. And Mary's. And even…
"Wait, June really was one of your maids?"
Seeing the image of the green-haired girl, that pictured-perfect example of lethargy we met outside of Amoranth appear in my menu made it click.
"Hmm? You met her already?"
"Yea. Before I met you, actually."
She'd been ordered to walk from Amoranth's front gate back to her mistress's place as a punishment for sleeping in, but she hadn't given time to change out of her thin white nightgown before being shipped off to the gate.
Normally, that wouldn't have been so bad. The walk was a long one, but it was on mostly flat ground. So, it wasn't so bad. However, seeing that June's status page said her Endurance stat was an abysmal level 5, the lowest possible from what I can tell, Elane should had to have known she'd end up sweating through that thin layer of fabric.
But Elane must have already been drunk when she ordered the girl to do that, so she didn't think of what a sweaty body would do to white fabric.
"Hopefully she didn't trouble you," Elane said with a shrug, unimpressed with the coincidence. "She's actually back at the inn with Erika, if you want her to apologize."
"No, no. It's just…"
What the hell are the odds that I met all the maids independently on the same day?
I shook my head.
"Elane, please tell me you considered losing everything you owned before accepting me as your master."
"Yup. It was easy, too. I grew up with nothing. And, frankly, I'm bored of what I have. Being a noble is not as fun as you might think. It's actually pretty boring. The maids aside, I have no problem giving it all up to learn about your world."
"But all your things. Your coin. You worked hard for it."
She nearly killed me because what I'd done nearly took that from her…
"And I'm your wife, right?" she beamed. "I can't claim I own any of that anymore, but it's still ours. Isn't it? It's not like I'm throwing out the results of my work, I'm just transferring it to you."
"Well, yea, but… Never mind."
Seeing the time displayed on my HUD, I decided to deal with the intricacies later. All that mattered was that Elane was my wife now.
There was still work to be done. Seeing as how Elane was still wrangling Mana into a suffocating hug, I wrapped my arms tight around Yua's shoulders. The urge to give into the comfort and just fall asleep was strong, but I refused. I could still feel Yua's headbutt urging me to take the next steps forward carefully.
As I checked on my mana bar, Yua laid her cheek on my chest and watched the other two, my new wives, with an easy-going smile.
How could I be so lucky?
"Alex," Yua whispered, looking up at me. She prodded my forehead with a finger. "Don't think we're done talking about your reincarnation."
"… Yes, ma'am."
… Maybe I need to level up my Luck stat some more.