Lydia and I looked at each other in the darkness of the tent, but the previous romantic mood had been dampened considerably. After a few minutes of silence, it was Lydia who spoke first. She lowered her head down, a guilty expression on her face.
"This is my fault, Master. I didn't mean to rub it in Miki's face, but I was just so happy by what Master said." Lydia spoke sadly.
"No, I'm your Master. This was my failing for both of you. I had a responsibility to both, and I let you down by concentrating on my own wants and needs. As a result, I made you both cry again. I'm really bad at that."
Lydia smiled gently, even though her eyes were still wet from earlier. "Girls always cry, Master. If you think you can keep us from doing so, I'd be a little worried."
"Ah… yeah… I guess." I sighed. "What about us?"
Lydia blushed slightly, her expression torn. "I understand why Master had refrained from showing me too much affection. I believe, even if you didn't realize it, you had Miki on your mind. You didn't want to hurt her feelings by showing me favoritism.
"That's probably part of it." I admitted. "Other than I'm just dumb and fat."
Lydia shook her head. "Master… I think you should fix your opinion of yourself. You've managed to make Miki and I so strong. You fought your way through a dungeon and beat it. You even planned out and defeated an army of ghosts…"
"And di… almost died…" I responded bitterly, barely catching my slip.
"I think Master is really smart." Lydia smiled. "And… although Master was… ahem… big boned before, you've actually lost a lot of weight. I didn't say it before, but Master asked me to be honest. A lot of girls in the village of Chalm were looking your way, and it made me really jealous."
She had to be embellishing! Although, now that she mentioned it, my stomach did feel a bit flatter than I remembered it. Perhaps I wasn't really fat anymore, but that didn't mean I became some popular guy overnight. The looks were probably directed at Lydia herself, who was always eye-catching.
"So…" I sighed, not sure what to say.
"Is there any way for us to be together without hurting Miki?" Lydia asked, direct as usual.
I bit my lip. "I don't think that's possible. Even if we keep things private and don't flaunt it in her face, Miki is a smart girl. She'll know and it will eat at her. Perhaps, when I free you from slavery, she'll be able to move on. If you're not my slave, but just the girl I love, then Miki will have to accept the truth of it."
"Free…" Lydia's expression turned sour.
I remembered the words that Figuro had spoken earlier. Did they really want to be free? I ignored it. I couldn't agree with that sentiment. Lydia didn't know a life of freedom, so how could she truly judge? Being afraid of being free was only natural, that didn't mean it wasn't the right thing for me to do.
"Master, I will find a tent to sleep tonight as well." Lydia still looked depressed.
"Yeah…" I nodded in agreement.
Since I had brought Miki into our lives it was the first night that I didn't go to sleep with two girls cuddling me.
In the morning, I woke up, still feeling an emptiness in my heart. I was dissatisfied, but after dwelling on it, no answers came. When I left my tent after cleaning myself with the leftover water and getting dressed, I was surprised to see the two girls already waiting for me. Miki looked sad and despondent, avoiding looking at the pair of us. Lydia, on the other hand, looked like she had completely recovered, a bright and beautiful smile on her face. She seemed confident about something.
"Portal."
I created a portal back to the alchemist's store. Stepping into it, I could see that the rosary was still holding, and ghosts hadn't touched this place since we left. Just as we stepped through the door into the house, the portal closing behind us, Lydia suddenly stomped her foot.
"You're my family!" She said, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks.
Miki blushed, still looking guilty. "Y-yes…"
I nodded and smiled. "I love you… and I love Miki too."
Miki looked up at me, a hint of surprise in her face. "Master… loves me?"
"Of course," I nodded, feeling that this was the right direction to go. "I'm a guy who loves easily, but I am also devoted to the ones I love. You're a very important person in my life."
"I'm glad Master feels this way." Lydia smiled like a cat eyeing its prey before anyone else could get another word in. "This is why I've come to a very important decision."
I looked over at Lydia thoughtfully, but her eyes were locked on Miki.
"W-what is it?" Miki asked quietly.
"Miki!" She spoke loudly, pointing right at the girl and causing her to squeak.
"Y-yes!"
"I've decided! To resolve this situation… Miki must have sex with Master!"