Edited by: Kuro and Lille
This chapter is sponsored by Jay! Thank you so much for the ko-fi! I hope you enjoy these two extra chapters
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It was a long journey to the capital since the Earl was stationed around the borders of Frayx. The capital was to the north, so it would take about a month at their pace. Anything could go wrong within this month, so Fel was extra vigilant, especially with Earl Rottrett so he didn't escape.
Earl Rottrett was in the cage most of the time, except when he needed to use the bathroom.
He was guarded at all times, though they were kind enough to give him a bit of space to use the restroom. But to ensure that there were few chances of escaping, Fel put a barrier around the man whenever he was doing his business.
The former servants and guards of the Earl were used for manual labor to help lower their sentences. They practically buttered up to Liam, Jasper, and their Knights as they had no thoughts of escaping. Escaping was futile, especially with Fel there who caught all the runners and tied them up like the Earl. They didn't dare to flee.
As for the victims, they got along nicely with everyone. Adelia and Jasper were especially close to one another. Just like the original plot, Jasper fell in love with her after a few moments of interaction. Some differences were that Adelia seemed to also enjoy Jasper's company and Liam ignored her and was stuck to Fel.
Fel also had the chance to interact with Adelia and he found that she was quite pleasant to be around. She was strong-willed and full of adventurous spirit. She wasn't naive unlike many female leads, nor was she a green tea bitch. Adelia was just a normal woman who also wanted to travel around the world. All in all, she wasn't a threat and could be a friend.
It was a relief to know that Adelia wouldn't be a problem to him, so Fel just let her be.
In his spare time, he actually taught Adelia how to control her magic energy because even in the world plot, she struggled with magic when she went to the temple. It was a whole long "page" of her figuring out how to control her magic, something he skimmed over while looking at the plot.
"Can you feel my magic circulating through your body?" Fel asked one night as the Earl's former servants set up camp. He didn't have anything pressing to do, so he taught a mini-class for Adelia.
Adelia had her eyes closed, concentrating on Fel's magic going through her body. "I can feel it."
"Okay, I am going to take my magic away and I want you to do the same thing I did." They had done this a few times already but controlling one's magic wasn't easy. He had to repeatedly circulate his magic through her body so that she and her body could remember the pathway and the speed being used. The method was similar to cultivation worlds, just the product that was produced when used was a little different.
Fel's magic slowly left her body, leaving her to feel a little empty, but she disregarded that and moved her magical energy throughout her body. The pace was very slow because she had a hard time controlling her abundant amount of magic. The more magic a person had, the harder it was to use magic, especially for those who have no experience or exposure to it.
He explained it like a cup under a running faucet that has a hole on the side. Some people use or expel their magic fast enough that the faucet poses no problems for them. The hole that's on the cup was enough for them. And some people, like Adelia, don't expel it as fast because the faucet produces way more than normal or the hole in the cup was too small. This meant she needed to get rid of her magic on her own. One way was to continuously use magic until you could keep up with the faucet, but this wasn't reasonable. The best way was to consciously expel your magic on your own and train your body to do it at a certain pace. The latter was what he was teaching her. The hole in her figurative cup was big enough, so that wasn't a problem, it was the faucet that created too much at once. If she doesn't practice, she could explode with magic power, something she had done a few times in the past. This was not a danger to her, but it was dangerous to everyone around her.
As for Adelia, her excessive amounts of energy, though exploded from time to time, came around as fevers trying to cope with the magical energy in her body. Only when it got too much for her body to handle was when she "exploded."
As Adelia practiced on her own, Fel watched over her until dinner time. He also ignored the super sticky Liam who was practically attached to him at the hip.
At first, Liam thought Fel fell in love with Adelia so he wanted to prevent them from being alone. Fel took this as Liam falling in love with Adelia and wanting to make sure that he didn't make a move on her. It was a stupid misunderstanding that could be fixed through talking, but Fel wanted to use his own eyes to make sure.
He realized that he was wrong because even though it started off as Liam following Fel around when Adelia was around, it grew to be accompanying him everywhere, even if he needed to use the bathroom. It was like having a guard dog.
When Liam crawled into his tent one night, he could feel the man's passionate eyes on him while he was sleeping. Of course he didn't say anything and waited all night only to find that they both fell asleep.
It was a relief that Liam seemed to like him and not Adelia.
"Liam, must you stand so close?" Fel asked while Adelia was concentrating. Dinner wasn't ready so he sat on a nearby log to enjoy the summer night, but the heat increased with Liam next to him, arm to arm. It wasn't unbearable but it was strange that the man didn't say anything to him but insisted on being so close!
He didn't want to misunderstand anything, so should he ask?
"I enjoy being with you," Liam said as though it was a trivial matter like Fel was supposed to know what Liam was thinking from the beginning.
"You enjoy being with me? I do enjoy being with you too, but if you are so close to me like this, I may misunderstand that our feelings may be different." He decided to speak his mind like he always had. He hated misunderstandings, especially because of his experiences in the Villain System. Things would've been different for a lot of the people he became if they spoke their minds, especially in situations between lovers. Some, there was no hope even with communication because of the world plot and the halo the "favorite child of the Gods'' had. These protagonists made the world function so they were closely protected, which was no surprise to him.
"What are you misunderstanding?" Liam tilted his head in confusion.
Fel couldn't tell if the man was ignorant, naive, or if he was playing with him!
"It seems like you like me romantically. If you don't say anything to me, I may misunderstand, and fall in love with you only to have you break my heart. I'd like to avoid that if possible."
Fel was always quick to fall in love, that was how he fell in love with his ex-husband. That man was the first to confess to him, show him "love" and "affection" and he fell for that. He fell too hard for that, making it impossible for him to leave even when the man hurt him time and time again.
When he loved someone, he loved them with his heart, his body, and his soul. That was why he was afraid to love Damien in the first world and accepted in the second world.
But he wanted to trust God System even if it meant that he had to open the doors to his heart that he had always left locked.
Liam was always taken aback by how Fel spoke his mind, but it was just one small reason as to why he liked Fel so much. He had numerous reasons, but the one that accompanied his mind the most was the feeling he got when the two met and touched for the first time.
He had this feeling that he had always loved Fel even if it was their first time meeting. It seemed like an old feeling that was hidden away in the depths of his mind only to come forth the moment they met. It was like everything he was searching for, longing for, waiting for was Fel who was now right in front of him.
That was why Liam latched on and refused to let go. He felt that if he did, he would lose everything precious to him.
"That's because I do like you romantically, I thought that I made that clear." Liam had always been someone who did actions first before speaking, even when it came to feelings. This was a bit of a problem but he had no idea how to fix that. His body had always reacted first for him.
"What happens if you act this way but in reality, will throw me away afterward? Or that you are physically affectionate with no strings attached? How am I supposed to know how you feel? That's why I want you to tell me, but if that is difficult, at least answer honestly when I ask as you did just now..."
His wounds from his original world were always with him, like a disease that plagued him, refusing to let go but not letting him die. He had his insecurities and he hoped they didn't chase God System away.
"I'm sorry, Jasper told me that I should vocalize how I feel, but I've always been the type of person to do first, think later…" He felt kind of bad but he knew this was a habit that was hard to fix.
"Then, if you do something, I will ask you first so you have to stop and think about what you are doing."
Liam was a little bit different from Damien and Ian. Damien was calculative and easily bored, while Ian was passionate but easily worried. When worried, he wouldn't talk about it until it was mentioned. Liam was the total opposite of Damien in those aspects, but he was a bit similar to Liam when it came to lacking in communication. But what they all had in common was their caring natures, their clinginess, and their stubbornness to hold on to their favorite person.
"That sounds good…" Liam thought that was a good idea. Maybe he will slowly stop doing things first all the time.
"Ah!" he cried out and held Fel's hands, "You never answered me, do you like me too?"
Fel was a little surprised but soon smiled in happiness. It was a smile that he hadn't used in a long time. "Yes, I like you too, Liam." I like you in this world, in the last two worlds, and I will like you in every world after this.
The two forgot that Adelia was there, but she didn't mind it. She was happy for them.
*****
While Fel, Liam, Jasper, and co. were halfway to the capital, two people were at the border of Frayx following Fel's life essence. All beings produced essence, like magic, but this essence could only be seen by spirits. Life essence was really different from magic. Magic will disappear in the air really quickly, but life essence will linger in the air for a while. It clung onto people, objects, and even surrounding houses regardless if the person was alive or not. But other spirits could tell if they had died, as there was no energy in the life essence anymore. That was also how they knew he had died in the original plot.
Fel's parents were following it, closely, and somewhat slowly, as they turned every nook and cranny with even a bit of essence to make sure he wasn't there.
It was no wonder they took so long…
His mother looked in the direction of Frayx, and frowned. "He's alive but it seems he's moving… Is this towards the capital of Frayx?" As they got closer, they could pinpoint his location much easier.
"Frayx? What country is that again?" Fel's father asked even though they had already passed the border into Frayx.
"Frayx, you know that one with lots of humans. Hmm, ah yes, the human supremacy kingdom."
"No wonder I tried to wipe that out of my memory." He was a spirit, of course, he wouldn't be welcomed in a kingdom that favored humans.
"I almost forgot the place existed as well. Let's get going honey, we spent too much time here and he's not even here!"
"We have to check to make sure they aren't tricking us. What happens if they somehow took his life essence somewhere else?"
"I keep telling you that makes no sense, humans can't see essence unless they are blessed by spirits."
The two bickered back and forth but they still moved toward the capital of Frayx.
"Don't worry sweetheart, Mommy and Daddy are coming to find you!" His mother shouted as she grabbed her husband's hand and half dragged him to Frayx. She ignored his complaint because she wanted to find Fel as quickly as possible.
Fel could also feel that his parents were coming for him, but he didn't say anything and continued to travel with Liam and Co. They would meet up at the capital, but until then, he found it best to stay with Liam.