Logan finally felt like a human again. It was only after a nice, warm shower and changing into new clothes that he was able to feel this way.
The day was rough, but as a teenager, he was glad that at least he wasn't forced to be in school. He thought about his mother and father but held more anger toward them than sadness or any other emotions.
In reality, he was trying to keep his thoughts from going in a certain direction. Lisa was actually coming all the way here to visit him.
He knew his feelings for her from knowing her in the past; they did not speak enough for it to blossom. It could even be platonic, and yet he was excited at this exact moment.
There was joy, but then there was also fear. He recalled what his mentor had said: it was illegal to have a tamed human. But then again, it wasn't clear that she was his tamed, right?
The boy paced back and forth, his tamed beast sitting on the bed. He even placed the slime down, feeling too stressed to keep it on him.
He knew one thing: he would tell her to keep this an even greater secret.
"What do you all think, do I look good enough?" Logan asked while fixing his hair.
"Mii / Kwiii / Kriii / Krex." He heard various cries call out and felt that they were all positive, which made him feel good at least.
"It should be about time for her to arrive… I wonder what will happen," Logan pondered.
He slid the curtain to check outside. The day had almost ended; it was probably around seven in the afternoon. He did not expect Lisa to stay long.
It was not even a few minutes after this thought before he heard the sound of a carriage outside, it was the classy cart that belonged to the church.
The ones boarding it exited, there were only two, a female knight and Lisa which made Logan happy.
"Alright everyone, you all need to be on your best behavior. Come, let's go greet our guest," Logan said, gathering his tamed creatures and preparing to welcome Lisa.
Just as he was opening the door, he stopped when he saw Ruri coming up to fetch him. He nodded towards her. "Ruri, thank you for taking the time. Lead me to where we should go."
"No problem, Master Logan. The Earl is also heading outside to greet our guest. We should just follow his example," she said.
As soon as they reached downstairs, they spotted Rubina, who had just finished taking a shower and gotten ready.
"Oh, there you are, Logan. Come, I need help walking." Rubina got close to him, hugging him by the arm.
"What? Why? What happened?" Logan cried out as he was pulled to the door.
"Welcome, my esteemed guest, Saintess Hero of Light," the Earl said, bowing slightly.
"Thank you for accepting my visit, Earl Victor. I am grateful for your care for Hero Logan."
It was in a voice that Logan had never heard her use before, more formal than how she would usually speak.
"There is no problem. Come inside; we were just getting ready to sit down and eat. You are welcome to join us, Saintess," the Earl said warmly.
"Just call me Lisa, thanks…" Lisa replied as she was led inside.
As soon as he saw her, he felt a shiver run down his back. It was not the best way to greet her, with Rubina by his side.
[Oh great hero of darkness, care to explain yourself???] Lisa began to communicate, Logan could feel the anger in her voice.
[Hey Lisa, this is not what it looks like…] He began, trying to think of a way out.
[So how should I take it then? I came because I heard you were hurt, so I came to heal you. What is there to heal, huh...] She continued, in a tone Logan had never heard before.
[Lizzy, calm down, nothing is happening here. I am fine. Thank you for coming,] Logan tried to convey.
Lisa made a long sigh before trying to recover herself in the presence of Rubina and the Earl.
Rubina, realizing that her little stunt did not anger the hero Lisa as she had hoped, began leading everyone back into the dining room.
[Lizzy, thanks for coming here. Sorry, I did not go back yesterday; I was feeling unwell after a series of events,] Logan began to explain, hoping to defuse the tension.
[The battle with the demons...? We heard from the castle that your mentor brought one in to interrogate a day ago,] Lisa replied, still mildly annoyed but curious to hear what Logan had been through.
There was a brief silence between Logan and Lisa as everyone settled down to enjoy the grand meal that had been prepared.
"Do you find the food to your taste, young Miss Lisa?" the Earl asked while taking a spoonful of soup made from freshly hunted game.
"Yes, thank you, Earl. I am just getting used to the food here; this particular dish is delicious," Lisa said, trying to concentrate on both conversations.
[That day… yes, there was a fight. Something happened. Let's talk more after this, please…] Logan cut the conversation short for now.
He did not want to ruin the meal before them and also risk Lisa quickly changing expressions when they communicated through telepathy.
The meal went well, and everyone had their fill. To Logan's surprise, the conversation was a pleasure. No one mentioned what had happened earlier; instead, they focused on talking about his world and its customs.
They spoke about how they would spend their days back home: attending school, going home, and how they knew each other in class. They listened as Lisa talked about her days here and how the other heroes were faring.
Everyone was slowly adjusting to life in the new world. Although those who had participated in the training had the power to join the war, they still weren't mentally ready.
One thing Logan noticed, and kept to himself, was the hostility each girl beside him displayed. Lisa was to his left, while Rubina was on his right.
Logan did not want to face them as they aggressively stabbed their meals. Watching them use knives to cut meat was especially hard without feeling a twinge of fear.
"So, has the king said how they will train the heroes now that the forest is off-limits? It seems this will be for some time. Now that demons are found within our borders, I don't think they will let anyone who is not a soldier out to hunt," the Earl informed, curious about the kingdom's next plan for the heroes.
"Yes, about that, we are going to be preparing to enter a labyrinth of sorts to train. We are actually getting used to tight and dark places to get ready. It's in a town nearby; I forgot the name," Lisa replied, side-eyeing Logan to see if he would join.
"I guess my mentor will want me to also go. I have yet to speak to her, so I will know tomorrow…" Logan said, trying to ease the pressure off himself.
"Now then, it's getting late, Lady Lisa. Will you be staying the night, or shall I have you go back with one of my carriages?" the Earl asked, trying to see if he would have to send out a letter to the heroes' housing so they wouldn't worry.
"I think I will stay. It's a bit late, and I will need to head out early tomorrow, if you don't mind, Earl. I also want to do a bit of a checkup on Logan here to see if everything is really fine. Also, we both need to go out, and I'm sure you know what the kingdom wants to do—the awarding ceremony for a certain hero…" Lisa said, addressing the Earl's question while looking at Logan.
The Earl nodded in agreement. "Of course, Lady Lisa. You are welcome to stay. I will have a room prepared for you."
With the arrangements settled, Logan felt a mix of anticipation and worry. The night would be a chance to talk things over with Lisa and introduce her to his other tames.
The meal concluded soon, and Logan took Lisa out back before it got too late. He wanted to show her Scorch, who he was proud of. He thought that maybe she could check up on him first with her powerful healing magic just to make sure he was alright.
"It shouldn't need it, but if Logan says so, I guess you can look at Scorch's wound…" Rubina said, showing off how friendly she was with Scorch.
"Wow, is that a raptor?" Lisa said not caring about Rubina's tactics for once.
[Yes, it is, and don't worry, it's not dangerous. It's actually a baby, only days old, even though it looks like that...] Logan communicated through their link, trying to prevent further tension between the girls.
Lisa went forth, touching the leg carefully. It was the only part of the young beast that seemed to have sustained damage. She cast magic a few times, which began to help regrow the scales while fixing any minor damage the bone had sustained.
Although it was already healthy, with Lisa's powerful healing magic, the slight damage was undone as if the clock had been rewound to a time when the skin was perfect.
Lisa then turned to Logan with a triumphant smile. [There, it's as good as new.]
Rubina suspected that something was happening. She didn't know why, but she sensed it when both Logan and Lisa would fall silent for a while. This happened throughout the night. It was as if they could communicate using another method.
The young girl sighed as Logan led them back to his room, there his other beasts were placed in his bed, and each one was happy to see a new friendly person, something that made Rubina feel angry for some reason.
The first to ask for affection was the lovable fox who ran towards Rubina while scratching her legs in an adorable manner.
[Thank you, Luna. Could you help Rubina, who seems upset? I will owe you a great favor!] Logan asked the affectionate baby fox, wishing she would always remain in this helpful form.
[Aww, what a cute animal!] Lisa exclaimed, looking at Rubina with envy.
[Don't worry about that. Little Luna will let you cuddle her next,] Logan quickly added before continuing.
"Now then, let's introduce you to the team. Kryst... Zephyr is my buddy here on my shoulder, and Krexa is my newest helper. She was sent to help me by her queen goblin." Logan quickly went over his beasts' names before Rubina's attention was directed back to them.
"And that little one is Luna, a gift from the divine beast Ferra. I told you about her, remember?" Logan informed.
"Can I ask something else of you, Lisa? Could you try using your powers on my slime? I want to see what reaction would happen. You see, this little one is my party's healer. Maybe you can teach or even learn something from Kryst."
He handed the small spherical slime, which outstretched a tendril towards the girl as if extending a hand.
"Hey there, little one. Let's see, I will try showing you my healing, so stay still for a second…" Lisa said, focusing mana on one finger and releasing a pulse of healing magic.
The slime, feeling a surge of power from the light element, absorbed the mana and wobbled for a while as if thinking.
It then extended the tendril and used the same spell back towards Lisa. This happened a few times, and neither Logan nor Rubina knew what was happening.
"Well, I think it has potential. You see, what I did was send a pulse of healing magic. I am not sure how it is using its abilities, but I was taught to do this particular action to increase my healing ability. It's like a way to check how much mana one needs to use on a patient," Lisa said while hugging the slime as if it was a new friend.
[Gosh, Logan, this feels so good. It's like touching a balloon filled with water. It's so weird, but its healing properties make you want to keep it on you all the time,] Lisa expressed, unable to hide the pleasure she was feeling.
[That is exactly why I always keep it under my shirt. It keeps me clean and always at the perfect temperature. It's so nice…] Logan admitted.
[If you find another, give it to me, please!] the young girl added.
"Logan, while I would like to keep having fun here, I think we should all sleep soon. We have a long day tomorrow, or should I say you do… the ceremony should be a little after sunrise." Rubina finally interrupted the two, looking parched after laughing so long in Luna's company.
"That is right, Rubina, we should all retire for the night," Logan said.
"One last thing before we split—stay still, Logan," Lisa said, pulling up his shirt slightly and placing a hand on his chest.
"What are—!" Logan yelled, taken by surprise.
"I told you to stay still, Logan," Lisa said, using her other hand to flick his forehead.
Logan suddenly felt a surge of energy around his chest. The energy seemed to be directed towards a specific area where he felt the flow of mana, almost like discovering a new organ.
"There, you should feel reinvigorated for a few days. That should also help you with the events tomorrow. We need you in top shape so you don't embarrass the other heroes," Lisa said with a smirk.
"Ah, well, thanks…" Logan replied, feeling mentally tired but physically ready to fight a bull. He could also feel Rubina staring daggers at him.