Chapter 36: Bedchamber Crisis

With those words he vanished. I paused for a moment at those words, what the hell does that mean?

The girl of my dreams is on the path to a royal’s bedchamber?

“The girl of your dreams?” Charlotte asked, she wasn’t offended or upset, she just sounded confused.

“The girl of your dreams… no the girl in your dreams!” Charlotte said as it clicked.

That was really fast… well if we need to solve riddles in the future at least Charlotte will be able to figure it out…

You would think since I like to read I would be good at riddles but no, I don’t like mystery novels they make me feel stupid...

I told her about the dreams I’ve had with that Alv girl so she does know about it. She knows I’m not just randomly dreaming about another girl. In hindsight, I’m really glad I told her, what Styx said would have been really awkward if she didn’t know…

If the Alv girl was here my best guess would be that she let herself be captured so that she would be brought here. Once she meets us she can tell us about the Rift at Alvuan, then if we decided to go and close the Rift no one could stop us. Plus since she’s here she can get us across the sea without being eaten by that sea monster she mentioned…

I suspect this is why the Magus Council never brought up the fact the next Rift would be at Alvuan. They know an Alv needs to bring us across, so if the king knew about the Rift at Alvuan he would kill every Alv that tries to enter the nation to prevent them from telling us about the Rift.

“The Alv girl.” I say.

“Yes… on the path to a royal’s bedchamber… he said a royal not the royal… so it could mean the king, Filianoreh or the prince. So we need to spread out I guess.” Charlotte said.

“Yeah honestly she’s quite pretty and I don’t want to show up late if she ends up at king’s or prince’s bedroom.” I say darkly and I watch as Charlotte’s face goes pale.

“We need to hurry.” Charlotte said as she sprang off the bed.

We rushed out and told Ivan and Jacob what was happening. We didn’t want to delay so we just ran out in our casual clothes. Naturally we summoned our weapons back into our hand just in case.

It was decided that Ivan should check Filianoreh’s room, me and Jacob should go to the king and Charlotte… well Charlotte suggested she go to the prince’s room…

Her argument as to why was good, I mean all we needed was to meet her and technically as long as she told us where the Rift was we could just take her back to the room. Anyone who stopped us would be smited by the Life God so I highly doubted anyone would even dare to try.

So Charlotte suggested if the Alv girl was with the Prince she could pretend to offer to sleep with him and it’s unlikely he would turn down having both Charlotte and the Alv girl. He would open the door and then Charlotte would just spring the question. But for that to work she would need to be alone…

Well it’s a good plan even if I didn’t like it, the prince won’t try to force himself on her with the whole [Maiden’s Curse] thing. Still I don’t like the idea…

So with the attendants leading us we rushed towards their rooms. Luckily their rooms were all in the same area of the palace so we would be near each other if it happens.

When me and Jacob reached the king’s room I saw Filianoreh standing outside the door calmly speaking to two Royal Guards standing outside the room. Ok that most likely eliminates Filianoreh from the equation and seeing as she’s here I bet this is the right room. Afterall usually the king gets first pick when it comes to best fruits to pluck…

“Ah Katsuro, what a coincidence.” Filianoreh said although her eyes betrayed the fact she did not find this meeting to be by chance at all.

I am sure she got news of the Alvs arrival long in advance and knew I was going to be here to try and grab her. Maybe she had a plan to rescue her as a favour to me? I don’t know, this girl had a mind like a maze, trying to grasp what the hell is going on in her skull is like walking off the cliff of insanity.

“I need to see the king.” I say as I storm over.

“The king is busy at the moment, he has instructed us not to let anyone into the room.” the Royal Guard replied coldly.

“It wasn’t a request, I’m going in.” I say as I begin walking forward and immediately the Royal Guards lowered their halberds and pointed it at me.

I raise Danse Macabre and shoot one of the stupid gold wings on the side of their helmets. The gold wing is ripped off in a shower of sparks and the roar of my gun echoed down the hall.

“Don’t even try it. Move or be moved.” Jacob said coldly from the side with his sword raised.

“I advise you to do as they say good sir, it is not wise to bar the way of the heroes. The heroes are the voices of the divine. My lord father may rule Regus but the seven rule all of creation.” Filianoreh said nonchalantly, totally unfazed by my gunshot.

The Royal Guards hesitated for a moment then their bodies relaxed for a moment and they raised their halberd back into the air.

“If my father has any questions I will be happy to explain the situation on your behalf.” Filianoreh said as she smiled and calmly knocked on the door.

There we waited, I was about to shove her aside and kick the door open when I heard the lock on the door click.

The door opened and I saw the king’s face appear in the crack of the door.

“Daughter what is it? And what was that sound?” the king asked.

“That was me, open up.” I growl as I step forward with my mask down so the king could see my glowing red fanged smile. He instinctively flinched at the sight, for some reason this mask terrified everyone. Styx was right, fear is useful…

“How dare you.” the king replied in indignation.

“Father, the Light Hero is here as well. As I am sure you are aware they would not be here unless it was urgent.” Filianoreh said calmly from the side.

“Very well, what do you want?” the king replied with a sigh of resignation.

“We want to speak with the Alv you just brought into your room.” Jacob said coldly and I could see the King’s eyes widen in surprise.

“She is a captured slave, I as the King have the right to enjoy the fruits of this nation’s success.” the king replied defensively.

“It has something to do with the Rifts. I trust you are aware of what happens when someone tries to stop us from battling the Rifts?” I ask.

The king flinched at those words and his eyes narrowed. His eyes glazed over for a moment as if he was thinking. Then his eyes widened and his face curled into a snarl. He turned away from the door leaving the door unattended.

Filianoreh calmly pushed the door open and the door revealed the king dragging the Alv from my dreams towards the door. He roughly threw her out the door and I barely managed to catch her before she fell face first onto the floor.

“Take this piece of filth, do what you must Heroes.” the king spat as he slammed the door shut.

I think he knows he’s been played by this girl, the heroes who he hoped would defend his nation for the rest of the Rifts was about to leave to aid an enemy nation. Also judging by the schedule the next Rift will appear in less than a week. This means Regus was going to have to pay the human cost in our absence.

Well there are always sacrifices in war and we the Heroes need to be as powered up as possible. Those Rifts gave a massive amount of EXP, so we need to seal every one that shows up.

As I looked down at the girl I noticed that she was naked, limp, and covered in sweat. Her face was red and her eyes were glassy. She was also breathing heavily and I started to get a bad feeling as I looked at the state of her. Were we too late?

I looked down at her privates and didn’t see any blood on her thighs, but then again I have no idea if she’s a virgin.

“I’ll get her back to the room, can you get Charlotte?” I ask as I turn to Jacob.

Then the girl reached up and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt.

“Potion…” she gasped as she put her hand between her legs and let out a moan as she began fondling herself.

“She’s been drugged?” Jacob asked as he looked at her in mute horror.

“There are potions that are designed to make a woman crave sexual release, most of them last about an hour. It is actually used in some torture methods. Force feed it to a woman and tie her up, leave her like this for hours on end and it will drive her mad.” Filianoreh said nonchalantly as she calmly looked down at the girl.

“It hurts…” the girl groaned as her body convulsed as she let out a strangled moan.

“Ha… ughh…” the girl groaned as her body went slack, but her hand didn’t stop.

“We need to get her back to the room first…” I say as I pick her up.

“Good night heroes, if you need anything feel free to let the attendants know.” Filianoreh said calmly as she gave me a wink before turning and walking away.

What the hell was that wink for? Well no matter I have more pressing matters to attend to...

With that I rushed back to the room, once I arrived at the room I put her on the couch. The girl’s eyes were glazed over and she was panting like a dog. Then she let out another scream as her back arched and she convulsed again.

Honestly I all I could do was look at her in mute horror, this was honestly very disturbing... you would think a beautiful girl touching herself in front of you would at least be vaguely erotic. But as I looked at the way her body squirmed and the desperate gleam in her eyes I couldn’t help but feel extremely uncomfortable at the sight.

Then she reached up and grabbed onto my arm.

“Please… help me…” the girl pleaded her eyes wet with tears.

Then the door burst open and I saw the rest of my party storm in. Charlotte immediately went over to the girl and she pried her eyes open and looked into her eyes.

“Her pupils are dilated, I think Jacob’s right she’s been drugged.” Charlotte said her voice unsteady.

[Isha’s Embrace] Charlotte intoned but the girl didn’t seem to be affected at all.

“Why isn’t it working?” Charlotte asked shakily.

Then Hope appeared in front of us, the green glow of her body reflecting off the sweat covered skin of the girl.

This girl is buffed with [Carnal Elevation III]

Thine spell cannot remove buffs

To remove the buff would require the curse [Carnal Alleviation]

“So we need to curse her to help her?” Charlotte asked as her eyes went wide.

“Filianoreh said this would last an hour…” I mutter in reply.

“An hour?” Charlotte said, her eyes widening in shock.

Then I felt the grip on my hand tighten. I look down and I see the girl looking up at me in desperation.

“Please… help me… someone...” she begged.

“We need to do something, we can’t leave her like this. Filianoreh said this potion is also sometimes used for torture. Apparently they give this to a girl and tie her up. Force feeding her the potion for hours on end which will eventually drive her crazy.” I say and I see Charlotte’s face go as white as parchment.

“Then we need someone to help her through the hour…” Charlotte said softly.

“Uh uh, no way in hell I’m doing that.” Jacob said as he took a step back.

“Not me.” Ivan added.

“We don’t need to have sex with her, we just need to… touch her so she doesn’t go crazy.” I say irritably.

“Then wouldn’t a girl be better at this? I mean if a guy started getting her off when she’s this drugged up wouldn’t that be like sexual assault or something? Or would it? I mean she’s basically asking us to do it.” Jacob said.

“That wouldn’t be consent, for valid consent would need her to not be under the influence of any substances, which she is.” Charlotte said wearily.

This girl needed help, she was going to hurt herself at this rate… someone needs to do it… someone…

“Ok, enough, a girl helping her masturbate is better than a guy doing it that’s for sure. It’s not perfect but it’s the best we can do. We do the wrong thing for the right reason.” I say as I cut off the conversation.

I would love to fully discuss the ethical implications but sadly we are kind of on a time limit here.

“Filianoreh told me to ask the attendants if we needed anything…” I say.

“Oh yes! We could ask them to help.” Charlotte said, her eyes filling with relief.

“Yeah let’s do that…” Jacob added shakily.

“You can use my room.” Ivan volunteered.

“No. I suggest we exhaust all our options first.” I say as the rest turned to look at me.

“Dark Hero, we can assist if you so desire.” the attendant said with a bow.

“Quiet.” I reply curtly.

These women all serve Filianoreh, I am not gonna hand over more information on a silver platter to that woman.

“Volva, Alfie, could you help her?” I ask, although they would be definitely less experienced than the attendants I at least trusted them to take care of this poor girl.

“We can Katsuro sama.” The two of them replied.

“I can help as well.” Momo said chiming in.

Right… Momo knew about these types of things too… it’s a little hard to think of her in such a way but sadly she did grow up in that slave ring…

“Alright…” I say.

“I’ll keep an eye on her as well, in case she needs to be healed or anything else happens.” Charlotte said with a sigh.

“Alright, so Ivan’s room?” I asked and Ivan quietly nodded.

I reached down and picked her up. I walked into Ivan’s room but just as I was about to reach the bed the girl started to thrash and convulse. I looked down and saw that her eyes had gone glassy and she was starting to breath in rasping gasps.

I got a cold feeling in my gut as she started to look more and more like she was having a seizure. What the hell did she give her?

“Oh my god… what’s happening to her?” Charlotte asked.

“Let’s get her on the bed first.” I say as I struggle to hold onto her thrashing body.

“Do you know anything about this potion?” Charlotte asked Volva as I laid the girl on the bed.

“No…” Volva replied quietly.

“I think we need to get an attendant in here to advise.” Charlotte said.

“Fine…” I replied curtly, no wonder Filianoreh was so confident when she suggested I used the attendants. She must know what kind of shit her perverted father liked to use on his victims.

“OI ATTENDANTS ONE OF YOU GET IN HERE!” I roared at the door and a few seconds later one of the attendants entered the room.

“What’s going on with her?” I ask as I see the three girls start to position themselves around the girl. Then I noticed they started undressing...

“Wait wait wait, you don’t need to take off your clothes.” I blurt out stopping them.

“But Katsuro sama the stimulation would be better with skin to skin contact.” Alfie said.

“They are correct, Dark Hero sama. I overheard she is buffed with [Carnal Elevation III] it means the potion that was given to her was very strong. The potion creates a rampant desire for sexual pleasure, if that desire is not sated there may be dangers to the individual. The highest level of [Carnal Elevation] can even cause heart attacks. Also since the body recognises the state of the body as normal, healing magic is ineffective.” the attendant explained.

“Ok fine, Alfie and Volva do what you need to do, Momo keep your clothes on until I leave.” I say in exasperation. I’ve already seen these three naked but I rather not see Momo naked again. She looks way too young...

“So how do we proceed from here?” I ask.

“You need to stimulate her, the reason she is reacting in such a negative manner is because she can’t reach in deep enough. I can assist with it if you so desire Dark Hero sama.” the attendant replied calmly.

“No, Alfie you do it.” I say as I watch Alfie climb onto the bed and position herself between her legs. Volva sat down behind the girl and let her lean against her chest. Volva’s hands were grabbing the girls breasts and gently massaging them. Whatever Volva is doing seems to be working, the girl seemed to be slightly calmer…

“Katsuro sama I can’t open her legs.” Alfie said as she tried to pry the girls legs apart but her thighs were locked together as her stiff body spasmed.

“I suggest prying her legs apart. Once we help her alleviate the desire slightly she should start to relax.” the attendant said.

“Ok fine…” I say as I walk over and start to pry open her legs. Honestly it’s a lot harder than I thought, her body was thin and willowy but she was a lot stronger than she looked. Still not as strong as me though…

“Katsuro sama her hands.” Alfie said as she struggled to handle the other leg with one hand and get her hands out of her privates with the other.

I reached over and grabbed one hand, Charlotte reached over to grab the other but she couldn’t make the hand budge. This girl must have more [Strength] than her… how the hell was the king planning to get between her legs? He must be really strong for an old man…

“Oh for fucks sake… JACOB, IVAN!” I shout at the door and soon I see Jacob pop his head in.

“What the fuck is going on…” Jacob said slack jawed as he took in the sight of five people struggling around the girl.

“Need help with her other hand.” I say.

“What? But...” Jacob stammered.

“NOW!” I roar in reply in the same tone I use on particularly scared replacements back in my world.

“Ok…” Jacob said stiffly as he walked over and I instructed him to pull the other hand away.

“Ivan, the other hand please.” I say in exasperation. I can’t believe we need so many people, well to be fair we did want to be as gentle as possible…

“Can’t we just knock her out or something?” Jacob muttered as Ivan pried her other hand off.

“That would be ill advised Light Hero sama, the body will still be reacting to the potion. If she is unconscious we would not be able to easily ascertain her condition.” the attendant said calmly from the side.

“Fantastic… oh god I can smell it on her hands....” Jacob replied as he turned his head away in embarrassment.

“Katsuro…” Ivan said softly.

“Huh?” I ask as I turn to face him.

“There’s blood on her fingers…” Ivan said.

“Erm… Alfie can you check her?” I say awkwardly.

As Alfie bent down and attempted to check her privates I looked away and tried to ignore the girl's moans and jerks when Alfie touched her down there.

“She’s torn her purity.” Alfie said, at that moment I felt a gaze behind me intensify.

I turn around and catch the barest hint of the attendant’s eye lighting up in excitement. It was there only for the slightest moment but it was there I am sure of it. Why the hell is that good news?

“I think it matters not the state of her purity we will need to enter deeply regardless.” the attendant said.

I paused as I looked at her, why did she want us to break her purity? If I recall you can tear that thing through exercise and yes it is a stereotypical sign of virginity but why is her looking like a virgin so important?

“We do not have a choice, Dark Hero sama.” the attendant said calmly as she held my gaze.

I know I don’t have a choice, it's either to break her purity or put her health at risk. Honestly, I don’t really trust what that attendant is saying. If she wanted this girl’s purity broken of course she would tell us that we need to go in deep. What if we didn’t need to?

Fuck… there’s no way I can make a decision with so little information, ideally I would like a second opinion… who would I ask? The mages? But they’re on Filianoreh’s side as well, how do I know they aren’t in on whatever scheme this is. I think perhaps we should at least test it out first...

“Alfie try not to go in too deep for now, see how she reacts.” I say through gritted teeth.

So Alfie brought her head between the girl’s legs and the girl screamed in pleasure as her body convulsed and as I looked down I saw a growing wet patch on the sheets as her body spasmed. Then the three girls began to pleasure her, touching her in what I assume are all the right places. I caught sight of Volva nibbling on the Alv girl’s long ear and judging by how the Alv girl’s head is tilting to give Volva a better angle I assume they’re doing something right…

Then the girl thrust her hips towards Alfie and she began to moan and writhe as the rest of us struggled to hold her in place without hurting her.

“More… deeper…” the girl whined.

Is she just saying this because she’s in the mood? Or is she saying this because the attendant’s right?

“Don’t.” I say curtly.

“Dark Hero sama if you just do it superficially it will worsen her condition.” the attendant said from behind me.

“Shut up.” I snap in response.

Then the girl began to struggle harder.

“MORE MORE!” she screamed as she struggled then her body suddenly stiffened and she let out a strangled cry.

Then I noticed a trickle of blood flowed out of her nose and she began to foam at the mouth…

Fuck…

“Alfie do it…” I say with resignation now knowing I have no choice.

At my words Alfie put her fingers in and the girl screamed out in pleasure. Her body started to relax and she started to moan as Alfie started to move her hand. Slowly and surely I felt her leg relax, I looked up and saw Ivan and Jacob both let go of her arms. Both arms flopped down onto the sheets and her hands began clawing at the sheets, as her moans echoed out in the room.

I walked over to get a better look at her face and I saw her breathing was starting steady. I wiped the foam off her mouth and saw no more foam appeared to take its place. Well it looks like at least she’s stopped foaming. I then wiped the blood coming from her nose but the blood still flowed.

“I don’t think the nose bleed will stop so soon, it’s probably caused by the increased blood pressure.” Charlotte said as she joined me in checking on the girl.

[Isha’s Embrace] Charlotte said and when I wiped the bloody nose again this time the bleeding stopped.

Then I notice that the girl seems to be tilting her lower body as if to guide Alfie’s finger to the right spot inside her.

“It looks like she’s trying to get Alfie to reach a certain spot.” I say as I turn to Charlotte.

Charlotte furrowed her brows for a moment and tilted her head slightly as if lost in thought. Then her eyes widened slightly and she turned back. She walked over and looked at what Alfie was doing. I did the same and saw Alfie was thrusting the entire length of three fingers into her privates.

“It looks like she’s pressing herself down into the bed… Alfie try pushing your fingers upwards.” Charlotte said.

When Alfie did so the girl let out a moan as her body convulsed in another orgasm. This time a spurt of clear fluid sprayed out from her privates.

“If there is a specific spot that the potion affects… it’s on the front so it’s the anterior vaginal wall…looks like it's about 5 centimeres in... the Gräfenberg area?” Charlotte said.

“The what?” I ask.

“I think she means the G-spot.” Jacob said uncomfortably.

“Well we called it differently in the studies I’ve read back home but I think we’re talking about the same thing.” Charlotte said.

“Yeah I didn’t learn about it from a textbook or anything…” Jacob said as he scratched the back of his head.

“Do you know where it is?” I ask.

“About 5 centimeters in…” Jacob muttered in reply.

Alfie hearing this, Alfie began moving her fingers accordingly and suddenly the girl shuddered.

“You found it?” I ask as I look at the girl who is now slightly calmer.

“I think so…” Alfie said and this time the girl groaned as another spurt of liquid erupted from her privates.

She began to moan but she was still shuddering and convulsing with every orgasm but at least she isn’t thrashing around anymore. Infact now she just seemed tired as she laid limp and only shifted her hips and head in response to the pleasure she was feeling.

“Ok it seems we found the problem… Can you three girls just keep an eye on her? Alfie just keeps stimulating the Gräfenberg area. I think I need to sit down for awhile…” Charlotte said wearily.

“Yeah I think we’re done here…” I say as I turn and usher all everyone except the three girls out.

Jacob and Ivan practically dashed out of the room and just as I was about to close the door I saw Alfie start to bring her head down between her legs.

We all walked over to the bed and took a weary seat on the couches. Amethine was sitting there stiffly red faced but she didn’t say anything when we walked over.

“Well… glad that’s over.” I say wearily as I lean my head against the backrest, mentally exhausted after that whole fiasco.

I looked over and saw Ivan flopped face down on one of the couches and Jacob was leaning against the siderest of another couch for support.

“What is that Granberg zone thing anyway?” I ask out of curiosity.

“It’s called the Gräfenberg area, its an erogenous zone usually found 55mm inside the vaginal canal on the anterior vaginal wall.” Charlotte said wearily, she didn’t sound embarrassed, just exhausted.

“Not every girl has it from what I experi... heard.” Jacob said as he quickly corrected the last word.

“Right…” I say with a roll of my eyes.

“It’s speculated that it’s the extension of the clitoris that runs along the anterior vaginal wall.” Charlotte added on as she shut her eyes and looked like she was about doze off.

“Clitoris?” I ask in confusion, I was never good at biology. I’ve seen a vagina but I don’t know what any of the parts are called...

“It’s the bulb thing at the top of the opening.” Jacob explained.

“Oh…” I reply.

“There’s a lot of nerve endings there, so it’s really sensitive.” Charlotte explained as she opened her eyes wearily and scooted closer to me before putting her head on her favourite spot on my shoulder.

“I’m surprised you’re talking about this so calmly.” I say as I stroke her head.

“I’m just tired and at this point what is there left to be shy about. We practically just did a medical treatment by finding the right erogenous zone. Her blood pressure was so high she burst a blood vessel in her nose, if it went on any longer I think she might have a heart attack. That wasn’t sex or masturbation, that was medical treatment.” Charlotte muttered in response.

“Well I guess you’re right about that.” I say plant a kiss on the top of her head.

“You know we probably didn’t need to pop her cherry. We could have probably reached the G-spot with one or two fingers if we used the opening. It would stretch to a little but it might not have torn.” Jacob said.

“Yeah I guess…” I say with a sigh as I think back to that weird gleam in the attendants eyes when I got her out of the room. It seems they really wanted that thing broken for some reason...

“A hymen is not an indicator of virginity. You can tear it through many ways, injuries or even exercise like cycling. It’s only one or two centimeters inside the vaginal canal so it’s easily damaged. If you’re pure, you’re pure, that’s all. You don’t need an immaculate membrane to prove it to anyone. It’s functionally useless anyway…” Charlotte said, sounding a little disgruntled.

“Useless?” I ask as I look at her.

“No one can figure out what it’s for. The prevailing theory is that it's a vestige of vaginal development and serves no purpose outside of the womb. All we know is that it's there and what problems it can cause.” Charlotte replied irritably.

“Most girls I know are quite fixated on it though, the girls I’ve been with were all scared when we were about to do it for the first time. One of them told me they were afraid to lose their virginity, I get the feeling they may feel tainted or something if they lose their virginity.” Jacob said.

“Girls don’t lose their virginity unless it’s rape. A girl gives it away to a man she trusts and cares for. It’s sexist to think a girl's first time is something to be taken from her.” Charlotte replied.

“Yeah I agree with that. I don’t want any girl to do that until they're ready. It’s easier on us guys, it’s harder with the girl with the initial pain and the possibility of pregnancy.” Jacob said.

“The whole purity thing is also stupid. A girl is not any lesser of a person if she gets raped. It shouldn’t be the girl’s responsibility when her first time is robbed from her…” Charlotte said softly as I noticed she’s looking at Amethine who’s sitting quietly there with her head down.

“You aren’t anything lesser because of what happened Amethine.” Charlotte said softly as Amethine looked up.

I think they’re all a little shaken up after what just happened. Thus far none of them has actually had to see the horrors of sexual assault for their own eyes. The sight of the poor Alv girl almost out of her mind with lust must have been quite traumatising…

“You may think that you did something wrong… but that isn’t true…” Charlotte said as she shifted her gaze down.

“The blame is theirs but many think the punishment should be yours. It shouldn’t… it never should…” Charlotte said as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her slightly shaking body closer to me.

“Is a girl's purity important in this world?” I ask, as I think back to the apparent desire of the attendant for us to break the hymen of that Alv girl.

“It depends on the culture, we humans generally prefer to have partners who are pure but it’s not as big an issue as compared to some of the other races.” Amethine replied.

“Oh then it could be worse then. I was worried what happened to you would make you unmarriable or something.” I say with a sigh of relief.

“That’s not the case for humans. It is encouraged for humans to only have sex after marriage but it’s not an extremely bad thing if you lost your purity somehow.” Amethine said.

“Then other races have issues with this?” Charlotte asked.

“Well not much is written about them, most of what I’ve heard are some open secrets floating around the academy. The official texts of Regus all paint the other races as promiscuous barbarians. But I have heard the Alv’s are quite particular on a girl’s purity, although it is strange considering their long lives. Functionally it would make more sense if they are more open in their relationships since over such a long period of time a person's partner may die early. I suspect it might be because of how long it takes to raise an Alv to adulthood, I heard it takes about 70 years. So it culturally ensures both parents stay together to raise the child instead of one of them running off halfway.” Amethine said.

“Well we could reconfirm the specifics when she wakes up…” I say with a sigh.

“The Lupus are particular about it as well.” Ivan said from the side as we all turned to look at Ivan who’s got up slightly from lying on the couch.

“Volva told me as things are now she is unmarriable because she is no longer a virgin, at least according to Lupus tradition.” Ivan said calmly as he sat back up.

“Dang, that’s quite a bit of pressure.” Jacob said.

“It’s fine, I’m thinking I want to marry her when all this is over.” Ivan replied.

“That’s a bit quick.” I say slightly taken aback, they’ve known each other less than two months…

“I have to take responsibility after all. Besides I think I really do love her and…” Ivan said as he faltered. His eyes that usually looked to be like two pieces of granite softened.

“I want to grow old and grey with her…” Ivan said.

“That’s very sweet Ivan.” Charlotte said warmly.

“Thanks, you know Volva told me Alfie likes you Jacob.” Ivan said as he turned to look at him.

“Yeah I know, she’s been giving me looks and showing all the signs for the past two weeks.” Jacob replied with a sigh.

“Signs?” I ask, honestly I’ve never had to do dating so I really don’t know. Me and Charlotte just sort of happened. There was no back and forth that usually comes from dating a girl.

“Well she’s playing with hair a lot when we talk, I catch her looking at me from a distance and she always sits facing towards me at meals.” Jacob said as he scratched his head.

“So do you like her too?” Ivan asked, as usual cutting straight to the point.

“Well I mean kind of, she’s pretty and sweet but the mate for life thing is a little scary. I don’t want to step into something I can’t commit to.” Jacob said as he ran his hand through his hair.

“Why? You got commitment issues?” I ask as I raise a brow.

“You could say that, ever since I lost my brother I’ve been afraid to get close to people. Like really close to people, you can’t get hurt if you never care enough. The relationships I’ve been in all ended either because I bailed or it just didn’t get very far. Never could let any of them in any real way. It was just movies and dates, never even met any of their parents, we never did anything special. Just all the stereotypical date stuff.” Jacob said.

“Well you can’t meet Alfie’s parents even if you wanted to.” Ivan said and Jacob closed his eyes for a moment in silent frustration.

“Not the point Ivan.” Jacob replied as reopened his eyes.

“Exactly, the issue wasn’t that you didn’t do anything special. You just never got to know those women. Volva told me Alfie talks to you a lot about her troubles and you always listen. I think you’re way past the point of not caring about her at this point.” Ivan said.

“Do you like her?” I ask before Jacob could reply to Ivan.

“Well yeah, I mean she’s my type and she won’t get upset with all the stupid things that most girls get really upset over. Like anniversaries, birthdays, going out with the bros, stuff like that.” Jacob replied.

“You know we girls don’t really care about those things, we just want the guy to care. If they like you and they feel you don’t like them as much as they like you they are going to look for ways to help validate that you actually care. So the obsession with the birthdays and anniversaries. If the girl is worried you don’t care of course they’re not going to be wanting you to go out without her, what if you find another girl when she’s not around?” Charlotte said as she raised an eyebrow.

“Never thought of it that way now that you mention it…” Jacob said sullenly.

“Girls just want you to care, we aren’t unreasonable. I don’t care if Katsuro never remembers my birthday, I know he cares and that's good enough.” Charlotte said.

“Alright, fine I’ll think about it. I don’t know, we’ll see how it goes.” Jacob said with a sigh.

“If you care, you care. If you don’t, you don’t. So just try and figure out if you really care about her.” Charlotte said as she hugged my arm a little tighter.

“Besides, Katsuro didn’t even remember his own birthday. Why would I expect him to remember mine?” Charlotte said with a giggle.

“Oh I’ll remember, don’t worry.” I say with a smirk as I plant a kiss on her forehead.

“No pressure.” Charlotte replied with another giggle.

It looks like everyone is starting to feel a little better. The somber exhausted mood has abated slightly. Well from my experience talking about something else when something bad happens has a calming effect on the group. Idle conversation stops your mind from fixating on the horrible things that happen. Redirect the mind and calm the negative storm of emotions in the heart. When the emotions are calmed the mind can better process what happened.

Accept it and move on, dwelling on past events in misery never help anyone.

Just focus on what you can do going forward.

“So when is it?” I ask as I look down at her smiling face.

“I’ll let you know.” Charlotte replied.

How am I supposed to remember something I don’t know?