Today is the 8th.

-

Even though I trained with [Manasynthesis] my skill didn't level. I feel like I'm reaching a "wall" in my growth. Perhaps the b

onus from Earth knowledge is running out and now I need to improve my knowledge through practice.

This morning I practice [Water Magic]. Hopefully, Bombur won't be mad Lina skipped two of his lessons, we were so tense we forgot to warn him.

Roxanne seems to be straining. She grunts and squirms until finally she opens her eyes and jumps into a pose with her hands on her hips.

"I did it! I redirected mana to myself!"

We all clap as she smugly looks towards the sky.

"And that's all for me. I'm back to my potions for a while!" And she runs off towards her room.

Nothing needs to be said, we just sigh and shrug. I go back to my meditation to refill my mana.

I felt as if warm rushing water suddenly touched my leg. I immediately open my eyes in surprise only to see the spirit griffin has laid his head on my lap. His kind yellow eyes locked to mine.

Holy fucking shit, the spirit touched me. It's such a weird feeling, it feels like there's a storm passing through my leg, it's pleasant, but the lack of visible movement makes me uneasy. It's like feeling the world spin and yet your eyes tell you that you are standing still.

Trembling, I pass my hand through its feathery head, the spirit closes its eye and chirps happily. Ah, my heart.

"I shall name thee Gify."

"Gi" from "gift" and "fy" from "finish".

Gify chirps happily again and closes his(?) eyes.

Ciel has her mouth hanging open. Hana runs off to get Roxanne. Alissa and Aoi stalk closer, as if they afraid of scaring him off. I feel bad for Lina, she missed this historic moment.

With a nearly trembling hand Alissa is the second one to touch it. Aoi watches every second like a hawk. Alissa runs her hand through Gify's white plumage and rolls her eyes in pleasure.

"Aren't you enjoying this a tad too much?" I ask, eyebrows knit in worry.

"The Misty Fox clan lives among the forest, we see these spirits day in day out. Having one accompany you is a symbol of status, of being in sync with nature. Being this close to one has always been my dream," Alissa says, she closes her eyes and enjoys the feeling.

I swear Gify looks smug.

Ciel comes forward and Roxanne appears just as Aoi gathers courage and lays down besides Gify with her head also on my lap. Aoi closes her eyes and I see the corner of her long mouth turn into a small smile.

Ciel starts shaking Alissa, wanting her turn. The shaking gradually gets stronger until Alissa groans and lets Ciel have her turn.

"This feels amazing…"

That's all Ciel manages to say for the whole 2 minutes she was allowed to pet Gify.

Roxanne gets her turn and Gify decides to show us his tummy. Ciel pukes rainbows and the other girls almost need a [Heal] to keep their hearts from stopping.

The spirit is slowly giving me profound calmness. I feel the leaves from the tree in the front yard falling. I hear the stove slowly cooking the minotaur meat, I can feel the steam slowly leaving the pot, twirling, and cooling in the air and then seeping out from the kitchen window.

Nature is all about "connections", one living being connected to another, they consume each other in a cycle that maintains nature stable. A nature's spirit is the personification of that, Gify slowly "connects" my mind and that of the girls to the environment and to each other.

I can feel the happiness radiating from Alissa, all of that is aimed towards me, her mind is in perfect order except for her jealousy from not being in touch with the spirit. There's a single blurry spot inside the sun that is her love, a single curious spot. I can hear the people moving about their business on another calm morning.

I can feel Ciel restraining her heart from tackling Gify, she has an immense love for all things fluffy and cute. Apparently I'm included in those feelings. Her feelings for me are mixed with Gify's in a whirlwind. I can feel the warm sun slowly permeating my heart and taking away the humidity of the morning.

I can feel Roxanne's bliss, the crushing loneliness like a storm in the distance moving away. I can feel the breeze blowing far above us, taking the humidity that's fleeing the sun and sending it to the farms around Rabanara.

I can feel Hana's warm gaze, her desire to protect is unnecessary right now so her awereness relaxes and satisfaction clouds her blood thirst. The excitement and anxiety of battle is slowly fading away. I feel a tickle as the grass is gently caressed by the wind.

I can feel Aoi's sea of calmness and comfort, a sunny island in the middle of it showing her eagerness to fight. I feel like an ant in this world, just another small force trying it's best at living life.

In a way, Gify's power is just like my spirit extension, only that it's a lot more directed. My "soul sensing" is all about raw information, Gify filters all that information through the consciousness of the spirit and connects us all. I finally understand why nature spirits are so respected.

I'm pretty sure my feelings are being transmitted to the girls. They all look at each other with shy smiles then they look at me.

"Nature spirits are also called 'a lover's best friend'. Because they allow us to know what we feel about each other, but only if the feeling is strong enough," Ciel says.

She scooches over to my side and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

The overwhelming amount of feelings is making me emotional, I have to clean the corners of my eyes. I don't even know how to respond, I don't think I even need to respond, they are all looking right inside my heart.

I spent some time already in this position for my training, I have to stretch my legs. Hana's turn is about to end anyway.

"My legs are hurting a bit…"

I make a move to change from my cross-legged position but two iron grips make me stop. Hana and Ciel's murderous intent is made clear through their eyes and the spirit connection, we are not perturbing Gify right now. After I stop resisting they return to fawning over Gify.

We stay like this for a long time until Gify awakens and flies towards the kitchen. Alissa and Ciel hurry after him, both because they want to spend more time with him and also because they forgot to check the stove. Luckly nothing burned.

When I try to move my legs I feel they completely fell asleep. I manually straighten them and they crack loudly.

Lunch has 3 selections of peppers. One like bell pepper, one that reminds me of jalapeño with very mild heat, and another that reminds me of cayenne and it's used as a seasoning in fried chicken meat. It's pepper season in Maoka so the peppers are flooding Rabanara as we are very close to that continent.

Ciel brings Lina back just as we are about to have lunch. When Lina notices Gify sitting on top of my usual chair she freezes.

"Touch it," I say, smiling widely.

She does not move, like always she's too shy to act. I roll my eyes and grab her by the hand and lead it to touch Gify.

"His name is Gify. All the other girls already touched him so you get extra time because you weren't there during the first time."

As our hand approaches Gify, Lina starts trembling.

"Are you scared?" I ask.

"No..." She lies.

"She's scared of showing you her feelings," Alissa says with a smug smile.

Lina blushes and her trembling increases, her hand tries to escape mine but I just grip her harder. I force her forward, you are going to show me your feelings and I'm going to show you mine!

When my hand touches Gify an explosion of feelings enters my mind. The girls quickly come around and Gify opens all our hearts again.

I drop down on my knees and hug Lina.

"I never told you this, but I love you, I really do. You shouldn't hold it back, you are precious to me," I say.

Lina hardly talks about her feelings. The turmoil of happiness, lust, anxiety, and self"doubt have been eating her from the inside. The fear of death has been mounting but it got beaten by her desire to destroy my enemies. Not her enemies, my enemies. She adores me, I don't deserve such dedication but I should at least make sure she's as happy as I can make her.

A teary-eyed Alissa hugs Lina from behind, she gives Lina a kiss on the cheek and together we crush Lina's ribs.

"I love you..." She whispers, "I love you... I love you. I love you!" Her faint voice gathers courage and turns into a yell.

She finally hugs me back and her noodle arms try to crush me, good thing she's not using [Stonebody]. She doesn't cry but I feel the wavering of her legs.

Gify stands in my head and chirps repeatedly at Lina. Oddly, I don't understand what it's talking about.

"You understand him?" I ask.

"I don't... I don't understand how but. I think he told me to stop hiding'."

"Hiding your feelings. You were always serious, except when talking about books," Ciel says with the sweetest tone, "Remember to not keep it bottled up, we are here for you so you should share more."

I think I just understood something.

"You shouldn't let your feelings take charge of your decisions but you must take your feelings in consideration when making a decision," I say.

The fear of Vanea and fighting Darean must have been like a storm in her heart. Her other feelings were bottled up and safe inside a bunker but the damage of the storm keeps mounting. She wants to do the "right thing" so much it's hurting her.

"Okay... I will, I'll try my best!" She says with a conviction unheard of her.

"It's not about trying your best, it's about working towards what makes you happy."

She keeps quiet for a while but I feel her nod. I break the hug and clean the corners of her eyes. Now understand why Lina is so quiet, she's shy but she is also really insecure, so insecure she hardly shows her feelings.

"Let's eat, the food will get cold," Ciel says.

Gify slowly stops sharing our feelings and we return to our normal, except I'm feeling reinvigorated. I see Lina's usual expressionless face slowly turn into a more relaxed and happy one. She's avoiding looking at my eyes, though. As we eat her expression then slowly changes into a frown.

"Is there something on your mind?" I ask.

"Well, there's always something on my mind. I'm always thinking, after all," she smirks.

"You cheeky little... I meant, is there something bothering you?"

She smiles shyly.

"Well... Mr. Bombur was mad, he kept repeating a few phrases about 'responsibility' and 'dedication'."

"I'm sorry Lina, you got chastised because of us," Alissa said.

"You don't have to apologize, it wasn't problem, I know it wasn't your fault and I don't regret missing those days."

"But yet you still frown. Remember what we said about 'hiding'?" I say.

Lina looks at me surprised. She never complained about anything, It is simply unnatural for her to be like this.

"I... Okay... I was angry, it was unfair, I never did anything wrong," she looks down.

"Go on…" Ciel urges.

"And you all owe me for this," she gives an impish smile and immediately blushes in embarrassment.

"We'll get you something sweet from the buffet at the university as an apology," Alissa says.

Lina blushes harder and tries to hide her face but I see the beginnings of a smile on the corner of her mouth.

Gify seems to like to ride my head. The feeling of moving water dies down and only reappears when I focus on it, the "connection" we share also only reappears if Gify feels like it. This is a good thing otherwise it would be too stimulating for all of us to keep our hearts open all the time. But his claws from his bird front legs and lion hind legs do not hurt, in fact he has no bones, his entire form is spongy yet the texture of his body feels real.

"Gify, you are tousling his hair," Lina says.

"Gih!" He chirps indignation, he believes my haircut looks better with him on my head.

"I have to agree with Lina, please, he has to keep a tidy outlook to maintain his reputation," Alissa says, her fox mouth unmoving.

"Gih…"

*Pop*, *pop*. Gify disappears and suddenly reappears in my shoulder.

"Thank you," Lina says and combs my hair.

I say nothing, there's no greater joy than being pampered.

As I enter the class I feel my entire body shiver. Flashbacks that I thought I had buried long, long ago resurfaces as the entire class looks at me and murmurs. Gify on my shoulder just increases my fame, luckily my reputation is that I'm rather unapproachable, this keeps the class from swarming me.

Unfortunately, that does not apply to Lyle as him and his friends swarm my table. Fortunately Gify seems to have an impact on Garanae, making him mellow out a bit more.

"C-can I touch it?!" Asks Lyle.

"I don't know, Gify, can Lyle touch you?" I ask.

Gify looks up to him, his beady little eyes measuring him up and down.

"Gih."

"That's a yes, but only the head and be quick about it."

Lyle wastes no time and pets his head, he shudders at the stimulating feeling that the spirit provokes in him, I feel thankful Gify didn't open my heart to Lyle. Gify feels slightly sickened, though.

"Gih!" He says after a minute and moves his head away.

"Alright, that's enough."

"Awn... But still, it felt awesome," Lyle smiles brightly while staring at his hand.

Garanae twiddles his thumbs.

"Gih, geh, gih."

"You can go too, Garanae, but Hatara comes first."

Her green eyes look like a hunter who found its prey. Gify looks at her lecherously for a moment, disarming her.

"Was that…"

"Gih!"

"Don't waste more time, the professor is coming," I say.

She recomposes herself and pets Gify. I feel he wants to open my heart to Hatara, the little shit is already trying to cause trouble. He feels my annoyance and hums happily, its lion tail swaying about.

Two minutes goes by and he moves his head away.

"Gih."

"That's you, Garanae."

The most fearful of the trio, his hand trembles as he pets Gify. He shows us an uncharacteristic face of unbridled happiness, Garanae really is a pet person.

When his time reaches exactly 1 minute the bell chimes. Garanae straightens up, he kisses Hatara on the lips and runs away, red faced. Instead of also blushing, Hatara smugly looks at a corner of the room where a few girls give her mean looks. Whodathunk.

In this class I don't concentrate much, I can easily cast [Discharge] so the professor leaves me alone. I can't concentrate because I keep reminiscing of the feelings of the girls.

At the break, Lina eats her large piece of not-strawberry cake absentmindedly while the discussion revolves around a very smug looking Gify. Today she was supposed to train with Hana but we let her skip it.

"How did you get him to follow you?" Lyle asks.

"He appeared on my backyard when I learned [Nature Magic]. After that I kept giving him food until he decided to touch me," I respond.

"That's surprising," Hatara says wide eyed.

"Why?"

"A lot of them are quite whimsical, I read it being compared to a commoner trying to swoon a noblewoman."

"Maybe our personalities are compatible," I shrug.

"Maybe there's something special about you," Hatara says, she narrows her eyes and smiles slightly.

Alissa looks at me with a very smug "I told you so" expression. Garanae's jealousy explodes and he gives me a stink eye.

I don't want anymore attention so I return the conversation to stories about other nature spirits.

I'm still moved by the exchange this morning so tonight I show my women the meaning of my feelings.

Fortunately, Gify is only mirroring my preferences in not wanting to be touched by men. If he really was a "male" then I would have to force him to go away when it was time for skinship, no man shall ever lay his eyes upon the heavenly naked bodies of my women. He cuddles with Aoi when we begin our session.

Today is the 9th.

-

My [Enhanced Semen Recharge] increased by 1 (now 0+5), my hips are sore and I have to cast [Heal] on myself -. I also gained [Water Magic] with 1 point in it.

Roxanne gained [Redirect Mana] with 1 point. I can increase it for her up until level 3, the same as mine.

This morning I spend my time training [Conjuring Magic]. [Torrent] could also be used to conjure water but it comes with such a force it causes blunt trauma, it's not the best choice to use it to clean your private parts.

Gify appears whenever he pleases, the house was filled with the sounds of him popping everywhere as he explored every room. It seems he created a "connection" to me somehow, I can wish for him and he appears on my head, to the dismay of Alissa, Ciel, and Lina.

Blessing class was the same as always, calming as everyone lowly chants their spells and the professor walks by us, correcting our singing whenever she finds a mistake. I noticed that Hatara has been singing with more motivation, her voice is quite lovely, too.

At the break she goes to wherever Garanae is so it's only me, Alissa, and Lina.

"Excited for our expedition?" Alissa asks Lina.

"A bit..." She shrinks her posture.

"Is that all?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, okay, I'm very happy," she smiles shyly.

"The books at the dungeoneering guild tell of a lost language of the dragonoids. It's interesting that it does not exist on the skill system," I say.

Other races like goblins and orcs also have their own language but nobody is interested in learning it.

"Yes, it's because our knowledge of it is incomplete. There's no one alive anymore who can speak it so the skill disappeared from the system," Lina says.

"Couldn't it become a new skill then?" I ask.

"You would need a lot of people speaking it fluently for it to become a skill."

"Hm... But the skills that I created are different, I can give them to any of you ever since I created them and I'm the only one in the world who has [Sense Soul]."

"Perhaps language skills are different?" Alissa asks.

"Or perhaps no one wants to waste skill points on an incomplete or dead language," Lina says.

"Or is there not enough knowledge for it to turn into a skill?" I ask.

"Why not all of them?" Lina asks.

Our speculation gets stuck on this point.

Today is the 10th.

-

I increased my [Blessing Magic] by 1 (now 4+16), my MP by 10 (now 770) and my "Magic Power" by 5 (now 290). I finally gained [Conjuring Magic] with 1 point.

For breakfast, a gloomy-looking Roxanne comes out alongside an annoyed Hana.

"Overworking again?" Ciel asks.

"Yes…" Hana answers and sends a glare to Roxanne, "she doesn't overwork when we are sleeping with Wolfy."

"Oh please, Hana, I'm working to help us, at least I'm not getting fat from meditating all day and only riding dick as an exercise," she spews her mind.

The table turns silent and I bite my lips to contain a smile. Hana's expression slowly turns into one of pain.

"I'm not getting fat!" Hana cries.

"Roxanne!" Ciel chastises.

Lina frowns and looks down. Alissa massages her eyes.

"Roxanne... You should always have a good night's sleep, it's making you too irritable," I say.

Roxanne opens her mouth to speak.

"We understand you want to help," Ciel interrupts, "But you don't need to go so hard on it. You also didn't need to hurt Hana."

Roxanne looks up to Hana and frowns.

"I'm sorry..." She mutters.

"Just come to bed earlier, ok? I don't like sleeping alone," Hana says in a soft voice.

"Okay…"

"And I am not getting fat."

"You are not getting fat…"

This morning I spend casting random spells to increase my mana. Even with [Increase Growth] I believe I haven't been making much progress, everything has been slowing down.

At [Reduced Mana Cost] class our group has a small discussion while practicing spells. It seems me, Tooru, and Bombur where the first to acquire the skill, probably because of our mindset is more developed than that of the teenagers.

At the break, I approach Bombur.

"Hello, Mr. Bombur. Would you like to join us at the buffet?" I ask.

"Gimbo is fine. But sure," he responds in a tired tone.

I awkwardly lead him to our usual seats.

"Everyone, this is Gimbo Bombur. He's teaching Lina enchanting."

Everyone gives him a respectful bow and introduce themselves. Garanae seems very happy to meet another noble.

Just as we finish Gify decides to pop on my shoulder.

"Hoh! So you have a new follower then," Toroo says, she gets up and gets closer to Gify, her big eyes examine every inch of him.

"Gih-gih!"

"My, thank you, it makes me very happy to hear this," her cheeks swell with a smile.

"What did he say?" I ask.

"Something about the most beautiful bird he has ever seen," she chuckles with her hand over her mouth.

You... She's married, stop with it.

"Anyway," I try to gloss over as Toroo retakes her seat, "How did you acquire the skill, Gimbo? What angle did you take?"

He was stunned at Gify's sudden appearance but quickly recollects himself.

"Spells are very similar to runes, they follow a 'pattern'. I spent time learning these patterns and recognized a few redundant ones, fortunately this redundancy applied to all spells so I managed to earn 1 point in [Reduced Mana Cost]."

Lina's Trivia: Dwarves created [Runic Enchanting], which are tattoos painted on their bodies that activate spells when mana is sent. The late Aremut kingdom created [Runic Warding], which is similar to enchanting but made on consumable paper. The painting requires crushed mana crystals attuned to a spell or magic school.

"Hoh. Yet another different angle to magic."

The group starts to discuss his angle but Gimbo quickly fades out of the discussion.

"How is Lina doing on her training?" Alissa asks Gimbo.

"She is wonderful, a natural. You should keep her coming every day, you must not let her disrupt her own learning," he gives Alissa a sharp gaze, "Enchanting is no simple skill, it will take a lot of dedication for her to learn it. Doubly so since we do not have a lot of time."

Gimbo is a man of few words, Alissa quickly learns he does not have much else to talk about Lina so he returns to merely observing our discussions.

Back at home, Roxanne is a bit fidgety and Hana is quieter than usual. Each one sits at one of my sides during the bath. Ciel is across me while I massage her feet.

"You two didn't make up yet?" I ask.

They look away from each other. -.

"Is something bothering you? You know you could just ask what you want," Alissa says.

Roxanne pouts a bit harder. I roll my eyes and grab one of Roxanne's feet.

"Yah! Geh...!"

She tries to run but ends up swallowing water.

I shove Roxanne's foot up Hana's mouth. She glares at me but - does the deed. Roxanne shudders and then closes her eyes when Hana starts to massage her.

I sneak away and continue my session with Ciel.

"Help me out, Lina?" I ask and offer Ciel's free foot.

She hesitates a little but then shyly starts to imitate me.

By the Gods, I wanna see Lina and Ciel - together. If only Alissa were bisexual too...

-

Aoi receives a wave of bath water on her face and wakes up.

"Gueh..! Wha? Oh..." She quickly swims to the edge and jumps out. Ciel grabs a towel and helps Aoi dry up.

-

"Dry below your scales," Alissa says.

"Muuuh," Aoi groans.

Aoi slips out of Ciel's grasp and darts to the door. Alissa is just out of reach, her hand brushes Aoi's wing. I smile at the familiar scene and try block her with my body but she rolls to the side and slips through with a jump.

Lina shows her combat reflexes by grabbing Aoi mid-jump, mana courses through her body and the battering ram is held firm.

"Nooo…" Aoi cries.

"I'll dry her," Lina says.

-. Lina jumps in place and loosens her grip. Aoi takes the chance and jumps out of her grasp again and runs downstairs.

"Or not..." She mutters and her face reddens.

Alissa and Ciel put their - clothes on and hurry out of the bath -.

"Got you!" Alissa pulls up her prey by the neck, her eyes remind me of the hunting gaze of Hana.

"Muuh!"

"Ow! Don't harden your scales!" Alissa grits her teeth but don't release the little blue weasel.

"Aoi! That's enough! We are doing this for you," I chastise her. I grab her little snout and force her to look at me, this way [Animal Language] will make sure she fully understands my meaning.

Her claws retract and her wings flop down. She averts her eyes and looks away.

"So, y," she forces out an apology.

Lina receives Aoi and Alissa rubs her hand, a large cut on the palm bleeding slightly. Ciel grabs her hand and heals her.

"Thank you," Alissa smiles to Ciel.

Ciel turns around, gushing. I smirk at her and she immediately controls her expression.

Lina dries up Aoi and I give her a head pat. Her scales now dry tinkle loudly when my hand runs through her spine. Her mood lifts and she huffs a bit of smoke.

"See? Your scales ring more when dry, can't let them get moldy or filled with grime," Lina says.

"Kaay."

-

Today is the 11th.

-

I breathe down Alissa's neck and see her hair rise.

"I love you," I whisper on her ear, making her shiver.

I increased [Reduced Mana Cost] by 1 (now 6+3), my MP by 10 (now 780), my "Magic Power" by 5 (now 295).

We leave by dinghy through the eastern gate and move towards the end of The Smirk. Lyle and his friends each have a different way of traveling so we decided to meet at the entrance of the Sea of Trees, with this we can all leave at our own pace.

We reach our destination just before lunch. The Sea of Trees to our right disappears and after a stretch of tree stumps a normal forest starts. The farms to our left end abruptly as the cliff of The Smirk appears, after that the terrain slowly decreases in a ramp, soon the Sea of Trees of The Smirk starts.

On the edge of the cliff a small watchtower with a few guards keep whatever appears out of the Sea of Trees away from the farms, but beyond that and until we reach fort Reita we would be on our own. Very far on the distance we can see a crack in the blue-gray mountain range, that's where the fort Reita resides.

As we approach, the guards nod to us, this is a popular spot for adventurers to pass by. We sit off the road near the watchtower and have our lunch, mushroom and pepper soup with bread and a thick slab of minotaur thighs. A group of adventurers passes us by and enters the Sea of Trees, they stare at our food like hungry wolves.

Roxane and Hana are extra cuddly towards each other, last night savage sex reigniting their passion. The few male guards get very interested in them and this time even I can't fault them as even I am getting jealous.

Ciel hugs me from behind and two balloons filled with love and happiness are crushed behind my back.

"You know, what I felt from you that Gify shared with me was that you were really containing yourself. You don't really have to be so reserved, sending me more love will only make me fall in love with you even harder," I say.

She hugs me harder and I feel her cheeks get warmer.

"I just... I feel a bit scared sometimes..." She whispers.

"Scared of what?"

"Of... Screwing up and pushing you away."

I'm not sure how to help her on this part, I'm much more determined and casualist.

"I think that sometimes I exaggerate on the way I drown in pleasures…"

"Yeah you do," she quips.

I feel no shame, I only smile at her frankness.

"But perhaps you are the contrary, you reserve yourself too much from pleasure."

"Hm…"

She goes quiet after that and hugs me harder.

Just as our filled stomachs make us feel groggy I see a conspicuous covered wagon and carriage duo coming towards us. The driver of the wagon is visibly armed and armored, not a common sight unless it's part of a caravan, but then there would be guards surrounding it. The carriage is simple but the materials that make it are visibly strong.

The duo stops in front of us. Out of the wagon comes out Lyle, his disheveled hair as disheveled as ever. Behind him comes a tall and lanky green-eyed ginger boy, his well-groomed, wavy hair makes me jealous. At his side there's what seems to be his twin sister with equally glorious auburn wavy hair. Behind them come two nondescript human space mage servants.

Out of the carriage comes out a well dressed, tall, delicate, and older looking boy. He has long dark hair tied in a loose bun and dark eyes. His clothes are similar to the others but he shows a bit more wealth in them with an embroidered jacket, he could be richer than Lyle. He is followed by a matching well dressed knight in well maintained plate-and-mail. I was not expecting this knight, he's a last minute addition.

"Hello, Wolf."

"Hello, Lyle."

We share a handshake. For the first time I see Lyle with casual clothes, they are really casual, though, he's not ready for combat. He and the twins still show some wealth in their clothes and they fit them perfectly, they are paradoxically well-dressed in casual travel gear. A nice, comfortably looking black fur cloak, a thick brown leather jacket, possibly enchanted like ours, a white shirt, tough looking black pants and some good brown boots.

"This is Delwyn Griffiths and his twin sister Gwinevere. They came from the Maplethorne Dominion."

Maplethorne is in English, could they have maple syrup there!? It's been quite a while, now I want some waffles, cream, and blueberries. How far are they? I really have to tell Lina to find me a proper map of the continent. Wait, now's not the time.

"This is Ankara Gartania and his knight Sir Tankar."

He points to the stoic black-haired boy. Even though the knight's sallet is raised I can barely see his face, I can only see a black beard and small eyes.

"I'm Wolf Ryder and this is Helios, my fellowship."

I introduce each of the girls. Lyle seems quite content in meeting the rest of them and gives them a respectful bow. The twins look at each other and then at Lyle in surprise. Ankara seems uninterested.

"You are the Wolf Ryder?" Asks Delwyn.

"Well, I think there's only one person with this name here, so yes?" I answer.

"Who?" Ankara seems to finally focus on us.

"How do you not…" Delwyn loses his train of thought.

"Know who he is?" Gwinevere continues where Delwyn left, "The one who got the Symbol of Hate, participated in the extermination of the goblin village, famous for being a summoner who can invoke elementals, position 3 on the last wyvern attack."

Ciel holds back a snort. Hana and Roxanne's face twitch from holding back a smile. Alissa and Lina beam with pride. I feel my ears burn, it's embarrassing having your "accomplishments" being listed this way.

Only when position 3 was mentioned that Ankara decides to take a good look at me. He raises an eyebrow and look at the girls at my side. Gify takes this moment to pop on my shoulder, surprising our employers. Gwinevere seems to turn from happy to overly excited in an instant.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lyle talked so much about you…" Gwinevere grabs my hand.

"Gwin...!" Lyle whispers in embarrassment.

"You are a rising star in Rabanara, your fellowship is becoming quite famous, you even have a little dragon!" She shakes my hand vigorously, her gaze passes from me, to a concerned Aoi, to a smug Gify, and finally to Roxanne, "Especially certain aspects of it."

She forgets to release my hand while she stares at Roxanne like someone admires a painting.

[Battlefield Perception] triggers, two of the girls are getting ready to kill me and another wants to hurt Gwinevere. Roxanne sweats cold, unused to this kind of attention.

"Stop wasting time and let us move," Ankara says and moves off towards the Sea of Trees.

Gwinevere snaps back to reality and straightens up, releasing my hand. Delwyn rolls his eyes and drags her away.

The wagon and the carriage turn around and leave. The space mages give us a respectful nod and follow Lyle, they seem to be holding back a smile, they know all about the personalities of their masters.

I shouldn't be surprised Lyle's friends are eccentrics as well. Me, Gify, and the girls all share a silent look, I should have asked who was coming with Lyle. But right now I gotta take the lead, Ankara is going in the front like a fool.

"Alissa, begin scouting, I will have Holly follow you quietly and give you a Shad. The other Shad will remain with Roxanne and the last with me," I quietly tell her.

She nods and changes into a fox, running ahead of everyone. Unfortunately I can't let Alissa rest, Lyle and the others do not know I can use Holly for scouting. Staying away from Alissa dampens my mood, I'm grateful for the effects of her blessing but these mood swings are stressful.

We hurry up ahead of Ankara.

"Excuse me, follow us, please."

"You know the way?" Ankara asks.

"Yes...? My task is to escort you all, I'm supposed to guide you."

"Fine…"

I do not know what is more worrisome, the 3 eccentrics or the unreadable youth and his silent knight.

Lyle quickly starts a discussion about the language of the dragonoids and disputed translations. I look at Lina and she gives me a quick puppy-eyed glance.

"Remember, stop hiding," I say.

"Hm... C-can I join them?" She whispers.

"Yes, make sure they don't speak too loudly."

She nearly claps in happiness like Roxanne does and slows down until she's walking besides Lyle. The twins look at her oddly, her status as a slave is very obvious so they feel awkward to talk normally to one. Lyle's indifference sets the tone, so the twins shrug and continue their discussion.

As the grass gets substituted by the moss, entangled roots, and small bushes, the forest quickly turns dark so we all cast our own [Spirit Lights].

Barely 30 minutes later and Alissa already comes back to us with a dead Rabid Rabbit on her fox mouth. I quickly store it.

"Holly pointed him out to me before it even got in range of my senses," she whispers, gushing with happiness and then runs off in front again.

The journey is uneventful, everyone is using a proper anti"scent so no monsters can detect us easily. The Smirk is also rather safe during the day, it's the night that the more dangerous types of monsters come out to hunt. Also there was a purge just yesterday, the worse roaming monsters are all dead.

Lina's enchantment shows its usefulness, [Breeze] consumes an insignificant amount of mana and completely prevents us from sweating. Feels like I'm wearing nothing at all while a small breeze tickles my entire body.

We reach the northern part of the valley deep inside The Smirk by 6PM. Blue"grey rock with yellowish cracks make up the wall in front of us. A large crack on the wall is our entrance.

"Wolfy, they look rather tired," Ciel whispers.

Ankara and Delwyn look sullen, they walk hunched over and slightly out of breath.

"Oops," I whisper back.

I almost fail to contain a smile. I look at Tankar, I can't tell his expression but he's not very happy. I would have cast [Swift Foot] on them but the awkward introductions made me feel petty. I'm actually surprised Lyle and Gwinevere are fine, they are looking excitedly at the entrance. No word on the space mages, they are professionals.

"Let's take a rest at the entrance. We will walk some more and camp inside," I say.

Tankar immediately pulls out a small cushioned stool for Ankara to fall on top of.

"Whaat... Damnit Lyle, you didn't tell us how far we would have to walk," Delwyn complains.

"Oh yes, I didn't expect you to have such girly feet they can't deal with a stroll on a little grove," he responds.

"You shut your gay mouth, you spent a whole day-cycle telling me how fun it would be and how much we could unearth. Did you ever think about why scholars don't come here? Because it's too far!" Delwyn gestures with his closed fist as he talks, "Scholars aren't made for traveling and you know I'm a scholar too!"

I have to contain my expression, professionalism tells me I shouldn't acknowledge such bickering between nobles.

"If I didn't rope you in like this you would never grab your pompous sorry little ass out of that library. Don't you have any excitement out of learning something new? This dungeon isn't even fully explored yet! We could be discovering new history just by reaching a new place. Don't any of you feel excitement over this?" He looks around, a wild smile on his face.

Even I admit adventuring is nice, I want to explore the world. Even though I don't like killing monsters or the gore I won't change my way of life, I'm not so naive to think that I can live in this world without killing. Besides, I have to keep increasing my level, whatever the God that threw me here has planned for me won't be fulfilled if I remain passive and weak.

"I... I think this is exciting," Lina says, shyly.

"You don't count, you are an adventurer!" Delwyn shakes his fist at her.

Lina drops her shoulders in dejection.

"Come now, my frail and younger little brother, adventure and discovery awaits," Gwinevere taps him on the back and pushes him forward.

"You are only older by a second!"

"Yet I am still older," she chuckles and moves after him.

Lyle watches them go inside and then turns to Ankara.

"How are you doing? Regretting coming?"

"I am fine..." He smiles bitterly, first real expression he shows, "I am the one who had the original idea, you do not have to worry about me."

"But I'm the organizer, you should come to me for any trouble," Lyle looks at him with concern.

Alissa is waiting for us inside. I go check on her to make sure the twins aren't causing trouble.

"Wait, where're the ruins?" Delwyn asks.

"You dunce, there's a long way inside this cave until we reach the entrance to the dungeon," Gwinevere responds.

Delwyn groans. Alissa is looking like a statue while the twins examine the cave wall besides her. As I approach her Ankara comes inside.

"Mr. Ryder, why don't we camp outside already?" He asks, a little annoyed.

"You like arthropods?" I ask.

"What...?"

"Spiders, centipedes, beetles."

"They are fine...?" He narrows his eyes.

"What about giant ones?"

He shows only a hint of disgust. Gwinevere on the other hand shows pure panic and grabs Ankara's arm.

"I don't care what you feel like Anky, we are not sleeping outside."

"F-fine..." He pushes her away.

We take a 10 minutes break, once I see Delwyn and Ankara's faces relax I tell them to move. Delwyn groans as he rises and Ankara frowns deeply.

This cave is a crack on the mountain, the ground is very broken and difficult to walk. I'm tempted on taking out our mountaineering equipment because our little charges are very bad at balancing themselves.

Lina's Trivia: This cave was created by an earthquake, such earthquakes are common occurrence when an underground mana storm happens. Mana storms are the most destructive natural event possible, the immense amount of mana circulating literally rips people apart.

"Maybe we should have Hana carry someone," Ciel whispers.

"The privilege of being carried by Hana is reserved for only us," I whisper back.

"You... What...?"

"You should try it sometime, I feel so safe and fragile at the same time when Hana carries me."

"You are irredeemable."

"But you like me this way."

She doesn't answer and moves forward. I hurry in front of her and catch a glimpse of her smile.

"Maybe you would like to carry me instead."

"Fine, I will do it in front of Lyle and the others," she turns to me and glares.

Are we playing chicken now?

"I would like that, go on, show them I'm your man, show them who rides on top of who."

You have chosen the wrong opponent.

Ciel stares at me and I stare back, smugly. Slowly her cheeks redden and she finally averts her eyes. She tries to leave but I grab her arm.

"Remember, you are mine," I whisper in her ear.

She shivers and I release her arm.

"Hey, those are my vows, not hers," Alissa joins, she heard everything with her enhanced hearing.

"Yes, but she can be mine too. "

Alissa purses her lips in thought. She comes closer and whisper in my ear.

"She can be yours but you are only mine."

Now I'm the one shivering, in happiness.

Alissa continues forward, her orange tail swaying widely.

A few Skritters are casually dispatched by the girls, Aoi on the other hand is taking it very seriously.

"You are doing a very good job," Hana says and pats Aoi, who is on her shoulder.

"Kweh! Rit... Boom...!"

Aoi's fireball is improving, she's copying Roxanne's own [Fireball]. Roxanne has enough control over [Fire Magic] that she can make her [Fireball] explode or burn. This is something that I don't have, I can't mold my spells to take different effects, at least not yet.

Lyle jumps over a small crack on the ground and stumbles forward.

"Your little dragon is impressive, Miss Hana," he says after regaining balance.

"That she is."

Aoi rubs her head on Hana's cheeks affectionately, the scales of both of them clink as they touch each other.

"My heart…" Gwinevere mutters.

"Keep moving, we are almost there," Ciel says, breaking the trance of our little slowpokes, even Ankara was staring.

A few minutes later the crack that we are moving through opens into a tall rectangular tunnel, the ground suddenly turns level, and imposing double doors blocks our path. The doors are made of amber, it feels like it waves as our [Spirit Lights] approach. I see multiple carvings of snakes and curiously there's two ouroboros on each side of the door, each ouroboros has 8 snakes, each snake is made of a different material.

"Moonstone, onyx, aquamarine, ruby, emerald, amethyst, gold and silver. Each represents a magic power of the dragonoids," Lyle says.

He walks up to the double doors and touches the ouroboros, he barely reaches it, it's too tall and Lyle is only slightly taller than me. He sighs and stops admiring it.

"Dragonoids are known to be tall," he smiles painfully.

Ankara moves besides him, as he's taller he can observe the ouroboros better.

"We can rest on the other side," I say.

Immediately both stop their observation and push the doors, they slide open with ease.

"I assume this dungeon is a mana solidification, right? Otherwise these gems would have been stolen a long time ago," Gwinevere asks.

"Yes, it's also why scholars aren't eager to come, there's nothing to salvage here, unlike real tombs. So it's quite possible this dungeon is only a sliver of the dying consciousness of the supposed dragonoid race," Lina answers.

As the doors open we are greeted with a huge hall, so big our light doesn't reach the end or the ceiling. There's not even a pillar in sight.

"Certainly resembles the main hall of Hombombein, if it were completely devoid of life, that is," Lina says.

"I heard the capital has a hall like this inside the castle. It's a marketplace where only certain stalls are allowed, like perfumes, spices, and gems," Hana says.

"Certainly fits that nobility would enjoy grandiose architecture," Alissa says.

We all enter the hall and slowly the double doors silently close.

"Let's just make camp here, no point in going any further," I say.

The space mages immediately pull out tents and a cooking set. In a minute there's a pot of water boiling and a slab of Great Boar being roasted in a flame-less magic tool fire pit.

Space mages can be hired from multiple mercenary guilds, they come in all flavors, fighters, mages, cooks, maids, butlers, prostitutes, bards, dancers, and many others. These are two simple looking men who have a very quiet demeanor, popular among nobility.

I dismiss the Shads, they won't be useful here. Nononya's notes talked about chanting so I fake a short summoning chant and invoke a fire and an earth elemental. To summon elementals the chant has to be adapted to the element it represents. [Fire Magic] chanting has a very aggressive tone with a few screams, put some metal song behind it and it won't be out of place. [Earth Magic] reminds me of opera, you have to hold the notes for a few seconds and add tremolo to the voice, making it a bit annoying to chant.

While the earth elemental draws raised eyebrows the fire elemental draws the stares of the men and boys. Hana was always wearing armor so none of our escortees knows what's below, the elemental is basically wearing nothing, showing the full glory of her sculpted body.

"I ordered the elemental to singe whoever stares for too long," I announce.

A chuckle and a slowly increasing flame floating in front of the elemental wards off the stares.

I pull out our tent and the bath partition, with the elementals and a hidden Holly, nothing should approach us. Delwyn knows water and fire magic so he prepares the bath for the others, the knight and the space mages have to take a towel bath, though.

-

After the bath, I see Gwinevere, Delwyn, and Ankara are avoiding looking us in the eye. Lyle on the other hand has mastered the art of not giving a shit.

"Wolf, come eat with us, these space mages have enough food to last us quite some time," Lyle says.

"You sure? I brought my own."

"Yes, I am sure, now sit," he motions us to a wooden bench.

I have a cushioned one but I have to contain myself, can't show the furniture shop I have inside my "Items".

"I'm a better cook," Alissa whispers to the girls with pride, she's glaring at the oblivious space mage cook.

"I know it," I rub her ears with a smile on my face, her tail sways at a mere compliment.

Seriously, that mage is over seasoning the meat. Seasoning is an art form and you have to take extreme care to reach the point of perfection.

The diet of wild animals changes how the meat tastes, this change is said to be how "gamey" the meat taste. It's interesting how in this world the meat from hunted animals doesn't have a strong gamey taste, from what I have seen they use [Purify Body] on the corpse and it reduces the gamey taste a significant amount. Also, most of the more commonly hunted monsters don't live enough to acquire this strong taste so they taste much better than most wild animals.

The meat is accompanied by a hearty soup, something similar to arracacha gives it a distinct taste and a thick consistency. It's a nice soup but we can do better. It's an annoying situation that I can't really show how much food we brought, no adventurer brings such a large amount or variety of ingredients like we do, most simply use [Conjure Bland Meal] and eat whatever they hunt while on an expedition. Lyle bringing simple soups and meat is already a display of wealth.

Roxanne brings out Ted and Suzy, she starts humming a waltz and the golems start dancing. I don't understand the lyrics, it's on her native tongue.

"What are those things?" Delwyn asks.

"Golems, it's part of my research, I'm researching [Golemancy]," I answer.

"Impressive, they have such natural movements."

"They have actual souls, but they are closer to elementals than real people."

Ankara leaves his seat and hurriedly circles the table towards us. He stops near Roxanne and leans over, he studies Ted and Suzy with a perplexed look.

"How much gold do you want for either of them?" He says, still staring at the golems.

"Not for sale," Roxanne replies immediately.

"One rose coin."

"No."

"Two rose coins."

"Mr. Gartania, we are not selling these golems," I interject.

Ankara's eyes turns to me, his gaze seems to measure my resolve. He finally turns silently and goes into his tent, Tankar follows.

"Just what's with him, he's always so... cold," I say.

"I'm sorry, Wolf, Anky is not a bad person, he has some... Issues and he acts a bit odd once in a while," Lyle says, smiling apologetically.

A bit.

The twins shrug.

We just talk for a little longer and retire to our tents. We huddle up and I start to polish Hana's scales. We have a small, circular whetstone that I use to sharpen the edge of the scales. Hana absolutely loves it and slowly her warm eyes turn hungry.

"So, what do you gals think about our employers?" I ask.

"That girl ain't right," Roxanne says while shaking her head.

"I know, right. I feel she's dangerous," Hana says.

"I think Gartania is trouble," Ciel says.

"I agree with Ciel," Alissa says and frowns, "He's too... Different, you don't know what to expect out of him."

"I like the twins, I don't like Gartania," Lina says.

She huddles up near me and wraps both her arms around my waist.

"Lina should be in charge of keeping an eye on the twins then," Alissa says.

"Since I'm likely to stay back I'll try to keep an eye on the one with the crazy eyes," Roxanne says.

"I will keep an eye on Gartania," Ciel says.

"What is his problem? Does he have a Plom up his ass or something?" Hana says.

"His sudden interest on Ted and Suzy was incredibly weird," Ciel says, she hugs Ted and he disappears -.

Suzy tries to pull Ted away from the death -, they seem to think they require to breathe to live.

"It is an interesting magic school that was basically abandoned a long time ago but what would he want to do with them?" I question rhetorically.

Ciel suffocates Suzy too, misunderstanding her pleading for a need for affection.

"Seeing how he casually displays his wealth I thought he would try to buy Aoi instead," I say.

"Keh!" Aoi coughs in disgust.

She tackles me and tries to lick my mouth. She's 100 years too early for this, countless years avoiding french-kissing my lick-happy dogs gave me perfect evasion. All she accomplishes is to lick my chin because I allow it.

Hana waves her fingers towards Aoi, who switches targets and tackles Hana. Aoi is not that enthused about licking her, perhaps because I deny her she feels like I'm a challenge.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we find bandits waiting for us when we leave this place," Hana says.

I cringe at this thought.

"The Gartania family are Lords of Fort Erda, his face could be known, he was being careless in coming in a carriage," Alissa says.

"Or he's overconfident," Ciel says.

"I would bet on careless. He's fixated with something else, he's too distracted."

- Ciel drops both golems, they pat their own bodies, checking for damage.

-

Ciel stares, burning with jealousy, but tonight I will neglect her, I want her to take the initiative. Just to tease her further I sleep while hugging her -.

"Irredeemable…"