"Hey!" Drake exclaims when my wind blast strikes him, knocking him over as he attempted to pull on his pants.

"Hello," I respond, and he narrows his gaze at me. "Sorry, couldn't resist. Since we did all of the CP runs for the Dungeon yesterday and are taking the morning off, I figured I could manage the headache from a single wind blast."

"So you hit me with it?" He asks.

"Well," I say. "It's a brief, focused blast of wind. You're the least-fragile thing I could think of to hit with it that's in here."

He thinks on that for a few moments, then nods, accepting my explanation. While the headache is still bothersome right now since I'm new to this, the time it will take from now until we eat will be enough for me to be fine. Were I to cast a second or go to my limit and cast a third wind burst, however, I'd probably not be able to eat for almost an hour.

Honestly, I could probably get away with casting one every morning when I wake up. The headache takes about forty minutes to fade for just the one, and it takes around fifty minutes to recover the mana for it. The risk of the headache interfering with something is the same as when I cast it before bed.

Which I also use on Drake. He was probably just mildly annoyed that I cast it on him while he was unbalanced. If he's lying down or balanced, he's perfectly fine taking the hit. I'm not anywhere near powerful enough to hurt him or knock him over without the lack of balance.

Well, maybe if he was sitting in a chair, like the dockmaster was when I hit him with one.

I finish getting dressed as Drake does as well, then I pull on my cloak and pull up the hood, concealing my face once more.

"Let's go," I say.

Drake and I make our way downstairs to the dining area, where Shadow Fang is sitting at the bar, alone. Tonight's going to be his last night before his stay is up, and according to the conversation he had with us during dinner last night, he's still undecided.

"Good morning, Shadow Fang," I say as I sit to his left, Drake taking the seat to mine.

"Good morning," he greets us, then looks toward the door to the kitchen and hollers. "TWO MORE DOWN!"

His tail flicks a little, then he sighs.

"Decided to leave?" I ask.

"Maybe," he answers. "Probably. I'll decide for sure after I wake up tomorrow. For now, though, I'm just hungry. Are you still hoping for a ship out of here before you leave?"

"We'll be leaving with a ship," I tell him. "That's a guarantee."

He just shrugs, then takes a drink from the stein in front of him. Looks like he's drinking some ale, and it's probably not the usual light stuff that you can't get drunk off of easily. It's the actual stuff people drink for the alcohol.

Anyone looking forward to doing something like going on a massive trip and meeting an Elemental Guardian would be depressed over having to put it off for longer, especially when there's no guarantee it will happen anytime soon. He's already spent a few weeks having to deal with knowing that he probably won't be able to leave for his trip now, and now he's dealing with possibly going back home.

"Just curious," I say. "But why are you looking forward to meeting the Water Guardian? You mentioned the other day that you'd always wanted to meet her. Because of who she is and who she's married to?"

"No," he says. "I mean, that would be nice, but no. My desire was always to meet the Water Guardian itself. I've heard legends that much like the Wind Guardian, they can command the element they're aligned with."

"Ah, so you want to meet the Water Guardian, and probably stay on the Sacred Isles?" I ask.

"I'm not sure about staying there," he admits. "But I do at least want to visit them and hope to meet her. Maybe I'll stay there after, I don't know. I'm planning on being there for a bit, though. I don't want to spend all the money and time needed to get there, then leave after just a few days or something. To be honest, I'm hoping for guidance on the trip."

"Guidance?" I ask. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what to do with my life," he admits as someone comes out of the back with three plates piled with food, serving them to us and accepting our payment before fetching Drake and me some drinks. "I mean, I know what I really want to do, but that's unlikely."

"What do you really what to do?" I ask as the server delivers Drake and me glasses of milk.

Shadow Fang's face turns bright red, and his tail quickly tucks under the stool. What he really wants to do embarrasses him? Or just makes him uncomfortable to actually voice?

Since he doesn't seem interested in answering that question, I dig into my food. The headache's still around, but with just one spell cast, it only takes around ten minutes or so before I'm able to eat without getting sick. If I don't take advantage of being able to eat, half my food will end up in Drake's stomach before I get to eat.

We're halfway through our plates of food when Shadow Fang coughs a little, in the way that says he's trying to get my attention.

"Yes?" I look at him.

"To answer your question," he says. "What I'd like to do is just find a nice, cute guy and settle down with him. I'm honestly a little on the lazy side. Take care of the house. Maybe have a rabbit farm."

"Rabbit sounds delicious," Drake mutters, and I try not to snort.

"Doesn't have to be rich," Shadow Fang snorts as he continues. "Just nice and cute. I wouldn't care if he was an adventurer, either. I'd fix up his clothes, make his potions and salves and stuff, and all that. I don't like putting myself in danger, though."

"You're an alchemist?" I ask.

"Yeah," he answers. "Maybe I'll sell stuff? But I mostly just want to be the stay-at-home husband who cares for his man or men."

"Or men?" Drake looks at Shadow Fang.

"The clans," I say. "The humewols and humeoxes, are more polyamorous and polygamous."

"Humeoxes?" Drake asks.

"You know how Shadow Fang has wolf ears and tail?" I ask, and he nods. "Humeoxes have fox ones instead."

"Oh," he says. "So unlike human-humrases, they don't normally stick to just one mate for life? They might have several at once?"

"Usually," I nod. "And long-term, too. Marriage is for life outside of extreme circumstances, and the clans take it just as seriously as we do."

"I see," Drake leans forward and appraises Shadow Fang.

Shadow Fang probably doesn't think much of that, but I know Drake well enough to know that he's appraising his attractiveness towards Shadow Fang. Are dragons monogamous or polygamous? It's hard to tell, but I think he's a one-man type of person, regardless of what his people might be. Even with him appraising Shadow Fang's attractiveness.

"Is something wrong?" Shadow Fang suddenly asks, though his tone is curious, not rude or upset.

"No," Drake answers, then huffs when I smack his hand away from my food.

As usual, he finished his food first, then attempted to take mine the moment I took my gaze fully away from it. Not happening, Drake. Just order more, you have vanri of your own.

"Well," I tell Shadow Fang. "I wish you luck in finding a man or men to be your husbands. That said, Drake and I are traveling around the world. We'll be crossing much of the western continent as well once we arrive.

"If you decide you want to stay longer," I tell him. "And wait for the ship to leave, then we'll be good to hire you on as our alchemist. I can do some already, as I've trained in the healing arts for a few years, but someone who specializes and has more experience in making healing salves, balms, ointments, and so on would be useful. We expect to be leaving soon. If you travel with us, you may just find someone who you'll be happy with. We'll be on the islands for a little while, too."

"Okay," he says. "I'll think about that. I'm not sure a ship will be leaving all that soon, though."

"The dockmaster," a man with a deep voice says from behind us, a guest who showed up in the last couple of minutes. "Is supposedly attempting to convince crews to set sail in about a week. Claims a strange human with reptilian traits traveling with a cloaked man with a deep voice wishes to go, and claims to hold a guarantee for the wind."

The question of if that's Drake and me isn't spoken, but it's heavily implied by his tone of voice.

"If you're interested in applying for that position," I finish off my drink. "Speak with the dockmaster. If you're interested in paying the high fee the crew will require to travel with them, speak with the dockmaster."

I stand, and Drake does the same.

"We'll see you tonight, Shadow Fang," I say.

I start to leave, only for the man to grab my cloak.

"I'm not done talking with you," he says. "What makes you think you can just-"

"Is this a case where it's okay to kill?" Drake asks, his voice full of only curiosity.

"No," I answer. "Self-defense is permitted, though."

Drake steps forward, and in an instant, he's grabbed the wrist of the hand holding my cloak, and there's an audible snap. The man lets out a pained grunt and attempts to pull his hand away, but Drake doesn't let go, resulting in more pain for the main, who hisses through his teeth as he tries not to yelp.

"We are willing to pay a high price for a trustworthy crew of good character," Drake states. "You have proven yourself to not be of good character. If you ever grab him again, you will never use that hand again. Am I clear?"

Drake's tone with the threat is low, almost guttural, and I risk a look at his face. His expression is one of rage, and there's a sort of fire in his eyes that says he's feeling a little ready to kill.

"Y-yes," the man stammers, and Drake releases his hand.

"Keep that in mind," Drake growls.

"I'll have you arrested for this," the man tells Drake as he nurses his wrist. "You can't just go around-"

"You grabbed me as I attempted to leave," I say. "While saying you weren't done talking to me. All I need do is tell the guards what happened, and they'll say 'too bad' to you. And yes, they'll believe me over you. Now, Drake and I have business to attend to. Do not attempt to touch me again, or we will consider it an attempt on my life. What do you think your odds are of surviving against a Tier III bodyguard?"

The way his body shifts, he's looking at Drake, probably realizing that someone as strong as Drake might actually be Tier III. As he does that, I turn and begin walking away, and Drake follows me.

We leave the tavern and make our way down to the market district, to sell our loot from yesterday. Drake is all too happy to get rid of the crab meat he acquired, though I notice he doesn't sell his pearl necklace or the ocean coin he acquired for the extra difficulty in our runs.

The ocean coin actually is a semi-rare piece of loot, I learned, and we could sell them for about eight thousand vanri each. They're blue-green metal coins with the pattern of a ship on one side and an island on the other, words in an ancient tongue raised on each side.

It's not one of the ancient tongues I know, though, so I can't actually translate it. Since I don't know it, I can conclude it's not a major tongue, and the coins are probably only worth something to collectors.

Or dragons, which do love their treasures, based on our myths and what Drake has mentioned to me before. I give him my ocean coin, but I do sell the pearl necklace I acquired. He only kept his probably because he considers it treasure.

After selling our loot from yesterday, we make our way out of town, to do some more training.

"What are your thoughts on harems?" Drake asks as we reach an area near the Crystal Dungeon, but not too close that we'd bother anyone else coming out here.

Is he thinking about Shadow Fang?

"Shadow Fang is a top, like you," I tell him. "And he mentioned he doesn't like the idea of bottoming. Unless you have a hidden desire you haven't revealed to me, I don't think you'd be able to make a harem with him in it."

"I was thinking about you," he tells me.

"Bottoms are a part of a harem, not the ones with a harem."

"Humans are strange," he mutters.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Women don't have harems here?"

"Uh, no."

"Female dragons can have harems just as much as male dragons," he states. "Well, they usually don't because most of the harems are built on a mutual desire for reproduction, and a female can only do so much with a bunch of males while a male could do a lot more with a bunch of females. But when it comes to pleasure-based harems, female dragons are about even with males on that."

He's suddenly decided to explain something. Without prompting. I guess this actually matters to him? Shadow Fang's comment about wanting to find a man or men to love and care for the home and wounds of must have made him think about this. Is he trying to find out if I want a harem, then? Would he prefer to be my only man? Or would he actually be happy with me having a harem, and him not being my only man?

"Are you saying," I say. "That you wouldn't mind me being shared?"

"That is not what I'm saying," he says.

"So you'd mind me being shared with other guys?" I ask.

"No, I wouldn't."

Oof. Drake, you're killing me here. At least I've confirmed that he doesn't have an issue if I end up with a harem. Does he think I was thinking about having one?

"What brought this up, Drake?" I ask.

"Shadow Fang commenting about having one."

Well, there's that confirmation.

"Alright," I say. "And that made you wonder if I wanted one?"

"Yes."

"To be honest," I tell him. "I'd never really thought about it. We humerases are typically monogamous, we marry one person until death, though remarriage after the spouse dies isn't uncommon. Over the last few weeks, I'd been thinking about just you, and if our feelings for each other will continue to grow. If we'll end up marrying after we finish your quest and mine."

"Oh," he actually sounds a little disappointed.

Wait. Was he actually hoping I'd be into having a harem of my own?

"Drake," I say. "That doesn't mean I'm opposed to the idea of one. Actually, I've thought about being in one before."

"Really?"

"After Dancing Claw left Silent Valley," I tell him. "For a few weeks, I thought about what it would be like to be part of someone's harem. I'd never thought about having my own, because that would be abnormal."

"Oh," he thinks for a few moments. "So would you be okay with having a harem? I wouldn't mind being your only man."

Would I be okay with it? As long as everyone gets along and is nice, I'd probably not have an issue. That said, it would still be weird to have several husbands. For me, anyway. It does go against the norm in more ways than one.

I know Drake's thinking about Shadow Fang, too. Now that I think about it, that actually confuses me a little. He seems like he wants me to take on another lover. Shadow Fang isn't unattractive, though, and he does seem nice.

Before I can try to figure out why Drake seems to want Shadow Fang to be my lover as well, an image flashes through my mind. Drake, Shadow Fang, and I are sleeping in a bed, snuggled together. It looks like the bed in my room on Granny's island, and we look a little older than we are now. Our clothes are on the floor, and despite a blanket mostly covering us, it's evident we're naked.

The vision lasts for a few moments, then fades away, just like with the vision of a spring that came to me yesterday. If I'm already starting to awaken some of the other powers in my bloodline, am I having visions of the future? What is that spring?

Was that an actual vision of Drake, Shadow Fang, and me? Or a potential future? It does seems to have come from my power and not just an image I invented with my mind for several reasons, not the least of which is the message that appeared in my vision as soon as the vision faded.

Due to your training, your Magic has increased by +1!

I doubt it's a coincidence.

Looking at Drake, I decide to answer his question.

"Honestly?" I ask. "I think I wouldn't mind having a second guy to love me. Not because you're insufficient, but because there might be stuff we could do that takes three rather than two."

"Like double penetration," he sounds hopeful.

Oh, so that is what this is about.

"Let's get to training," I say.