Rupegia 8 Guts And Glory

My "Endurance" raised by 1 (now 10), my "Willpower" raised by 2 (now 15), my MP raised by a whooping 100 (now 355), my "Magic Power" raised by 10 (200). My [Sword Use] raised by 2 (now 10+4), my [Block] raised by 1 (now 1+7), my [Dodge] raised by 1 (now 1+5), my [Sense Mana] raised by 1 (now 0+3), and my [Mana Control] raised by 1 (now 0+4). I learned [Light Magic] and [Mana Overuse Resistance] with 1 point. The most interesting of all is that I learned [Redirect Mana (creator)] with 1 point, I can't raise that skill.

­

My muscle aches but I hug Alissa tight and bite her twitching ear.

"KYAH!" She lets out the cutest scream I ever heard.

"Oh? What was that?"

"M-master! I told you my ears are sensitive!" She turns around and says to me with an angry face.

"But you didn't hate it right?" I ask and grin.

"N-no… be gentler," she says bashfully.

Ah, it's good to be alive. I ma.s.sage her ears gently and she closes her eyes in happiness.

"No-no good. I should be the one ma.s.saging you!" She opens her eyes.

"Then by all means," I open my arms wide.

She comes closer and kisses me. Then she mounts me and unfortunately it doesn't becomes s.e.xual but she does uses her hands to ma.s.sage my muscles. It feels good, my muscles are all sore and the pressure is nice and stimulating. There's a [Ma.s.sage] skill, so I wonder how good it must make you feel.

While I'm enjoying a good ma.s.sage someone knocks and tells breakfast is ready.

We get dressed and Alissa guides me towards the mess hall. A large room with a dozen wooden tables and benches. A few priests are about, coming and going with trays of food. The priest who started to treat me yesterday comes to me.

"How are you today?" He asks.

"Sore all over but I'm fine. Seems everything got healed already."

"Yes, that's expected, no actually that's a miracle considering the description of your wounds and your battle," he looks at me with a worried face.

Well s.h.i.t. I used [Light Magic] and I healed myself and Roxanne a good deal before coming here, impossible to not notice.

"Well I fainted multiple times, it really was by a thread," I try to make an excuse.

"Certainly seems so, you are a lucky man," he says.

Could I spend a day without hearing something like this? I'm not lucky, now I truly believe so. Even if the universe is conspiring for me to be rewarded I don't consider that "lucky".

"Hahah, that is something I doubt a little."

"Oh yes, I know some would agree with you," he lets out a wry smile. "But now rest at least for a day-cycle. Make sure your body is ready before even training. Internal wounds like yours are difficult to see and will do much damage in the future if you are not careful."

"Thank you for your advice," I bow lightly "There's certainly nothing I want to do more than just rest."

The priest leaves and we go and get some breakfast. After a little while Roxanne appears while being guided by Ciel, she seems unsteady.

"Good morning, Mr. Ryder. I feel like the sunlight has never been so refreshing," Roxanne takes a deep breath and smiles.

"Your positivity is unbreakable," I say.

"That's the only thing keeping me moving. The chance of finally being able to use Moonlight Moss on my potions and grow rich and famous!" She tries to raise her arm in a fist and then makes a pained face.

"Miss Roxanne, please don't do that, your body is extremely weakened now," Ciel reprimands.

"You will have difficulty keeping Miss Roxanne quiet, Grand Ciel," says Alissa.

Grand Ciel? There's that weird honorific again.

"Please, Miss is fine," Ciel says with a bow.

"As you wish."

"Now, Mr. Ryder. You too should be resting, your wound wasn't any less worse than hers."

"Well I lost way less blood because I could heal myself up to a point. So I'm mostly just sore. But don't worry, I will take at least one day-cycle of rest. I have a lot of things I want to do in town, I also would like to talk to you again Miss Ciel."

"Certainly, I would be glad to," Ciel smiles.

"Mr. Ryder, are you leaving today? If so, can you come to my house in a few days? I would also like to talk to you and properly thank you, do you have a pen? I will tell you my address," Roxanne asks.

I pull out a cheap magical fountain pen, it generates ink if you put some mana into it. I ask Alissa to write since my calligraphy with these pens is horrendous and my hand hurts too much.

"Ah, I have the body of the Symbol with me, I will give it to the guild today. I will share the bounty with you," I say.

"Whwell, that's unnecessary I owe you far more," she weakly smiles.

"Say that again and I will pinch you. You are the one who actually finished it, I just gave you the chance. So I will follow our previous agreement, I will negotiate our share and you take 1/3rd of the bounty."

Roxanne sighs.

"If you say so…"

"Then I will meet you again in a few days. Rest well, Roxanne."

"You too, Mr. Ryder and Miss Alissa," says Roxanne on a tired voice.

"Goodbye Mr. Ryder, goodbye Miss Alissa," says Ciel.

We wave and leave.

­

We walk back to the in. I will sleep during the morning and go to the guild during the afternoon. Silas sent word to Alissa when I was sleeping that he would like to talk me as soon as I was able, I can just guess what it is.

When I enter the inn the innkeeper opens his eyes wide and stares for a few seconds. What's that about?

"Mr. Ryder! You are back already?"

"Uh… Yes, I finished my expedition."

"I think he means you were supposed to stay at the temple longer," says Alissa.

"Ah, that? Well, I can heal myself somewhat so it wasn't that bad for me. But no matter that, why do you know I was wounded?"

"You are the talk of the town, Mr. Ryder, you are the man who killed the Symbol of Hate. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the story."

Oh f.u.c.k, the entire town? Already?

"Master is very tired now, let us talk later, he needs rest," Alissa saves me.

"Ah! Yes, certainly, please forgive me," he bows.

You don't need to bow, though.

We enter our comfy little room and I drop on the bed. Alissa lays down next to me and hugs me, my face feels the softness and warmth of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"You don't have to stay all day by my side though, I'm gonna sleep for a while so you should do whatever you want," I say.

"I want to stay here," she claims with confidence.

Then I won't discuss it further. I fall asleep in her arms.

­

I wake up some time later and she's playing with my hair. Her orange eyes stare into mine.

"I don't want you to do that again," she says.

"Do what?"

"To jump… To throw yourself into the enemy like that, to use your body and harm yourself," her eyes show some sadness and pain.

"You know that was our best shot at surviving."

"I know! I just don't want to you to do that again," she says with a weak voice.

"I won't promise I won't do that again… I will promise I will do all I can so we won't be in that situation again. Remember my two rules?" I smile weakly at her.

"'Don't die' and let's never get into a situation where someone needs to die'."

"Good girl." Now my smile grows wide.

Her eyes water and she bites her lips. I kiss her hand. She cries, I cry a little. I have no intention of dying before we grow old together.

We stay like this until my stomach growls.

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We get up and I find the innkeeper again.

"Excuse me, is Miss Selina around?" I ask him.

He opens his eyes wide and averts his eyes. What is going on?

"She… is not here today, she's coming back tomorrow."

Coming back? Suspicious.

"Oh, I see. I will meet her tomorrow then."

I say goodbye and leave.

We go and eat some tasty fried Dragolite again with noodles! Noodles are not as popular so only a few restaurants seems to be serving them, what a shame.

Then I go to the hunters guild.

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We enter and I immediately recognize Targua is drinking with some people. He sees me and mutters something to the people around him. Slowly the gazes of the guild all turn to us. I recognize the trio that we fought the Symbol with, they get up and come to me.

"h.e.l.lo, Mr. Ryder. I don't think we were properly introduced, I'm Gunther from Hauberk," says the shield man.

He's not wearing his mail so I can see his dark hair and buzz cut. He's sporting a stubble today. His body is large and his face is oval, quite the odd combination.

"I'm Minerva," says the mage girl.

She's wearing an average green dress today, it goes well with her hair. She has boyish short hair and an average face and broad nose with a few freckles.

"I'm Lorthar, well met," says the archer.

He's wearing his red feather hat again, his tail is upright and sways about. His clothes are black with white embroidery, his beard is more neatly cut today. His clothing is a bit eccentric.

"Well met. Thank you for your help yesterday, we would all have died if a single person wasn't there."

They nod, except Lorthar, he looks away. I think he was literally useless during the fight, but I can't say that since he carried me and Roxanne for some time.

"Let's meet the guildmaster, everyone is staring at us," I add, then we go towards the nearest attendant.

She leads us towards a meeting room and in a minute Silas appears.

"We meet again, Mr. Ryder. Mr. Sonny is happy with the surprise you prepared for him," Silas says with a wry smile.

"Ugh… I just want a quiet life..." I moan.

"Fate says otherwise."

"Maybe I need to change jobs."

"I don't think that will make a difference," and Silas smiles again. "Now let's talk business. First I would like to hear a retelling of the fight, I heard what happened but I want all the details."

We retell the fight. We all agreed that the most likely reason the Symbol of Hate was there was that it was looking for the White Arachne too. The Symbol likes to hunt and fight and it goes to meet weaker adventurers that dare get too close. It runs from subjugation forces so it's quite cunning and capable of a.n.a.lyzing its enemies. It's a weak monster if compared to other monsters of the same threat level, it's just very cunning and brutal, which makes everyone afraid to deal with it.

Considering how it was maniacally laughing while chasing Hauberk it was just playing around until we faced it head on. Just the thought that we met such s.a.d.i.s.tic being makes me shiver a bit.

"Then we all agree that all that has been said here is completely factual?" Says Silas.

We all nod.

"Then let's discuss the reward. The bounty on Symbol of Hate is 2 rose coins. The body sale price is undetermined as there's no previous record to go by, we will need to bring all the interested parties here and auction the body parts.

Holy s.h.i.t. The other guys are speechless, their eyes go blank.

"We don't really deserve the reward, we barely helped," says Gunther, meekly.

"That's… Dumb. You will get your part too," I say.

It's honestly a good idea we met so soon after the battle. If we wait greed might come upon their heads and they might demand more. I want my deserved share but I don't want them to go away with nothing, they risked their lives for us too.

"How about 10 gold for each of you?" I propose. That leaves us with 110 gold coins, 73 gold coins after Roxanne's share.

Lorthar opens his eyes wide and nods. Gunther and Minerva take some time but nod too.

"What about the body auction?" Silas asks.

"20% goes to them?"

They nod in agreement.

"What about Miss Roxanne?"

"We follow our previous agreement, 1/3rd of all we earn is hers. She did kill it, without her magic we would be dead."

"Do you want the Guild's opinion on this matter?" Asks Silas.

The guild doesn't force the agreements but it acts as the mediator since it's the one paying the hunters. They also prefer that hunters work together and build bonds so in times of need like in town defenses there's less drama. The guild offers their opinion and it's generally a good idea to take it. The way profits are divided are generally public so if you negotiate a bad deal you will get bad reputation among the hunters. The world isn't perfect, unpopular hunters die in "accidents" much more often than the popular ones.

"Yes please," I say.

"It's a fair deal," Silas claims.

We shake hands. Then we go to the dismantling room and I present the body. Alissa collected the arms and head that survived, she had presented the head yesterday as proof of extermination so that's why they all already believe me.

When we enter the room Gordon loses all expression on his face, he swallows hard and nods to me. Why are you serious now? I prefer teasing than silence.

I pull the body out of my "Items" and everyone stares in silence.

The silence is broken by Sonny who comes running and stares wide-eyed after almost breaking the door.

"Mr. Ryder… I'm speechless..." Sonny says.

Even you!

"This is a bit much for a surprise, eh? But I gotta say, you got guts boy," Gordon finally talks.

A 200 years old murder machine that fills the nightmares of the town is finally dead and killed by a random young boy who just a few days ago was suffering while killing goblins by himself. Yeah, I agree, now I have done it.

"Boss, I won't touch this, who knows what's inside. I don't wanna lose my ears hearing the complaints of some old quack who says I did my job wrong.

"Agreed, we will auction it off intact if no one has the knowledge or courage to do it," says Silas, then he turns to me, "Mr. Ryder, would like to keep it with you or would you like to let us store it? For this monster we will store it in a way that it will remain intact until the auction."

"Please store it, I don't wanna touch this anymore."

"Understandable," he nods.

I look behind and a small crowd of attendants and adventurers gathered at the entrance. Well, s.h.i.t.

"Let me say this Mr. Ryder, you are unbelievably lucky," says Sonny.

"Hahah, that's true. What's up with that boy? You got a good luck amulet or something? Grey Berserker, Orc Headhunter and now Symbol of Hate, that's no mere luck you have," says Gordon.

"He's a walking good luck charm."

"The 'good' part is debatable," I say.

"That should be his nickname then, 'Good Luck'," Gordon looks at me and grins.

"No, no no no. I don't accept this," I interject.

"Too late, boy. That's your new name."

I feel something change within me. I open my status and on my name entry it says: "Wolf 'Good Luck' Ryder". Under my "t.i.tles" there's the entry "'Good Luck' nickname".

"Nooo… that's it, I'm going home."

Sonny and Gordon say their goodbyes with a smirk while Silas keeps a neutral expression.

We leave among silent gazes of fear from the spectators. Silas had already procured the bounty reward so we already have our money. Roxanne's share will be stored until she comes to collect it.

I'm already tired again so we return to the inn. It's gonna take a few hours until dusk so I just play around with Alissa's body until then.

She strips in front of me and lays down to my side. I wet her nipples and start playing with them to my hearts content.

Slowly tracing my finger on it, licking occasionally and sucking on it, pinching and pulling. I close my eyes and enjoy the music of her light moans that grow louder. The pink buds of heaven.

"Master... please…"

"What?"

"Please…"

She repeats it again and again.

"Master!" Now there's annoyance on her voice, "Please give it to me!"

I smile s.a.d.i.s.tically and get on top of her. I use my hand to help and slowly I piston her, her moans are pure music.

I'm still rather tired so eventually I have to stop. She decides to mount me then, I just stare at her with her legs spread and reach heaven.

I thought about giving her the Clothes of the Berserker again but I might hurt myself if she wears it. Later I will tell her to go back to that store and bring more, we are rich now.

When we bathe I see that my wounds left scars, 5 horizontal scars along my left flank. Normally healing should be perfect but since I mixed it with potions, different spells, and intermittent healing coupled with the long walk I did it left imperfections, scars. I look a bit bada.s.s now though.

Then we have dinner and go to sleep.

­

I wake up feeling almost perfectly cured and fool around then go have breakfast.

I decide to train my [Spirit Light] with Alissa this morning. Ah, the good feeling of hugging her and feeling her mana swirl around. I feel like I can do it if I practice for a few more sessions, my 1 point in [Light Magic] is helping me a lot in understand this spell.

Then I hear a knock in the door. Alissa answers and it's Selina, she looks very anxious.

"Would you like to come in?" I say and motion her to the chair in front of the only desk in the room.

"Y-yes please, excuse me," she enters.

She hugs Alissa.

"I'm glad you are safe!" She says with a cracking voice.

"ah, yes. I'm happy you were concerned with me. But I wasn't in much danger since I was always at the back," Alissa is fl.u.s.tered, I smile at her adorableness.

"T-that's not true. Just by facing that monster, what horrible luck... I can't believe the things you two went through!"

"Luck is a funny thing. Some say I'm lucky I survived, some say I'm unlucky I met that monster," I say with a bitter smile.

"Hahah… what are you even saying, Mr. Ryder" Selina lets out a nervous laugh.

"That's the life of an adventurer we have to look back and laugh to keep moving on," Alissa says.

Selina stays quiet, she looks a bit sad but now she's calmer. She understood we are past the point of being sad and worrying about what happened.

After a few awkward seconds she talks again.

"Then… Mr. Ryder, I have to tell you something… I was proposed to and now I'm going to get married," she says while looking down.

Alissa raises her eyebrows and a hole opens in my stomach.

­

What do I even think about this girl? I just… Don't know. She's cute and funny and it makes me happy to talk to her, but what would our relationship be? This world is very different, people are marrying at 15 while I was marrying at 30. I can't just keep standing around talking and being friendly and slowly build a relationship like on Earth. That's not how things work here, that's why Selina was stolen away and I'm feeling kinda s.h.i.t.

But then again, what kind of relationship I would have with her. An inn girl that doesn't fight and will likely never leave Rabanara? Certainly wouldn't be a good match.

Anyway, I gotta focus on the now. A girl tells me she's going to get married with a sad face, I'm kind of a disappointment right now. Alissa is looking at me concerned, she's not even jealous or angry she just completely accepts she's my property and feels sad my feelings towards Selina are not going to be fulfilled. Selina also probably understands Alissa is my plaything and just accepts it, she was totally thinking in having a relationship with me even though I have Alissa as a slave. Just what kind of bizarre scene is this? What should I even be feeling right now?

I sigh deeply, I can't lose my pride as a man right now. I can't make Selina unhappy, she's also Alissa's friend.

"Selina I give you my congratulations and my blessings. I just want you to be happy," I say with a pained smile.

She looks at me like she's about to cry, then she looks at Alissa who nods at her.

"Thank you Mr. Ryder, I definitely will."

"Please be happy, Miss Selina," Alissa says and now she's the one who hugs.

Selina lets out a laugh.

"Thank you, thank you… That was all I had to say, now excuse me I have to go back to work."

She bows, we wave and she leaves. I plop down on the bed.

"How are you feeling, master?"

"A little bit confused…"

That scene of sadness is something I won't forget, I have to ask her.

"Alissa. Don't you feel a little odd about my relationship with Selina? Even though I have you I was thinking about Selina too."

"Master? D-do you see me like this? I-It would make me very happy, if you w-would l-l-love m-m-me..." She's frozen in place, her cheeks are a deep red.

Ok, things are getting messier.

"I find it kinda difficult to separate s.e.x from love. It's not the same as a true deep love but I do feel something very strong towards you," I say.

"I-I-I-I also f-feel something v-very strong, mmaster," her gaze loses focus, she's completely fl.u.s.tered and her tail is wagging.

I sigh and hug Alissa. What do I even feel? Is this love, possessiveness or l.u.s.t? Does it... Matter? Do I need to truly love this girl to make her happy?

"What do you think if I were to bring more women to me? I ask."

"The strong s-should protect the we-weak. Y-you are very strong, master."

"I think you could easily kill me if you wished."

"Not that! Your heart, is stronger than any other."

"What does that even mean," I mutter.

She chuckles.

"You don't have to reason everything, just accept it," she smiles and looks at me.

I feel like I heard something like that before.

­

I'm not feeling like continuing training so we go outside. I need to repair my armor and shield, upgrade mine and Alissa's equipment, upgrade all my tools for ultimate comfort, buy better tea and cookies, and then visit Ciel. I wished to send Alissa to the night clothing merchant while I talked to Ciel but she seems to like Ciel so maybe I should have her make a new friend.

We end up spending 50 gold coins but at least now Alissa has Grey Berserker armor like me.

The armor and [Wind Armor] is what saved me. The finger daggers didn't even fully penetrate my body, they got stuck midway, they would have sliced me in half if I was naked. Still, I had 5 punctures along my body so it really was pretty serious. It was 1 on my shoulder, 2 on my lungs and 2 on my stomach.

Alissa now has a pretty white enchanted small composite bow with wavy golden carvings. She thought it was excessive but it really is a good bow, it has a small enchantment that lets you draw the bow easier so it wasn't super expensive. I think I should reward her good work and amazing accuracy, like when she hit one of the Symbol's eyes and saved Roxanne from being fully skewered. Alissa blushes so easily when I praise her it just encourages me to praise her even more.

Now we have a comfy large tent, a comfy large sleeping bag, comfy clothes, comfy shoes, good quality brush for her hair and tail, magic stones for warming tea, cooking and roasting, and good knifes for cutting. Even though we can just bring food on my "Items" Alissa wants to cook. And we also got perfumed anti-scent for her. Finally, I found a pocket watch, 1 gold coin, ridiculous, even Alissa was concerned but I miss having a clock on me at all times.

For me I got a new steel kite shield covered in young Emerald Dragon scales; a white Young Emerald Dragon fang sword, it's one sided and has a bit of a curved bulge on the blade. I thought about getting a magical sword but those things are the cutting edge of technology, pun intended, which means they cost a few rose coins each. It's kinda ridiculous the level of equipment here, it goes to show this is a proper "adventurer town".

I noticed there's a bit of a lack of metal equipment in comparison to monster-based equipment. I guess monsters sprouting from the ground must make mining more dangerous than normal and the abundance of monsters makes using their parts much more common.

We have 23 coins left from the bounty plus a few remaining that I saved, the reward from Roxanne's request, and there's still an unknown amount coming from the auction. We could live a quite long time comfortably.

At 3 o'clock we go to the temple.

­

Inside the temple we find Ciel on a bench talking to a commoner. She notices us and smiles, then she finishes her talk quickly and comes to us. Oh no, don't need to abandon that person so hastily.

"Good day Mr. Ryder, Miss Alissa."

"Good day Miss Ciel."

"Good day Miss Ciel. How's Miss Roxanne?" Asks Alissa.

"Prancing about, trying to turn her room into a lab. She doesn't know what 'resting' means," says Ciel in a defeated tone.

That sounds like her. I share a smirk with Alissa.

"Tomorrow morning we are freeing her."

Not releasing or discharging, "freeing" her.

"Then I will visit her on the afternoon. But anyway, I wanted another talking session with you, is that alright?"

"Oh yes, it's fine. Let us go to a consultation room."

When we enter the room Alissa pulls out the new tea set and the cookies.

"Oh my," says Ciel, pleasantly surprised, "So… is she…?"

I know you are trying to be cautious since I'm a reserved person but just ask it already.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Well, is she the slave you were considering buying?"

"Ah. Well I was only considering the merits and ethics of buying a Blood Slave, I only met her a few days later."

"I see. It seems it was the correct choice then."

"Yes, she's extremely helpful."

Alissa blushes but maintains her poker face. Cute.

"Now. I want to talk about the G.o.ds again, well first I have to say I got a blessing from the G.o.ddess of Knowledge."

"Oh! that's surprising, well, not really considering it's you, but it's still amazing," she says.

"Hm, yes, well. What can you tell me about it? I know nothing about the blessings."

"A blessing means that you pleased a G.o.d, whatever you did that pleased her keep doing and she will help you fulfill your wishes. The Humanoid G.o.ds have subtle powers to alter the fate, there has been no hero in history who got there without a blessing. Be it a simple arrow that misses its mark to a lucky encounter that completely changes fate, blessings are extremely powerful."

I have a small suspicion that the Symbol of Hate meeting was her doing, or at least a small push into the correct tunnel. Isekai protagonist rotten luck strikes again.
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"Also a blessing is a symbol of trust in society. You will quickly lose a blessing if you do something wicked so you can trust the honor of those who carry blessings. Since yours is a blessing from the G.o.ddess of Knowledge you will certainly find much easier to enter the magic university now. I don't know how they treat those who have blessings but that blessing is not uncommon among scholars."

High school slice of life arc, other world version.

"How would they know I have a blessing?"

"There's a crystal that can show it like the Inspection Crystal. It's also how we verify t.i.tles and those who received message from the G.o.ds."

How convenient but it seems I can't hide my new nickname.

"Seems like I have my next objective in sight. Well, there's something else I want to ask, what are the personalities of the Humanoid G.o.ds? Alissa says it's a good idea to find out their likes and dislikes to better please them."

"I see, that's a correct idea. Well…" She clears her throat, another memorized flush of information is coming, "Let's start with the Genderless G.o.d of Existence. He's the only one who wasn't a humanoid and has barely any personality. He likes those who cherish life and dislikes those who kill carelessly. It's rare but adoptive parents are known to receive his blessing.

"The G.o.ddess of Fertility is similar to the G.o.d of Existence but her power is more broad. She works to help pregnant women, pregnant animals, to increase the bounty of the lands, and even help those who manage the monsters and dungeons so humanoid life could prosper. People commonly pray to her to ask for the s.e.x and race of their children to be what they want. She works closely with the G.o.ddess of Love and the G.o.ddess of Growth. She was a human, her personality was of a carefree and happy person. She spread knowledge in farming, water wheels and windmills.

"The G.o.ddess of Piety sees all prayers. She helps those who seek guidance from the G.o.ds, even those who are ignorant of the G.o.ds. Perhaps she's the one who guided you here. Her blessings are for priests or others who guide people. She was a human, her personality was of a kind but strict person. She created the temple organization.

"The G.o.ddess of Will is a G.o.ddess that keeps the mind of humanoids intact. There are many horrors brought by the monsters, so to keep the people united and strong she blesses the n.o.bles and heroes so they can inspire others. She was a dragonkin, her personality was of an always neutral and composed person. She's credited with creating the skill of [Mental Resistance] and [Poison Resistance]."

Thank you, G.o.ddess of Will, you helped a lot on the Ant Hill and Royd's Kerfuffle. Maybe I should pray to you too.

"The G.o.ddess of Love rewards those who make others happy, not just in a s.e.xual way, she helps us create bonds with each other. Her blessings are very rare but it happened to emperors or kings who have harems, orphanage caretakers and rarely to lovers. She was a Pixie, her personality was of a very touchy and amiable person. She wrote the 'Treatise on Acting' and created the imperial orphanage along with the G.o.ddess of Piety.

"The G.o.ddess of Growth helps not only the plants and animals to grow she also helps humanoids who want to grow in any way. Be it physical growth, martial growth, magical growth, artistic skill growth, intelligence growth, or society's growth. Her blessings vary a lot. She was a dog-type wereanimal, her personality was of a strict and serious person. She created the Nemesis, a group of 100 elite soldiers that serve the emperor, they are the best monster killers of the world.

"The G.o.d of War is a straightforward G.o.d. Kill monsters and he will bring you glory, give it your all and challenge yourself and he will reward you, he will give you the tools to kill and protect. Obviously, his blessings are the most common among adventurers and soldiers." -Alissa nods- "He was a dwarf, his personality was boisterous and willful. He defended a fort with 500 men against a whole army of monsters for a whole month.

"The G.o.d of Law is the G.o.d that keeps the order in our society. He seeks the wicked among us and strips them of their power. He doesn't do justice with his own hands, the law is also for us so we are also being judged by him while we do justice. His blessings are the most common among guards and lords. He was an elf, his personality was of a stoic and calm person. He inst.i.tuted our law system, becoming the first Judge.

"The G.o.d of Festivity works close with the G.o.ddess of Love. Together they spread the happiness that keeps us moving, he gives us the glory that the G.o.d of War promises and makes sure all heroes have their own happy beginning, middle, and end. His blessings are rare and only appear among artists or cooks. He was a krampus demon race, his personality was of a loud and happy person. He created the coliseum and spread the 10 Festivals of Seasons.

"The G.o.d of Endurance is the G.o.d that helps the servants, so they have the power to keep serving their lord. It's a G.o.d that helps those who do not have the power to reach glory but can help those who can. His blessings are the most commonly found on this world and it's generally found among hard workers.

"Then Alissa will surely get her blessing soon," I say. Alissa blushes a little again.

Ciel smiles and continues.

"He was a gnome, his personality was solemn and thoughtful. He created darksteel, an alloy which can resist even dragon fire.

"The G.o.d of Luck is a very misunderstood G.o.d, he doesn't like gamblers or those who abuse luck, he gives luck to those who deserve it. Not much else is known about him, his blessing have never been recorded."

Maybe I should actually pray to him? He sounds… Reasonable? Though he's a little too mysterious.

"I have a small suspicion he's the one helping you Mr. Ryder. He was a halfling, his personality is unknown. He's known for killing a dragon by using [Shocking Touch] on its eye."

Oh, now I see. He must be the one who sent me the Symbol of Hate so now I'm conflicted. Also, I heard that story somewhere before.

"The G.o.ddess of Knowledge is a G.o.ddess who likes to spread knowledge, she helps those who write down any sort of knowledge and shares it with others. The commoners also call her the G.o.ddess of Books, though plenty of priests will be displeased if you say that," she smiles wryly, "Her blessings are commonly found among scholars. She was an elf, her personality was of a stoic and curious person. She created the magical university and became the first Head of Magic

"Her brother is the G.o.d of Intelligence. His work is to help those understand the world, be it understanding the monsters, the land, the plants, or magic, he's the one who seeks answers to everything. His blessings are found among inventors and researchers, he works close to the G.o.ddess of Growth. He was also an elf, his personality was of an inquisitive and innocent person. You personality seems similar to his Mr. Ryder, you should pray to him."

Huh? Innocent? Do I give that aura?

"He worked on the magical university and he is the first known magic researcher. He created the first courses in Earth, Fire, Water and [Wind Magic].

"The G.o.ddess of the Plants and her twin brother the G.o.d of the Animals are very obscure G.o.ds. They work with the G.o.ddess of Growth and the G.o.ddess of Fertility but they rarely give their blessings, who are commonly found on botanists and animal caretakers. There was a legend of a monster tamer who received a blessing but he died before achieving full potential so our knowledge on monster taming is lacking. The G.o.ds were lizard beastfolk, the only thing known about their personality is that they were hermits. They are credited with creating the first health potion and introducing the world to animal husbandry.

"The G.o.d of the Sun is the one who gives us light so we can work, though not much else is known about his blessings. He's the one who sends messages to us more often than all the others combined, maybe it's because he's always watching and in contact with us since the Sun is his avatar. He was a human, his personality was of a jovial and hard working person. He was the first emperor and conquered our entire continent."

"How did the world look like before he ascended?" I ask.

"The days and nights were not stabilized like now, they were dependent on the forces of Light and [Dark Magic]. The more wars and death were happening the longer the nights were. It was a much more chaotic but because of such influence, the magic power of everyone was greatly increased. After the G.o.d of The Sun ascended he took control of the multiple suns and stabilized our cycle of day and night. His sister ascended later and created an avatar to help stabilize the spread of mana."

"Isn't the sun necessary for plants to survive? I know that if animals and humanoids live in caves away from the sun we can get sick."

Vitamin deficiency happens without sunlight.

Ciel blinks blankly for a few seconds in thought then speaks.

"Well not all plants need the sun, plenty will lose its color and go weaker and only a some of them dies without the sun. On the matter of animals and humanoids I don't know anything about that, is that common knowledge in your homeland?"

"Somewhat. There were plenty of people who lived indoors and worked only from their homes and they would often get sick."

Talking from experience.

"Hmm… curious but it's something we are not allowed to test and find proof of…"

"Well it's nothing important, let's continue."

"The G.o.ddess of the Moons is the sister to the G.o.d of the Sun. She's the one who helps us heal and gives us mana, her blessings are common among healers and magicians. The knowledge about her 'aspects' is only conjecture. She was also human, her personality was that of a selfless and introspective person. She was the first lord of the capital and brought the golden age of the empire."

Oh, now I know why meditation helps with mana recovery.

"But what exactly is known about her 'aspects'?" I ask.

Ciel smiles faintly at my question.

"The leading theory is that since the moons are the avatar of G.o.d it should be her personality exposed in a visual form since she doesn't have a body anymore to expose. So the 7 moons are the parts that make up the basis of her personality and the rainbow moon is the combined result. Each color represents an aspect of a humanoid's personality. Red is irritability, orange is sociability, yellow is presence of mind, green is friendliness, blue is openness, indigo is otherwordlyness and purple is wickedness."

"Otherwordlyness?" I ask.

"It's the unknown, the deeper parts of our mind that makes us move. Some say it's the creativity but since it's so close to purple which is wickedness the true nature is somewhat darker."

"Even art can draw upon our wickedness."

"Perhaps, but I don't partic.i.p.ate on these discussions so I can't argue on that matter. If you want to know more about it I can guide you to one of the priests who debates on this."

"No, thank you. That's enough for me," I wave my hand with a smile, "That's all I had to ask for today too."

"Master, may I speak with Miss Ciel for a bit?" Alissa whispers to me.

"Alissa, you can always speak whenever you wish. Do you want to speak with her in private?"

"Y-yes, it's only matters about the G.o.ds but I feel a little embarra.s.sed in sharing that."

"It's fine, I will leave you two alone."

"Fine by me," says Ciel with a smile.

I go out and wander downstairs. I take a look and find the statue of the G.o.ddess of Knowledge. It's a bust of a woman who has a really s.e.xy look, reminds me a bit of Roxanne when she's serious. She has the unmistakable long elven ears very visible.

I feel a bit uncomfortable around all these people praying so I go outside. I still haven't broken the fellowship with Roxanne so I know she's nearby at the clinic. I think about visiting but she should be tired and needs to rest, even if she doesn't want to. I decide to walk around the building of the priest living quarters.

Behind the building I see a small flower garden with a few wooden chairs and a table below a gla.s.s porch. How lovely. I sit on a chair and stare at the garden while my conscience slips away.

­

"Master..." A voice tickles my ears.

"Hmm..." Do that again.

"Master, I'm back," I open up my eyes and Alissa is besides me smiling.

"I'm still a little tired," I yawn.

"You are a bit like Roxanne, master, you don't rest too much, right?"

"I guess…"

When I got Alissa I thought about just training for some time but the Oodogloo request was too tempting. Then after that Roxanne's request was also so good.

"Let's go back," she says and I nod.

It's 5 o'clock now, they talked for a long time it's almost dusk.

"Sorry we took a long time, we started talking about our adventures too and I got carried away."

"It's no problem I had a pretty good nap here. But is Ciel interested in adventuring?"

"Somewhat, she seems worried about what you are doing after she learned you killed the Orc Headhunter."

"Oh, she told you about that one?"

"Yes, master's growth is amazing, from training with goblins to killing the Symbol in such a short time."

"That was mostly Roxanne's explosion, I just used myself as bait," I say.

"Still."

Ah, whatever.

"Ah, Ciel said her thanks for sharing the tea and cookies. She would like to know where you bought them," Alissa says.

"Considering the price, maybe it's better she doesn't know."

We go back to the inn and reserve a bath. This time Alissa teaches me how to properly brush her tail and her hair.

This new brush is really good, Alissa almost melts on the chair. Then I fall asleep while training [Spirit Light] with Alissa.

­

I wake at 7 AM without remembering how I got naked. After our morning deep kiss we go downstairs.

"Ah, Mr. Ryder. Two messengers just came by, here are the letters," says the innkeeper. I want to learn his name but I'm embarra.s.sed to ask.

"Oh?"

I open them up. The first is from Silas, he tells me the auction will happen in the next half-cycle at the theater. The second one gives me chills, Ghulam, the slave trader asks me to come to his shop, he has a "business proposal" for me.

"Oh, what a great thing, master, Mr. Bhatt has chosen you."

"Chosen for what?"

"For business, he must have found a really special slave for you."

"Why would he do that?" I frown slightly.

"It's part of the job, finding the slaves and the clients. Bloods Slave traders only work by reference or when they notice someone special, like how Mr. Bhatt noticed you."

I'm scared, but interested. That man is a devil in disguise, he sees the darkest parts of my soul and abuses my weaknesses.

"Would it be okay if I saw him tomorrow? I wanna train in the morning and visit Roxanne after lunch."

"Yes, it's not urgent, just don't take a half-cycle to go."

­

I try to ignore the looming darkness on my heart and go have breakfast. Selina is also busy today but she sends a warming smile to us. Thankfully things aren't awkward.

We go back to our room and I focus hard on [Spirit Light].

"OOOH!"

It appears, a weak light blue ball of light floats above my head. I look into my stats and see [Spirit Light (weak)] in my "Magic" window.

"Congratulations, master," Alissa lets out a warm smile.

"Finally! Next is [Item Box]!"

"What? Don't you already know [Item Box]?"

Gah! My tongue slipped!

"Actually… it's… not [Item Box], it's a different spell, it's from my homeland. I want to learn [Item Box] because of customs, it will attract a lot of attention if people know I can hide anything inside my different [Item Box]. This is another secret you have to keep."

"Ooh… now things make sense. In any case master, I have to warn you that one was very difficult, it took me three months to learn it. Your progress with [Spirit Light] was abnormal."

Crisis averted, it seems I'm good at lying. I'm not sure if I should be proud of this.

"Eh, it's okay I'm gonna reach it eventually."

I thought about learning [Conjure Water] but it's not as inconvenient as having to waste 5 points into [Light Magic] like [Spirit Light] is. I can just mess with my skills real quick whenever I need water.

We fool around and after that Alissa starts to read one of the hero books I got. I'll make a small library one day, Alissa, you just wait.

I lay down on the bed. I take out my points in [Light Magic] and put them into [Golemancy]. I was so busy these days I never even put a point on it once, I also have to investigate [Redirect Mana] later. With 1 point in [Golemancy] I get a spell called [Infuse], at 15 I get a spell called [Mold].

Crafting magic seems to be a completely different experience. As I cast [Infuse] my hand fully glows and my mind gets hazy. I'm tripping b.a.l.l.s.

I see geometric forms that spin and change in ways I can't even understand, colors that change into things I have never seen before and hurt my brain. A kaleidoscope of shapes, colors and feelings.

I see a square and I grab it. I turn it and it turns into a cube, then into a circle, then into something that I can't even explain anymore, then back into square.

I can touch and manipulate and feel but I can't discern what's happening and why. It's like there's multiple overlapping songs and I'm trying to discern one from another but I don't even know what the song is supposed to be like. It's noise, but I know, I feel there's something below that noise, I just can't grasp it.

Now my head is hurting too much, I wanna go back. The cacophony slows and stops, then I feel like I'm returning to my body.

My vision focus and a pale Alissa looks at me.

"Wow," I mutter.

"Master!? What happened?"

"I, uh… I cast a spell from the [Golemancy] skill, then I saw something really weird."

"[Golemancy]? What's that?" She tilts her head.

"I dunno, but it's one of the magic that I can change to."

"Ah, with your guide ability? I see, but tell me that first, you scared me!" She frowns and huffs.

"Sorry, I had no idea it was going to be like this. By the way, did I do something while I was unconscious?"

"Well you lifted your hand and it started glowing like a rainbow, then you froze and stopped moving your eyes as if you were a statue. I tried to touch you but you were hard as stone too."

"Wow, well… I wanna explore more this spell so I'm gonna do this more in private. But unfortunately it seems it used up all my mana in just a minute."

"Hmm… it could be dangerous master, I never heard of something like [Golemancy]. What if it is forbidden magic?"

"Oh, that could be a problem. Alright, I will look into the magic university before I use that spell again."

The name looked innocent to me, though.

"Thank you, master."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"For listening, forgive my insolence but I don't want you doing dangerous things. I can deal with monsters but I can't help you if you hurt yourself with magic."

"Oh… Well, don't worry. I'll be as careful with magic as I am with our expeditions."

"After the Symbol your words give me doubt," she lowers her head.

"Geh!"

That's kinda true.

­

I meditate and practice [Telekinesis] until 2 PM then we get ready to visit Roxanne. I use my formal clothes and Alissa her yellow dress with heeled boots. I could feel Roxanne moved away from the Temple and went somewhere near the n.o.ble's quarters. She seems to live in a relatively wealthy area.

When we reach her house it's quite a bit excessive. It's a gated house with a tall metal fence, it has a large gra.s.s garden with a flower patch under the windows and a tree with a swing. It's made of dark brown boards and cobble for the pillars. Transparent gla.s.s covers the windows. It looks very rustic, but it's also very large. It has 2 floors and a small veranda on the second floor with two cushioned chairs and a decorated mono table.

We enter the gate and knock on the door. I feel Roxanne coming down from the second floor, did she not notice we were coming?

"Welcome!" She opens the double doors with a bang and yells with her arms above her head.

She's wearing a body conforming black straight dress and open and simple high heels.. She looks so much better this way than with her robes.

"U-uh, yeah. How are you doing Roxanne?" I ask and force a smile.

"Perfect! I'm back to full health and fully working, I just couldn't stop thinking about the Moonlight Moss, I worked so hard Ciel got angry at me!"

Why are you so proud of angering Ciel?

"Oh! Please, come in," she moves out of the way for us.

The inside is a very comfortable looking house. At the sides of the entrance are stairs for the second floor. In front of us is a carpeted dining hall with a large table that easily houses 8. The boards are even darker inside and the simple lights gives a very comfy feeling.

There's a large painting of the town castle on the opposite wall. On the right of that there's a door to another room and on the left you can see the kitchen behind a chest high counter. Aren't those counters kind of a modern design?

"Sit, sit, please," she motions to the table.

We sit and she goes to the kitchen. She opens a large black metal box and I can see a bit of fog coming out. Then she pulls a metal tray with a black cake on it. Oh boy.

"Tda! I had this arranged to be made by the baker when I came back, so it got finished just yesterday. Since I kept it cold it's still perfectly good," Roxanne says.

She cuts the cake. The frosting is actually white with the outer layer black but the insides are black with a layer of black creamy filling. She pulls a few plates and cutlery from her [Item Box] and gives the first slice to me.

"This is a thank you for a job well done. I wish I could do much more for you since you saved me but this will do for now!"

I cut a piece and put it into my mouth. OOOOH~… it's… it's…

"CHOCOLATE!" I yell.

"Yaa, what?" Roxanne looks at me scared.

"I… missed this taste so much… I couldn't find it anywhere… chocolate..." I hold back tears.

"Ohohohoh. I wanted to surprise you with something new but this reaction is just as good," Roxanne grins.

"It's delicious, is this something from your homeland, master?" Alissa's tail is swaying rapidly.

"Yes, it's the most delicious sweet ever made, 'The Chocolate'. Well it was not created there, I don't know where it comes from but it's my favorite food I ate there."

"Unfortunately it's not imported here yet," Roxanne says with a half-frown, "A peddler caravan from the Faium Princ.i.p.ality brought it here and it sold in an instant. It seems to be the new craze over there."

Nour… I'm coming Nour…

"Since they are still learning how to use it only cakes like these are available but they will run out soon," she adds.

"The fruit merchants commented how the elves sugarcane first harvest is coming. If chocolate and sugar gather here..." Alissa wonders.

"Ooh… all the sweets that will come… this is too much teasing!" I say.

"Hahah, I didn't know you were such a sweet tooth, Mr. Ryder."

"I can see why master gets grumpier when he doesn't have tea and cookies."

I shrug. They are not lies, I know my weaknesses and chocolate is one.

Alissa brings out a very mild tea that goes well with the cake. She's starting to understand the subtleties of tea.

"Now there's something really important I wanna ask you, Mr. Ryder," Roxanne turns to me with a serious expression.

"Oh?"

"Please let me join your fellowship!" She bows and claps her hands.

I'm a bit more confident in working with other people, at least I know I won't be burned at the stake if some of my powers are known. Roxanne is a bit of an airhead, she won't look too deep into my lies and she kinda already owes me her life. She won't blabber about my powers.

"Oh, well. Okay."

"Wha… That easy?" She blinks blankly.

"Well, you are trustworthy and reliable. People are praising me too much, you are the one who actually blew up a the Symbol of Hate with a single spell. You are a really powerful mage."

Roxanne blushes, that's a first.

"T-t-thank you! I have been looking for a fellowship for such a long time but I never managed to find someone trustworthy, those who were never let me join. I have been lonely for such a long time!" Her posture shrinks.

Well I can kinda guess why. Her carefree personality would put off the more serious types.

"Well but what do you mean by trustworthy?" I ask.

"Greedy, backstabbing, abusing, hara.s.sing, ignorant, and arrogant ugly little men and women. If you are an unknown hunter it's really difficult finding someone good," her eyes shine in anger.

"Even with your powers?" I ask.

"Master, remember Dennis and Simon? Even if you are powerful it takes a while to build trust. The first ones to come are most likely trying to use you instead of building a bond."

"You thought Targua was trustworthy?"

"Perhaps," she shrugs.

"I guess I understand your situation now, Roxanne. But, what are your objectives? I plan on continuing adventuring and even traveling around the world. I wanna learn more and grow stronger. Would you be ready to come with us and leave this house?"

"Why yes! This house is a rental, I already crossed an ocean to come here, I'm not too attached. I..." She looks away and cringes, "Don't really have a real goal yet, I just want to keep creating more potions, I just love all the incredibly things you can do with this magic. I can heal and change and improve and purify the body without even touching a person, I can leave my mark in the world without even seeing the places I help."

She smiles as she talks, she looks silly and innocent.

"Wait, go back. This is a rental? Isn't it… Super expensive?" I ask, dumbfounded.

This is a large house with what looks like many bedrooms and a large kitchen. She was living alone here? How does she clean all this? I didn't rent a house yet because it's much more economic to just stay at the inn. Why is this a rental!?

"Well… Uh… I w-wanted to use this as a benefit to-to recruiting me. But I never joined anywhere so I… I didn't want it to go to waste, so I kept the house," Roxanne shrinks again.

That's a bit irresponsible, I think this would be a point against instead of in favor when you asked to join a fellowship.

"Well then I guess we can use it, right? Since we are kinda rich now we can live here for a while," I say.

Perhaps I will have to go back and find work again sooner than I thought. But this is a really comfy house, I wanna spend some time here.

"OH! Yes, I will give you the master bedroom, I feel a bit lonely on that huge bed. Also, all rooms are soundproof so there's no worry," Roxanne grins and winks at Alissa.

Alissa blushes. There's no need to be embarra.s.sed now after all we did.

"There's a bath upstairs that fits 6 people. Whenever you need I can fill it up and heat it easily. There's also no problem with cleaning every half-cycle, I hired a maid to come here and clean. I can also cook my own meals so I can cook for you too."

"No, I will cook and clean," interjects Alissa.

"I will allow you to cook but to clean too might be too much. We will keep the maid for now, this is a big house," I say.

Alissa pouts. Those cute pursed lips make me want to kiss her.

"I wanna spoil you to death not overwork you to death," I say.

Alissa blushes again, her tail wags for a second. So easy.

"I will just move my things and in an hour the room would be ready for you two," Roxanne says.

"Then I will go back to the inn and end my reservation. Alissa you should help here and prepare things."

"Understood, master."

"The hunters guild might be a bit far to walk now so I can lend you my flying carpet if you wanna go," Roxanne says.

Eh, please no, I feel that thing is really unsafe.

"I…think I would rather start riding Alissa around town. It might attract a bit of attention but I don't mind anymore."

"Please do, master. There's no need to walk around so much," she smiles smugly.

"Actually, I'm already starting to feel lazy, let's go to the inn together, Alissa. You should also say goodbye to Selina for now, you should visit her but now you will see her way less often."

"Yes! Thank you master."

­

I can see a few gazes while Alissa flies through the streets. Wereanimals are not rare since the fox clan lives rather close but to have a person riding a large fox is still an interesting sight.

"h.e.l.lo, I'm here to say I will be ending my reservation," I tell the innkeeper, I really wanted to say his name right now but I don't remember.

"Oh! Y-yes… perhaps would Selina be…"

"Ah, no don't worry. I wish Selina happiness but I recruited another member to my fellowship who's renting a house so I will be moving there."

"Ah, I see. Sorry to insinuate such things."

"It's no problem. Is Selina here? I would like to say goodbye for now."

"She's at the kitchen, let me call her for you."

The innkeeper hurries away and comes back with Selina, who's wearing a lovely ap.r.o.n and removing a toque.

Alissa explains the situation and they hug. Selina turns to me and respectfully bows, I will surely miss her beautiful face. She says she will be going to marry in a day-cycle and gives us the date of the ceremony. After that she will live with her husband near the Bazaar and help her husband's shop, he owns a simple cloth store.

I keep quiet while they talk because I'm hurting a little. I really did start to like her.

We leave soon after and go to the guild to register Roxanne since we are nearby, we also update our house address to Roxanne's.

It's not even 5 and the drinking is already heavy. There's a minstrel playing some songs on a lute. I miss music from Earth, this minstrel is kinda crude and the guild is too loud for me to appreciate this. Perhaps the theater will have shows with better music.

I feel a few gazes on me so we quickly leave and go back to our new home.

The house has 6 bedrooms on the second floor and a study with a large, but mostly empty book stand. I put my few books there. Roxanne works on her own bedroom so this study was mostly unused. I put my research notes on the desk.

There's a bas.e.m.e.nt but it's completely empty. There's a back garden where we could make a small plantation but no one knows how to do it.

I take away all mine and Alissa's clothes from the "Items" and put it into the large wardrobe. I feel a chill. This reminds me when I started to live together with Lily, the nostalgia makes me a bit emotional.

No time for that, I don't want to keep wallowing in the "what could have been".

The house lacks in decorations, aside from the painting and some horizontal relief lines around the interior walls there's no other decoration. The house is comfy, but boring.

The lower floor has a kitchen with a large table, lots of cutlery, a large magical stone oven, a magical stone sink, and a magical stone fridge. Looks so modern and archaic at the same time. We have to refill the mana of the fridge every day-cycle, it's quite the heavy mana cost but Roxanne does it by herself easily. The bath and sink water goes to the sewer below the town, only the poorest parts of town do not have a sewer exit. There's no plumbed water though.

The other room on the lower floor is the living room, it's quite large. It has a small, empty book stand, 3 really comfy sofas around a small table, and a magic tool fireplace but there's still a chimney for real firewood.

The back window gives a nice view to the garden too. A small wall separates the end of our garden with the start of the garden of the back neighbor, which is another house very similar to this one. It seems this block is all rentals, must be why I saw both n.o.bles and wealthy-looking adventurers around.

The bath is huge, it has a magical stone but it takes a while to fill by using that. Roxanne can just use [Water Wall] and a [Fireball] and it's ready in 10 seconds, it seems she practiced that a lot. The toilet is besides the bathroom.

Alissa will start cooking tomorrow so today is still "Items"-ready meal. After that I cuddle with Alissa while she reads a book, it's hot so we don't need to light the fireplace. Roxanne retires to work on her room and once in a while I hear a twinkling of gla.s.s, metal hitting each other, and some mutters.

I'm honestly somewhat bored in this world. The lack of games and internet makes me quite the pervert since it's the last big source of dopamine to me. I guess this is why people drank so much in the past.

The book Alissa is reading is a bit boring, an epic. I could find more interesting light novels on the internet in a few minutes.

I guess I should keep practicing magic. I practice some [Mana Control] and think about [Golemancy], that was such a mindf.u.c.k I'm still processing that experience.

The bed is actually enormous, I think 3 people would fit there, it's ridiculous. We test the cushioning of the bed and the soundproofing of the wall with the Clothes of the Berserker.

­

Today I'm going to meet Ghulam. I wake up feeling nervous. Alissa goes down to make breakfast. I can hear Roxanne working again.

I help make ground meat dumplings while Alissa fries them and makes a salad with cider vinegar that was stored here.

Roxanne comes down looking disheveled and sleepy and we eat the meal with some Dragolite meat.

"Roxanne, did you cook alone?" I ask.

"Erm, hardly. There was no time so I made a lot of steamed or roasted vegetables and stored them for the day-cycle, then I would buy meat from nearby and eat with bread."

I kinda pity her a bit.

"I'll be going to the Golden Necklace today with Alissa. You will stay home?" I ask.

"Yep, I still gotta finish my new work with the Moonlight Moss."

"What are you trying to make with it?"

"Secret!"

I shrug.

"Ah, Mr. Ryder, are you going to buy another slave there?"

"I don't know, Mr. Bhatt called be there to 'conduct business' but I have no idea what to expect."

"It's a woman," she says with confidence.

"W-why do you say this?"

"What else would it be? You are the town hero for now you would certainly be worthy of a powerful Blood Slave. So if he called you means he found someone really good. And after Alissa it would be difficult to sell a man to you."

That's…True. I don't want a man near Alissa, slave or not. I'm certainly overprotective, but I'm happy! That's what counts.

­

We arrive at the slaver at 8 AM. I enter and Sebastian greets us with a wide smile.

"Welcome, Grand Ryder. Would you like to meet the head now?" He didn't even look at Alissa, this annoys me a little.

I nod and he leads us to the room. Alissa wants to stay standing but I make her sit besides me. After a while Ghulam comes out and enters with a wide smile. Behind him Sebastian comes with the heavenly cookies and tea again.

"Welcome again to the Golden Necklace, Mr. Ryder. I am glad you came so soon. I thought you would be very busy right now, but alas, the hero is rather reclusive," he puts so much expression on each word it's almost like watching a play. How much "Charisma" does he have!?

"Uh… Hero?"

"Yes, you should know by now you are the talk of the town. There's even some voices asking for you to appear before the lord and get a commendation for your service. It is rather refreshing seeing how you are not that concerned about such matters," he says with an amused tone.

"I try to live quietly, I don't want to get involved with n.o.bility and bask in the glory. I'll only embarra.s.s myself greatly."

"You have the guts to face the Symbol of Hate without hesitation but not to face the crowd that's giving you glory?" He asks.

Well how am I supposed to answer that? I just stay quiet while Alissa twitches for a second.

"Ah, forgive me, that was rude of me," he bowsm "It's not guts you lack, but self-importance. It is good to live a quiet life but unless you are a priest it will be helpful to be mindful of such matters."

"Well… What you say is not wrong. It's just difficult for me, I'm actually really shy."

"No shame in that, just make sure you life without regrets Mr. Ryder," he smiles.

That's kind of my motto already. I chuckle.

"I try, I try…"

"Now Mr. Ryder, you may not be basking in the glory others want to give you but accept a little bit of mine. I know how your party is rather lacking in front line power so I have the perfect addition to your party," he claps his hands twice.

Oh boy, I knew it.

Out of the door comes a nearly 2 meters tall dragonkin, a woman. She has red wavy hair with such volume it's almost a mane, yellow lizard eyes, slender and sculpted body, large and perfectly round b.r.e.a.s.t.s, a fearsome face and narrow eyes that makes her look like a model. The worst thing is that she has one of my weakness, slightly brown skin.

I shudder when I see her white silk one-piece that barely covers her body. She also has small patches of shining emerald scales on the back of her hand, side of her cheeks, top of her bare feet, and at the side of her arms and legs.

The slaves shown so far, even Alissa, all had their eyes lowered and their posture as slightly lowered to show their submission, but this woman is different. Her eyes pierce me, her gaze made me feel small, as if I was a prey and she was merely toying with me. A small grin appears on the corner of her mouth. She's not a slave, she's a man-hunting woman and I feel like prey. Is this how women feel when men leer at them?

"This is Hanafuria. She's a dragonkin with affinity for fire. She is 23 years old and an experienced adventurer. Don't worry, she's still a virgin, dragonkin normally wait until they are past their physical prime to marry and have children.

"Her skills are in martial arts, she's extremely st.u.r.dy even for normal dragonkin. She can use the spear, sword, bow, and pole arms with ease. If she doesn't know a weapon, she can learn it, she has a talent for learning new weapons. She can use full plate armor and last longer than the light armored soldier though she won't be able to fly with it.

"Her magic skills are ordinary and forgettable so her specialty is being the front line of any sort of attack. As she is a dragonkin she can fly for short bursts, this means she can be used as a swift shield and can protect anyone anywhere as long as it is within flight distance. She can also use this power to charge towards enemies and empower her attacks."

"Master… she's perfect..." Alissa whispers.

You are not supposed to say things like this, how is a man supposed to think rationally when there's such a meal in front of me? I agree with you, she's perfect, now come to me and strip on the bed!

"W-why are you offering s-such a woman to me?" I ask, sweating cold.

"Your party is extremely unbalanced right now, Miss Roxanne is weak in close combat, as the reports of your battle say. If you don't bring a proper front line she will be in danger. I'm sorry Mr. Ryder but you are not enough to protect her and Miss Alissa at the same time.

"How did you know that?"

I only registered Roxanne yesterday.

He smiles faintly.

"Fellowship records are public, it's also extremely easy to learn about hunters if you just ask a little. Since my job is to find the right clients it would be shameful if I did any less."

"And you are offering her to me just because you think my party is unbalanced?"

"It's only one of the reasons. Your subjugation of the Symbol of Hate demonstrates you have enormous potential, your behavior shows you have strong character, and Hanafuria herself is interested in serving you."

"She can choose?" My eyes widen in surprise.

"It's part of her contract, she's too powerful to just be left to anybody. Only those who have the potential should possess her."

I get a chill when I hear "possess", she's not a companion to join a fellowship, she's considered another object that will serve me just like Alissa.

"And if I give her to just any n.o.ble or wealthy adventurer the G.o.ds will punish me," Ghulam continues with a smile.

The G.o.ds are indirectly telling me to create a slave harem.

"What's her price?"

"One rose coin."

Oof.

"I don't have that money."

"It's no matter. The auction is coming soon and the lowest predictions say you will earn at least two rose coins, we can defer payment until then."

I don't have a way out. I'm cornered and I will be left alone with the man"eater, not even Alissa can save me now.

A point of no return.

"Then I will take Hanafuria."