WIEDERGEBURT Act V: Chapter 9

“Want candy!”

“Nope.”

“Want candy!”

“Absolutely not.”

“WANT CANDY NOW!”

I remembered hearing once that children went through a phase called the Terrible Twos. I couldn’t remember who told this to me (I think it was Empress Hilda’s head maid), but I had not believed them at the time when they said that. Now I understood what they meant.

“CANDY NOW!!”

Raul and I were in the middle of the street, drawing a crowd of people, all because my son wanted candy that I was not going to buy for him. Just the other day, my wives had spoiled this child with same hard candy he was craving now. He had a strong Spiritual Power despite being so young. Candy would not hurt him. Still, it was not good to indulge Raul whenever he wanted. If we did, then he might grow up to be arrogant, and I was not going to let one of my children turn into the next Grant Leucht.

“No, and now that you’ve decided to scream, we’re leaving.”

“NOT LEAVING! NOT LEAVING!!!”

My son glared at me like I was his greatest enemy as his Spiritual Power flared. Fire wafted from his body as his Spiritual Aura erupted, but I quickly wrapped his body in a thin layer of water and doused his flames.

I didn’t listen to my son’s screams as I lifted him over my shoulder like he was a sack of flour. He kicked and screamed and struggled, but I was not going to let him dictate my actions. It was important to let him know that being a brat would not get him anything.

A number of people gave me sympathetic stares as I walked down the street with my inconsolable son. I would bet a million valis those people were parents. They had the kind of understanding expressions only someone who had already been in my shoes could wear.

Their sympathy was appreciated.

I sighed as I walked down the street, tuning out my son’s screaming. He would eventually scream himself hoarse, but there was nothing I could do about that. Damn. He had a set of lungs on him too.

It was just the two of us right now. I rarely ever got to spend time with my son, and I thought this would be a good opportunity for some father-son bonding. We had gone out early that morning, enjoyed a nice breakfast, traveled to a park, and played for several hours. It had been fun.

Sadly, our good time had been ruined.

Blasted candy.

I traveled to the Antiquity Inn, journeyed through the lobby, ignored the looks I was getting, and went up to the King’s Suite where me and my wives had been staying for the past month.

My wives were surprisingly all present when I arrived. I had expected them to be out doing their own thing. They were already looking at the door by the time I opened it, so I guess they heard Raul’s screams long before I arrived.

Fay, dressed in a simple pair of black shorts and a red sleeveless shirt that revealed her cleavage and stomach, walked over to us with a strained smile. She took one look at our son, then looked at me. The look in her eyes was telling.

“What happened?” she asked.

“He wanted candy,” I said with a sigh. “Can you deal with him? I’m not sure what to do right now…”

“I’ll take him,” Fay said with a patient smile.

“Thank you,” I said.

I handed the still screaming Raul off to Fay, and nearly gagged when the boy instantly stopped crying the moment he was in his mother’s arms. Fay walked off with the now quietly sniffling Raul. I stared after them as she journeyed into another room and shut the door behind her.

After silently contemplating what just happened for a few more minutes, I walked over to the couch where Kari and Lin were sitting, then sat between the two. The lamia and the human glanced at each other. Then they looked at me as I slumped forward, placed my elbows on my knees, and buried my face in my hands.

“Are you okay, Darling?” Lin asked as Kari began rubbing my back. It was a soothing gesture and helped settle the turmoil in my heart, but it only helped a little.

“Not particularly.” I sighed and dragged my hands down my face. “I really thought Raul and I were having a good time, but the moment I told him he couldn’t have candy, he kicked up a storm and began screaming like that. He was so angry that he even lost control of his Spiritual Aura. I can’t help but wonder if I’m doing something wrong.”

“You aren’t doing anything wrong,” Kari assured me gently as she leaned into my side. “This is just how children are.”

“Kayli wasn’t like that,” I pointed out.

Kari snorted like I’d said something stupid. “Kayli was even worse than Raul. You were just too blind to see it.”

I frowned. “I don’t remember her ever throwing a tantrum.”

“That’s because you spoiled her rotten. Anything she wanted, you gave her. I was always the one telling her ‘no,’ so I ended up receiving her tantrums.” Kari’s smile became both nostalgic and sad. “You were her entire world. Her life revolved around you. On the other hand, whenever she was with me, it was always ‘why can’t you be more like daddy?’ or ‘Daddy always let me do this.’ I cannot tell you the number of times I had to ground her.”

“So now I’m dealing with what you had to deal with,” I said with a sigh. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t realized Kayli gave you so much trouble.”

Kari shook her head. “It is okay. I know how much she meant to you.”

Thinking back on my first child in my previous life, I could recognize that I doted on Kayli a lot more than I did Raul. Maybe it was because Raul had five mothers who all doted on him. If he only grew up surrounded by doting adults, then he would grow up to become arrogant, and I didn’t want that for my child. I wanted him to become a strong, capable, and reliable young man in the future. Wasn’t that what all parents wanted? For their children to become the best people they could?

“When we have children, this princess will not let them act like that,” Lin assured me.

“How many children are you thinking of having?” I asked.

“This princess wants at least two, one girl and one boy. She wants the girl to be born first since she will eventually go on to inherit the powers of Queen Medusa. The boy will become a strong bodyguard for his sister. Of course, three would be ideal. We would have a girl, then boy, and then another girl.”

“Why do you want a second girl?”

“In case something happens to our first child, obviously.”

I could not stop myself from giving Lin a bemused smile. Maybe it was because I simply couldn’t fathom the thoughts of a lamia, but the fact that she had already thought of her children’s future to such an extent left me baffled. Was this something all lamia did? Or was this purely Lin’s own eccentricities at work here?

It was probably better if I didn’t think about it.

While I listened to Lin tell me exactly what our future children would be like, Siv came over from the other couch and sat down on the floor. Her wings flapped and her tail thumped as she leaned forward and rested her head against my thigh. I smiled before reaching out and gently brushing her long, emerald hair. At that moment, she was wearing a white backless dress, which showed some of her sideboob.

Lin and Kari were dressed in their usual outfits.

Lin’s tight and tanned stomach was on full display. Her bare shoulders tantalized my vision, while a red wraparound skirt and a simple sleeveless top of the same color hid only her breasts from view. Kari wore her typical white and blue blouse, but she wasn’t wearing her stockings, boots, or armor at the moment. Her bare legs were a beautiful white color like fresh snow. Even her feet were adorable. She had very small with lovely arches and cute toes that made me think of delicate sakura petals.

A very strong debate took place in my mind about whether or not I should take advantage of this moment. Three of my wives were present, and I was in serious need of consoling. Surely they wouldn’t mind if I took advantage of them?

Before my lecherous thoughts could go further than mere thoughts, a knock sounded at the door.

With a sigh, I stood up and made my way to the door. I already knew who I’d find. Her Spiritual Signature was fairly distinctive, though it was much stronger and more stable now than it had been last month.

“Erica,” I greeted after opening the door.

Erica didn’t seem to notice my exhaustion as she smiled at me. “Eryk, I’m glad you are here. Are your wives also in?”

“They are,” I said. I paused to really study the woman. She was dressed in her typical armor and was carrying a claymore over her shoulder. “I see you have reached the Third State of Spiritualism. Congratulations.”

“I couldn’t have done it without your help,” she said.

“I am glad we could help. Did you need us for something?”

She nodded once as a serious look crossed her face. “Yes. I’m sure you can already figure out why I’m here. The tournament is beginning today. Me, Janet, Karen, and two others will be competing in the tournament. I was asked by Lady Alexis to escort you all to the arena where the tournament will take place.”

I nodded and asked Erica to give us a moment. Kari, Lin, and Siv had heard our conversation and were getting ready. Kari was in the process of pulling her black stockings over her gorgeous legs. Lin and Siv didn’t actually need to do anything since Lin didn’t have legs and Siv was always barefoot.

As for me, I traveled over to the door Fay and Raul disappeared behind. Trepidation raced through my body as I thought about what to say. I wasn’t angry at Raul anymore. I think, more than anything, I was disappointed with his actions and how I handled them, but I wanted to make things up.

Taking a deep breath to center myself, I knocked on the door.

“Come in, Eryk,” Fay called.

I opened the door, entered, and shut the door behind me. I wasn’t sure what sort of scene I would see inside this room. But when I walked in, I saw that Raul was standing in front of a gently smiling Fay. He was nervously clutching his shirt.

“I’ll let you two have a moment alone,” Fay said. She walked over to me, kissed me on the cheek, and then exited the room, leaving me alone with my son.

I tugged at my bangs, at a complete loss. What was I supposed to say in moments like this? I thought I would be prepared for fatherhood after raising Kayli, but I was only now beginning to realize that nothing in this world, not even already helping raise a child, could prepare you for every variable.

“Raul…” I began.

“Daddy… you mad?” Raul asked.

“No, I’m not mad.” With a sigh, I knelt in front of my son so we were eye to eye. “But… do you know why I didn’t let you have candy?”

“Raul had candy other day?”

I smiled. “That is part of it, but I also don’t want you to think you can have whatever you want whenever you want. If you grew up thinking you could always get what you want, that you can always have your way, I am afraid you would turn into a bad person.”

Children who grow up with parents that give them everything had a habit of becoming spoiled and maybe even evil. They are used to getting their way, and so they are unable to stand it when someone denies them. I was positive this was the reason Grant Leucht had turned into the man he was, the kind of man who couldn’t stand being told no, the kind of man who would gladly kidnap a woman and attempt to rape her simply because she denied him.

If you don’t occasionally tell your child no, if you don’t punish them when they do something wrong, they will grow up thinking they can get away with whatever they want.

Raul’s eyes went wide. “Raul become bad?”

“That’s right. You might become bad,” I said seriously.

Raul seemed to consider this. “Raul no want be bad.”

“I don’t want you to be bad either. Of course, if Raul is good, then you might end up getting rewards.”

“Candy?” Raul’s eyes widened.

“If you’re good,” I said.

“Raul be good.”

“Can I get a noggin?” I asked, leaning over. Raul came up and bumped heads with me, then gave me a hug. I felt a moment of indescribable warmth as I hugged my son back. After we hugged, I leaned back and looked at my son with a smile. “Are you ready to see something incredible?”

“Want to see,” Raul said with a nod.

“Good. Then let’s go.”

I picked Raul up and left the bedroom. Fay had donned her armor, boots, shin guards, gauntlets, and looked like she was ready to start a one woman war. Kari was also fully dressed in her armor now. All four of my wives were looking at me and Raul with knowing smiles.

“Did you two make up?” asked Fay.

“We did,” I said before ruffling Raul’s hair.

I didn’t know what the future held, but I hoped that in the years to come, Raul would grow up to be strong but also compassionate and kind.

I also hoped he wouldn’t throw any tantrums in the future.

***

After settling matters with my son, the six of us met up with Erica, who had been waiting in the lobby. She had asked us if we had everything settled. From the smirk on her face, I assumed someone must have informed her about what happened in the market today.

There was a carriage waiting for us outside. Painted a deep shade of red, lined with gold, and decorated with various motifs, it was easy to see that this was one of the Battling Valkyries’ most valuable carriages. It looked like something only the sect leader would get to ride in. However, when Erica led us inside, nobody else was there.

“Lady Alexis asked me to escort you in style,” Erica said when she saw our befuddled expressions.

“So we’re being treated like VIPs?” I asked.

“More or less.”

The carriage was large, but it wasn’t large enough to seat four humans, one lamia, and a dragon comfortably. I was sitting by the window, Siv sat on top of my lap, and Lin’s long tail was took up the entire floor as it curled around and around.

“This princess does not like this small space,” Lin complained. “It is very cramped.”

“I can’t move my wings,” Siv added. Her own tail was resting on top of Lin’s.

“Yes, well… I don’t think Lady Alexis thought about how a lamia would fit in this carriage,” Erica admitted with a small blush.

While the carriage ride wasn’t what I could call comfortable, it was certainly a novel experience to have so many beautiful women squished in close. I was certain any other man would have been in heaven… if they could breathe.

Our destination was the arena. Given my experience with the Colosseum, my first thoughts on the arena was that it would have a similar aesthetic, but the Colosseum in Nevaria looked absolutely nothing like Midgard’s arena. The first big difference was that the arena was nearly two times bigger. Even from a distance, I could see how it loomed above us. Not only was it tall, it took up about twice as much space as the Colosseum.

While the arena and the Colosseum were both made of stone, the primary difference lay in the architecture itself. The arena had a more streamlined aesthetic. Rather than looking like a bunch of parts that were created and then combined into an aesthetically pleasing manner, it looked more like the entire building had been carved from a single chunk of stone.

It also wasn’t open to allow sunlight in. The roof was closed and there were at least three separate eaves that wrapped around the structure to create multiple layers. At the very top was a roof with a statue of two people locked in combat standing atop it.

After pulling up to the front, we were let out, with Lin going first. The poor lamia couldn’t wait to get out of the wagon.

“Free at last.” Lin stretched her arms above her head and smiled widely. “This princess will be walking back home after the tournament. She is not going to get in that stupid thing again.”

“I guess that means you will get to walk home while the rest of us ride the carriage then,” Kari said, also stretching as she stepped outside.

“Wha—no! T-this princess was just kidding! Please don’t make her walk alone!”

“Relax. I am only teasing you.”

I was the last one out. Fay and Raul had gone out after me, but I had a dragon girl on my lap and was located furthest from the door.

Once we were all outside, Erica led us into the arena lobby—a large space that resembled an atrium—and stepped up to a counter situated between two large archways. There was a man standing behind the counter. He greeted us with a smile, though I could tell he was only smiling at the women in my entourage.

“I’m Erica with the Battling Valkyries. These six are guests of Lady Alexis. They will be accompanying Lady Alexis in her private viewing booth.”

Erica’s voice contained all the majesty and authority I’d expect from someone who had been selected to become the next leader of the Battling Valkyries. She wasn’t asking this man for anything. She was simply informing him of what was going to happen.

“Of course. Of course.” The man rubbed his hands together and gave her a slimey smile. “Do you need us to escort them?”

“That won’t be necessary.”

It looked like the conversation between them was over. Erica turned around and traveled away, gesturing for us to follow her. We did not proceed through the archway. Instead, we traveled around the arena and found a set of stairs that were not being used, then walked up the stairs, through a hallway, and eventually into an extravagant room decorated in red carpet and furnishings.

A fragrant scent wafted through my nose, making me realize there were several flower vases sitting on the four tables in the room. I did not know what kind of flowers they were. However, the scent coming from them was very strong and pleasant.

Only one person was in this room when we arrived. Alexis was sitting on the chairs located near the viewing window, dressed in the chest plate, greaves, and shoulder pauldrons of a Battling Valkyrie. She did not have a weapon on hand. I wasn’t sure what kind of weapon she used, but she might have been a brawler.

“Lady Alexis, I’ve brought Eryk Veiger and his companions,” Erica said with a bow.

“Thank you,” Alexis said. “I appreciate you going out of your way to do that. Head on down to the competitors booth now. Janet, Karen, Rinne, and Lizbeth are already there.”

“Yes.”

Erica offered her sect leader another bow, gave us a smile, and left the viewing booth. We turned our attention back to Alexis. She had not moved from her seat, but she had turned around and was gesturing for us to join her.

“What are you all doing? Come over and sit down.”

We didn’t dare reject such an invitation and walked over to the chairs lined against the viewing window. I looked through the glass and saw the massive arena floor, which I estimated was considerably bigger than the arena floor in Nevaria’s Colosseum. I sat down with Kari on my left, next to Alexis, and Fay and Lin on my right. These chairs were not made for people with wings in mind. Siv could not sit in one, but she didn’t seem to care as she sat on my lap.

“Thank you for letting us view the upcoming tournament with you,” Kari said, smiling as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Hmph. Considering the help you have given me, it would make me look very ungrateful if I didn’t at least give you a nice place to watch the tournament.” Alexis crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. “I also wanted to speak with you about those storage rings you mentioned during our last conversation. You said it was possible for you to make them for us, but that there were stipulations.”

Kari had been speaking a lot more with Alexis than I had. As a cunning woman with a keen intuition, my wife was not one to lose out on an opportunity to make beneficial deals with a powerful sect like the Battling Valkyries.

“That is correct.” Kari nodded. “Namely, we would like you to introduce us to craftsmen who can make the rings and Rune masters who can engrave Runes onto objects. I would prefer if that person was a member of the Merchants Guild, as they are considered more reputable than unaffiliated craftsmen.”

“You certainly have a lot of demands.”

“For what I am giving you, these demands are quite cheap. They don’t cost a valis. Just connections.”

I learned days ago that Kari and Alexis had been discussing the idea of creating storage rings for high ranking members of the Battling Valkyries. It looked like Kari was trying to use Alexis’ connections to find people who she can sell the rights for the storage rings to. If she could sell the rights in exchange for even 15% of the profit earned, she’d make enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

That said, it wasn’t like we were strapped for cash.

While Kari was talking business, Lin and Fay were discussing the upcoming tournament as they played with Raul.

“This princess wonders what kind of people are going to compete. She never got to see the Spiritualist Grand Tournament when Darling was competing, so she has no idea what to expect.”

“I don’t know either, and I actually took part in that competition.” Fay paused as Raul scrambled off her lap and ran over to the glass window that made up the entire wall. “I imagine there will be a lot more variety in this competition, though. The sects found in the Northern Plains are far more varied in their combat styles than we are.”

“Whatever the case is, this princess hopes it won’t be boring.” Lin turned to me. “What do you think, Darling?”

“I think this competition will be much more exciting than the one in Nevaria,” I admitted, my eyes narrowed as I saw a man dressed in gaudy red clothes walk onto the arena floor. “There are a lot of combat oriented sects in the Northern Plains, but there are also sects that use other means of combat aside from martial prowess like monster tamer sects or sects that rely on the creation and use of poison. Those are also considered viable combat options.”

“There are sects that use poison?” Lin perked up.

I nodded. “One of the Six Great Sects is called the Poison Sect. They are the foremost knowledgeable sect when it comes to using poison in combat.”

I had on rare occasions met with a member of the Poison Sect. All of them were pretty creepy in my opinion. Most of them had deformations or discolored skin because of the poison in their bodies. I remember seeing one person who wore a cloak because his figure had become so hideous he couldn’t bare to show it in public. Despite that, his passion for inserting poison into himself had not faded.

I’m pretty sure that guy died from the poison inside of him at some point.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” a voice suddenly reverberated around the room. I glanced at the speaker on the interior of this room. Then I looked at the man standing on the arena and talking into an oblong object. This speaker system was connected to the object in his hands via Runes and used a wind-natured monster core to transmit sound. “Welcome one and all to the arena! My name is Silas Mattiades! Here, Spiritualists from all walks of life come to hone their battle prowess, earn fame and glory, and line their pockets with valis! However, today, we have a special treat for all of you. The sixth seat on the Council of Six is open, and the Six Great Sects have decided to host this tournament in order to find a sect who is worthy of joining their ranks. That’s right. Whichever sect wins this tournament will become the sixth member of the Six Great Sects and earn their place on the Council of Six!”

His announcement was met with loud cheering and lots of excitement. I turned away from the arena to look at the many hundreds of thousands of people sitting in the stands, but I couldn’t make out individual faces. It was all just a sea of different colored heads.

“Before this competition begins, allow me to explain some of the rules for both the competitors and you viewers,” the man continued. “There is only one rule… and that is no killing. If you kill someone, you are automatically disqualified from the tournament, so be careful. Other than that, you can use any and every means available to win. The winner will be determined by knockout, forfeit, being booted out of the ring, or if I decide someone has lost. That’s it. Simple, right? And now, let the Council of Six Selection Tournament begin!”

I leaned back in my chair as the tournament officially began. I wondered what kind of battles we would see during this time.