WIEDERGEBURT Act V: Chapter 8

“A favor, you say?”

Alexis frowned at Kari. Her narrowed eyes made her seem far more mature than her childish figure would suggest. It really made me wonder how old this woman was.

“We have at least three favors we would like to ask of you,” Kari said, a benign smile on her lips. I knew that smile very well. It made me shudder, and I even felt a little bad for Alexis, now on the receiving end of that smile. “The first is that we would like your help establishing a sect here.”

“Hmph! You think I can help you establish a sect?” Alexis crossed her arms and snorted. “The only sects that have the power to push a new sect’s application forward are the Six Great Sects. What makes you think my little Battling Valkyries sect has the reputation and prestige to help you?”

“Come now.” Kari’s smile turned into a grin. “I might not have been in the Northern Plains for long, but I wasn’t born yesterday. I know how to gather information. The Battling Valkyries is currently the second largest combat oriented sect after the Paladin Sect. Many people believe your sect will win the upcoming tournament and become the Sixth Great Sect. At that time, helping us quickly establish our sect will be a simple matter.”

“Perhaps,” Alexis conceded. “But I fail to see what I stand to gain out of this.”

“Oh? Can you not already tell that Erica here is at least two times stronger than she was when you last saw her?” Kari spread her arms wide. “I’m sure someone like yourself, who has reached the Third State of Spiritualism can easily sense that her Spiritual Power has received a significant boost.”

Alexis remained silent, and I knew Kari had this woman right where she wanted her. Alexis might have been an incredibly talented Spiritualist, and she was obviously capable of controlling a sect, but when it came to outright cunning, nobody could beat my wife.

“She’s at it again,” Fay whispered into my ear.

I grinned at her.

“At it again?” Raul asked. “What again?”

We weren’t able to say anything to our son while these negotiations were taking place, so I asked Lin to distract him by making funny faces. Lin had this odd way of stretching her face that never ceased to make Raul laugh. While it was a little distracting, it was better than my son outright disrupting the negotiations currently taking place.

“Are you saying her increased strength is thanks to you?” asked Alexis.

“Not just me.” Kari shook her head and gestured to myself, Fay, and Lin. “Me, Fay, and Lin have been constantly sparring with Erica, Karen, and Janet during our travels to Midgard. And Eryk and Fay were responsible for refining several alchemy pills that increase a person’s Spiritual Power, widen their Spiritual Pathways, and enhance their physical abilities.”

Alexis sucked in a breath before her eyes locked onto me and Fay. “You two are alchemists?”

“I am only a middle-ranked alchemist. I can at most be considered an Adept.” I paused before glancing at Fay, whose eyes suddenly widened as a blush stained her cheeks. She shook her head, telling me not to continue, but I grinned and looked back at Alexis as if I hadn’t seen it. “However, my wife Fay is already at the level of an Alchemist Master. If she had someone to study under, I believe she could become a grandmaster within the next five years.”

Grandmaster ranked alchemists were the highest rank a person could achieve. There were very few Grandmasters even in the Alchemist Association, which was famous across the entire Northern Plains as the greatest alchemy sect ever. In fact, I think the only Grandmaster right now was the Alchemist Association’s current head.

“This little girl is an expert level alchemist?” Alexis did not look like she believed me.

“If you wish to test her, Fay will gladly show you how talented she is later,” I said as Fay’s entire face turned the same color as her hair.

I was not joking at all here, and I was certain Alexis could tell how serious I was, so she didn’t pursue this subject any further. Instead, she looked back at Kari and returned to their previous conversation.

“Naturally, I am thankful for your aid in helping Erica, Janet, and Karen grow strong, but we did not ask for your help, so we have no obligation to you.”

Kari retained her calm and placid smile as she spoke. “Perhaps not right now, but what if I could guarantee you victory in the upcoming tournament? The Battling Valkyries are indeed powerful and many people think there is no way you will lose, but isn’t there one sect you are not certain you can beat?”

At that moment, Alexis’s already narrowed eyes became thin slits. “I see you really have done your research.”

I, of course, did not have a single clue as to what Kari was saying, but that was because Kari had likely been gathering this information on her own. We would occasionally stop at various towns and cities during our travels. It would not surprise me if she had snuck into these cities while I wasn’t looking and acquired this information while my other wives kept me occupied. That was definitely something she would do.

“Thor’s Hammer is a well-known warriors sect that only accepts men, and they are currently ranked third,” Kari said with a smile. “However, the reason they are ranked third is due to a combination of factors. One.” She held up a single finger. “They do not have a very good reputation. There are many rumors about how they treat people poorly and some of their members have even assaulted women. Two.” She extended a second finger. “They do not have as many members as you or the Paladin Sect. And three.” She held up one more finger. “Because they do not have as many members, they cannot take on as many jobs, so their reputation has not spread as far. However, while they are ranked as the third largest combat sect, they have three people who have reached the Third State of Spiritualism among them.”

The room went completely silent at Kari’s words, which resounded through the minds of myself and everyone else like a clocktower’s bell. I could tell from the Alexis’ pursed expression like she had swallowed a lemon that everything my wife said was true.

This information was all completely new to me. I wondered when Kari had acquired it.

“Even if they have three members who have reached the Third State of Spiritualism, so what? Their sect leader and his vice-leader are two of the people who have reached the Third State of Spiritualism, and there is a rule about this tournament stating the leader and vice-leader cannot take part in this competition,” Alexis said.

“This is true,” Kari admitted, and here, her smile widened further. “But that still leaves one member among them who has reached the Third State and can compete. How many members of the Battling Valkyries can you confidently state have the ability to defeat him?”

When Alexis went completely silent, Kari turned to Fay. There was a glimmer in her eye that said she knew she had already gained the victory she wanted. Seeing that expression in her eyes turned me on. My wife was at her sexiest when she was being cunning like this.

“Fay? Can you bring out that pill you made?”

With a sigh, Fay stepped forward and held out her hand, summoning a pill about the size of a palm from inside of her storage ring. The moment this pill appeared, a spicy scent filled the air. The pill was a dark crimson color. While its outer shell looked like blood, a bright orange and blue fire seemed to be burning inside of it.

“Is that…?!” Alexis’ eyes went wide.

“An Elemental Enlightenment Pill,” Kari said, eyes glittering dangerously. “You seem to know what this is, as well as the fact that no one in the Northern Plains, including the Alchemist Association, can make it. With this pill, we can help Erica reach the Third State of Spiritualism in time for the tournament.”

“And in exchange, you want us to help you establish your sect.” Alexis sighed and relaxed her shoulders. “Very well. In exchange for helping us, we will also help you. However.” She sent Kari a feirce glare. “We will only help you on the condition that we win the tournament.”

“I’m glad we could come to an agreement.” Kari smiled, but Alexis just snorted. “Of course, we still have two more favors to ask.”

Alexis pinched the bridge of her nose like she was about to get a headache. I almost chuckled. I might have snorted a little because Alexis glared at me.

“The second favor is that we would like you to write a letter of recommendation for Fay to join the Alchemist Association.” At this, even my eyes widened, though Kari continued speaking before I could comment. “She will not be an official member, but more like an apprentice. At the moment, her talent is something she gained through her own incredible labours without any help. I’m sure she can become a Grandmaster even without the Alchemist Association, but she would learn so much more if she had access to their knowledge.”

What she said was something none of us could deny. Fay was incredibly talented at Alchemy. I’d say she was even more talented at Alchemy than she was at combat. However, she’d never had a teacher before. She had taught herself in my previous life and become extremely proficient at refining ancient and powerful pills, and in this life, she had already begun refining her own original pills. I could only imagine how much she would grow if she had access to the Alchemist Association’s vast wealth and knowledge.

“I can write her a letter of recommendation,” Alexis said after a moment’s thought. Her eyes suddenly sharpened. “However, whatever happens after that will have nothing to do with me.”

“That is fine. We only need the letter,” Kari said.

Alexis ran a hand through her hair and gave Kari an even look. While she appeared exasperated, I thought I saw a hint of respect in the woman’s eyes.

“What is the last favor you want?”

“We want your help searching for two S-rank Demon Beasts. One needs to have a light element and the other needs to have a darkness element,” Kari said, giving Alexis what would be her final and most difficult request to complete.

***

Alexis and Erica watched as Eryk, Kari, Lin, Siv, and Fay, with Raul in her arms, left the office. While Erica wore a stunned look on her face like she couldn’t understand what just happened, Alexis slumped backwards in her seat. A bit of sweat ran down her pale face. Running a hand through her soft hair, she realized she had actually worked up a slight cold sweat as well.

“Lady Alexis?” Erica asked in concern when she saw the way her sect leader was acting.

“Erica… I want you to get closer to those people,” Alexis said.

“Closer to them? How do you mean?” asked Erica, keeping her expression carefully neutral.

“It would be nice if you could befriend them… but it would be better if you could get that man named Eryk to fall for you,” Alexis admitted.

“Ah?” Erica looked like she’d been struck across the face with a lightning bolt. Her entire face turned bright red.

“That man and his group are incredibly powerful. They are so powerful that even I cannot see the depths of their power.” Alexis glanced at the now closed door. “A group of people like that are sure to shake up the entire Northern Plains. Having a close relationship with them can only benefit us in the long run.”

Erica said nothing, because she understood her sect leader’s line of thinking. At the same time…

“I’m not sure it will be possible for me to make Eryk fall in love with me,” she admitted at last.

“Why not? You are every bit as beautiful as his wives,” Alexis said.

Erica wore a strained smile as she answered her sect leader. “If it was just a matter of my appearance, I would feel very confident about my chances, but the bond those five share is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It is not something an outsider like myself can tread upon lightly.”

“Hmm…” Alexis hummed as she rifled through the papers on her desk, using the time she spent going over them to think. Finally, she said, “In that case, I suppose befriending them is the most you can do. Well, in either event, it seems we’ve been given some interesting tasks. I can write the letter of recommendation to the Alchemist Association today. After the tournament, we will begin working on their other two requests.” Alexis paused to look at Erica. “You should take that pill in your hand and head into seclusion so you can enter the Third State of Spiritualism. You need to reach the Third State at least a week before the tournament begins so you can adjust to the increased power.”

“Yes, Lady Alexis,” Erica said, glad to have been given a task she could finally accomplish. The entire conversation between her leader and Kari had left her head spinning.

Turning around, Erica left the sect leader’s office, a bright red pill clasped firmly in her left hand.

***

The Antiquity Inn looked the same as I remembered. I was glad to see the familiar five-story building with it's numerous windows, large columns, and the various statues of mystical creatures near the entrance. So much about the Northern Plains was different from how I remembered it that seeing a building I could recognize made me feel abnormally happy.

“So this is where we will be staying?” asked Lin.

“For now,” I said.

“Do they even have a room that will fit all of us?” asked Fay as she adjusted Raul in her grasp. Our son was nodding off and resting his head on her shoulder. I imagined so much had happened that he’d exhausted himself from the excitement.

“They should,” Kari said. “But even if they do not, we will make do.”

I held a firm grip on Siv’s hand as Kari led the way inside. We walked through the spacious lobby, which had a large gathering of humans and non-humans like catfolk and lamia. The receptionist at the front saw our large party coming toward her and offered us a polite smile.

“Hello. Welcome to the Antiquity Inn. Would you and your group like to book rooms with us?”

“If possible, we would like to book one room,” Kari said. “Do you have anything that can fit six people?”

The woman nibbled on her lower lip as she looked at us. Her gaze drifted toward me quite suddenly, and I could tell she was wondering about my relationship with these women. The fact that there was a child among us probably gave her imagination quite the kick start. She was already beginning to blush before she looked away.

“We… we do have the King’s Suite. It has two bedrooms, a bathroom with a shower, a living room, and even a kitchen,” she said at last. “However, it is very expensive at 6,000 valis a night.”

“We’ll stay there,” Kari decided as I summoned a bag of valis from my storage ring and placed it on the desk.

“There should be 72,000 valis in there. Enough for twelve nights. Can you please check to confirm the contents?” I asked.

“T-these are platinum coins! I’ve never seen so many platinum coins before in my life!”

The receptionist became shocked out of her mind when she let the contents out of the bag and saw the platinum coins fall from them. She quickly blushed when everyone in the lobby looked in our direction. Coughing into her hand, she began stacking the platinum coins, which were equal to 1,000 valis. There were a total of 72 platinum coins.

“It looks like everything is in order.” The now pale receptionist gave us a fixed smile. I think it was only her sense of professionalism that kept her from panicking. “I will grab the keys for you. Also, please wait for just a moment while I summon someone to escort you to your suite.”

The woman turned around and went to where the keys for each room dangled, grabbed one set, and then came back. She gave the keys to me. Then she summoned a servant from a room behind the receptionist counter and asked him to escort our group. When I saw the way he looked at my wives, however, I immediately rejected him and asked that she have a woman escort us. I didn’t want to deal with some lecherous man stripping my wives with his eyes.

We were soon escorted to our room. The moment we entered, Lin raced forward on her tail and spread her arms wide as she spun around. I was worried about her getting dizzy, but then she turned to us with a beaming smile on her face.

“Look at how big this room is! Darling! Darling! This room is even bigger than the one we used in Muqadas!”

“It’s a beautiful room,” Fay agreed with Lin as she moved over to the bed and sat down. She shifted Raul around to a more comfortable position. “It’s very refined and tasteful.”

“I don’t think we ever stayed in the King’s Suite before,” Kari added. She placed her hands on her hips and nodded with approval as she looked around. “Well, it’s not as fun as camping under the stars, but being able to sleep in such luxury like this is nice too.”

The rest of us gave Kari an amused smile.

We decided to have everyone take a quick rinse in the shower. Fay, Siv, and Lin knew how to use the showers now since Kari and I taught them during our stay in Vahn. The shower in the King’s Suite was quite big—big enough to accomodate a lamia and her six meter long tail. After all of us had showered, we sat down on the couches in the living room to hold a family meeting.

“Kari, are you sure it was a good idea to have Lady Alexis write me a letter of recommendation to the Alchemist Association?” asked Fay.

“Of course I’m sure. Why do you ask?” asked Kari.

“Well… you know, if I become part of the Alchemist Association…”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Kari could see where Fay’s concerns lay and quickly headed her off. “The Alchemist Association is an officially recognized sect and one of the Six Great Sects, but they are also only a loose affiliation of individuals. While they do have some people who work purely for the sect, the truth is many alchemists end up working for another sect. It’s actually for this reason that the Alchemist Association became a member of the Six Great Sects. Their influence extends far not only because of their knowledge on alchemy, but also because they have ingratiated themselves to so many other sects. Nobody wants to offend them since doing so would mean offending these large sects. I remember some of their best alchemists are currently working for the Paladin Sect and the Midgard Spiritual Knights.”

Fay grew silent for a moment as she absorbed this new knowledge. She nibbled on her lower lip and absently stroked her son’s hair. I thought she looked beautiful as she sat there, more enchanting and picturesque than a portrait made by a famous painter.

“I understand. So you want me to enter the Alchemist Association and acquire all the knowledge I can?” she asked.

Kari smiled gently at her best friend. “I want you to learn everything you can. You have always been trying hard to be useful to Eryk, and this will help you greatly increase your alchemy skills, which we will definitely need in the future.”

“If I do this… will we have to part for a long time?” asked Fay.

“Of course not,” I said before Kari could. “The Alchemist Association lets you come and go as you please. The only thing you’ll need to do for them is refine a certain number of pills every year. I think there’s a quota of one thousand pills that you must refine for them. So long as you do that, they won’t bother keeping you there.” A relieved look appeared on Fay’s face as I continued. “You will still be traveling with us. If you couldn’t, then I wouldn’t let you enter the Alchemist Association.”

My words reassured Fay, who smiled as she leaned back, letting Raul rest his head against her ample chest.

Lin and Siv were sitting on the couch across from me, Kari, and Fay. They squirmed restlessly as we finished this part of the conversation.

“What should we do, Darling? Is there anything this princess and Siv can do?”

I considered the drakvar and the lamia for a moment before glancing at Kari. There honestly wasn’t anything I could imagine Lin doing right now, but I knew she didn’t want to be the only one not helping.

“At the moment, there isn’t anything I can think of,” Kari said with a frown. Lin’s shoulders slumped, but the blonde woman continued. “However, once the tournament ends and our sect becomes officially recognized, we are going to need someone who can help manage our finances, budget, and train new members. Things will get even more hectic once we get a Warp Gate over to Nevaria and people begin transmigrating back and forth between here and there. Can we leave you in charge when that happens?”

“Of course!” Lin thumped her chest several times, her eyes sparkling like yellow moons. “When the time comes, you can leave those matters to this princess!”

“As for Siv,” I began. “After the tournament, I am planning to visit the dragons. I think it would be a good idea if you came with me.” I looked at the small drakvar as she sat on the couch. She was so tiny her feet couldn’t even reach the floor. “The dragons are branch members of the drakvar race, but they became trapped here after the first war against the Sekbeists.”

I had met the dragons back in my previous life. At the time, Kari had just died and I was seeking power, so I ended up stealing one of their treasures. It was not my proudest moment.

Siv did not look very interested in coming with me, but after hesitating for a moment, she gave me a slow nod. “I will travel with you.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“I will be going as well,” Kari said with a smile. “It will be interesting to meet the dragons.”

“This princess will go too! Don’t even think of leaving this princess out!” Lin added.

Fay smiled at me. “I hope you will also allow me to accompany.”

Since we all had so much to do, I had originally been intending to go with just myself and Siv, but it looked like everyone wanted to accompany us. I couldn’t say no.

“All right. We’ll all go together,” I said.

The tournament would take place in a little under one month, which meant we had about a month of free time. I figured we could spend that time sightseeing around Midgard. There was not much else we could do within a month, and this was Fay’s, Lin’s, and Siv’s first time here. It would be a good idea for them to familiarize themselves with the place we’d be staying for the next few years.

I woke up later that night when I felt the bed shifting. Blinking, I turned to find the spot on my left empty. Fay had been sleeping there. Lifting my head to look around, I noticed the dark shadow departing from the room. After debating with myself for a moment, I extricated my body from the tail, legs, and arms of my other wives and snuck out of the room as well.

Fay was standing by the window when I entered, staring out at the city of Midgard, which was twinkling much like the night sky. The lights came from the millions of monster core lamps that were activated at night. It caused the sky and city to blend together, making it impossible to tell where one began and the other ended.

Her current nightgown was semi-translucent and allowed me to see the outline of her glorious figure. Her pert butt and wide hips were adorned with some underwear we had bought in Vhan. She was not wearing any breast bindings, so her chest was on full display, inverted nipples hidden behind folds of skin.

“Can’t sleep?” I asked, coming up to stand beside her.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Fay said, then sighed and shook her head. “I was just thinking about everything that’s happening.” She bit her lip again. “Do you really think I should join the Alchemist Association?”

“Do you not want to?” I asked.

“It isn’t that I don’t want to… but I am a member of the Nevarian Braves. I feel like this is betraying you,” Fay admitted.

I think I understood her conflict. She wanted to learn alchemy, to improve herself so she could be even more useful to our group, but she felt like joining another sect would be the same as betraying me, her husband.

“Fay…” I turned the woman around and placed my hands on her shoulders. “You and I both know that couldn’t be further from the truth. If you join the Alchemist Association, it will give the Nevarian Braves a connection to them, which can only be a good thing. With that connection, we will be able to introduce Nevaria’s Alchemist Association to them and maybe even merge the two together. It would help us establish an even greater bond with the Northern Plains.”

Having lived with Kari for so long, I knew very well what she was thinking when she asked Alexis to write that letter of recommendation. She was planning on helping Nevaria expand. This was her duty as the princess of Nevaria and one of its strongest Spiritualists.

Fay didn’t say anything as she looked at the floor.

“What else are you worrying about?” I asked.

“Ah!” Fay became startled, then her ears flushed red as she realized I’d seen right through her. “I’m also worried… about whether or not I’m good enough. What if I join the Alchemist Association and mess up? I might embarrass myself and you in the process…”

“That would never happen,” I said adamantly. “I don’t think you realize how talented you are, Fay. There are very few Alchemists who have your talent. In fact, when you head to the Alchemist Association next month and take their initiating test, if you don’t shock the entire sect with your abilities, I will eat my own shoes.”

“Please don’t do that,” Fay bluntly stated. “You’ll get a stomach ache.”

“I won’t have to since you’re not going to fail. If anything, I believe the current Head of the Alchemist Association will take you on as an apprentice after seeing your talent.”

Fay’s red hair fell forward, covering her eyes from view as she looked at the floor. I also looked down to see her rubbing the top of her left foot with the small toes of her right foot. The nervous gesture was pretty cute.

“Do you really think so?” Fay asked in a soft, uncertain voice.

I placed a hand under Fay’s chin and lifted her head. Her emerald eyes shone with a brilliant luminescent like sparkling gemstones. There was a soft blush on her cheeks that enhanced the fairness of her skin, making her appear more enchanting than a fairy.

I leaned down and pressed our lips together, then pulled back just as Fay closed her eyes and pressed my forehead to hers.

“I don’t think so. I know so. You are going to be brilliant,” I said with such confidence that even Fay, who still had something of an inferiority complex, could not help but believe me.

“Thanks, Eryk,” Fay whispered.

“Anything for my wife.”

Under the light of the moon, stars, and Midgard’s monster core lamps, I held Fay in my arms and kissed her again.