WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 69

It wasn’t just that small town that had been destroyed. When I reached Vahn, it was to discover that the entire city was in ruins. Buildings had been half-reduced to rubble and corpses littered the streets. Also, unlike the small village I had come from, Sekbeists had overrun the city once again.

Using the Fourth State of Spiritualism for lightning and water, I decimated the Sekbeists within the city. Tidal waves crushed numerous bodies. Bolts of lightning rained down from the sky. On the ground, I wielded a sword of lightning in one hand and water in the other, cutting through the Sekbeist forces arrayed against me.

Elites were no match for me anymore. Even the Overlords and Beasts were no match for the powers I now wielded. All of them fell as blades of water flew all around me, as lightning burst from my fingertips, and as my swords sliced through them like a scythe cutting down wheat. It did not take long before the ground became stained red, before the scent of blood filled the air and my vision.

While I was mopping up the remaining forces, a loud screech made me look into the sky. Soaring high above the clouds was… a giant bird. It was an avian of such immense size that even an adult Dragon paled in comparison. Because it was so high up, all I could see was a brilliant luminescence, like this bird was being haloed with pure light.

Something about this creature made the hairs on my neck stand up.

I ducked into a half-destroyed building and withdrew all of my Spiritual Power. The bird screeched again. I placed my hands on the ground, fingers touching the dirty surface. There was a chalk-like dust covering the floor, which drifted through the air and nearly made me sneeze. While hunkered down, I peered out from behind the remaining bits of wall and watched as the strange bird soared through the air. What kind of creature was this? A Demon Beast? Did Demon Beasts get to be that size?

For a moment, I considered using Spiritual Perception to estimate how strong it was, but something held me back. I somehow recognized that this bird was powerful. It would probably sense me if I were to reach out with my Spiritual Power. That was something I believed I should avoid… at least for now.

The bird eventually released one last screech before disappearing in a burst of light. Even after it had left, I remained hidden for a time, waiting to make sure it wouldn’t come back before leaving the cover of the building and making my way outside of Vahn.

I headed to Midgard. When I was last living in the Northern Plains, Midgard had been the bastion of humanity, a massive city with powerful walls that could even withstand a siege from an army of Sekbeists. If I could get information on what’s been happening anywhere, I believed it would be there.

And yet when I arrived in Midgard two months later…

“What… what the… how?”

Speaking to myself, I tried and failed to find the words to express my shock as I stared at the ruined gates of Midgard. It looked like they had been hit by a meteor shower. Some parts had crumbled, others had holes in them, and there were areas where absolutely nothing existed, as if the walls had just been erased.

Closing my eyes, I tried not to think about what this meant. My heart thundered in my chest. I ignored that too. Taking a deep breath, I tried to settle my nerves, opened my eyes a second later, and walked through the gate.

It wasn’t just the rampart that had been destroyed. Everything looked like it had been annihilated.

I glanced at a building to my left. I couldn’t remember what this building used to be, and looking at it now, I knew I would never be able to figure it out. The front wall had crumbled. The roof was gone. It looked like something had struck the inside and exploded outward. Only two of the four walls that kept it standing remained. Black char covered the inside as if whatever struck it had reduced everything in the building to ash.

Everywhere I looked, I saw the same thing, buildings in ruin, chunks of earth gouged out of the ground. At one point, I turned a corner and found myself standing before a chasm so deep I couldn’t even see the bottom. It looked like something had torn the earth asunder.

Feeling a sudden sense of urgency, I ran toward where the towers had once been. I hadn’t seen them in the distance, which struck me as odd, but when I got there, I discovered why. The towers had been destroyed—no, not destroyed. Wiped out. There was nothing left of the seven towers that belonged to the six most powerful sects and the Midgard Spiritual Knights. All that remained was a giant crater.

What had happened here?

The thought flew through my mind before hundreds of other questions filled me. What was going on? How had Midgard fallen? Where was everyone? Were they all dead? Erica? Tungsten? What happened to them? I wanted to know, but I knew that finding the answers in this place would be impossible.

I pressed a hand to my face, feeling the cold sweat forming on my brow, and wondered what I should do now. Where should I go? Was there anywhere I could go?

As these thoughts filled me, I let my feet take me wherever they willed me to go. I walked through the destroyed streets, searched through ruined buildings, and tried to see if there were any signs of life. Except there weren’t. Nothing seemed to remain in this empty, burnt out husk of a city.

And yet, while I was talking through what had once been an alley, a loud snapping sound suddenly alerted me to the fact that I wasn’t alone. I spun around, lightning in one hand and water in the other, prepared to demolish whatever was coming my way. It wasn’t until I saw who stood before me that I stopped and stared.

A group of people had walked into the narrow alley with me. All of them were covered in dented but sturdy armor with Runes inscribed into them. Their weapons were likewise inscribed with Runes. I could tell their armor and weapons were definitely Dweorg made, but it looked like even Dweorg creations had been unable to withstand the rigors of whatever battles they had fought.

However, it wasn’t these people and their weapons that truly caught my attention.

It was the woman leading them.

Even after all this time, this woman’s enchanting face had a youthfulness that made her seem far younger than she really was. That said, there was a haggardness to her features that hadn’t been there the last time I had seen her. Bags and stress lines appeared around her eyes. Hair like raven’s feathers had been cut short, no longer spilling past her shoulders like a beautiful waterfall. Her hardened purple eyes were currently wide in surprise.

“E-Eryk?” the woman asked.

She stepped forward, the pauldron on her left shoulder clicking against her breastplate. Her pleated metal skirt also clinked together, metal on metal. Like the others, her armor was dented and covered in scratches. However, on her it still looked good. Her bare stomach was covered in scars that crisscrossed against her skin. I also noticed with some shock that she was missing her left arm.

As I stared at the woman, a single word, a name, came to mind. I spoke without thinking.

“Erica…”

***

I woke up expecting to feel a warm body snuggled closely in my arms, but instead all I felt was an empty embrace. Opening my eyes, I gazed at the ceiling for a moment, then lifted my head and looked around. It took me a moment. However, I eventually found the person I was looking for.

Fay was standing near a window, light dancing off her messy hair. I wasn’t sure how long she’d been awake for. Saying that, it was clear she hadn’t done anything to get ready for the day. A simple sheer robe covered her body, visible through the thin fabric. Her perky sideboob peeked out at me, but the girl herself appeared to be lost in thought. She had reached up and was rubbing a spot on her chest.

With a soft groan, I sat up in the bed, which caused Fay to turn in my direction. She smiled at me, but it seemed distant.

“Morning, Fay.”

“Good morning, Eryk.”

As Fay turned to look back out the window, I stood up and, heedless of my own nudity, moved to stand beside her.

Outside the window, I could see Nevaria. This window gave us a view for one of the larger streets—not one of the four main roads, but still a major one filled with people. While I couldn’t tell what time it was, I could figure out from how crowded the streets were that it was probably getting close to noon.

“Are you okay?” I finally asked. “You seem distracted.”

“I guess I am a little distracted,” Fay admitted.

“Because your memories have returned?” I asked. When Fay’s shoulders stiffened, I laughed. “You didn’t think I wouldn’t notice you biting my lip so hard it bled, did you? You did that on purpose.”

I looked back out the window. My words weren’t an accusation. Just a simple fact. Had she told me what she wanted, I wouldn’t have argued with her anyway. It was my belief that these girls deserved to have the memories of their previous life returned to them, but I also knew they might not want that, which was why I never said anything.

“I… wanted to remember who I was,” Fay admitted. She reached up again, and this time I noticed the symbols on her chest, which looked the same as the ones on Lin’s and Siv’s chests. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since you told us about how you were thrown back in time. All this time, I haven’t really been able to help you like Kari or even Lin has. Kari’s intelligence and ability to learn is unparalleled. She’s able to create such extraordinary devices like those storage rings, and she even reached the Third State of Spiritualism without the need to consume alchemy pills. Lin might not have Kari’s smarts, but she’s a hard worker and has learned how to help you manage the Nevarian Braves. Meanwhile, I haven’t really been able to do anything like that. I haven’t contributed to this family in any meaningful way.”

There were so many things I could have said to her. I could have told her that she didn’t need to worry about something like that, that I loved her no matter whether or not she had anything to contribute to our group, or that she did contribute her strength to us… but I didn’t. Saying something like that wouldn’t help right now. Fay was stubborn. She would believe her own feelings no matter what I told her.

So instead of offering meaningless platitudes, I reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her over to the couch. As we sat down, I turned to face her. I was mindful of the fact that I was still naked. However, Fay had already seen everything I had to offer so many times it didn’t bother me, and it didn’t seem to make her embarrassed anymore either.

“So you thought if you could remember your past, you would be able to contribute more to our family?” I asked for clarification.

“Yes.” Fay nodded.

“And now that you have your memories back, do you still feel that way?”

“I do.” This time, Fay’s lips turned into a small but wonderful smile. “I’ve been thinking about how we worked together during our recent trip to the Demon Beast Mountain Range. I was somehow able to help you refine alchemy pills despite having never done so before. It gave me this idea, this thought. What if, in my previous life, I had learned alchemy? If I could learn what my previous self knew, then maybe I could help you by becoming an Alchemist.”

Nodding along, I could easily follow where her thoughts were going, and I couldn’t find myself disagreeing with them. Having another alchemist would be an incredible boon, especially if she was just as or even more talented than myself.

“In that case, should I leave you in charge of our alchemical affairs now?” I asked.

“Please do.” Fay nodded as a resolute expression crossed her face. “Let me handle anything related to Alchemy from now on. I promise not to let you down.”

Smiling as I placed my hand against her cheek, I caressed her soft skin and said, “All right. I’ll let you deal with the alchemy side of things. This will also mean dealing with the Alchemist Association since we have a partnership with them. I’ll help you learn the details of what our partnership entails and let you deal with them from now on. How does that sound?”

“That sounds fine.” Fay placed her hand over mine and brought my palm to her lips. She kissed it once, then twice, before bringing it back to her cheek and nuzzling her face into it. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Our conversation seemed mostly over, so the two of us soon stood up and got dressed. I donned something simple since I would have to take a shower. The black pants and white collared shirt were made of a soft silk. After getting changed, I glanced at Fay as she opened the windows to air out the room, which reeked of sex, then turned toward me.

“By the way,” she began, “I still believe what I said back then. The reason I didn’t die back then was so I could meet you and help you fulfill your goals. Even now, I still believe that.”

With those words, Fay turned toward the door and walked out. I stared after her for a moment, then closed my eyes as a very small smile tugged at my lips.

“Yeah, I figured you would,” I said to no one in particular.

***

Because our training for the wedding had begun now, Kari, Fay, Lin, Siv, and myself were escorted all the way to the Imperial Royal Palace. Garrett, the Astralia Royal Family’s butler, escorted the five of us into a small study after we arrived. Of course, I called it small, but that was only in comparison to the rest of the mansion.

Rainer was waiting for us when we arrived. The man was dressed in simple brown slacks and a button up shirt with ruffled sleeves. As we entered the room, he smiled at us and gestured to the comfy armchairs.

“Have a seat please.”

We didn’t hesitate to sit down. As my butt sank into the soft pillow of the chair, I glanced around at the room, which was covered from wall to wall in bookshelves. It looked like this place was a miniature library, except the bookshelves did not contain many books. Instead, they contained numerous large jars. Inside of each jar was a model of some sort. The models were of everything from carriages to buildings, and they were all made from what appeared to be small pieces of painted wood that had been meticulously pieced together.

“I’m surprised Mother isn’t here,” Kari said after a moment. “I assumed she would be eager to lecture us about the wedding.”

“She wanted to be the one who taught you, but she’s currently busy actually preparing the wedding itself,” Rainer admitted with a smile. “Thus it has fallen onto me to teach you.”

“Um...” Siv suddenly raised her hand. She looked a tad nervous as she brought attention to herself, especially when Rainer trained his eyes on her. “I, uh, I still don’t really know what a wedding is. Can you explain it please?”

“The Dragon brings up a good point.” Lin crossed her arms. “This princess doesn’t understand why we need to hold such a grand ceremony, or even what this wedding ceremony thing is supposed to be for. This princess is already married to Darling.”

“Maybe in the eyes of your people, but you’re not married in the eyes of Nevaria yet.” While Lin puffed out her cheeks at these words, Rainer gave them a patient smile and explained the concept of marriage. “The concept of marriage is something we humans created long before the Catastrophe. At first, it was simply the act of socially recognizing the union between two or more spouses to establish the rights and obligations between those spouses. However, some time during or after the Catastrophe, it became a bit more complicated.”

Rainer paused as if gathering his thoughts. He nodded to himself once or twice, then continued.

“I’m not sure who came up with the idea, but the marriage ceremony eventually became a ritual in which two people would ingest each other’s blood, an act which symbolizes that these two people have become one and now share the same blood. It establishes a bond between two or more people… though most people who have multiple spouses only have one person who has ingested their blood. Your ritual will be a bit different. Even though Kari is being established as Eryk’s Primary Wife, the rest of you are going to hold the same status as her even if your titles within the hierarchy says otherwise.” He paused to glance at Lin. “This is mostly being done because at least one of you has already taken in his blood.”

At those words, Fay and Siv tried not to squirm in their seats.

Rainer’s words made me wonder why Kari and I never had a wedding in my previous life. Thinking about it, outside of a few people who knew us, I feel like everyone just assumed we’d already held a ceremony. No one had really brought it up often enough that I considered it. What’s more, Kari and I were always so busy that I don’t think the idea to get married truly occurred to us.

“Now, the ceremony itself will take place on the sixteenth day two months from now,” Rainer said. “Our plan is to have you all take part in a grand parade, which will begin at the foot of Imperial Mountain and travel down North Main. The parade will curve around Nevaria after reaching the north gate, travel through West and East Main, and then curve around again and travel down South Main, where it will end at the Colosseum, which is where the ceremony itself will be held.”

It sounded like the parade alone was going to last for several hours. I imagine that meant we’d be required to arrive here ridiculously early to get ready for the parade, which didn’t appeal to me at all, though I would put up with it. If it meant being married to those four, I judged putting up with something like this was worth it.

When I looked at the girls, I saw that all of them had similar looks to my own. The reluctance in their eyes was clear as day. However, just like me, none of them said anything.

Rainer smiled and continued. “In regards to the ceremony itself, Hilda has decided to preside over the ceremony. Eryk, your job will mostly be to stand on the platform with her. You won’t have to do much until it’s time to recite your vows. We expect you to create a vow for each of these wonderful women you plan to marry.” As I gulped upon realizing I’d be saying something really personal in front of hundreds of thousands of people, Rainer looked at the girls in my company. “Your jobs will be to walk down the isle. Kari will be walked down the isle by Valence and Fay, your father will be walking you down the isle.”

Fay relaxed when she heard her father would be walking her down the isle. Meanwhile, Lin began waving her hand.

“What about this princess? Who is walking her down the isle?”

“That would be Dante,” Rainer said. “In most normal marriages, the person who is supposed to walk you down the isle should be the same gender. If a man walks down the isle, it is the father who walks with you. If a woman walks down the isle, then her mother would walk with her. However, Fay’s mother is not with us and Kari’s mother is presiding over the ceremony. What’s more, neither you or Siv have a mother here who can walk with you down the isle. In light of these rather unique circumstances, we’ve decided that the men of this family will walk with you.”

“Ooohhh…” Lin made an exclamation of understanding. “This princess understands now.”

Rainer nodded. “Good. Now as for what will happen after Eryk finishes reciting his vows…”

***

I woke up one morning to the sound of retching. Startled, I sat up in bed, an arm falling off my chest and onto my lap. The person beside me—Kari—shifted her body when I changed position, but she didn’t wake up. Lin was also sleeping with me, but her face was nuzzling my crotch. My eye gained a slight tick when I saw this, especially when she mumbled something about sausages and nuzzled her nose against my now erect dick.

Insatiable lamia…

More retching echoed from beyond the room. I slipped out of Kari and Lin’s grip, stepped out of the room, and entered the living room.

Blinking several times as my eyes adjusted to the low light, I tried to locate the source of the sounds, and I eventually found them. It was Fay. She was on her hands and knees, on the floor. A bucket was underneath her as she threw up her dinner, shoulders heaving, body shaking, and sweat running down her back, arms, and legs.

She wasn’t alone. Siv was with her. The dragon girl was keeping Fay’s hair out of her face as she vomited. Well, it seemed like she was done now, but Fay was still dry-heaving. I also noticed there was some vomit on the floor. From that, I guessed she had tried to run to the bathroom, failed, threw up on the floor, and then Siv had come and grabbed a bucket for her.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, wandering over to the pair and kneeling beside them.

I placed a hand on Fay’s back, gently rubbing her through her thin nightgown. Her clothes were damp with sweat.

“I don’t know.” Siv shook her head, a worried look on her face. “I heard Fay retching and came out to find her like this. I-I don’t know what is wrong?”

“Fay?” I asked.

Fay’s hair swayed as she shook her head. “I’m… not sure either. I just… I felt really sick for some reason.”

I frowned and wondered what was wrong with Fay, who, up until now, had not displayed any signs of ever getting sick.

Spiritualists rarely ever got sick. What’s more, the stronger a Spiritualist became, the more unlikely it was they would fall prey to illness. A Spiritualist who had reached the Third State of Spiritualism like Fay was almost guaranteed to never fall ill. That meant her problem wasn’t illness. It couldn’t be.

As I wracked my brain trying to figure all this out, something inside of my mind clicked, and I remembered what happened in my previous life when Kari had been sick.

“Don’t tell me…” I muttered.

“Eryk?” Fay asked when I trailed off.

“Come on. Let’s get you to the couch. It’ll be easier to look you over there.”

I took Fay to the couch, Siv following behind us with a look of worry, and set her down. Then I immediately placed a hand on her stomach. Not her head. Her stomach. Spiritual Power flowed through my hand and into her stomach as I used the water element and Spiritual Perception to scan her body. Going purely by memory, I looked through her body for that familiar foreign entity.

And that was when I found it.

I sighed.

“Siv?” I looked at the dragon girl. “Please wake up Lin and Kari. I have something I need to tell everyone.”

Siv didn’t say anything as she nodded, stood up, and raced into the bedroom. I told Fay to remain seated as I went over to the puddle of vomit and used the water element to clean it off. There was something I could do about the smell, sadly. We’d have to get rid of it with scented soaps or something.

Kari and Lin emerged from the bedroom with Siv several minutes later. They were obviously confused as they stared at us. Their noses also wrinkled when they passed the floor where Fay’s vomit had been. Fay flushed dark red, but I grabbed her hand and held it tightly, rubbing her knuckles with my thumb.

“What did you wake us up for,” Lin grumbled as she and Kari sat down on the couch opposite me and Fay. “This princess wanted to sleeeeeep for a few more hours at least.”

As the lamia yawned, stretching her arms high above her head, I could only release a weary sigh. The girl was naked as the day she’d been born, her breasts and pussy on full display. The gravitas of the situation, however, kept me from truly enjoying it.

“I’ve got some news to tell everyone that can’t wait,” I said. Kari, Lin, Siv, and even Fay looked at me oddly, but I could only give them a brittle smile. “Fay wasn’t feeling well this morning. It seems she was feeling nauseous.”

“That is odd,” Kari muttered. “Spiritualists don’t get sick often.”

“She’s not sick.” At my words, Kari frowned, but then her eyes suddenly widened. The wry turn of my lips widened. “She is pregnant.”

“Huh?”

“Wha—”

“Wait! WHAT?!”

Kari, Fay, and Lin all reacted at the same time. Only Siv did not say anything, but her eyes had gone wide as she stared at Fay.

“This is… but how… how did this happen?” asked Kari.

“You mean to tell me that Fay is bearing your child before this princess?!” Lin’s thought process was entirely different.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” I looked at Lin with a deadpan stare, but she did not seem to be bothered by it. “I’m not sure how this happened.” I shrugged. “I’m positive all women know an anti-pregnancy Spiritual Technique that’s supposed to keep them safe during sex, but…”

“Ah…” Fay suddenly mumbled. All of us turned to her.

“What is it?” I asked as the redhead’s cheeks suddenly lit up like a bonfire.

It was not Fay who answered, however, but Kari.

“I see now. You don’t know the Spiritual Technique.” I turned my attention toward the blonde beauty, whose eyes had widened as she came to a conclusion. “The anti-pregnancy technique is one that is passed down from mother to daughter. Men don’t know it because they can’t use it. However, Fay’s mother passed away during child birth, meaning there was no one who could teach it to her.”

“So that’s how it is.” Keeping calm, I let the feelings in my heart settle. “Well, there’s nothing we can do to change what happened. In light of that, I think we should discuss this and figure out how we’re going to handle Fay’s pregnancy.”

There was a lot that went into child birth, which I knew only because I was there for most of Kari’s pregnancy—except toward the end when that blasted midwife kicked me out of the room during the actual birthing process itself. Even so, I was sure I could deal with this now. I had experience, so I knew what to expect. Things wouldn’t be like last time.

“I’m sorry,” Fay murmured.

A frown marred my face when I turned my head to look at the redhead, who appeared miserable with her shoulders hunched over and her body shaking.

“Why are you sorry?” I asked.

“Because I… I wasn’t careful enough. Now we have to deal with this on top of our wedding, and I…”

“This is not something to be sorry about.” I moved off the couch and knelt in front of Fay. The space was cramped because of the coffee table at my back, but I remained there and placed my hands on her thighs, looking up at her with a smile. “I’m not upset. In fact, I’m actually happy.”

Fay’s eyes went wide. “Y-you are?”

“Of course.” I removed my hands from her thighs, stood up, and cupped her face, running my thumbs over her cheeks. “I’m going to be a dad, and one of the women I love is giving birth to my child. How can I not be happy?”

I stared into Fay’s eyes and tried to show her how happy I was at this news. It was true that this had come far earlier than I expected, but unlike the last time this happened to me, I wasn’t adverse to having kids. I wanted children. I wanted to start a family with these amazing women. This wasn’t something to decry but celebrate.

“Eryk is right,” Kari said suddenly, a smile on her own face. She also looked genuinely overjoyed by the news. “This isn’t something to be unhappy over. It’s something to be overjoyed about. Unless you don’t want kids?”

“I do,” Fay said. “It’s just… with everything that’s happening, and we’re so young too. Am I really ready for this?”

“We are pretty young to be having kids,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. “But I don’t think we’re unready. If nothing else, I know how to raise a child, so I can help out with that—and it’s not like we’re alone either. We also have Kari, Fay, and Siv to help out.”

“Did you have a child in your previous life?” asked Fay.

“I did.”

“I see.”

I didn’t elaborate on who I had a child with, and Fay didn’t ask any further questions since the answer was obvious.

We discussed the matter a bit further and decided not to tell anyone else about this yet. It would come out eventually, but we wanted to wait until after the wedding, when things had calmed down. As we continued to talk, Fay became more comfortable with the idea, especially when Kari, who seemed to become the most excited of them all, began gushing about all the baby shopping they would do once the wedding was over.

The only one who didn’t seem pleased was Lin. She huffed and crossed her arms as a petulant expression, like something a child would wear when she didn’t get her way, appeared on her face.

“This princess wanted to be the first one to bear your children.”

Her words caused everyone else to burst into laughter, but that just made her pout even harder.

***

The days passed by, and our time was filled with work, lectures, and training. Two days out of the week, myself, Kari, Fay, Lin, and Siv would journey to the Imperial Royal Palace, where we would be taught by either Rainer or Empress Herself herself on what would happen during the wedding ceremony. We were lectured on what was expected of us, what we’d be doing, and how we would act during the ceremony.

We were also taught how to dance.

“T-this princess does not think she was made for dancing!”

“Come on, Lin! Stop standing up on your tail! It’s making it impossible for Eryk to dance with you!”

Lin and I were trying to dance while Empress Hilda gave us guidance. We were inside of a massive ball room with large columns and sweeping archways artfully decorated with numerous motifs. High above our heads were several chandeliers with monster cores of various affinities brightly glowing as they reflected light. While Kari, Fay, and Siv stood off to the side, Lin and I were in the very center with an irate looking Empress Hilda.

Of course, I didn’t blame the empress for looking so angry. She was doing her best to teach Lin and I how to dance, but Lin’s tail made it very hard for her to get the maneuvers down. Many of the dance moves required a complicated set of steps. However, Lin had a tail and these dance steps required two feet.

It made things complicated.

Once again, I tried without success to spin Lin around like I was supposed to during this particular dance maneuver, but Lin simply couldn’t twirl like a regular person. When she tried, that tail of hers lashed out. The first time it happened, I was actually struck and launched off my feet. It didn’t hurt because my body was so durable, but had anyone else been struck, I was sure they’d be dead.

The only way for her to spin around was to balance on the end of her tail, but that resulted in Lin’s height growing to about seven meters, which meant I could no longer hold her hands or place my hands on her waist.

“Ha…” With a frustrated look on her face, Empress Hilda gestured for us to stop. “It’s clear this isn’t working. Take a break, you two.”

We stopped dancing as the empress marched off like a petulant child. It was clear our inability to dance had exceeded the limits of her patience, but I honestly felt like this wasn’t our fault. These dances were made for humans.

“This princess is sorry.” Lin’s shoulders slumped.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I assured her. “Empress Hilda is just trying to force us into a dance that we simply can’t do. If it’s anyone’s fault, it would be hers.”

“But… this princess is the only one you can’t dance with,” Lin muttered with a morose look on her face. “It’s because of her tail. If this princess wasn’t a lamia, she would have been able to master this dance already. She doesn’t like that she’s the only one who can’t dance with you.”

I almost smiled at how bratty Lin was being, but I understood where she was coming from. It also bothered me that we couldn’t dance like the others. However, I didn’t blame Lin like Lin blamed herself.

“I like your tail,” I told her.

Lin’s long ears twitched as her tail thumped against the ground.

“Thank you, Darling, but that doesn’t help our current situation.”

As the two of us spoke, the other girls walked over. While Fay and Siv went to Lin and tried without success to comfort the disappointed lamia, Kari went over to me. Unlike the other two, her expression was contemplative as she studied Lin.

“Is something on your mind?” I asked.

“Maybe…” Kari said, biting her lip.

Before she could explain her thoughts to me, Empress Hilda came back. She’d been several meters away, pacing back and forth as she muttered something to herself. From the scowl she wore, it was clear that, whatever she’d been muttering, it probably hadn’t been pleasant.

I was really surprised to see how… emotional Empress Hilda was acting during our dance lessons, which she made sure she always taught no matter how busy she was. The empress I was used to always wore a calm expression. She never became overly emotional and seemed to have her head on straight no matter the situation. This startling change from the calm and cool woman I’d known since meeting her to the frazzled lady she was now shocked me.

Perhaps it was stress?

“Okay,” Empress Hilda began with a sigh. “Let’s try this again. From the top, we’ll go over the steps once more.”

Lin and I were about to get back into position, but before we could even move, Kari stepped forward.

“Mother, I don’t think this is going to work,” she said.

The empress frowned. “What do you mean, Kari?”

“I mean the dance, of course.” Kari shrugged. “Lin is a lamia, which means many of the steps and moves are impossible for her. What’s more, that tail will get in the way of their dancing. I think for them, we should change the dance to something that will fit her body type.”

From the way Empress Hilda’s face twitched, I could tell she was struggling with a decision. Do we change the dance and do something different from the traditional Nevarian dance we’d been learning, or do we try to force Lin into doing a dance that she clearly couldn’t do? The woman’s face went through several transformations before she eventually relented.

“What kind of dance would you suggest?” she asked her daughter.

Kari smiled and turned to Lin. “Do the lamia have any dances?”

“We do,” Lin admitted. “This princess was taught several dances before she was forced to flee, but most of them are ritual dances.”

With a smile on her face, Kari said, “In that case, I have an idea that I believe will work.”