WIEDERGEBUR Act III: Chapter 14

We arrived in Midgard and were pushed through the checkpoint. As the gates opened to admit us, I looked out the wagon and sighed as I realized that nothing had changed. The people were still living in fear. They still huddled together, still walked down the streets with their shoulders hunched, as if they were trying to make themselves as small as possible. About the only change I could see were the number of refugees.

“Do you think another city was destroyed?” I asked out loud.

Erica was also peering out of the wagon. She looked at the city streets with narrowed eyes and a delicate frown.

“It is certainly possible, though I hope not.”

“If another city has been destroyed by the Sekbeists, then our sects will have our work cut out for us,” Tungsten said.

The caravan pulled to a slow stop just a few dozen meters outside of the gate. Taking that as our cue, the four of us climbed out of the wagon we’d been sitting in.

As our feet landed on the road, a middle-aged man came up to greet us, rubbing his hands together in a way that was somewhat grimy. He was a big guy. By big, I meant he had a large gut. It hung over his belt and wobbled as he moved. This man was not a Spiritualist, which explained why he wasn’t in the best of shape. While his gut was big, his eyes were small and kind of beedy.

“Thank you very much for protecting our caravan,” the man said in a grandiose voice. I noticed that his eyes were focused solely on Erica, or rather, on her chest. “I don’t think we would have survived if you four had no shown up when you did. These roads are getting more and more dangerous with each passing day.”

Erica ignored the way the man eyed her chest and smiled at him. “You are welcome. Considering our own circumstances, us meeting was most fortuitous.”

“Indeed.” The man nodded. “Should you ever need anything, then please, do not be afraid to come by the Merchant’s Union and request Markus Lukt.”

“I will be sure to do that,” Erica said.

With a final goodbye, we parted ways with Markus and his group, who were leading their horses and wagons to a nearby building that looked like a warehouse of some kind. I watched them only for a moment. Switching my gaze from Markus as he disappeared through the door to Erica, I was not surprised the see the woman shuddering as she held her arms.

“Ugh… I hate dealing with slimy people like that,” she complained.

“I can see why,” I said with a slow nod. “He wasn’t mean or rude, but the looks he kept sending you were not very pleasant.”

“Tell me about it,” Erica grumbled.

“The woes of being beautiful,” Dagan said, causing Erica to roll her eyes.

Since our guilds were located in the same general direction, at least to a point, I traveled with this group through the crowded streets full of displaced and fearful people. While there were a lot of people, some of whom were shopping and some of whom were just sitting on the side of the roads, no one seemed happy. There were no children playing in the street. There were no older folks sitting down to have a game of chess. The pastry shop Kari and I sometimes took Kayli to when we were in Midgard was boarded up. I heard the owner’s wife had been killed by Sekbeist during a trip out of the city.

However, as our group past by them, several people looked our way and began whispering.

“Hey, isn’t that Erica of the Battling Valkyries?!”

“It is! And that man next to her! I know him! That’s Eryk Veiger from Brave Vesperia!”

“No way! That girly-looking man is Eryk Veiger?!”

My eyebrow twitched. Girly-looking? I might have been a lot more feminine in my youth, but I had filled out quite a bit since then. Certainly, I would never have the bulging muscles that Tungsten did, but did that mean I was still girly-looking?

A sigh escaped unbidden from my mouth, but I soon sent a stern frown to Erica as she giggled at me. The woman wiped away a few tears from her eyes and gave me a brilliant smile.

“Sorry, but you can’t tell me it isn’t funny,” she said.

Ugh…

I didn’t respond to Erica’s provocation and instead said my goodbyes to her, Dagan, and Tungsten before parting ways with them. Those three were all members of the Six Major Sects. Meanwhile, Brave Vesperia was only a mid-level sect.

While Erica, Tungsten, and Dagan went to find a carriage that would take them to those massive towers looming in the distance, I walked the rest of the way to Brave Vesperia’s headquarters in Midgard. It was a five-story building that was longer than it was wide, located in one of the busier parts of the city. When I entered through the front door, I looked at the large group of people lined up near the requesters counter, where people could request our sect for quests. There seemed to be a lot of people who wanted to hire us. I wondered if we had enough personnel to handle all these requests.

Since it looked like everyone was busy filing requests, I slipped past the large crowd and made it to the double doors near the back. A pair of guards were standing on either side. The moment they saw me, their eyes widened before they relaxed.

“Welcome back, sir!” they said at the same time.

“Thank you. It’s good to be back,” I replied.

The guards opened the front door, and I slipped past them and walked down the hall, until I reached a massive room that seemed almost empty, save for the large Warp Gate in the very center. It was not active right now. However, I walked up to it and channeled my Spiritual Power through the gate, which caused a thick nebula of energy to expand within it. Once the power had stabilized, I stepped through.

My skin tingled as the energy washed over me, but it was only for an instant. I stepped through to the other side and arrived inside of a room that appeared identical to the one I had just left. Exiting the room, I walked down the halls and ascended several floors.

There were quite a few people walking down the halls. Most of them were humans, but there were also Lamia, Catfolk, and Dwoergs. When they saw me walking down the hall, everyone stopped walking to greet me.

“Welcome back, Master Eryk!”

“Lord Eryk, good to see ya!”

“I hope your latest quest was a success!”

“Your wife and daughter have been worried sick about you, you know! You should go see them!”

I responded to their greetings with a smile and replied to a few of them with quips of my own, especially when they talked to me about Kari and Kayli. Some of these people I recognized by name. However, there were also quite a few whose face I recognized but whose name I couldn’t remember. That made me feel a little bad. Even so, I never let this fact on and made sure to greet every person who came up to me.

Eventually reaching the office/living quarters that Kari and I lived in, I knocked on the door exactly three times. Nothing happened at first. I waited until I heard the sound of thumping, and then stepped back seconds before the door opened.

A beautiful woman with blue eyes brighter than the sky and golden hair framing her alabaster face greeted me. She wore a light blue tunic that went just a little past her hips, but her legs and feet were completely bare. The tunic stretched across her massive bust.

It hadn’t been that long since I last saw Kari. At the same time, as I looked at her womanly figure, I couldn’t help but feel like it had been years. I had missed this woman so much. I didn’t even realize how much I had missed her until this moment.

“Eryk!” Kari cried the moment she saw me. I was prepared for her lunge forward and wrapped my arms around the woman’s waist, pulling her into a tight embrace—and not-so-secretly enjoying the feeling of her boobs smashing against my chest. She wasn’t wearing breast bindings.

“I’m home,” I said as I stroked her hair with one hand and hugged her waist with the other.

“Welcome home,” Kari said with her head tucked underneath my chin. Her nose was buried in my neck and she took several deep breaths as though breathing in my scent. As she did this, my body relaxed as the calming and familiar scent of her shampoo pervaded my nose.

I had finally returned to where I belonged. I was home.

***

The morning after I informed Empress Hilda of our plans to move into the Nevarian Braves’s headquarters, myself, Kari, Lin, and Fay finished packing our belongings and loaded them onto a large wagon that was at least ten meters long. Despite being a wagon and not a carriage like what nobility normally used, it still had the extravagant decore of something owned by royalty. The white paint was glossy and inlaid with gold. It didn’t have a cover to protect it from the rain whilst moving, but since we only planned on traveling through Nevaria, I wasn’t sure that mattered.

Empress Hilda, Dante, Rainer, Valence, Mikkel, Earland, and even Geirolf had come to see us off. While the youngest of the group hung back, the others all stepped up to wish Kari well in her endeavors.

Kari accepted their well-wishes, hugging her family. She even hugged Valence. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the way his stern face morphed into one of shock. At the same time, the surprise he displayed made me realize he had probably never acted very affectionately toward Kari, which made me wonder if he was even that great of a father. Valence was a great Spiritualist and a dedicated man, but he seemed to be lacking when it came to treating people with affection.

“Please take care of yourself,” Empress Hilda said. “And remember your promise. I expect to see all of you stop by at least once every seven or eight days.”

“We will,” Kari responded to her mother with a bright smile.

Everyone began climbing into the wagon. Lin went first since she was so big, and then Fay hopped in next.

I was about to follow them, but just as I was about to leave, a hand landed on my shoulder. The person who had stopped me from leaving was Valence. As I looked at the stern-faced man who was at least a head taller than me, Valence’s grip on my shoulder tightened.

“I am entrusting my daughter to you.”

That was all Valence said before he removed his hand from my shoulder and took several steps back. As always, this man spoke very little. Maybe the problem wasn’t that he was uncaring so much as he didn’t know how to properly express his feelings? In either event, I decided to give this man some face.

“Please do not worry,” I told him. “I’ll protect Kari with my life.”

My words caused Kari, who was still speaking to her mother, to blush beet red. Empress Hilda raised a hand to her mouth and giggled just a little. Meanwhile, Valence nodded as if he was satisfied with those words.

“Since you four are moving into the northern district, don’t be a stranger,” Dante said as he clapped a hand on my shoulder in a manner that was far friendlier than what Valence had just done. “Stop by the Nevarian Spiritualist garrison every now and then to say hi.”

“Sure.” I shrugged. “Why not?”

Our goodbyes were soon said, and I loaded myself into the wagon with Kari. Once we were sitting down, Kari informed our driver that he could begin moving, and with a crack of the reigns, the wagon was slowly pulled forward by two Mastodons.

During the ride to our new headquarters, the four of us discussed our plans for the sect, but I feel like I did most of the talking. I had a lot of ideas that I wanted to implement. The first thing I needed to do was make our members strong enough that all of them could contend with B-rank Demon Beasts on their own. This was going to require an extensive amount of alchemy pills and time. We wouldn’t be able to start accepting missions right away.

“I’ve already spoken with Feinrea, and she has agreed to give us Body Forging and Three Way Spiritual Widening Pills for free,” I said.

“I don’t think she can afford to not give them to you,” Kari responded to me in a somewhat dry voice. To compliment her tone, a wry smile caused her lips to curl. “You are the one who taught her how to refine those pills. Without you, the Alchemist Association would have never reached the height it's at now.”

I shrugged but didn’t deny what she said.

“How do you plan on training everyone?” asked Fay, leaning forward curiously as she placed her hands on her knees.

“The same way I trained you two,” I answered. “I already have several dozen sets of weighted clothing prepared for everyone. I plan to have all of them begin physical strength training, followed by spiritual exercises to increase their Spiritual Power, and then sparring.” I swept my gaze across the three girls. “I hope I can rely on you three for that last one. I can’t spar them all myself.”

“Of course you can.” Lin thumped a hand against her chest. “Just leave everything to this princess! She’ll do anything she can to help you.”

“Thank you,” I said, grinning at the Lamia’s enthusiasm.

We soon arrived at the Nevarian Braves’s headquarters. None of the Spiritualists who had appeared the other day were present yet, but Jessie and the two other maids, Gertrude and Vansette, were there. They greeted us after we entered. It seemed they had been doing their job of cleaning the front lobby.

“Good morning, Master Eryk and Mistresses Kari, Fay, and Lin,” Gertrude greeted us. She was a lean woman about two or three years older than myself. Her blonde hair was sandy and fell around her in curls. She didn’t have much of a chest, but her body was packed with muscles that were currently hidden underneath her white and black dress.

“Morning,” we greeted her.

“Everything is ready for today,” she informed us. “The chef also just arrived a few minutes ago. He’s preparing the kitchen right now.”

“Good. Please keep up the good work,” Kari said.

“Yes, Mistress Kari.” Gertrude bowed to us once more before she resumed her cleaning.

The first thing I did upon arriving was have Fay, Kari, and Lin grab the supplies—the alchemy pills and weighted clothes—and bring them out to the back. While they did that, I began setting up an obstacle course.

Our courtyard out back was fairly big, large enough that we had several sparring circles, an archery range, and a sitting area for people who wanted to relax outside. There was still a lot of room left over too. I had asked for a large courtyard that I could customize as I pleased.

Past the sparring arenas was an open space. I really had no idea how big the space was, but it was enough to suit my purposes. I placed my hands onto the ground and channeled the earth element, which flowed through my hands, into the dirt, and caused the area around me to rumble and shift.

Having only used the earth element once before, I wasn’t that good at manipulating it. The first time I tried to make a pillar out of the ground, it only shifted a little. I tried a second time. A pillar rose from the mostly flat surface, but then it crumbled because I hadn’t packed enough dirt into it. Frowning, I realized what the problem was and channeled even more Spiritual Power into the ground, imagining a pillar that was densely packed to the point where it was more solid than rock. This time, a pillar that was at least ten meters tall and four wide rose from the ground. Well, I called it a pillar, but it was more of a wall really.

I took a deep breath after finishing. Creating this one pillar was a good bit harder than I thought. Because I wasn’t well-versed in this element, I was using a lot more Spiritual Power than if I used water or lightning.

After taking a several minute break to recover, I went back to creating the obstacle course. I made objects for people to run around, small cliff faces for people to climb up and leap over, suspension bridges made of densely packed dirt, and even used the water element to create small ponds and streams that flowed together in a continuous cycle.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been working, but it must have been longer than I expected because Kari, Fay, and Lin were already finished with their tasks and watching me. They seemed pretty surprised by something. I only realized after several seconds of staring that it was because I was using an element I shouldn’t have an affinity for… which reminded me that I hadn’t told them I was now capable of using Lin’s elemental affinities.

“Since when you were able to use the earth element?” asked Kari.

“Since before my fight with the Basilisk,” I admitted. “However, I think I could have activated the earth element inside of me for awhile now. I just never realized it.”

“What do you mean?” asked Fay.

Since I was done creating the obstacle course, I gestured for everyone to join me at the tables and sat down. Kari took my left. Fay and Lin sat together on the other side. This seating arrangement seemed to denote their pecking order, as it were. Since Kari was considered my First Wife, Fay and Lin often gave the spot next to me to her.

Once we were comfortable, I began speaking. “When me and Kari were rescuing Geirolf, I began meditating to enter my subconscious and seek out my elements.” I paused when I saw their confused faces and realized I’d have to start from the beginning. “When you reach the Third State of Spiritualism, you’re able to look inside of your subconscious, which is like a realm inside of your body where all of your Spiritual Power exists. This includes your elemental affinities.”

It was hard to describe the subconscious, especially since it was supposedly different for everyone. My subconscious simply appeared as a vast and empty space. In the center of this space was a large nebula of swirling Spiritual Power being orbited by several spheres that represented my elemental affinities. On the other hand, Kari in my previous life had once told me that her subconscious looked like the empty hallways of an ancient ruin.

“Anyway, I checked to see my affinities because I remembered accidentally using the light element during the battle with Hagan Leucht and Skygge. Do you remember what happened toward the end, Kari?” I asked.

“Toward the end?” Kari pursed her lips in thought for several seconds before her eyes widened. “Yes! I do remember something that happened. During my fight against Skygge, there was a nearly blinding flash of light, and then Skygge was dead. I don’t know what happened because I couldn’t see, but I assume he was killed by you.”

“He was killed by me. That flash of light also came from me,” I said. “When I saw what was happening to you, I panicked, and then my Spiritual Power suddenly surged and activated the light element very briefly.”

“But… that shouldn’t be possible, should it?” asked Fay. “Everyone knows that the affinities you are born with are the only affinities you can have.”

“That isn’t actually true,” I corrected her. “It is possible to train yourself into having more than one affinity, but it generally takes decades to learn how to use a second affinity, so most people believe it’s a waste of time and focus on mastering the affinity they are born with. Saying that, I believe what is happening here is different.” I paused for a moment to look at Lin, who tilted her head curiously. “I think Lin gave me her affinities when she bit me.” I held up my hand where the Ring of Marji, which looked like black rose thorns surrounding my ring finger, was prominently displayed. “When Lin bit me, she injected her blood into my body, which formed a connection between us. After we had sex, the connection grew even stronger. I believe the combination of our blood mixing inside of my body and us having sex is what caused me to gain her element.”

This was honestly just a theory that I was making based on what happened in my previous life. When Kari died, I had ingested some of her blood, which I now believed was the reason I had gained her element.

Thinking back on it, I believe the Runes that appeared on Kari, Fay, and Lin every time we had sex was somehow connected to this ability. Because Kari and Fay hadn’t exchanged blood with me, the Runes were not complete, so they disappeared after they climxed. However, Lin had exchange blood with me during our first meeting when she bit my hand after I rescued her from those boars. That was why, even now, I could see the Runes peeking out from beneath her top.

The girls were silent for a time. I didn’t rush them and remained quiet as they contemplated my words. This was a pretty shocking revelation.

“So…” Lin began, “You can use this princess’s elements?”

I nodded. “I can use both the earth and darkness elements, though I am not trained in their use, so I’m not very good at using them.” I paused. “I also think you can use my elements. However, you won’t be able to activate them until you reach the Third State of Spiritualism.”

That seemed to depress Lin, whose shoulders slumped a little, but then she perked up. “At least you can use this princess’s elements. That is good. It means we’re even closer now than we were before.”

“I suppose it does at that.” I agreed with her.

“If you can learn how to use our elements by ingesting our blood, that means you should be able to use them after our wedding ceremony,” Kari said at last.

I blinked. “Does the wedding ceremony involve drinking blood?”

“It’s an old ritual from a really long time ago,” Kari informed me. “These days, it is mostly symbolic. The drinking of blood during the wedding ceremony is meant to symbolize us becoming a family, becoming of the same blood. But I read in a book once that there used to be a ritual long ago that actually bound married couples together using their blood. It formed a link between them that could only be broken with death. However, just what exactly that ritual entailed and what sort of bond it formed is unknown. The book didn’t say since the ritual has been lost to time.”

I honestly hadn’t known that. Kari and I had never been married in my previous life. We probably could have gotten married at some point, but by the time we had the opportunity to hold a ceremony, neither of us had ever really thought about it. We were already as good as married. I think we both just assumed that holding a ceremony to reaffirm what we already had seemed pointless.

Now that I was thinking about this, I wondered what would happen after the wedding ceremony. Would those Runes that kept appearing on Fay and Kari every time we had sex become permanent like they had with Lin? Would I believe able to use the fire element as well? And what about them? Would they also be able to activate and use my elements once they reached the Third State of Spiritualism? I honestly had no idea, but I was looking forward to finding out.

Before our conversation would continue, several of the Spiritualists who had joined our sect walked into the back courtyard. Catalyna and Marko were among them. All of them were wearing armor and appeared ready for a fight. I wondered what they would think when I told them they wouldn’t be doing any quests until they reached what I deemed was an appropriate level of strength.

“Let’s shelve this discussion for now,” I said, standing up. “We need to begin training the others.”

The three girls agreed and, standing up, the four of us went over to greet the Spiritualists who had arrived.