WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 2

After taking a shower and getting dressed, Lin and I went to the family dining room, which was located on the first floor. We couldn’t have looked more different if we tried. While I was wearing what had to be the widest smile in Nevaria, Lin was pouting. If I was being honest, her pout made me want to kiss her.

“This princess cannot believe you laughed at her,” Lin muttered. “That was rude.”

I smiled at her. “Sorry. I couldn’t help him.”

Even though I apologized, Lin clearly understood that I wasn’t being sincere. It must have been the soft chuckles that escaped unbidden every time I looked at her. With something of a huff, she slithered toward the table, which was already occupied by two people who were eating.

Kari and Fay glanced up from their conversation when we entered. Kari’s vibrant blue eyes lit up with a sparkle that outdid even the sun, while Fay’s emerald eyes shone with an iridescent that was simply radiant. Both were indescribably beautiful. Kari was a beauty with long locks of hair that had the appearance of gold threads, a bountiful figure that made men weak at the knees, and a smile that could bring nations to ruin. Fay’s beauty was different. Her red hair was like ardent flames, while her green eyes were narrowed seductively. She had proportions similar to Kari, though she was slightly smaller in the bust and had denser muscles.

“Good morning, you two,” I said as I moved over to the long table with Lin. While Lin sat down next to Kari with a huff, I gave Kari a kiss, taking great relish in letting my lips remain on hers. They were so soft. I wanted to nibble on them, but I held back.

“You two are late,” Kari said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “What were you two up to, I wonder?”

Kari was wearing a simple white dress that morning. It had long-sleeves that were voluminous and wide. A gap near the front revealed a small hint of cleavage, but it was fairly modest all things considered.

“Nothing much.” I shrugged and glanced at Lin, who suddenly paled. The Lamia shook her head back and forth, making an X-sign with her arms, clearly telling me not to say anything. “Lin punched a hole through the floor with her tail.”

“Darling!”

“What? Again?” said Fay. “How many times does this make now?”

“I-it wasn’t this princess’ fault!” Lin defended herself. “Darling just… makes this princess feel too good!”

“You know, Lin, if you can’t even control your strength when you two have having sex, maybe it would be best if you two stop sleeping together,” Kari said with a look of mock seriousness.

Lin paled. “A-anything but that! You can even take away this princess’ food, but please don’t take Darling away from her, Big Sister.”

“I don’t want to do this either.” Kari looked so remorseful that I almost thought she was being serious. Only the twinkle in her eyes said otherwise. “However, this is the seventh time in one month that you have destroyed something. Think about all those poor Earth-affinity Spiritualists who have to fix that floor every time you do this.”

“This princess is providing them with job security!”

As I wandered over to the other side of the long table, which could easily seat about 12 people, I could not help but wonder if Lin even realized Kari was playing with her. Probably not. The girl, for all her arrogant haughtiness, was a naive and innocent soul. That was part of her charm.

“Kari is really taking to her role as the teasing but overprotective big sister,” Fay said as she observed the two. She was seated directly opposite of Kari.

“I think she enjoys being the older sibling for a change” I came up right beside her chair, waiting for Fay to notice me. “It must be hard for her to have three older brothers.”

Unlike Kari, Fay was wearing black pants, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a black corset that matched her pants. The corset drew my eyes to the lines of her body. Meanwhile, the pants looked fairly tight. I couldn’t see her butt right now since she was sitting, but I could easily imagine how her clothing conformed to and outlined the shape.

“Probably.” Fay turned her head toward me, a smile on her face. “I wouldn’t know since I--”

Her smile froze and her eyes widened when she finally realized how close I was. Leaning down, I placed my hand on her cheek and closed the distance. Fay’s entire body seemed to freeze when I kissed her, but then she relaxed and slowly closed her eyes, tilting her head to make it easier for us to kiss. I removed my hand from her cheek, but only so I could gently brush back some bangs that had fallen into her face.

“Good morning, Fay,” I said when I pulled back.

Fay’s face had become as red as her hair. “G-good morning…”

“All attack and no defense,” I said with a teasing smile.

“That’s… just because I wasn’t prepared for it,” Fay muttered.

“So you say, but then doesn’t that mean you’re never prepared for it?” I sat down next to her, still smiling. “How many times will I have to kiss you before you stop blushing like that?”

My words only made Fay more embarrassed, but I didn’t think she was unhappy with my teasing. There was a smile on her face, after all.

As our conversation continued, changing from Kari and I teasing Lin and Fay to what we planned on doing for the day, a young maid came into the room. She was pushing a cart filled with two different types of food. The first was a bowl of porridge with various fruits and nuts like raisins, almonds, cashews, and blueberries. However, the majority of the cart was taken up by the large plate of very rare meat.

Lin began salivating the moment the meat appeared in front of her.

“So you are planning to visit the Alchemist Association today?” asked Kari as I began slowly eating my food, presenting a direct contrast to Lin, who wolfed her food down like it would vanish if she didn’t eat it immediately.

“Yes.” Nodding as I stirred up some of the honey mixed in with the porridge, I explained my reasons for visiting the Alchemist Association. “Now that the reparations to Nevaria are complete, I’d like to begin work on expanding the Alchemist Associations influence by introducing another pill--one that will actually be sold on the market instead of being exclusive for the Nevarian Spiritualists and Imperial Royal Guard.”

“Mother was very impressed with those pills the Alchemist Association began making for the Nevarian Spiritualists and Imperial Royal Guard,” Kari added. “She says the Body Forging Pills and Three Way Spiritual Widening Pills have made a marked difference in the strength of those Spiritualists.”

“As well it should,” Fay said with a smile. “Those pills are extraordinary.”

I shook my head. “They are okay. Honestly, those are only considered middle-tier pills. Pills are often divided into beginner-tier, middle-tier, and high-tier. Middle-tier pills are ones that require someone to have a decent understanding of medicinal ingredients to make, but anyone who studies hard can make them. The high-tier pills are the extraordinary ones.”

“Can you make high-tier pills, Darling?” asked Lin. She had finally finished eating her meal and was sitting slumped in her chair, looking so content she might fall asleep. On that note, I was still eating despite not having nearly as much food put in front of me as her.

“I can,” I admitted. “I am actually planning to refine a few high-tier pills for us soon, but I don’t have the ingredients yet.” I finished off my porridge and sighed. “The ingredients for high-tier pills are rare, and some of what I need will be dangerous to acquire. I’m going to have to travel into the Demon Beast Mountain Range at some point to get them.”

“Speaking of, when are we going back to those ruins?” asked Kari. “We never did get to explore all of it. Ah!!” Raising her hands to her head, Kari began running her fingers through her head. “Just thinking about how those ruins are waiting for me to explore their depths is driving me insane! The architecture is so unique! It’s nothing at all like the destroyed cities most of the Spiritualists who travel out there have explored. It reminds me of the ruins that Emperor Fell explored during his youth.”

“And there she goes about those ruins again,” Fay said with a smile.

“I think the ruins Emperor Fell explored was a tomb, though,” I commented.

“Are the ruins we went to with Catarina not?” asked Kari.

Shaking my head, I said, “I believe what we discovered was actually a base. I’m not sure how much you know of the Catastrophe, but I’ve done some research on it, and what I’ve discovered was that the Catastrophe was actually a great war that embroiled the entire world. Many races were involved in this war, and one of those races named the Dweorg built bases all across the world.”

“Is that so? I had no idea,” Kari breathed excitedly. She looked ten seconds away from jumping on me with a demand for more information.

Before she could even consider leaping across the table, however, the door to the room suddenly opened and three people walked in. A young man with spiky brown hair and blue eyes, another young man with long red hair tied into a ponytail, and a slightly older man with dark brown hair and stern features. As they entered the room, the youngest of the group, the boy with spiky brown hair who didn’t look much older than me, froze in place for several seconds, turned around, and walked out. He slammed the door shut behind him.

“Mikkel, Earland,” Kari greeted after several seconds of awkward silence. “I hope you two are having a better morning than Geirolf.”

“Geirolf was having a good morning until now,” Mikkal said with a wan smile as he sat down beside me and Fay. He was sitting on my other side, while Earland sat next to Lin. “Unfortunately, I think his inferiority complex has been growing more and more lately.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kari said, though she looked anything but sorry.

Kari and Geirolf had never really gotten a long. The youngest of Kari’s three brothers used to constantly make fun of her, and unlike how Kari teased Lin out of a sense of sisterly love, Geirolf’s teasing was often malicious. Some of the things he said could be downright hurtful and cruel.

Mikkel merely released a slow breath in disappointment. “I was hoping he’d grow up a bit, but it seems like that won’t happen for a while yet.”

While a somewhat somber atmosphere entered the room, it soon left when we changed topics. Mikkel and Earland told me about how their strength had increased a lot ever since I began making Body Forging Pills and Three Way Spiritual Widening Pills to them.

“We plan on traveling into the Demon Beast Mountain Range soon,” Mikkel added. “We want to test our strength and see how deep we can travel.”

“You’re so lucky,” Kari moaned. “We haven’t been able to go into the Demon Beast Mountain Range in months.”

“Neither have we,” Earland said, though that was all he said. The oldest among Kari’s siblings was a man of few words.

Kari continued pouting anyway.

***

When breakfast came to an end, Lin and I parted ways with Kari and Fay, who took a carriage that would ferry them to the Spiritualist Academy. We also took a carriage. Of course, I called it a carriage, but it was actually a cart. Lin’s 6 meter long snake tail was simply too big to fit in a carriage.

The carriage dropped us off several meters from the stairs leading up to the Alchemist Association. I was sure he would have set us closer, but there was a large crowd of people gathered around the stairs.

“I’ll wait here for your return, Lord Eryk and Lady Lin,” the driver said as he pulled his cart away to park somewhere close by.

Holding Lin’s hand, I journeyed up to the Alchemist Association.

Most people would have had to push their way through the crowd, but not me and Lin. The people who saw us quickly parted. While part of it was because of Lin’s snake tail, I felt like a larger part was because of our fame. In fact, quite a few people were whispering about us as we past.

“It’s Lord Eryk and Lady Lin!”

“What do you think they are doing here?”

“Don’t you know? Lord Eryk is the Alchemist Association’s benefactor! I hear he’s the one who gave them the recipe for many of those pills they’re refining!”

“I had no idea!”

“Doesn’t Lady Lin look elegant?”

“Mm… I don’t know why, but her dark skin and snake tail makes her look really exotic!”

“I’m so jealous of Eryk Veiger!”

The conversations varied from simple gossip to expressions of jealousy. Despite this, neither Lin nor I paid them much attention as we ascended the stairs.

When I first arrived at the Alchemist Association all those months ago, the place had been in a state of disrepair. Paint had been fading from the cracked walls, the ceramic tiles had been old and worn, and the dragon statues located on either side of the main building’s entrance were similarly unkept. However, that was back then.

In the two months since the Demon Beast Invasion, the Alchemist Association had done some renovations. All the buildings looked brand new now. The walls had been remade and repainted, the roofs were retiled, and the statues had been recreated. As Lin and I walked through the massive crowd of people gathered in the courtyard to buy pills, I could see that the Alchemist Association had finally gotten back onto its feet.

Nobody stopped the two of us as we entered the main building and made our way to the Refining Hall, called such because that was where the many alchemists who worked on the lower-tier pills like the Tender Healing Pill, Spiritual Booster Pill, Temporary Enhancement Pill, Clarity Pill, Endurance Pill, and Elemental Pill. At present, the Refining Hall contained what appeared to be 200 or 300 Alchemists diligently working on refining pills.

Me and Lin made our way around the hall, traveling along the wall. We eventually reached the door to Feinrea’s office. I knocked once and waited for a reply.

“Come in,” a voice said from the other side.

I opened the door and let Lin proceed me.

Feinrea’s office looked like it was becoming a combination of flower garden and workspace. A lot of the bookshelves had been cleared out to make way for a decent-sized garden with a sunroof carved out of the ceiling. I recognized all the plants being grown there. None of them were rare, but all of them were necessary for beginner-tier pills and some could be used in middle-tier pills.

The woman I had come to see was standing behind her desk. The large surface contained her advanced alchemy set and several notebooks worth of information. As always, the Head of the Alchemist Association was jotting down notes as she recorded the reactions of various ingredients when they were mixed together, though she stopped upon noticing who had entered her office.

“Oh! Lord Eryk and Lady Lin! Welcome!”

Feinrea straightened up and tried to make herself presentable. Her red hair with its orange-ish tint was tied into a messy bun that caused several bangs to trail across her face. This actually enhanced her enchanting eyes. Feinrea’s figure was tall and elegant, and her chest, which spilled out of her purple silk robes, was even larger than Kari’s. She smiled as we walked toward her.

“It looks like you haven’t changed since the last time I saw you,” I said in greeting. “You’re still constantly researching.”

“I am an alchemist,” Feinrea said as she tucked a stray bang behind her ear. “As an alchemist, I have to constantly increase my knowledge of alchemical ingredients so I can begin refining my own pills, but I’m still far from being able to do that. Can you blame me for working hard?”

“No, I can’t.” I shook my head.

“This princess thinks you should relax every now and then,” Lin said.

Feinrea shook her head as though denying the possibility of her ever resting until she achieved her goal. I would admit, I admired her tenacity.

“What brings you two here today?” she asked.

“A few reasons,” I admitted. “First, how is the Alchemist Association doing?”

Feinrea cupped her chin and tilted her head as she seriously considered the question. Her brows furrowed slightly, but then she shrugged.

“Our position right now is a little complicated,” she began. “At the moment, the Alchemist Association has become one of the most prominent groups within Nevaria. The pills we have introduced into the market have increased our wealth to the point where we have been able to greatly expand. We currently have over 5,000 alchemists working for us and more applicants are applying to join every day. It has gotten to the point where we’ve begun administering tests to people who wish to join in order to see whether or not they would benefit us.”

I nodded at her words. This was natural. The Alchemist Association in Midgard did the same thing. Anyone who wished to become a part of the Alchemist Association had to prove they were serious by diligently studying and taking several tests. These tests included both writing reports on pill refinement and also displaying one’s talent as an alchemist by refining a beginner-tier pill.

I had never taken the test myself, of course, but I knew some people in Midgard’s Alchemist Association.

“It sounds like you’re doing really well,” I said. “Where is the complication.”

“With the increase in personnel, we’ve naturally increased the amount of pills we can refine and sell. This wasn’t a problem at first. However, we’ve recently run into a new issue. Namely, we are beginning to run low on ingredients.” Feinrea paused here, her expression complicated as she pondered how best to explain their situation. “Demand for specific pills are currently very high, but because we are running low on the ingredients needed to refine those pills, the price for them is increasing. While it hasn’t affected us much yet, it will begin hurting business as time goes on if something isn’t done.”

“Is the reason you’re running low on ingredients because of the Demon Beast Invasion?” I asked.

Two months ago, an army of nearly a hundred thousand Demon Beasts invaded Nevaria, destroying much of the Northern District and killing many people. The cause had actually been Hagan Leucht. The head of the now destroyed Leucht Family had used the unique powers of a woman named Dyr to draw nearby Demon Beasts to Nevaria. While me, Kari, Fay, and Lin had been able to defeat them and the Demon Beasts were beaten back, Dyr had died during our rescue attempt.

I still felt guilty about it.

“That is only part of the reason,” Feinrea explained patiently. “Of course, we have been hiring mercenaries to protect our alchemists while they gather ingredients. The problem is that we can only gather so much at any given time, and the amount we’ve been able to gather hasn’t been enough to keep up with the demand for pills. It doesn’t help that the areas our alchemists normally gather ingredients from are beginning to run low. If we don’t find a new source of those ingredients soon, then we’ll be in a lot of trouble.”

I rubbed my chin and thought about this problem, which did indeed have the potential to become a serious issue if it wasn’t rectified soon. Nevaria had become reliant on the Alchemist Association and the pills they refined. Not only that, but those pills were important for increasing Nevaria’s strength. If they ran out, it would do more than just cause a panic among the population. It would decrease the overall strength of this city-state.

“Isn’t the solution really simple?” asked Lin, causing me and Feinrea to look at her. The Lamia crossed her arms and smirked at us. “All you need to do is begin growing the ingredients yourself.”

I was about to tell Lin that what she had suggested was not so simple, but then I paused and actually thought about it. The more I thought, the better her idea sounded. I turned to Feinrea.

“Would it be possible to buy a plantation or two out in the countryside and turn them into alchemy plantations?” I asked.

“That… might actually work.” It looked like Feinrea had been about to deny Lin’s idea, then changed her mind as she thought about it more. “I would need to have someone speak with the Eieran Family since they own most of the property outside of the city, but if we can buy a large plot of land that has several different types of terrain, it should be possible. However, there is still one problem that won’t be solved by this.”

“Monster Cores,” I said.

“Right.” Feinrea nodded. “Currently, we have a surplus of monster cores thanks to the invasion, but that supply will eventually run out. Also, the monster cores we do have aren’t always the ones we need. Many of the beginner and middle-tier pills require the monster cores of a Demon Beast with certain elemental affinities, and a lot of the ones that invaded Nevaria like the Dire Wolves did not possess an affinity for any particular element.”

Monster cores were the core located inside of every Demon Beast. They were primarily used to enhance armor and weapons. Of course, most of the enhancements that could currently be done with them was crude. A lot of blacksmiths just made a slot for the monster core to fit inside of the weapon or armor being forged. While this did allow a Spiritualist to activate the monster core, it didn’t really allow them to utilize the monster core’s full potential. That required Rune Writing, and from what I had seen, very few people could use Rune Writing.

Consequently, this was currently why monster core weapons and armor wasn’t as popular as it should have been.

“I’ll see what I can do about creating a supply line so you have a constant supply of monster cores,” I said to Feinrea.

“I would appreciate that.” Feinrea clasped her hands and smiled. “Now, what else did you come here for?”

“The original reason I came here was because I wanted to give you another recipe for a new pill,” I said. “The one I want to make is called Monstrous Strength PIlls. It is a pill that increases the consumer’s physical strength in proportion to the amount of Spiritual Power they have. The more Spiritual Power they have, the stronger the pill’s effects.”

Feinrea’s eyes widened. “That does sound very useful.”

“It is.” I nodded. “And fortunately, the most difficult to find ingredient is something you have in abundance.”

Feinrea tilted her head a little. “What ingredient is that?”

Feeling my lips peel back into a grin, I answered her. “The monster core of a Silverback.”

***

As Kari and Fay walked down the halls of the Spiritualist Academy, numerous eyes focused on them.

Having been subjected to the stares of others for years, Kari was able to ignore the looks easily enough, but Fay was another matter entirely. She fidgeted as they walked. Glancing at the redhead from the corner of her eye, Kari could tell that her friend was not comfortable with being the center of attention.

“I hope you aren’t too bothered by these stares,” Kari said.

Fay sighed. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I know it’s not something that can be helped.” She gave her friend a wan smile. “Do not worry about me. I might not be comfortable with them, but I can at least put up with being stared at. It’s nowhere near as bad as the lecherous stares Grant Leucht used to give me.”

“Yeah…” Kari shuddered in agreement.

They made it to their classroom and climbed up the stairs. Classrooms were essentially lecture halls, so all the seating was tertiary. Once again, all eyes were on them. Kari and Fay took a seat in the very center of the classroom, not too far from the front, but not near the back either. It was Kari’s hope that by choosing a seat like this, Fay wouldn’t have to deal with as many gawking eyes as she did right now.

Wanting to make her friend comfortable, Kari did her best to keep the girl engaged in conversation, telling the girl about the recent book she read, which was a saga about a young man who lived a thousand years ago.

Unfortunately, their conversation could not block out the conversations around them.

“Don’t Princess Kari and Lady Fay look radiant today?”

“They always look beautiful.”

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s like the two are constantly glowing.”

“It must be thanks to Lord Eryk. I heard the three of them are quite… intimate.”

“Where did you hear that?!”

“Tee-hee!”

Kari wanted to frown, but she kept up her polite smile as she continued talking with Fay, who looked more and more like she wanted to hide in her shirt. Her friend always tried to act confident. However, the truth was that Fay was incredibly shy. She did not like being the center of attention, had trouble expressing her feelings, and on top of that, her inferiority complex made it hard to accept herself. Kari feared that her friend’s feelings of inferiority would one day lead to her trying to break away from Kari, Lin, and Eryk.

Fortunately, the instructor walked in through the door, putting a stop to the conversation.

“Settle down, class,” Instructor Duendas said as he walked up to the podium. “Lessons are about to start, and we’re going to be talking about the different forms of movement that make up a Spiritual Technique, so I want all of you to pay close attention.”

As everyone settled down, Kari placed her elbows on the desk and rested her cheeks against her hand. She didn’t pay attention to the instructor’s lecture. However, it wasn’t because she wanted to be disrespectful. Everything the man said was something she already knew thanks to Eryk, who was honestly a far better teacher than this man.

“You know,” Fay began in a gentle whisper. “I sometimes wonder why we’re even still attending the Spiritualist Academy. With our knowledge and strength, I feel like we could afford to drop out.”

Kari felt as if someone had dumped her body in ice water, but she tried to contain her fear as she sent the redhead a wan smile.

“Perhaps you could afford to drop out, but I cannot. Dropping out of the academy would reflect poorly on the Astralia Royal Family. Not only that, but it would be like saying I found the Spiritualist Academy useless, and it would therefore be considered a grave insult toward the academy itself. That would cause friction and bad blood between my family and the academy, and since my family are the rulers of Nevaria…”

“I understand,” Fay said when Kari trailed off and bit her lip. “I didn’t think about the politics involved with you attending the academy.”

“It’s generally not something most people would think of,” Kari said, and then bit her lip as she hesitated. “I… hope you won’t consider dropping out. I know it’s selfish of me, but I want you to stay with me.”

Fay’s eyes widened at Kari’s confession. It was an admittedly childish thing to desire, but Kari did not want her best friend and sister in all but blood to leave her alone. She wanted to remain with Fay. Even if it was something as simple as attending the academy together, this was something that she and Fay shared with just each other. Not even Eryk could claim this small spot in Kari’s heart.

“Don’t worry,” Fay said at last. “I will not leave you.”

“Thank you,” Kari breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

The two girls grew silent as Instructor Duendas’ lecture continued.