WIEDERGEBURT Act II: Chapter 42

I was walking on my hands and knees, my eight month old daughter sitting on my shoulders, grabbing fistfuls of my long green hair as she cheered and giggled. We were strutting across the carpeted floor of the main office. A little ways off, Kari was sitting behind the desk and diligently working on the paperwork required for our guild, which I had foisted off on her because I knew squat about paperwork.

“You know, when the sect leader shoves his paperwork onto his wife, it sets a bad example for the others,” Kari grumbled as she read over a document, signed it, and then placed it on the pile of already finished documents.

“That’s only if the sect leader is actually good at paperwork and knows what he’s doing,” I countered as Kayli pointed at the couch and said, “dat! Dat!” As I marched toward the couch like a quadruped, I continued talking. “I was made sect leader by majority vote, but honestly, I think you would make a far better sect leader than I could. I don’t know the first thing about being a good leader.”

“That’s not true at all. You just don’t want to do any of the paperwork.” As she complained, Kari looked up and frowned when I leapt clean over the couch. Kayli released a delighted squeal while we were airborne. “Also, please be careful. The last thing I want is for her to fall off.”

“She won’t fall off,” I said as I landed on the ground on the opposite side of the couch.

“You said that last time.”

“Well… that is true, yeah, but this time she really won’t.” As I made my way back around the couch, I glanced at Kari as she grabbed another sheet of parchment and began reading over it. “I’m sticking her to my shoulders with magnetism. Did you know that the human body has about 3 to 4 grams of iron inside of it? It’s not enough for me to do anything combat related, but I can at least do this much.”

“I swear… ever since you became a father, you’ve learned the most unusual facts.”

“Your fault.”

Kari released a tired sigh, but then she looked back at me and Kayli as we played and smiled. I couldn’t figure out if it was a wry smile or a happy one. Maybe a mixture of both?

“And you thought you’d never be a good father,” she said. “Kayli certainly seems to disagree.” The smile suddenly turned one hundred percent exasperated. “She loves you even more than she loves me.”

“That’s because her dad likes to spoil her!”

“Don’t declare that with so much pride,” Kari spoke to me in a dry voice.

“Spoil! Spoil!” Kayli cheered.

I played with Kayli and talked with Kari for the next hour or so before my daughter became tired and fell asleep. We had a crib in the office, so I tucked her in before making my way to Kari, where I placed my hands on her shoulders and began massaging them. Kari stiffened as she released a stifled grown, but then her body relaxed completely as I worked out the stiff muscles in her shoulder.

“How is everything looking with Brave Vesperia?” I asked.

“Everything is fine,” Kari sighed as she directed my hands with subconscious vocal cues. I paid close to attention to her content sighs. That said, I also watched her face to see what places made her wince. Those areas had knots I needed to work out, and while I did that, Kari continued speaking. “We’ve recently expanded from 307 members to 468, and we have even more applicants to look through from people all across the Northern Plains.”

“How many applicants?” I asked.

“About 2,560… but that’s just a rough estimation.”

I grimaced. “Being popular sure isn’t easy.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

“Not mine.”

Ever since returning to Miðgarðr, world of the humans, I had been battling the Sekbeists on the frontlines and protecting people who could not protect themselves. I suppose I had made something of a name for myself. Erica had once said I was ranked among the top ten most powerful Spiritualists in the Northern Plains. Of course, it wasn’t as if I was the only one who was popular here.

“Even though you don’t go onto the battlefield that much anymore, you’re still considered one of the strongest female Spiritualists. I also hear you’ve been ranked as the second most beautiful woman in all of Midgard,” I said.

Kari frowned. “Who is first?”

“Erica.”

“Ah. Yeah, I can see her being first.”

“Hm.” I leaned down and placed a kiss on Kari’s cheek. “Those people have no sense. You are so much more beautiful than Erica.”

Kari’s breathing hitched as I kissed a small junction behind her jawline. “E-Eryk…” She tilted her head to grant me better access to her neck, and I took full advantage of that by placing a string of kisses across her skin. I mixed soft and gentle kisses with rougher and more forceful ones. Soon, Kari’s breathing had grown heavy.

Turning her head, Kari claimed my lips before I could continue kissing her neck. Our tongues swirled together in an open mouthed kiss. I slowly slipped my hand inside of the large neckline of Kari’s white dress, which she wore when she wasn’t in combat these days because it was easy to bare her chest so she could breastfeed Kari. I used that to my advantage and cupped her breast in my hands.

“These have gotten a lot bigger since you’ve had Kayli,” I mumbled.

“That’s… it’s because I’m producing… ha… ahn… it’s because I make milk.”

“That reminds me, I’ve always wondered what your breast milk tastes like.”

“Hmph. Do you really want some?”

“I’m tempted.”

We continued to make pillow talk and shares kisses as I massaged her breasts. I had to be careful not to be too firm. One time when she and I were having sex, I made the mistake of squeezing her breasts too hard and milk had squirted out and shot me in the eye. It had been a very blinding experience.

Before we could go any further, a knock sadly came to the office door. The two of us stopped kissing. We turned to look at the door.

“Think they’ll go away if we ignore them?” I asked.

“Probably…” Kari began as another knock sounded out. “Not.”

“I thought as much.”

With a sigh, I slid my hand out of Kari’s shirt, stood up, and walked over to the door. Hesitating for just a moment with my hand on the handle, I released another sigh as I lamented how my time with Kari was being interrupted by an interloper. Then I opened the door and found someone standing on the other side.

“Felicia,” I greeted with a smile that was only somewhat fixed.

She must have realized that because she grinned. “Am I interrupting your alone time with your wife?”

“If I said yes, would you leave?” I asked seriously.

“Not a chance.”

“Then no, you aren’t. Come on in.”

I held the door open and stepped out of the way as Felicia entered. She was a delicate-looking woman, small and with a lithe body that made her seem childlike. Her hair was a dark auburn that went down to her shoulders. As she surveyed the area with her bright green eyes, her gaze turned first toward the crib with the sleeping Kayli, and then toward Kari who was still sitting behind the desk and looking just a little frustrated.

“I definitely interrupted you two,” she said with a slight smile as I closed the door.

“If you know that, then please make this quick,” Kari told her.

Felicia smiled at the rebuttal, but then her expression slowly became a bit more serious as she stood before the desk. I moved to stand behind Kari. Anyone looking at us would have assumed I was her second in command rather than the sect leader. No matter how many people told me otherwise, I still thought my wife was a better leader than me.

“We just got a request from Erica and the Battling Valkyries,” she said. “They are requesting that both of you come and attend a meeting with the Six Major Sects.”

I glanced down at Kari, who looked back up at me. When our eyes met, the two of us held a conversation without words, causing Felicia to shuffle on her feet a little. The two of us were in agreement that something big was happening. Erica wouldn’t bother asking for both of us unless that was the case.

“I guess we’d better pack for a long trip,” I said with a sigh.

***

I had called Fay and Lin to a secret meeting. The three of us had left early that morning after asking Mikkel and Earland to distract Kari by requesting a spar with her. We had made our way to a small café that sold baked goods like cakes and pastries. Sitting inside of the store around a round table, I hoped we blended in with the small crowd of people who were also eating there.

Of course, when one of you is a half-snake girl with a 6 meter long tail, blending in is impossible.

“This princess would like to know why you called us out here,” Lin said even as she sipped on the frothy beverage she had ordered.

“I too would like to know what’s going on,” Fay added. Unlike Lin, she had a pastry sitting on a plate in front of her, though she had yet to touch it. “I can only assume it has something to do with Kari’s upcoming birthday.”

“That is correct,” I said. “With Kari’s birthday coming up, everyone in Nevaria is getting ready for the celebration. I’m sure she’ll receive tons of gifts from various noble factions and other people, and that’s all well and good, but that made me think about how I don’t have anything for her. I thought it would be nice if the three of us could get her a birthday present.”

“Hmm… that does sound like a good idea.” Fay cupped her chin and looked down as I sipped my coffee. The bitter taste helped wake me up. “I’m sure you are correct in that she’ll receive a lot of presents, but knowing Kari as I do, she won’t particularly care for any of them. However, a present from the people who are close to her is different. I’m sure she’d appreciate anything we got her.”

“This princess doesn’t really understand the concept of birthdays,” Lin admitted with a frown. “Can someone please tell her why they are so important?”

“Do Lamia from the Endless Desert not celebrate their birth?” I asked.

Lin shook her head. “We only celebrate the birth itself. We do not celebrate it every year. Just the one time when the child is first born.”

“It’s an old tradition that stems from before the Catastrophe,” I explained. “There was a country called Roma, which believed it was important to celebrate the day of one’s birth every year because a birthday signifies your beginning and the joy of life. They held a strong belief that every human had been given a chance to fulfill their own unique mission in life. According to them, a person’s birthday is a time for them to celebrate, reflect, and give thanks for having been born, and so the tradition of celebrating someone’s birth spread to other countries.”

“This princess had no idea birthday celebrations were such an old tradition.” She looked down at her nearly finished drink and frowned. “But now… this princess wishes she could remember the year of her birth. She doesn’t even remember what day she was born on.”

I reached out and grabbed her hand, causing Lin to look up from her drink and stare into my eyes. “You don’t need to worry about that. If we can’t figure out what day you were born on exactly, then we’ll just find another day for you to celebrate your birthday.”

“Why not make your birthday the day Eryk saved you?” suggested Fay.

“Ah!” Lin’s golden eyes lit up in delight. “This princess likes that idea!”

“I’m glad.” Squeezing her hand one more time, I leaned back in my chair and sighed. “Now then, what do you think we should get Kari for her birthday?”

“Well… what do we know that she likes?” asked Fay.

“She likes reading books, exploring ruins, and going on adventures,” I answered without hesitation. “The problem is two of those aren’t birthday gifts we can give her, and she already has a lot of books. Unless we can find a rare book that only has one copy in existence, we’re kind of out of luck in that regard.”

The three of us went into deep thought as we tried to come up with something we could get Kari for her birthday, but honestly, I was drawing a complete blank. Kari and I had never once celebrated our respective birthdays after the Demon Beast Invasion. There had simply been other, more important things for us to do—like surviving. By the time we could begin celebrating them, neither of us even remembered that it was something we were supposed to do.

On that note, I didn’t actually know when my birthday was.

“Maybe… we could make her something,” Fay suggested.

“Like what?” Lin asked.

“What about something like a wood carving? Like, maybe we could make a small figure of all four of us,” Fay said.

“That sounds like a good idea…” I began, “… but do any of us have the artistic talent to carve a wooden statue?”

“Uh…” Fay suddenly froze as she realized the problem—namely, that none of us had ever created a wood carving before and therefore didn’t have any talent.

At this moment, Lin raised her hand. “This princess thinks she can make something like that.”

“Really?” Fay and I asked.

Squirming in her seat as the two of us stared at her expectantly, Lin thumped her tail against the ground, causing several of the patrons sitting near us to glance at her tail before turning away. By now, most people knew who Lin was. Even people who had never met her before were aware of the “snake girl” who lived with the Astralia Royal Family.

“Well… she can’t carve or anything, but this princess does know how to draw,” Lin confessed with the gentlest of blushes.

***

When Lin informed us that she knew how to draw, I hadn’t really been sure what to expect.

After finishing our food and drinks at the café, the three of us left the store and wandered through the streets of Nevaria, which had clearly become quite festive. I could see several people hanging banners and streamers from the rooftops and balconies of buildings. The banners had signs like “Happy Birthday, Princess!” and “May you be blessed for years to come!” They were the standard well wishes one could expect from a birthday celebration, I suppose.

Not only did every appear to be getting ready for Kari’s birthday, but many people were discussing the upcoming celebration in the streets. Lin, Fay, and I passed a number of people who were talking about it. A group of middle aged women were chattering as they passed us, discussing the upcoming birthday as if it was their own. A group of teenage boys were bragging about how they would get Kari the best present ever. Everyone who was anyone seemed to be excited over this matter.

It all felt so foreign to me.

“That’s the Princess of Nevaria for you,” Fay commented as she also listened in on some of the conversations happening around us. “Everyone is excited about her seventeenth birthday.”

“Being a public figure like that must be hard,” I muttered.

“I hope you realize people are going to be celebrating your birthday with the same zeal,” she said.

“Then it’s a good thing I don’t know when my birthday is.”

As Fay and I chattered, we were dragged along by Lin, who had a firm grip on our hands as she looked at the various shops we passed. We were currently in the merchant district. Lin said that in order to make her drawing, she needed some supplies. I wasn’t sure exactly what she needed. Fay didn’t seem to know either. However, we both allowed the Lamia girl to drag us around in search of a shop that sold what she wanted.

“Here,” Lin said at last, stopping in front of a small one-story shop made of interlocking logs that had clay used as filling between the gaps in the logs. The roof was also made of logs that had been sawed down the middle. There was one entrance, no windows, and the only symbol that let me know this was a shop was the sign hanging above the door.

“You sure this will have what you are looking for?” I asked.

Fay also looked at the sign. “It looks like they sell parchment and writing implements.”

“This is the place,” Lin determined as she tugged on our hands. “Just follow this princess inside. She’ll show you what she wants.”

The inside of the small log cabin didn’t contain much. Our footsteps caused the wooden floorboards to creak as we looked at the various types of parchment lining the walls. They were simple displays telling us what type of parchment they sold here. I could see goatskin parchment, Demon Beast hide parchment, and even vellum—parchment made from the skins of young animals such as lambs and calves. This interior was divided in half, with one half showcasing what sort of parchment they sold and the other separated by a table.

An old man stood with a stoop behind the counter, watching us with his pitch-black eyes. He eyed Lin’s long snake tail. This building was only about 5 square meters total, so she could barely fit inside. However, she slithered up to the counter and placed her hands on the surface.

“This princess would like to buy two sheets of vellum and a box of charcoal sticks,” Lin said.

The old man looked at her, then at us, and then at Lin’s tail again. Being an older man, he probably didn’t pay much attention to the going ons around Nevaria. I doubted he even knew who Lin was. That said, he also likely didn’t care. He looked to be at that age where very little could actually bother him.

“That will cost 2,400 valis,” the old man finally said.

Since I was the one with all the money, I reached into my coin purse and pulled out the necessary amount: Two platinum coins and four gold coins. I handed them to the old man. He grunted as he took them, and then turned around and began leaving through the cubby holes situated in the back of the shop. The three of us waited until he turned around, carrying two rolled up sheets of parchment and one box, which he set on the counter and pushed toward us.

“Thank you,” Lin said as she grabbed the box and scrolls.

Without waiting for us, Lin turned around and slithered over her own snake tail, which had grown quite twisted inside this little shop, and left the store. Fay and I looked at each other before following her out.

We followed her as she led us to a park. This one had a small channel running through it. I glanced at the calmly flowing water, then at the surrounded grass. The three of us were walking down a cobblestone path that led to a gazebo with a domed roof and a stone table. This wasn’t the same one we used a lot back when Kari, Fay, and I were training outside of Nevaria, but it had a similar aesthetic.

“This princess would like you two to wait while she makes the drawing,” Lin said as she sat down. 

Fay and I were silent as she took the first sheet of parchment, spread it across the table, and then opened the box of charcoal. It looked like the charcoal came in various sizes. Some of it looked really thick and big, while other sticks were tall and thin. She took one of the pieces of charcoal, a thinner one, and did a few test strokes.

Seeing how Lin had basically tuned us out, Fay and I moved off to the side where we wouldn’t disturb her.

“I had no idea Lin could draw,” Fay said.

“Neither did I.” After admitting this, I paused. “Though I did notice how neat her hand writing is. I also remember how she mentioned her people use drawings as their form of writing. Thinking on it like that, it isn’t so unusual that she would know how to draw.”

“Yes, that is true. However…”

“However?”

“Doesn’t it seem like you and me aren’t really doing anything?” Fay pointed this out to me. “This is supposed to be a present from all of us, but the only one making it is Lin.”

“That’s…”

I tried to think of something to say, but nothing really came to mind. Fay was right. Lin was basically doing all the work. All I’d done was buy the supplies. Meanwhile, Fay hadn’t even done that much.

“Maybe… we should ask Lin if she’d be willing to teach us?” I suggested. “Then we can create the artwork together.”

“I think that idea is better than just having her do all the work,” Fay agreed.

With this decision made, the two of us went back up to Lin, explained our idea to her, and asked if she would be willing to teach us how to draw. She stared blankly at us for a minute, but then her golden eyes lit up a little. A happy and beautiful smile caused her lips to curl in a way that enticed me to kiss them, though I did resist the impulse. I think she enjoyed the idea of teaching us something for a change.

“Hmhmhm. This princess will be more than happy to teach you two how to draw.” Lin thrust out her chest. Her face had taken on the haughty appearance I used to see on her all the time when she and I first started living together. “Just listen to everything this princess tells you two. She’ll turn you into artists yet.”

Lin was enthusiastic when it came to teaching us. The first thing she talked about was the different types of charcoal; Vine charcoal, which was long and thin; willow charcoal, which was the result of burning willow sticks in a kiln without air; compressed charcoal, the stuff that was shaped like a block and had varying levels of hardness; and powder, which she said was used to create patterns.

The next thing she taught us was art techniques. There were apparently four different types of techniques her people used: Hartching, rubbing, blending, and lifting. Hatching was a method in which thin, dark lines were continuously placed parallel to each other. Rubbing was done with a sheet of parchment pressed against the targeted surface, and then rubbing charcoal against the parchment, which created an image of the texture on the surface. Blending created smooth transitions between darker and lighter areas of a drawing and also could make a shadow effect. The most common method was using a finger or square piece of leather to rub or spread charcoal that had been applied to the parchment. Lifting was simply using kneaded rubber to erase the charcoal on the parchment.

After she taught us the basics, all three of us got to work.

***

We arrived at the Imperial Royal Palace several hours later, covered in charcoal and carrying several sheets of parchment. Our faces, hands, and a good portion of Lin’s stomach was covered in black smudges, but all of us were wearing smiles.

We found Kari sitting with her legs crossed in the courtyard used for training. Earland and Mikkel were also present, but unlike the pristine Kari, they were covered in bruises.

“Lin,” I began, “Why don’t you go and find a good place to hide the artwork we made? Since I want it to be a surprise, I’d rather Kari not find out about it just yet.”

“Just leave it to me. This princess will find a perfect hiding spot.”

Carrying both the rolled up parchment and box of charcoal, Lin traveled down the open corridor and entered the door on the opposite side. After she left, Fay stepped into the courtyard and wandered over to Kari. It looked like she was attempting to reach the Second State of Spiritualism. Her golden aura was flickering as it grew smaller, then larger, and then smaller again. Since she was training, Fay didn’t disturb her but sat down beside the blonde girl.

I walked over to Mikkel and Earland.

“You two are in rough shape,” I said.

“Well, you did ask us to spar with Kari,” Mikkel said with a worn smile. He touched the side of his cheek, hissing when his finger grazed against the black bruise there. Not only did he have bruises all over his body, but his left eye was swollen shut.

“I am surprised by how strong Kari has become,” Earland said, opening his eyes. “Physically speaking, she has become far stronger than either of us. Every swing of her ranseur causes the air to shriek. My bones still feel like they are being rattled when I tried to block her attacks. It’s almost unfathomable how much more powerful she has become.”

Earland and Mikkel were sitting against the wall. While Mikkel had his legs spread out in front of him, the eldest of Empress Hilda’s children was sitting with his legs crossed. He seemed to take getting beaten by his younger sister pretty well.

“You two will be able to get that strong if you keep training and using those alchemy pills I refined for you,” I said as the door on the far side opened and Lin came out. The Lamia paused after entering the courtyard, looking between me and the two girls, before traveling over to Kari and Fay.

“I do feel like I have become a lot stronger since I began taking a bath with those Body Forging Pills,” Mikkel admitted. “I can lift more weight, run faster and further, and my punches have a lot more power to them. Though I am still nowhere near my dear sister’s level.”

I shrugged. “Kari started before any of you. She already gained all the benefits to be had from those alchemy pills, whereas you two have only just started taking them, so it’s only natural she’s a lot stronger.”

Kari hadn’t been taking the Body Forging Pill or Three Way Spiritual Widening Pill for a month now, but that was because they were no longer effective. Alchemy pills that enhanced physical and spiritual properties of the body eventually became ineffective after a certain point. Not only did the body get used to them, but there was only so much strength a person could gain from medicinal ingredients.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Mikkel admitted, and then tilted his head. “By the way, why are you, Fay, and Lin covered in charcoal?”

“Oh, we were just making some art,” I said, smiling when Mikkel and Earland looked at me in confusion.