WIEDERGEBURT Chapter 13

Sleeping on a soft, comfortable bed was a luxury that I had never known before. The mattress was made of a type of soft foam that conformed to my body. It gave me the sensation of sleeping on a cloud.

I opened my eyes and gazed at the ceiling. It was pure white and made from a material other than wood. Most homes had simple wood paneled or a log ceiling. If a home had a white ceiling like this, it meant the owner was wealthy, or in other words, a noble.

Becoming more awake as the seconds ticked by, I glanced over to my left, at the glass window through which sunlight poured. It was still fairly early. I couldn’t quite see the sun yet, but the light coming in let me know it had likely risen above the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

Soft breathing tickled my ear. I turned my head again. Kari was sleeping right next to me, her beautiful eyes closed and revealing her long eyelashes. Her open mouth was inviting and tempted me to kiss her awake. As was the case with most nights, she had wrapped her arms around me and was using my shoulder as a pillow.

A devious thought came to my mind as I gazed at this sleeping beauty.

Turning over, I gently eased Kari off me, until she was lying on her back. Her slack arms flopped a little as I hovered over her. The soft skin of Kari’s collar bone was covered in a few marks from our activities last night. They would disappear once she and I began training, so I wasn’t too worried about them, and besides, I had more bite marks covering my body than she did.

I looked further down. Kari’s exposed breasts rose against her chest like a pair of large hills. They shook and jiggled as she breathed. I looked back at her face, then smiled as I lowered myself and took one of her nipples in my mouth.

A soft sigh issued from Kari as I swirled my tongue around her nipple, but she didn’t do anything else. Hmm. I reached out with my right hand and fondled her other breast, pushing my finger against her nipple, flicking it a little, and softly pinching it until it became hard. Kari’s brow furrowed as a blush crossed her face. Her breathing grew heavy. However, she still didn’t wake up.

I thought about what I should do for a moment. Should I keep playing with her breasts, or should I go lower? Kari’s breasts were sensitive. She could orgasm from having them toyed with, and I was sure that would wake her up. On the other hand…

Smiling to myself, I moved even lower. I pressed my lips against her flat stomach. I enjoyed the way the muscles in her stomach twitched and convulsed, and I especially enjoyed the gentle moans and soft sighs Kari released from my actions. I trailed my tongue along her skin, licking the slightly salty flesh. I paid special attention to her soft belly button. This caused Kari to squirm even more, rubbing her thighs together as juices leaked out from her. Finally, I reached the prize.

Kari no longer had any hair between her legs. She had removed it once she was able to, saying something about how having a hairy crotch felt weird to her. I didn’t particularly care one way or the other. That said, I wouldn’t deny that having a perfectly clear view of Kari’s smooth pussy was arousing. There was something to be said about not having my vision unobstructed.

Spreading her legs apart, I traced my fingers along her lips, which were as smooth now as they had been during our first time, moving them with a delicateness that was like a feather tickling someone’s skin. Kari’s breathing deepened a bit as I touched her. I eventually spread her lips apart. It was just the first pair of lips, of which there were two. The second layer was smaller and shaped kind of like a diamond with a longer bottom as it moved into her ass. The interior of her pussy was colored a soft pink that gradually turned into a darker shade. Her insides and lips glistened. Some of her love juices dripped down her skin and into her buttcrack.

I’d once heard a woman’s naughty bits described as a flower. At the time, I really didn’t get it. What did flowers have to do with vaginas? Having seen Kari’s plenty of times, I think I finally understood why someone would use such poetic prose to describe a woman’s privates. It did look kind of, vaguely, like a flower.

Leaning down, I took in Kari’s scent, which caused me to feel an overwhelming heat in my stomach. I closed the distance, unable to resist placing a kiss on her lips. My tongue darted out from between my mouth as I licked around the edge of her honey pot. I made sure to avoid her sweet spots. I wanted to save those for last.

As I dined on her snatch, Kari’s cheeks turned a pale pink as her brow furrowed in frustration. Her thighs tried to close, but I kept them open as I rested between her legs. Finally, a pair of hands found their way into my hair and pulled me closer, until my nose was caressing the hood that covered the small spongy bud.

I looked up. I couldn’t actually see Kari’s face because her giant breasts were in the way, but I could tell she was still sleeping because her moans were too soft. Kari was a screamer.

Deciding to wake her up, I worked out the spongy bud underneath the hood and placed my mouth over it. As I began flicking it with my tongue, I placed my index finger against her entrance and pushed it inside of her. I pumped my finger in and out of her pussy, seeking out a certain spot that felt slightly harder than the rest. Making a “come here” gesture with my finger, I soon found this spot and began rubbing it.

A loud cry suddenly echoed around the room as Kari woke up. The hands that were buried in my hair grew stronger as she pulled me in until my nose was pressing against her crotch. Kari’s thighs shook as she lifted her hips off the bed, practically grinding herself against my face. A good amount of juices flowed from her pussy, which I greedily lapped up like a man dying from dehydration. Kari’s loud scream grew softer and softer as her body lost strength, until her quivering thighs went slack and her hips fell back onto the bed.

I sat up from underneath the covers and looked at Kari, whose breathing had become hitched and heavy. Her eyes were glazed over a bit. Her mouth had also gone slack and some drool was leaking from it. Sweat had broken out on her skin, making her sparkle a little as sunlight hit her body.

Quietly congratulating myself, I crawled back up her body until my face was hovering over hers.

“Good morning,” I greeted.

“Good morning.” She eyed me warily. “Was this revenge for the other day?”

The other day, Kari had woken me up in a similar manner. I’d been jolted awake by an intense orgasm and discovered Kari with my dick in her mouth. It had led to a rather passionate round of sex.

“Are you complaining?” I teased her.

Kari shook her head and smiled as she reached out and wound her arms around my neck. “How can I complain when you make me feel so good?”

It didn’t seem to bother Kari that she could taste herself on my mouth as we kissed. Her tongue penetrated my mouth and plundered the inside like an explorer seeking treasure in an ancient ruin. Of course, like those ancient ruins with their deadly traps, I trapped her tongue in my mouth and sucked on it. Kari released a muffled, wet sounding moan as she lifted her hips and ground her now puffy lips against my erection. Her pussy was wet, so when my dick rubbed against her, the slick and smooth sensation sent shivers down my spine.

“I want this in me.” As if to emphasize her point, Kari reached down and curled her fingers around my shaft.

I lowered my head to her neck and began kissing her. “How do you want it?”

“Slow. Make love to me.”

“As my queen commands.”

After Kari helped me line up with her sodden entrance, I slowly pushed myself inside of her, groaning as her interior tightened around me. No matter how much sex we had, her body still remained deliciously tight. Kari’s breathing hitched several times before I bottomed out. As our hips touched, I took a moment to just enjoy the feeling of being inside of her.

“I wish we could stay like this,” I admitted.

“Me too,” Kari said.

Soon after we said these words, I began moving. I pulled back, then moved forward, rocking my hips at a slow, steady pace. Electricity raced through my body as my cock was pulled out of her pussy, the cool air hitting it, and then became engulfed in her warm, tight passage once again. 

As I moved, Kari’s face scrunched up as her breathing grew heavier. Her moans weren’t as loud as they usually were. I assumed this was because we were taking it slow instead of fucking each other hard. Even so, as I churned her insides with my cock, her body shuddered and shook against me. She curled her legs around my waist, locked them together, and pressed her heels against my tailbone as though to help me with my thrusts.

Kari’s insides were wet and incredibly warm. The strange heat her body produced caused my dick to twitch as I moved inside of her. However, as I was having sex, a strange thought occurred to me, causing me to grin.

“What’s… so funny?” asked Kari. Her breath hitched between her words.

“I just realized something.” I slowly shook my head, still grinning.

“What is that?”

“We’re sawing logs.”

Kari looked at me for a moment like she didn’t get it, but then she let out a loud snort. Her face turned bright red soon after. I laughed at her, which naturally resulted in her slamming her heels against my tailbone, causing me to wince.

“That was mean. You’re not supposed to make me laugh when we’re making love.”

“Sorry. Would a kiss make it better?”

“It might.”

I leaned down and closed my eyes. Our kiss this time was not filled with passion and lust. Just like the slow movement of my hips, this was soft, gentle, and tender. There was no tongue involved. As we shared this kiss, I reached out and sought her hands, lacing my fingers through them. When I leaned back, Kari was smiling at me with both her lips and her bright blue eyes. This made me lean back down, though instead of kissing her, I rubbed out cheeks together.

“I think I’m about to cum,” I admitted to her. My balls were tightening, though I was doing my best to stave it off.

“M… me too. It’s okay. Go ahead.”

Knowing it was a little harder for her to get off than it was for me, I reached down and began stimulating the jewel underneath her hood. Kari’s body tensed as she released a loud cry. Her insides tightened around me. The stimulation was too much, and I ended up releasing my load inside of her.

“Mmmm…” Kari mumbled as my hips shook while I released the last few spurts I had left. “That was nice.”

“It was. It’s too bad we can’t stay like this all day,” I said.

“Please don’t remind me.”

Despite our words, we stayed in bed and snuggled for at least another half an hour before getting up.

Our bedroom was large. It was nearly three times larger than the room I’d been renting back in Nevaria. I think it looked even bigger than it actually was because we didn’t have much furniture. There was the large bed that we slept on, a dresser sitting against the wall, the armoire next to it, and a divan over by the far wall next to the entrance.

This bedroom also had its own bath.

Of course, the bath had to be filled with water daily, which was an absolute pain in the butt, so we usually just washed each other with soap and a sponge. Still, I wouldn’t say it was bad. I rather enjoyed giving Kari a sponge bath.

Once we were cleaned up, I helped Kari with her breast bindings, which she now had thanks to the stock of bandages we’d found at our new residence. After I helped her, we slipped into our clothes.

They weren’t new clothes, though they were new to us. I donned some black pants that actually fit, wool socks, and a long-sleeved black shirt that revealed my stomach. The shirt felt a little weird. Breezy. However, I wore it because Kari said she liked being able to see my six-pack. Except for the socks, everything was made out of a type silk that came from a Giant Silkworm Demon beast. It was both soft to the touch and extremely durable against wear and tear.

I also wore armor over my clothes. It was light armor. The chest plate only covered my chest and not my stomach. I didn’t have any shoulder pads, but I did have vambraces around my forearms and grieves that went over my boots, though I wasn’t wearing those yet. All of my armor was a light bronze color.

“Are you ready?” I asked Kari.

The white shirt that she had put on did not have sleeves. It left the arms and shoulders completely bare. A small metal circle at the front and back kept the shirt from falling off. A blue cloth went through the circles and rested against her neck. A simple breastplate had been thrown over the shirt. Like mine, it only covered her chest.

The black pants she wore were tight and did little to hide the unquantifiable allure of her athletic hips and long legs. She wasn’t wearing her boots yet. Those were by the mansion’s entrance. She also didn’t have any vambraces, but she did have steel handguards and black gloves covering her hands. The gloves were long and went all the way up her forearms.

She checked herself over before looking at me and nodding. “I’m ready.”

We left the room and traveled down a long hallway covered in a rich, red carpet. The hall ended and revealed a set of stairs that we walked down, which led to an extravagant foyer made of marble tiles, limestone walls, and featured numerous wooden doors.

Our boots were sitting by the double-doors that would lead us outside.

The morning air was refreshing and crisp as we stepped outside, and as I gazed at the expansive grounds, I saw that several people were already up. There was a young couple standing next to a small wooden hut hanging up their laundry, a group of children playing a game of tag, and several young men and women sparring at the training ground—a simple square field of dirt.

Everyone greeted us as we walked out. We smiled back when they waved. The children rushed up to us and excitedly chattered about something that happened to them. Kari and I listened for a while, smiling and nodding along before they went back to playing tag.

As we wandered over to the training ground, I glanced at the expansive area around us, at the large mansion that Kari and I now lived in, at the smaller buildings arrayed around it, and at the gigantic wall surrounding this entire community. The mansion was a two-story building that had enough rooms to house over 50 people. Most of the rooms were being used. Meanwhile, the wall that was surrounding us had actually been destroyed, but we had rebuilt it after several months of toiling.

There were many nobles who had chosen not to live in the city of Nevaria. These nobles had manors spread across the city-state. Many of them also owned the surrounding farms, which were—had been—manned by peasants who lived under their patronage.

The mansion we had found was located in an isolated valley near the Demon Beast Mountain Range. This normally would have been dangerous, but the area around it was basically cut off from the rest of the world, and there was only one road leading into and out of the valley.

This place had been overrun with Demon Beasts before we occupied it. Myself, Kari, and the other Spiritualists we had gathered after many months of searching had killed them all off. Now this was our home.

As the Spiritualists who were currently practicing greeted us with enthusiastic waves and smiles, I could not stop myself from feeling a sense of relief. We had gone through a lot of hardships to get to where we were now, but I could honestly say I was happy. I had a strong and wonderful woman by my side, a group of people who had joined our banner, and a place to call home.

I couldn’t think of anything else to ask for.

***

I had a problem.

“You are not going with me,” I said to the snake, who had currently draped itself around my shoulders and was staring at me with a stubborn look in its eyes. “First of all, I am going to the library so I can open it for the day. It will be very hard to do that if you’re hanging all over me. Second, people would panic if they saw six meter long snake. Third…” I trailed off, my face scrunching up. “Well, I guess there isn’t a third. Still, you can’t come with me.”

The snake stared at me.

“Don’t give me that look. No matter how much you stare at me, I am not letting you come to the library with me.”

The snake hissed in dissatisfaction. It continued staring at me.

My problem had started this morning just when I was about to leave for the library. The snake that I had let stay in my room had draped itself over me as I was about to walk out the door. I told it that it couldn’t come with me, but it had merely hissed and curled itself around my shoulders, as if to say, “I’m going with you and that’s final.”

“Look, I understand that staying indoors all day isn’t exactly fun,” I said in a calm, patient voice. “However, you are the one who decided to follow me home. If you don’t like it, then maybe you should consider living out in the wild again.”

The snake shook its head, causing my right eye to twitch.

“I’m not taking you with me,” I said again. “And that’s final.”

***

I ended up taking the snake with me. I didn’t have time to deal with the stubborn creature, but while I was in a rush, the snake was in no hurry to let me leave. In the end, it was just easier to let it hang over my shoulders like a ridiculously long and scaley scarf.

“People are staring at me.” I sighed, and then glared at the snake. “This is your fault, you know.”

The snake released an odd hiss that sounded almost like… like laughter! Was this snake laughing at me?! It was!

Trying to pretend this blasted thing around me shoulders didn’t exist, I walked to the library amidst a threnody of shocked gasps, wide eyes, and petrified screams. It seemed the people around me were adverse to snakes. Quite a few had run away when they saw me walking down the street, and even more had taken a step back as though they were afraid the snake would bite them. It was honestly annoying.

I arrived at the library, unlocked the door, and walked inside. Glad to finally be away from all the stares, I took a moment to just relish in the act of being alone. Well, I would have, but I had a snake with me, so I wasn’t quite alone. In either event, I knew I couldn’t just stand around like a lemon, so after coaxing the snake off me, I began setting everything up while the six meter reptile slithered around the library.

“Once people start arriving, you are going to have to behave yourself,” I told the snake. “You can’t just go wandering around and getting in people’s way. Stay by my side.”

The snake gave me an absent nod as it slithered up a bookshelf and made itself at home in the rafters. I gazed up at the thing as it draped itself across one of the support beams, and then sighed. I could only ignore the creature for now. I still had work that needed to be done.

About an hour or so after I opened the library, people began coming in. Our library was quite popular. While part of the reason was because we were one of only four libraries in Nevaria, I believed a bigger reason was because news had spread that Kari often frequented this place. It had officially become common knowledge.

Several of those people who’d come to the library fled after the snake suddenly dropped down from the rafters and flicked its tongue at them. I bopped the thing on the head after this happened several times, then gave it a stern lecture, but that didn’t seem to deter it. At some point, I just couldn’t take anymore and tried to pull the thing from the rafters.

“You’re being a pest! Get down now!”

The snake hissed.

“Don’t take that tone with me! I told you to behave yourself, and you didn’t! Your rafter privileges have been revoked!”

The snake just hissed some more.

I was currently in something of a tug of war with this creature, which had wrapped its long body around one of the support beams and refused to budge. I’m pretty sure I was stronger than it was. However, when I tugged too hard, the support beam would release an ominous creak, forcing me not to use my full strength.

Just as I was prepared to zap this thing with lightning, the door opened and closed, and then a soft voice rang out.

“Um… what are you doing?”

I looked over in the doorway. Standing there with a befuddled expression on her face was none other than Kari.

***

“I’m sorry for not being around too often,” Kari apologized as she and I sat by a table on the second floor. The snake was hanging from another of the rafters above us. Fortunately, no one but Kari and I used this floor. Even though anyone could come up here, people avoided it as though it was forbidden ground.

“You don’t need to apologize for that,” I said with a shake of my head. “I assume you’ve been busy?”

Kari’s lips twitched into a happy smile as she nodded. “Yes! I’ve been using those pills just like you told me too, and I think they’re really helping. Instructor Brynhild has been really impressed by how much stronger I’ve become, and so she’s been training me a bit more. I’ve also become a lot more adept at using Spiritual Techniques, which has caught the eye of the instructors at the academy. Because of that, I’ve been busier than normal and haven’t been able to come over as often.”

It had been about 16 days since Kari and I had last seen each other, which I guessed was when those pills really began showing their effects. Pills refined by alchemy tended to show their effects at different times in different people. This was even more true for pills meant to help increase a person’s training. Mine began showing their effects about four days after I started using them. It sounded like hers took longer.

“I’m glad the pills are helping,” I said.

“They are helping a lot.” Kari’s expression was bright and cheerful. “Instructor Brynhild said that if I keep progressing like this, I can probably match Geirolf in terms of strength if not skill.”

“Geirolf is the youngest of your brothers, right?” I asked.

“That’s right.” A strand of hair fell into her face, but she reached out and tucked it behind her ear. Her eyes never left mine. “He is 18 years-old right now, but he’ll be 19 in two months.”

“So he’s about two years older than you.”

“Two and a half, yes.”

I didn’t know a whole lot about her brothers, but that was because Kari didn’t talk about them much. She had only mentioned them a few times in my previous life. In this life, she had mentioned them once or twice, but she never stayed on the subject for long. I wondered if she was purposefully avoiding talking about them for some reason.

“How strong do you think you need to be before your mother will let you explore the Demon Beast Mountain Range?” I asked.

Kari’s smile slowly vanished as she shook her head, uncertainty taking over. “I don’t know. To be honest, I am afraid of even bringing the subject up. The last time I asked about it, my mother told me I had no need to travel into such a dangerous place and that I should never bring the subject up again.”

“I see.”

An awkward silence hung over us. I didn’t know what to say. Guilt gnawed at my insides as I realized I had not only ruined the good mood, but I also caused Kari to feel pain. I wasn’t sure what was going on between Kari and Empress Hilda. However, it seemed like they were at odds with each other. At the very least, I could tell that Kari feared talking about her desires with her mother. That might be why she so readily talked to me.

“You have also been training, right?” Kari asked, smoothly changing the subject. “How is that going?”

“Good,” I said. “I’ve gained a good deal of control over my Spiritual Power, and my strength has also been steadily increasing. I’m pretty sure I could defeat a C-rank Demon Beast now.”

If I had a weapon, I was confident I could defeat even a B-rank Demon Beast, but the weapon I used was a ruler, a weapon that was basically just a large hunk of metal. Of course, the ruler I had used back in my previous timeline was heavily modified to the point where I wasn’t sure it could even be called a ruler. The Dragon’s Tail Ruler had been a weapon created for me by the Dwoergs, a race of beings from Niðavellir. Sadly, I wouldn’t be able to ask them to make it for me until I could find a Warp Gate that would take me there.

“That’s really impressive!” Kari exclaimed in surprise. “I hear it takes a squad of Spiritualists to take down even a single C-rank. I know the captains are capable of taking one down on their own, but they’ve been extensively trained in combat and have a lot of Spiritual Power.”

I grinned and shook my head. “I still haven’t actually fought a Demon Beast, so this is only an estimation of my current strength. For all I know, I’m speaking with a forked tongue. If I went up against a Demon Beast right now, there is no telling if my current abilities would actually be enough to defeat one.”

“I still think it’s impressive.” Kari’s eyes were bright and vibrant as she stared at me. However, her cheeks soon gained a soft pink hue as she looked away. “I can tell that you are much stronger now too.”

“You can?” I asked.

Kari nodded, still not looking at me. “Your, um, your body looks quite sturdy and well-built now.”

“Ah…”

I didn’t know what to say to that, but I was glad that she was able to tell the difference. It was true that my shoulders had become more broad, my chest and arms more defined, and my legs more toned and powerful. I even had a six-pack.

Nearly a month had passed since I began training with those medicinal pills. In those 63 days, my body had become far stronger and sturdier. However, I still didn’t have the large and bulking muscles of others. My shoulders, arms, chest, and legs might have been a bit bigger, but I was still skinny. The muscles I possessed were lithe, but because of that, it was also harder to realize I had muscles unless someone really looked at me.

I hoped that meant Kari was really looking at me.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, feeling my cheeks grow just a little warm.

Kari’s eyes darted around the room, looking at anything but me. “You’re welcome.”

An awkward silence fell over us again. I didn’t know what to say to break it. Actually, I was tempted to tease her by asking if she liked my muscles, but I didn’t know if that would be appropriate yet. What if I came on too strong and scared her away? The last thing I wanted was for her to run out on me like she’d done the last time I said something embarrassing. Although she hadn’t done that recently, so maybe…

“Eryk, I have been trying not to say anything, but…”

Before I could decide whether or not it was appropriate to tease her, Kari suddenly spoke. I looked at her. However, she was not looking at me. Her eyes were looking up, at the snake lounging against the rafters.

“Why is there a snake?” she asked.

I looked up at the snake, which seemed to sense me staring at it and looked down. Its tongue flicked out of its mouth. Then it went back to lounging like an indulgent pet.

“I would like to know that as well,” I muttered, my shoulders slumping in a miserable and dejected manner.

***

Kari left the library a few hours later. She had practice with her instructor and couldn’t spend much time there today. She only came by because she wanted to talk to me. I ended up spending several hours alone… um… with a snake before Ms. Nadine relieved me.

She was not amused by the snake.

“The next time you bring that thing here, I will cut off its head and grill it.”

Those had been her words. It seemed she really didn’t approve of me bringing a snake to the library, though it wasn’t like I couldn’t understand why. Fortunately, the snake seemed to realize how serious Ms. Nadine was. The moment she said those words, it hid its head inside of my shirt as though trying to escape the chopping block. I told Ms. Nadine that I wouldn’t bring it anymore and left.

My first stop was my room, where I needed to grab my vest, the weighted cylinders, and my medicinal pills. The snake slithered off me the moment we entered and hid underneath my covers. I sighed at the thing as I grabbed all of my supplies and left for my training spot several kilometers outside of Nevaria.

When I arrived, I quickly got ready. I discarded my current clothing, slid into the pants, vest, and vambraces, and then put the metal cylinders into each pocket one by one. After which, I activated the Runes inside and increased their weight by six. Each cylinder weighed 2.5 kilos and there were 78 cylinders, so the total weight came to about 195 kilos.

I began my exercise with a jog, though I had modified it a little to increase the difficulty.

Racing through a narrow straightaway between two boulders, I leapt up and kicked off one to ascended higher, and then kicked off the other. As I came out from between the narrow path, I reached out and grabbed a branch, which I used to swing through the air and land on a boulder about half a meter away. Hitting the boulder feet first, I pushed off and threw myself into an aerial flip as I fell to the ground.

Spiritual Power could be used for more than just Spiritual Techniques. By externalizing it, I could use it to create a variety of effects, such as creating a cushion to soften my fall when I jumped from high places. There was a member of Brave Vesperia who used a similar Spiritual Technique called Soundless Step, which completely silenced his footsteps.

After landing on the ground, I raced across a clearing, ducked underneath a low hanging branch, jumped over another one, and then used my Spiritual Power to run across a shallow pond.

Because I didn’t have anyone to practice dodging or combat with, I had created an obstacle course that would increase the effects of my jog. Each day I would take a different route that changed the aesthetics of the course. This forced me to keep alert. I also had to watch out for potentially poisonous or dangerous animals, which increased the difficulty.

By the time I was done, my body was covered in a light sheen of sweat. I didn’t stop, however. No, I couldn’t stop. To gain the strength I needed, to gain the power that would help me change the past, I had to push myself harder.

The moment I finished the obstacle course, I dropped to the ground and began doing pushups. My arms shook as I counted from one to one hundred. Then I rolled over onto my back, lifted my legs, and began doing crunches. I did twice as many crunches as I did pushups. After which, my exercises continued until the sun was just about to set.

I was gasping by the time I finished. My body was soaked in sweat, and the weighted clothes felt like they weighed even more due to all the water they’d soaked up. The muscles in my body were squealing in protest. However, I still had more to do before I could go back home and soak in the tub.

Just as I was about to begin practicing the Flash Step, a presence appeared at the edge of my perception. I turned around. Nobody was there, but I could still feel the presence, which I tracked using Spiritual Perception.

“Fay,” I greeted as I looked at a tree several meters.

No one responded at first, but then, a hand slowly appeared from around the tree, followed by a head surrounded by fiery strands of scintillating red hair. Fay Valstine looked at me with a blush, as though embarrassed about being caught. She coughed into her hand and soon walked around from behind the tree.

Her clothing was much different than I remembered. The last time I saw her, she had been wearing clothes that covered her entire body, hiding the ugly black bruises that came from Spiritual Poisoning. Now her clothes were revealing a lot more skin.

For starters, the shirt that she wore showed off a lot more skin. I wasn’t sure if I could call it a shirt because while it covered her chest, it left her torso completely exposed, allowing me to catch more than just a glimpse of her flat, toned stomach.

Her shorts were similarly quite short, nothing more than black spats that wrapped around her bottom like a second skin. Despite her shorts not being very long, she did have black stockings to cover up a vast portion of her legs. They were held up by garters and traveled into a pair of sturdy looking boots. There was just a small gap between her shorts and stockings near the middle of her thighs.

After studying her outfit and appearance for several seconds, I realized I was admiring her a little too much, and so I switched from gazing at her body to looking at her face.

“Eryk,” she said in a soft voice.

“You look much better than before,” I said.

She smiled. “Thanks to you. The Spiritual Poisoning is completely gone. What’s more, it seems as though my Spiritual Powers have increased now that I’ve been healed.”

Nodding, I said, “Spiritual Poisoning is a powerful affliction where the Spiritual Pathways are clogged. However, the Spiritual Power that gets unclogged doesn’t just disappear. It flows through your body, widening the pathways before agglomerating inside of your Spiritual Core and increasing your reserves.”

“I assumed as much,” she replied, and the smile on her face became a bit gentler.

“Are you here to train?” I asked.

“No, well… sort of.” Fay’s cheeks suddenly colored as she looked away. She bit her lower lip and glanced at me, then flicked her gaze away again. I watched with a frown as her foot began randomly drawing circles on the dirt.

“Sort of?” Her words made me tilt my head.

“I… um… I don’t know how to say this in a way that won’t sound overbearing, so I’m just going to come out and say it.” Fay took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as if she was preparing to face off against her nemesis. She stared me square in the eyes. There was a determined gleam in them that I couldn’t ignore. “I want you to train me!”

“Huh?”

I’m pretty sure I heard my brain sizzle.

“I want you to train me,” she repeated.

“I heard you the first time,” I said, raising a hand to stop her. I looked at the girl who radiated both determination and embarrassment in equal measure. “Why do you want me to train you? You should know I’m not that strong right now.”

“I know… but I… I want you to train me anyway!”

Observing the girl as she gripped her left arm at the elbow, I wondered what made her think I could actually be of any help? Well, I mean, I could probably train her. I had experience from my past life when it came to training people. However, she couldn’t know that. What gave her the confidence that I could help her?

“Are you asking me this… because I cured your Spiritual Poisoning?” I asked.

As Fay’s face burned crimson, I realized that my words probably made her remember how I had cured her. When I recalled the “massage” I’d used to break the Spiritual Power clogging her Spiritual Pathways, even I blushed a little.

“Th-that is part of it,” she admitted before shaking her head. “But it’s also because… I need to get stronger, and there isn’t anyone in my family who can help me.”

“The Valstine Family is a minor noble family, right?” I asked. “Couldn’t you hire an instructor?”

With a complicated grimace, Fay shook her head. “The Valstine Family has fallen on hard times. We don’t have the wealth we used to. In fact, we’re very close to losing our status as a noble family.”

Kari once told me that hiring a good instructor was costly. If that was the case, then it did make sense that Fay was coming to me for help instead of using her family’s wealth and status. At the same time, I was shocked that she was coming to me. We didn’t know each other. Outside of the help I lent her when she’d had Spiritual Poisoning, she and I were basically complete strangers.

That said, I do think the fact that I was able to remove the Spiritual Poisoning played a big factor in her reason for coming to me. She probably assumed I could help her since I’d already done so before.

And I could. I knew I could, which was why I was so conflicted. I had my own training to do. I needed to get stronger. If I helped her, my training would undoubtedly slow down. Part of me wanted to tell her no because of this, and yet…

As I looked at the desperation in her eyes, I knew I couldn’t.

“Is the reason you need to get stronger because your family is close to losing its status?” I asked.

Fay hesitated before answering. “That… is a part of it, yes. However, it is more like… my family’s current crisis has created the issue I’m currently facing. I need to get stronger so I can overcome this issue.”

“So it’s a personal problem,” I guessed. Fay nodded. Rubbing my nose as I studied the girl before me, I came to a decision. “Okay. I’ll let you join me while I’m training.”

“Really?” Fay perked up.

“Yes.” I nodded, and then raised a hand before she could thank me. “However, I am going to need you to get several supplies. Part of my training involves using alchemy pills and these weighted clothes you see me wearing. I don’t have the money to provide these for you, so you’ll have to provide them yourself.”

Fay couldn’t nod fast enough. “Don’t worry. The Valstine Family may not be what it once was, but so long as I’m not forced to spend too much, I can probably afford to buy the materials.”

“Okay then.” Smiling, I reached out and offered her my hand. “I guess you and I will be getting stronger together from now on.”

“Yes! I’m looking forward to it!” With a smile that reminded me of sunflowers blooming at the first rays of light, Fay reached out and clasped my hand.

Our partnership was born that day, but I had no idea what sort of trials, troubles, and tribulations it would bring. Then again, given what this partnership would eventually mean to me, all the issues she and I would face were miniscule in comparison.