Anika Wright gave a big smile. “Pretty and kind… You are becoming more and more interesting, Alex. I hope I can find out more things about you, considering that you hardly spoke on our last voyage. This Quest is going to be longer, and it will be so boring if you don’t talk!”
“I will try to speak more if you tell me about the underwater life of a Mermaid.”
“That, I can do. Open your ears and prepare yourself to be amazed!”
While they followed the other members of their Party, Anika spoke about her childhood, trying to describe in detail the life in the underwater City where she lived until last year, when she decided to travel inland to see the World of the surface.
Alex listened attentively, and he didn’t even notice when they left the City walls. After a few kilometres, they stopped for lunch, with him still listening to Anika’s stories.
When Alex was taking care of the horses and Gabriel Dawson was making a fire because it was his time to cook, Sarutahiko Okami returned, mounted on her enormous deer and with the Armoured Boar right behind.
She approached Alex with a slight smile and said, “Everything is quiet ahead, and judging by the speed of a normal horse, our group will get to where I was by nightfall. I found a safe place for us to camp near a rock wall and a clearing in front of a forest at fifty metres. We will be safe from a Monster behind, so we just need to worry about the ones that could come from the front.”
Alex frowned, and he noticed a shine in Okami’s eyes and a change in her smile as if she was hoping for Monsters to attack them during the night. “You are forgetting about the ones that could come from the sky and the fact that, with a wall behind us, we won’t have a means of escape in case we are overwhelmed. Not my idea of a safe spot to pass the night. You didn’t find a better spot?”
“You would be right if you didn’t have me, Suijin, or Kagu-tsuchi. I can split the ground ahead of us, making a large and deep canyon for protection, or you can use Suijin or Kagu-tsuchi to make a Water Wall or a Fire Wall to keep us safe for the night.”
Alex stopped to think for a second and answered while giving water to another horse, “Better if you make that canyon. I prefer not to reveal my Magic unless absolutely necessary. ”
“Very well. Are you… in a better mood now? Because you overreacted at the Guild.”
Alex stopped giving water to the horses and stared at her. “What? You are always trying to abuse me or annoy me to death, and you think I overreacted?”
Alex moved so quickly that one second he was near the horse and the next second he was a few millimetres from Sarutahiko Okami’s face. “I didn’t overreact, I was just annoyed and fed up with your constant pushing. I don’t like to be pushed, I told you over and over. You may drive every man around you crazy, but you tend to treat me like a prize that you want to gain at any cost. Shinatobe would never do that or treat me like that. You either change that ugly side of you, or you won’t ever see me smiling or talking to you. Did I make myself clear?”
“You… can’t be serious…”
“You feel what I feel, you know what I think. I am holding myself back from shaving your head and using your hair to make dolls. Don’t push your luck any further, Okami, it won’t end well for you.”
Then, Okami glowed, surrounded by Magic, and the earth trembled. The others felt it, and looked around, trying to find out what was happening, and saw Okami glowing and Alex glowing even more. Okami made an immense effort to speak in a low voice, “How dare you to treat me like that, Alex? You are a mere Human, and I am…”
Alex interrupted her, speaking in the same low voice, “I know who and what you are. I also know that you would not hesitate to abandon us all to fight a horde of Monsters. Your thirst for Monster’s blood has already caused enough deaths that could be avoided if you did what you were supposed to do, to protect the lives of the beings in this World instead of giving priority to the deaths of Monsters. You may have your reasons to seek revenge for the ones you couldn’t save in my father’s time, but I am not my father. He would forgive you if you abandoned him to kill Monsters, but I won’t forgive you if you do that. If you abandon me or someone dies because you failed to do your duty, I won’t rest until I have your head. Understood?”
Sarutahiko Okami turned pale and her Magic dissipated. Only Alex was still glowing, and his Magic continued to increase. In a matter of seconds, the other members of his Party were covering their eyes from the light that he was emanating. Okami stuttered, “Y-you… can’t kill me… M-my father and my mother… w-would never forgive you…”
“I couldn’t care less. I have too much of a responsibility in this World to be worried about your parents. They were probably the reason you turned out like you are, a revengeful being instead of a kind and caring one. I have always believed that Earth Magic is life and that you, as a Spirit of the Earth, would be the last to kill any being for the sake of a monster’s blood. You either change, or our relationship will come to an abrupt end, either by ending our contract or with your death.”
Okami slowly nodded, doing her best to keep the tears at bay. She knew Alex was serious, and she could feel how sad he was with the idea of ending the contract or her life, but she could see clearly that he wouldn’t hesitate to do either if she didn’t listen to his warning. “I will do as you say. I won’t attack any Monsters unless it’s absolutely necessary, or you ask me to do it. I will also stop trying to convince you to sleep with me if that’s what you want. Can… Can you at least tell me if you will ever consider having a night with me? Or a few?”
“I will consider it if you stop seeing me as a prize, instead of someone you really care about. Shinatobe is your sister, but you two are not alike. She would never act like you. That’s why she gained my heart long ago. You, on the other hand, are just an annoying woman. One that I won’t want to sleep with, even for a night, any time soon.”
Okami went silent and turned around, tapping on the deer’s side to make him walk with her. The deer took one last look at Alex as if he was angry, and followed Okami. The boar snorted at Alex and scratched the ground with his right paw, making Alex clench his fists. Anytime, pork chops! You may frighten to death many people, but I can only think about the amount of smoked meat I would get from you. I love pork meat, and you look delicious.”
The boar quickly turned around and ran to Okami’s side, glancing at Alex with a scared look.
James Macdonald attempted to go to Alex, but Suijin pulled his right arm. “Let him be. He needs to cool down a little. I think Okami pushed her luck a bit too much.”
“But… What was all that about? How could he glow like that? What kind of Magic he has, anyway?”
Suijin slowly shook his head while looking at Alex, who was caressing one horse while he ate some grass on the floor. “It is better not to ask him right now, because he is not in a good mood. I don’t know him that well, but I was told he keeps to himself a lot about him. He may not answer your doubts, or he could change his mind about continuing this Quest. Everyone is entitled to some degree of privacy, even in a Party of Adventurers, correct?”
“Well, that’s true, but I also need to know the full extent of his capabilities, especially in such a dangerous Quest like ours.”
“You may find the answer to all your doubts during this voyage. Okami didn’t see danger on our path, but that doesn’t mean we will not face it. Monsters are not the only danger around here. There is a pack of wolves that has been following us for quite some time, but I doubt they will attack tonight. They are probably waiting for us to get far away from any City or Village as if such a thing would grant them any kind of advantage.”
James Macdonald looked around to see if the others heard their conversation. He lowered his voice and asked, “Are you sure about that? Because I didn’t see or sense anything.”
“You may be good with Water Magic, Mister James Macdonald, but we are way apart in level and expertise. One hour ago, I could easily detect a group of men also following us, and I sensed a scout watching us from a distance. We are being followed, but for what purpose, I don’t know. As you can see, there are plenty of opportunities to get a glimpse of Alex’s Magic. I am sure he also sensed the wolves and that group of men. That’s probably why he is so tense.”
“What do you think we should do? Shall we get prepared for an attack?”
Suijin shrugged. “Do as you like, but it won’t be necessary for tonight. As for tomorrow, I am not sure. You can probably warn the others to be ready, but tonight we will be pretty safe from anything.”
“I will warn them tomorrow morning because I don’t want to make them worry unnecessarily.”
When the food was ready, Gabriel Dawson called them to eat, and while Alex was avoiding being mouth-fed by a laughing Mermaid, Suijin whispered to Sarutahiko Okami, who was disguisedly glancing at Alex and Anika Wright, “What’s the matter? Are you still pouting from being scolded?”
“I am not… I mean… maybe a little. He got angry with me just because I did the same thing the Mermaid is doing to him. And he doesn’t get angry with her.”
“Probably because you were too insistent. Any Human in his position would either take you to bed or get angry. Did you ever consider the fact that he might not be interested in you and that you should try to conquer his heart? I don’t know if you noticed, but at the Guild, every time you messed with him, he seemed annoyed, but when he looked at Shinatobe, his eyes were always glowing.”
Sarutahiko Okami whispered while staring at her bowl of food, “Are you saying that Shinatobe has his heart? And where does that leave me?”
“Not my problem, actually. As a matter of fact, I find all of this situation very amusing. Our kind and peaceful Shinatobe defeated the seductress, Sarutahiko Okami, fair and square. Now, you either give up or you try to gain a place in his heart, in the proper way, without resorting to your… physical attributes or night activities.”
Okami made a slight frown and raised her eyes to face the smiling Suijin. “You are saying that instead of making him crazy about me under the sheets, I should try to reach for his heart? Is that it?”
“Yes, and in the meantime, you could make some effort to understand him a little better. You didn’t notice that he was worried when you arrived, didn’t you? You were probably thinking about what you would do to him one night and failed to realise that he was worried about the pack of wolves and the group of Humans that were following us. You tend to do that. You concentrate on only one aspect of a male that piques your interest, and cannot see the big picture.”
“I… didn’t notice… Yeah, you are right. I bet Shinatobe sensed the wolves and the Humans because she cares about Alex’s well-being way more than I do. I tend to think about everything that I want to do to him, or what he could do to me, and I get distracted. I am no match for our little sister, am I?”
Suijin took a sip from his cup and whispered back, “My dear Okami, you were never a match for Shinatobe. Only you thought you had a chance of beating her on anything. Not only because of her lovely character, but also because her Magic is way more powerful than us two combined. She uses all her emotions, while I and you act out of anger, rage, or revenge. As peaceful as she is, she can concentrate a lot more. You remember what our mother once told us when we were younger, right? That if Shinatobe used her Magic while she was calm and in control, she would be stronger than any of us. She meditated a lot and practised, and practised, and practised, to learn how to always be in control.”
Sarutahiko Okami went silent and glanced at Alex, who had Anika Wright on one side trying to mouth-feed him and a nervous Wenammy on the other, doing the same.
…