Alex put another piece of wood over the fire and waited in silence for the morning to come.
When the first light of sunshine entered the shelter through the chimney, Alex began taking care of breakfast while waiting for the others to wake up.
The noise he was making with the pots and pans slowly woke up James Macdonald, who approached while rubbing his eyes. “Good morning, Mister Alex. Is it my impression, or are you louder than usual? Did you make all this racket on purpose to wake us up?”
“Kind of. Help me here. We need to have a quick and light breakfast because a horde of Monsters came from a Magical Void tonight. They are still a couple of hours’ ride ahead of us, but they are on our path. Okami went to meet them to make sure they wouldn’t kill any travellers or Merchants, and she is waiting for us to back her up before attacking those things.”
James Macdonald gasped. “Seriously? How do you know that?”
“I have some means to detect the change in the air when a Magical Void appears. I can’t predict when one will emerge, but I can detect them if I am not too far away.”
“Why didn’t you wake us up? We could perhaps take another route to avoid them!”
“Well, I considered going with Okami and killing those nasty things before they killed anyone, but I thought you wouldn’t mind a nice fight in the morning, and the opportunity to get a good profit from the Magical Orbs they have inside their bodies.”
“That… is also a good idea, but it depends on the number of Monsters and how powerful they are.”
Alex shrugged while putting water in a pan to boil to make tea. “Even if they are twenty Four-Armed-Orcs or twenty Harpies, they will only serve to fill our pockets with Magic Orbs.”
“I am not sure about that. Twenty of those would be more than enough to kill us all.”
“Not with the mood I am lately… If you don’t want to take risks, I won’t mind killing them all on my own. Actually, I think I will do just that. I need to keep my mind away from certain… things…”
James Macdonald placed one hand over Alex’s right shoulder. “You won’t need to fight alone. For better or worse, you are a member of our Party, and Party members stay together to cover each other’s back.”
“Thanks… I guess. It would be better if we got this ready so that everyone could eat something before we go kill some ugly Monsters.”
One by one, the others woke up because of the noise of the breakfast being done, and while they were eating, Alex told them about the horde of Monsters that were on their path. They all stared at him without knowing if he was having some sort of suicidal meltdown or if he was talking seriously.
At least, until James Macdonald raised one open palm to speak, “I know you are having doubts, but Mister Alex is right. If we avoid fighting the Monsters, those things might kill a lot of innocent people until a Party of Adventurers or a platoon of soldiers is sent to get rid of them. We are the nearest Adventurers, and that also means we will get a good number of Magical Orbs to sell at the Capital of Beliersia.”
Pearl Pearson frowned. “That, if we survive. Unless someone has an excellent plan, I don’t like the idea of facing a horde of Monsters, head-on.”
Alex spoke after taking a sip of his tea. “Mister Gabriel and Miss Wenammy in front of everyone else, to make sure no Monster approaches the long-distance attackers. Arrows and spells cast from a distance will suffice. I can shoot arrows or powerful Spells, so I can join forces with any of you. If needed, I can go ahead and slice any Monster that gets near Mister Gabriel or Miss Wenammy.”
Wenammy timidly spoke, “You… can call me just Wenammy… Calling me Miss after all this time seems like you… don’t want to know me…”
Anika widened her eyes, and she almost shouted, “No way! How did Wenammy become so daring overnight? You can also call me Anika, Alex! Or darling if you want!”
Alex gave a slight smile. “That depends on the number of Monsters you will be able to kill.”
Anika Wright made a kinky smile. “What about we make a little bet? The one that kills more Monsters, shall be granted a gift. I know what gift I want…”
She quickly continued when she noticed Alex rolling his eyes. “Nothing too weird! A kiss! Oh, and a hug! Better yet, a kiss while hugging me tightly, because I will win for sure!”
Alex tilted his head and pointed with his thumb at the Party Leader behind him. “No way I am going to risk kissing that scary guy over there! I have a better idea. If no one dies or gets injured, I will give a gift to everyone.”
Wenammy turned bright red, and Anika gasped. “No way… You are really going to kiss and hug everyone? Hey, I don’t mind, as long as I am first! I won’t even mind if you kiss me and Wenammy afterwards, as long as my kiss is longer than hers!”
Alex laughed because of the quick teasing response from the crazy Mermaid, “Ahahah! Anika, you sure are funny. Instead of having to kiss Mister James and Mister Gabriel, I can think of a proper gift for everyone! I am not sure if Miss Bethany or Miss Pearl want a kiss, so maybe it’s better if I get another kind of gift.”
Bethany Mathews raised both palms. “Not for me, thanks! I already have that covered by my pretty man over there! What about you, Pearl?”
“Well, I won’t mind a kiss, but I would appreciate even more, a crazy night like Alex gave to that mysterious woman in the City. Judging by the moaning and happy screams she made, a night with Alex might be all I need as a gift.”
Everyone stared at Pearl Pearson with astonishing looks on their faces, and Alex stuttered, “N-no… no way… E-even you, Miss Pearl? Like if Anika was not enough to always be on my heels…”
Pearl Pearson shrugged while eating a slice of dried meat. It’s entirely your fault. You made me curious with the noise you made with that woman. I just want to try you out for size, to see if you fit me.”
“I… don’t know how to answer that. I am not sure if I am proud or if I feel insulted to be used like a pair of boots…”
Pearl Pearson winked one eye towards Alex, which made him gulp. “I was talking about another part of my body that you could fit instead of my feet if you get my drift.”
“I… think I understand what you mean… I… I feel flattered, so… thanks, I guess?”
Pearl Pearson approached him and answered while looking into his eyes closely, “If you make me scream and moan like that woman, I will be the one to thank you. Over and over… until you faint.”
Alex remained in silence and got a slow lick from the tip of Pearl’s tongue on the right side of his half-opened mouth. She then went back to her place and continued eating as if nothing had happened.
Before the dumb look on Alex’s face, James Macdonald muffled his laughter and said, “Pfft!… If you could see your face right now, Mister Alex! Pearl totally got you with that one. She is usually very quiet and serious, but it seems like you made her too curious. This voyage will be fun, with three women always on your back. Four, if we count Miss Okami. I wonder what you will do. What do you say, Gabriel? Up for a bet? My money goes on Anika. I doubt Mister Alex manages to hold his ground against her for long!”
Gabriel Dawson frowned and glanced at Alex while answering, “I put mine on Miss Okami. I am sure she won’t stand still before all this. Besides, she knows Mister Alex longer than any of us, and she might have an advantage over the other three women.”
Pearl disguisedly glanced at Alex and spoke, “Unless Miss Okami is a Spirit disguised as a woman, I am sure I can rival her fair and square for Mister Alex’s attention.
Alex stared at Pearl with a serious look. “Perhaps we should stop playing around and get ready to leave. Okami might get tired of waiting and fight those Monsters, and when we get there, she will be all covered in blood and angry with us, for not arriving on time. I don’t like to deal with her when she gets angry, because she gets more annoying than a drunk.”
Pearl looked up at the ceiling of the rock shelter. “What do we do with this? I can use my Earth Magic to make it crumble, but it will leave a pile of rocks lying around in this beautiful prairie around us.”
Alex mumbled a long Spell while pointing up his open hand, and as his hand was glowing, a hole appeared on the ceiling that spread in all directions. In mere seconds, there was no trace of the rock shelter because it was turned back to the soil once again. Pearl Pearson had her mouth wide open during the entire process, while the others were looking surprised.
Pearl faced Alex and stuttered, “N-no… f-fricking way… Y-you know the Earth Disperse Spell? Not even the elders in my village mastered that to perfection, and you did it as if it was nothing! You didn’t even spill the tea in your cup! Who are you, Alex Brim?”
Alex shrugged, while taking the last sip of his tea. “I am a humble pair of boots that you want to try for size. I just don’t know if you are worthy of using me. You are now feeling rather dumb for thinking I would be easy to get into a bed, don’t you?”
Pearl Pearson jumped at Alex with a glow in her eyes. She kissed him and said in an excited voice, “I don’t care what I need to do. I won’t rest until I am bearing your child! An Elfian daughter with my training and your ability with Magic will be an amazing protector of the forests! I will raise her to make you proud! You don’t even need to marry me or be my partner as long as you grant me a child! Or two!”
Alex tried to speak, but was silenced by a long kiss. He felt Pearl’s Magic coming from the tip of her tongue and going to his, spreading through his entire body, as if a dam had crumbled and water kept on gushing out in full force.
She stopped and stared at him, with her eyes still glowing, and said, “This is just a taste of my Magic. Normally an Elfian’s Magic is not as powerful as the Magic of a Mermaid or a Fairy, but I am not your average Elfian woman! I was once considered one of the most powerful Elfians in this World. I have plenty of Magic to rival any Mermaid or Fairy around, and I can also increase your life expectancy like them so that you can be at my side for as long as it takes for you to impregnate me. Or you get fed up with me, whichever comes first, I suppose. I… normally am not like this. I do my best to keep my feelings and my Magic in control, but realizing how powerful you are and after the noise you made with that woman… I… I am having a hard time controlling myself.”
As quickly as she grabbed Alex, she let him go and went to her place again, with her face red in embarrassment. Alex touched his lips and spoke, “I… thanks… for this… I feel flattered… And… I don’t know what to say in response to your invitation. I may need some time to process your proposal. I was once warned about how seriously Elfians take the choice of their partners, so I know you didn’t say that in the rush of the moment.”
Pearl Pearson raised her red face and answered with a slight smile, “I will wait for your favourable answer for as long as it takes. And even if you refuse, I will keep on trying to convince you. Sorry, Anika and Wenammy, I tried to fight it, but it was too much for me to bear.”
Anika answered with her eyes throwing daggers at Pearl and Wenammy, “I don’t care how many of you are. No one shall beat me to Alex’s heart! I also want to carry his child, but I want to enjoy his company for a few years all by myself before raising kids. Bring it on, sister, I won’t lose!”
James Macdonald got up and began cleaning the campsite, with Gabriel laughing by his side. Alex was still looking at the three women with a dumb look on his face and trying not to pay attention to the whining of Shinatobe in the back of his ear.