Ghar stopped munching and slowly reached for her cup, drinking the content in one go. She then put the cup down and grabbed her fork again, with a trembling hand. Olive was showing her images of how she, Kayden and Alex once tortured an Orc that acted as the Leader of a group of Monsters that decimated a village, and how Alex was so happy to eat Orc chops and roasted Orc thighs for one full week.
Olive Andrews returned to her Human form on the chair next to Alex and spoke while staring at the female Orc that was still shaking, “Yes, she is very aware of what will happen to her if she doesn’t behave. I just showed her one of my memories of one Orc that caused a lot of deaths. Perhaps I exaggerated a tiny bit, judging by the way she is trembling, but I wanted to be sure she understood that despite the contract that binds us, I am not her slave to agree with everything she does and not to take proper measures to stop her if she goes Monster and starts killing indiscriminately.”
Alex asked while still staring at Ghar, “She looks indeed terrified. What did you show her, exactly?”
“Just a few hours of Orc torture, together with the sound of his screams, calling for his mommy. Maybe I shouldn’t have shown her that we ate most of that Orc. Well, you were the one that ate all the Orc chops and thighs, and I showed her that as well. She might be a little afraid of you. She may need a few words of comfort. Perhaps you can tell her you won’t eat her?”
“I can’t say that, you know how much I like Orc meat. Ghar looks more Humanish than most Orcs, and I am having some problems seeing her as a food source, but maybe with a good seasoning I forget about how Human she looks.”
Alex kept on staring, enjoying the way Ghar was looking so terrified of him. He then made a big smile and explained, “Don’t worry, Ghar, I won’t eat you! But I will slice your head if you become a threat, don’t you ever doubt that.”
Ghar quickly nodded after hearing Olive’s translation inside her head. Alex faced James Macdonald again and spoke, “Besides the fertile fields you can see tomorrow, there are a few things that you might not have noticed while we were riding along the road to this manor, but I believe Miss Olive can show you. I can tell you that on these lands, the use of Magic is kept to a minimum. I always try to use what nature provides, because if I had to depend so much on Magic like most Nobles in Beliersia does, I would have to buy Magical Orbs almost every day, or to be constantly using my Magic. Be it planting, irrigating or harvesting, my people use some special methods of my devise or some contraptions that I created.”
“That’s strange because most Landlords or farmers use Magic to do that, it’s easier and faster than do it by hand. You are saying that you have figured out ways better than using Magic, and with better results?”
“Well, of course. Imagine, if I had to buy a bunch of Magical Orbs to use Water Magic, that would be expensive, and I would need to have a great number of cereals to sell so that I didn’t lose money. Without having to spend money on Magical Orbs, the money from the selling of my cereals is all profit. From that huge profit, I can pay my workers, along with their share of the products that are harvested.”
James Macdonald almost choked with his food, like everyone else. He asked in a trembling voice, “You mean… you actually pay money to your workers for their job? All the Nobles only pay with protection and a small share of the harvest!”
“I know, that’s why there are always people trying to get a place to live on my lands. I never had trouble finding new workers or new farmers. Not with the conditions I offer, I mean. A safe place, a house for them to live in, a small number of farm animals for them to take care of, a School for their children and a salary. All this is very appealing to a commoner, but there are a lot of Nobles in the Chamber of Lords that don’t approve my methods and are always debating and trying to make me do things like they do. I know they fear the commoners on their lands start to demand the same conditions, and that could lead to a decrease in the profit of those Nobles. Most of them fail to realize that a happy worker provides more profit and better products than someone that is depressed and sad about his life.”
“School… you let the children of the commoners that live here, attend School? You mean, there is a School for commoners in Beliersia?”
Alex shrugged while eating a piece of meat. “There is one School nearby, and another one near my manor. I made them, of course. I even had to find a teacher to work in those, to teach the children. That was not easy, but fortunately, I managed to hire two Priests to take care of that.”
“Amazing… but… you don’t fear such changes could lead to your workers to start demanding more things?”
“What else could they demand, since I offer more than any Noble around? Some of the changes were things a worker called my attention to, and I made some effort to grant his wish. When a worker asks for something that I can’t provide at the moment or is too farfetched, I deny it. Some of them understand, others don’t. The ones that don’t like, are always welcome to leave and to give their spot to someone more willing to have a happy life without asking absurd things. Do you believe there was once a group of farmers that wanted for me to make a brothel full of beautiful women for them to visit without paying anything? I was supposed to pay for the women’s work because that group tried to convince me it would make the workers happier and more willing to work even harder. I denied that request, and they even tried to gather more people under their cause, to pressure me. They don’t live in my lands any more. I don’t know where they are by now, they are probably being exploited by a greedy Noble, or they were killed by a Monster.”
James Macdonald went silent, thinking about Alex’s words. Everything he said made sense, but it was too surprising seeing a Noble actually thinking about the well-being of the people that lived on his lands. He could now understand why everyone looked so happy to see Alex returning when they were riding along the paved road that led to that manor, and the way the maids and servants had their eyes glowing in happiness and with such big smiles on their faces when Alex entered the main hall.
…
After diner, Alex retired to his room, leaving the others in the dining room, still talking and drinking from a new bottle of whiskey that Olive brought from the cellar, to relax before going to bed.
Upon entering his old room, immaculate since the last time he was there, Alex saw the teenager form of Shinatobe seated on the edge of the bed, with a slight smile on her face.
As he closed the door, she approached him and put both arms on his shoulders while looking at him very closely. “You look so sad, Alex. I am sad as well, losing Kayden so unexpectedly took a tool on me, but the damage on you was even greater. Do you want to talk?”
“Not really. Unless you need to talk about something.”
Shinatobe gently pulled him to the bed and sat on the edge again, next to him. “I guess… I need some cuddling. That should do the trick. I don’t know if you are up to it…”
“I can take care of that. More than that, well, we will see what happens next, okay?”
Shinatobe slowly nodded with a kinky smile. “Considering that last time I took advantage of you, maybe today I should teach you a few things. You know I am alive for a very long, long time, and I had many partners. I learned a few things that I like, some things that I am sure you will like, and if you are ready to stay up all night, I may teach you a few things that all women like. You can use that knowledge on Earth if you want. That girl in there will appreciate it a lot, I am sure.”
“Wait a minute… Are you really willing to teach me how to do things that she will like? You are not… I don’t know, a little jealous that I have a night with her? Or a few?”
Shinatobe spoke while gently kissing his lower lip. “Alex, Alex, I told you already. I don’t care about your life on Earth, as long as you keep returning to me. But I am not stupid, I can see you like that girl, and if she deserves you, perhaps it’s a good idea if you learn a few things to make her happy as well. A happy woman makes a happy life, that’s what I always say!”
“Funny, I never heard you saying anything like that…”
“Maybe I only said it in my head, now I am not sure. If you give her the pendant made with a piece of a Magical Orb, you will know for sure if she likes you or not. That’s one thing that seems to work on both Worlds, the amount of Magic you can use works as an aphrodisiac and most females have a lot of trouble to resist you.”
Alex made a slight frown. “Yeah, that’s one thing that I don’t quite understand. I never had so many girls or women after me, and recently, they seem to pile up. Despite they all seem to see me as a mere partner in a bed, that is. Not what I wanted to become, actually.”
“That’s because of your contracts. I should have warned you about it before, but I thought you would be able to control your Magic, instead of letting it leak like a broken dam as you are doing lately. Maybe it was because on the same day you made two new contracts and you are still having trouble controlling the increase of your Magic. You see, a high amount of Magic makes a Mage Summoner become more attractive to women, like if he was filled with pheromones, to create the opportunity for the birth of powerful offspring.”
Shinatobe caressed the deep frown that Alex was making on his forehead to make it go away, and continued, “That was the original idea of my mother, the Goddess Izanami. She came to the conclusion that if a normal Mage takes too much time to become a Mage Summoner, it would be difficult to find fighters to stop Monsters from killing everyone in this World. Hence, her idea of making a Mage Summoner become a very tempting target for women so that he could have a lot of children to pass along his Magic. In the ancient days, before Monsters were a problem, Mage Summoners weren’t so tempting, but with need, came the necessity to change how things work around here.”
“I don’t know if I like the idea of being used as a breeder. It makes me feel… I don’t know, empty inside? Like… The women that are after me, do they really like me, or they just want to get me to bed?”
“Well, you need to train how to control your increased Magic, to not let it spread around you so easily, if you are worried about that. Think of it like if you were using perfume. A little bit is nice, but a lot, can make the air get pesty, or in this case, for a woman to have a lot of trouble resisting you. That is, if the woman doesn’t have someone they love, like Bethany Mathews. If she was not the partner of James Macdonald, she was going after you, like that stupid Mermaid, the annoying Fairy and that serious Elfian. Pearl Pearson actually surprised me, she didn’t seem interested in you on our last voyage, but I saw her glancing at you a couple of times, lately, as if she was having a lot of trouble not to rip your clothes off.”
Alex made a slight smile. “Yeah, last time we spoke she told me she wanted to bear my child, remember? Pearl even said our daughter would be an amazing protector of the forests with her training and my Magic. You once told me how picky an Elfian is about their partner, and for her to see me like that… I am… flattered… and a bit proud of myself, I guess… you know I was always crazy about Elfians…”
Shinatobe frowned a little and rubbed the tip of her nose on his. “I told you already how rare a Mage Summoner is, because not every Mage is able to make a contract with a Spirit. Sometimes it takes years of training, and even like that, it’s never a sure thing. A Mage Summoner has a lot of Magic, and you with four contracts, you are extremely Magically attractive to any single woman out there. Pearl is right, if you two have a daughter, she will be truly amazing. Perhaps you should consider that. A powerful Elfian is never a bad thing.”
“Wait a minute, now you lost me. You don’t have a problem if I am with a girl on Earth, or if I have a child with Pearl? You already told me I could be with Anika and Wenammy, but… that’s a little too much, no?”
“I told you already, it’s your choice. I don’t own you, and those three seem to be a good catch. It’s up to you, actually. I won’t have any kind of problem with that, as long as you are happy, and you stay with me. Perhaps you should give them a pendant made of a piece of a Magical Orb as well, to be sure it’s not your Magic that is making them attracted by you, instead of your character and pretty face. Or better yet, stop being lazy and put some effort into the control of your Magic, you tempting brat!”
Alex asked while Shinatobe was gently pushing him, to make him lay on his back on the bed, “What if… I want to live in this manor with you and those three women? What if I brought Hangaku Mae from Earth to also live here? You won’t mind sharing me with so many women?”
“That would actually be interesting, now that you said it loud… We would always compete to see with whom you would sleep on that night, or we could get a big bed for all of us. Now that is a thought… All of us naked, rubbing our soft skin on each other… What crazy nights we could have…”
Alex stared at Shinatobe that had her eyes glowing and lost in her fantasies. “I… never thought you could be so… open-minded with your relationships…”
“Well, remember that I am actually older than any being alive around here? I had plenty of time to get rid of my taboos and problems with sharing my partners. Now, what about if you get ready for your first lesson on how to please a woman? Let the training begin!”
…