Meanwhile, Alex was in his carriage, deeply meditating, trying to get himself used to not let his Magic float around inadvertently like Shinatobe kept on telling him. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw the three women in silence, looking through the windows at the scenery of the Capital of Beliersia they just entered.
He asked, a little puzzled, “What happened? Last time I looked, you three were about to go at each other’s throat.”
Anika shrugged without even looking at him. “We reached a mutual consensus. It is foolish to fight amongst us because of you. We will all live for a very long time, so any of us can be with you a few years until it’s time for the next one to take her place near you.”
“That’s… surprising to say the least. I was led to believe it was the inadequate control of my Magic that was making you all go a little nuts.”
Anika slowly faced him with a slight smile. “Oh, Alex, you keep on forgetting with whom you are dealing with. Powerful Mermaids and Fairies like us are more than able to resist the temptation that your absurd amount of Magic creates, and it seems Pearl is the only one that is having a hard time resisting you. Maybe if we were weaker or a simple Human woman, we would have some trouble not to take your clothes off and take you right now, but that’s not the case with us. While you were trying your best to control your leaking of Magic, we were deciding on our next course of action. Since I was the first to make an approach, I will be the first to try to conquer your heart, Wenammy will be second and Pearl will be the third. Of course, you will have the last say about with whom you want to be with after each of us tried to conquer you, but unless our feelings have a weird change, we will patiently wait for our turn to be with you.”
“But… if by any chance I want to be with, let’s say, with you, but many, many years ahead?”
“That would make me very happy, but let’s face it, for more than your life expectancy is because you have so much Magic, you won’t live longer than any of us, and when you die, we will be left behind, crying. We just need to make good use of our time with you and try to conquer your heart in the years to come.”
Alex crossed his arms while leaning back. “Really? Because I recently discovered that I will have a very, very, very long life. I will most probably outlive all of you.”
That statement made them look at him with a puzzled look, that quickly changed to big smiles. Anika was the first to speak, having a hard time not to shout with excitement, “That will be even more amazing! I can be with you for one hundred years, Wenammy and Pearl as well, and like that, none of us will be sad because we only had you for a little while! I totally forgot that you as a Mage Summoner would live far more years than a normal Mage! Oh, don’t you look at me like that, like if I just babbled about your huge secret, we all know that you made a contract with two extremely powerful Spirits.”
Alex was frowning and he slowly nodded. “Yeah, Shinatobe indeed warned me some time ago about how sensitive Mermaids and Fairies were, towards the presence of Spirits near them. At least, when they are in their natural form because when a Spirit takes a more Human appearance, no one can actually distinguish them from normal people.”
Anika Wright trembled at the mere mention of Shinatobe’s name and turned pale. She stared directly at Alex’s right ear and spoke, “I bet she was having a blast, hearing us arguing because of you since she has such a clear spot in your heart because of your contract.”
Wenammy and Pearl looked at Anika, surprised by what she said and without knowing the meaning behind her words, and then they dumbfoundedly stared at Alex as he answered, “Well, she also told me she wouldn’t mind if we all lived in my manor, happily forever and ever. It came as a surprise to me, hearing her talking about that possibility so casually. It seems I am indeed more inexperienced than I might look.”
Anika made a big smile with her eyes glowing. “She actually said that? For real? Your Spirit is actually willing to share you with us? That’s absolutely amazing… and makes room for so many possibilities…”
Wenammy looked at Alex, and then at Anika, and she then asked, “Shinatobe… that rude little blond girl with a bad temper, she is a Spirit?”
Anika gulped and answered with a worried look, “Yes… She almost killed me last time, when I tried to seduce Alex in his room… You were a little stupid by trying to go at her throat. She is Shinatobe, the Greatest Spirit of the Wind. The one that granted Mermaids the ability to breathe air and that oversees over every other Spirit in this World. She could very easily tear your wings apart like she said and stuff them up your ass, and you wouldn’t be able to do a thing. Having her acknowledging our feelings for Alex and letting us be with him, is not only an honour, but it’s also unheard of. You know how Spirits are so jealous about their partners…”
Wenammy stared blankly at Alex. “No way… How… How did you manage to make a contract with such a powerful Spirit? And you have two Spirits? Who is the other one?”
Pearl answered without even averting her eyes from the scenery outside, “I could swear he has two other Spirits. Okami, that called me a daughter of the forest, and Suijin, that called Anika daughter of the sea. There are only two Spirits that used to call our species that, the ones that are also a part of the Great Four, the powerful Spirits that oversees everything is this World, children of the God Izanagi and the Goddess Izanami. The one that is missing is…”
She then looked at Alex and her voice faulted, “The Spirit of Fire… Kagu-tsuchi… the little boy last time at the Guild… no way… no wonder I am having so much trouble near you if you have indeed four of the most powerful Spirits in this World at your side…”
Alex stared at his hands, without knowing what to say. Then, the tiny ball of light that was Shinatobe came from behind his ear, and as she hovered right in the middle of them, she said, “I do hope you keep all this a secret from everyone else, even from James Macdonald. Alex was already foolish enough to show off how much Magic he can use and some of his new Spells on your last encounter with Magical Voids. He could take care of those Monsters in a not… so flashy way, let’s say, and still be more than enough to stop them. I suppose he didn’t want any of you to get in danger. Sometimes this brat is such a softy that gets in my nerves.”
Wenammy gulped and Anika asked while trembling, “You were here all the time like I suspected… Did you hear everything? I am sorry if we all sounded a little…”
“No harm done, I liked to hear how much you care about Alex. As for Miss Pearl, it would be better if she carried with her a small Magical Orb depleted of Magic so that the Orb could absorb Alex’s absurd Magic and not make her lose control.”
Pearl Pearson opened her small purse made also with silk and with encrusted precious stones, that came along with her new dress, and showed to the tiny ball of light a small Magical Orb, glowing in dark blue, indicating that it was full of Magic.
“I… have this one that I got from a Monster last time. I brought it with me just in case I needed a boost in my Magic… This will do?”
The tiny ball of light went to Pearl’s opened hand and enveloped the Magical Orb. The light increased its size a little and went to the previous size again after some seconds and left the Orb, which was now a simple light blue round crystal without any glow whatsoever.
Shinatobe’s voice explained, “Now, every time Alex fails on keeping his Magic under control, your Orb will absorb the Magic, and you can use it as a source of Magic for your Spells, to deplete it again. I hope this will be enough to keep you focus, instead of wanting to undress Alex every time you are near him.”
Pearl Pearson stared at the Magical Orb, and she then leaned forward a little, touching Alex’s knee. She made a slight smile and stared at the Orb again, which had a faint glow.
She leaned back and took a slow deep breath. “Yes, it’s working, alright. I still want to bear his child, but now I don’t feel a sudden urge to attack him and force him to be with me, if necessary. Strange… my feelings are at ease once again, and I can think properly. I still like him, and I still think he will be a great father to my children. You need to keep your Magic under control Alex, or you will have a lot of single women going after you everywhere you go, not because of you, but because of your Magic.”
Shinatobe’s went once again to her usual spot behind Alex’s ear, and he slowly nodded with a worried look. “I know, she is always telling me that. When I lived with my father in our lands, I always had Noblewomen and girls after me, because of my title and money. Since I started working as an Adventurer, it was easier, because I always made sure I had full control of my Magic, but after my recent new contracts, things are getting a bit difficult for me. I have to always trust Shinatobe to prevent my Magic from running lose so that I don’t cause a catastrophe. This… unexpected effect on women was something that she didn’t tell me in advance, so it came as a surprise and a shock.”
Pearl nodded and asked while looking at his right ear, “How did you manage to make a contract with her? And with the others? Because such powerful Spirits like the powerful Four, willing to make a contract with the same Mage Summoner it’s not only unheard of but also extremely dangerous. There were already cases of Mage Summoners that abused their power and did some nasty things, like that crazy female Mage from ‘The Galtian Khaganat’, for instance.”
“I know… I sort like inherited Shinatobe from my father when he retired. After the events in the war, when he killed that Mage Summoner and all of her supporters, his soul shattered in regret. He was no longer able to continue being the Hero, and save as many people as he was supposed to do. Okami came to me, willing to make a contract as well since I already had one with Shinatobe when I replaced my father as the Hero. Kagu and Suijin were the most recent ones because Shinatobe wanted to be sure that this time, things worked out better.”
Pearl made a slight frown. “But… what are you supposed to do, as the Hero? Save people? Or rule the World?”
“I guess I can do either, but I am supposed to stop every Monster that comes from the Magical Voids, and it would be even better if I found out how to prevent them from appearing forever. While I don’t find out more about the Voids, I try my best to improve the lives of everyone that lives in this World. I have been doing that for the last five years, but most Nobles in Beliersia thinks that my sole purpose is to be rich and more powerful than all of them. That’s why I don’t tell or show much of my richness, and I try to disguise my Magic as much as possible. I don’t want to have people in the shadows, working against me because of jealousy or fear of my power.”
Pearl Pearson went silent, thinking about his words. After some seconds of heavy silence, Wenammy asked, “Why are you telling us so much, then? Shouldn’t you keep all this to yourself? We might be afraid of you with all these findings and try… I don’t know what we could try… ruin your plans, maybe?”
“You could, but why would you do it? If I am improving the lives of as many people as I can, why would any of you plot against me? Unless you are afraid of me or what I could do. Maybe I need to explain myself. You see, sometimes I feel a bit lonely, and all this responsibility gets to me. I think… I need some friends. Real good friends, that won’t have any problems saying to me what they think, or to stop me if needed, if I ever abuse my powers. My Spirits won’t be able to kill me in case of need because of the contract, so I am hoping you all keep a close watch over me, and warn me if I go a little overboard, before I go into a road with no turning back. I think that you three, being from such Magically powerful species, could gather a huge army if needed, to stop me. I don’t know, maybe act as a safeguard if I ever, may the Kami forbid, abuse my power and start killing everyone to try to rule the World.”
Wenammy slowly nodded and Anika Wright spoke with a frown, “I don’t want to only be your friend, I want to be your lover! I could also be your friend, if, and only if, I am your lover first. It would pain me to go against you, but I must warn you that I would, if that would mean I needed to protect my kind from you. I would be sad for the rest of my life, but I would stop you if necessary.”
“Well, that is more or less what I asked. Despite the fact it still annoys me to hear you say that you want to be my lover when you know so little about me.”
Anika winked. “The little I know, I already like, and the more I find out about you, the more I fall in love. If you give me a chance, maybe you also start to like me, and perhaps you even fall for me as well. I can at least try, right?”
“I suppose, despite the fact I am not sure if I deserve all that attention. I am only a boy, you know?”
“Alex, to me, all Humans around are boys. I am already one hundred and thirty years old, you know? But considering the life expectancy of my kind and yours, I am technically a little younger than you, so we are not so apart in age as you may think. Wenammy and Pearl are the same if we consider their life expectancy as well. The only difference between any of us and you would be our experience in matters of the heart. Well, except Wenammy, that is, she seems too innocent and shy for a Fairy of her age. She probably led a very sheltered life as a High Fairy, or she is just plain stupid, I am not really sure.”