Ch.44Love’s Form

After taking Mina as our companion, we returned to Zemest, rested for about 2 hours, and then departed for the next western city.

When traveling long distances between western cities, it’s customary to depart at dawn to secure maximum marching distance, provided there’s no bad weather or accidents. However, more important than that is not starting a long journey with accumulated black mana in one’s body.

Generally, the black mana that accumulates in the body after a day of outdoor activity can be completely purified by resting within a barrier for approximately 50 minutes to an hour.

Although we spent less than 24 hours away from Zemest around the Blackforge Mine, considering variables like the black mana concentration inside the mine and the influence of Negatite, I thought it would be safer to rest for about 2 hours.

As a result, we left Zemest close to noon, but thanks to Ancestor, we were able to travel quickly with minimal belongings and cover about 25km by sunset while taking appropriate breaks.

Along the way, there were no encounters with fierce wild animals or monsters, nor did we spot other travelers or outlaws—it was truly a peaceful and leisurely journey—

“Caught you, you bastards!”

*Bang bang bang!*

—or it would have been, if today’s journey hadn’t reached its climax with a battle against a group of lizards occupying a clearing that would have been perfect for our campsite.

Those lizards were Rock Lizards, relatives of the ones that had interrupted our meal on that rainy day and chased us out into the rain.

“Stone Bullet!”

*Thwack!*

A fist-sized rock left Jessica’s fingertips, spinning fiercely and shattering a lizard’s spine.

When editing the grimoire in Zemest, the “penetration increase” element had been moved to Flame Lance, changing the Stone Bullet from a pointed shape to a rounded one. Nevertheless, the power of the Stone Bullet, with speed and weight comparable to a professional baseball player’s fastball, was impeccably excellent.

In a way, one could say that with reduced penetration, it had gained characteristics of a blunt weapon, making it even more threatening.

“If they weren’t so slippery, I could handle ten of these lizards easily.”

As if seeking revenge for slipping in the rain that day, Seti had jumped right into the middle of the Rock Lizard group as soon as she spotted them, slashing through the lizards in all directions.

The way Seti danced around the Rock Lizards that tried to bite her ankles, not allowing them even a single attack and one-sidedly decimating them, was so marvelous it could almost be called beautiful.

It took only 5 minutes for more than ten lizards to turn into slippery piles of meat.

After successfully venting our frustrations and restoring our honor from that previous day, we buried the monster corpses, pitched our tents, and lit a campfire.

The blazing campfire calmed down like a candle flame once Jessica’s Repellation Field was completed, and we sat around it to enjoy the spoils we’d found after the battle with the Rock Lizards.

“Kyaa~ This is it! I told you there’s always something where Rock Lizards gather.”

“So the reason those lizards were gathered was because of rock quail eggs. I didn’t know that.”

“Rock quails, true to their name, lay eggs in narrow crevices between rocks after piling up grass. Since Rock Lizards can’t squeeze in with their body size, they gather to push or roll the rocks.”

“So that means the ones we met last time were also trying to eat there…”

After defeating the Rock Lizards, following Mina’s suggestion, we widened a crevice in the corner of the clearing and found seven quail eggs neatly clustered inside.

Though called quail eggs, they were only slightly smaller than chicken eggs, so scrambling them and serving them with roasted corn and bread was more than enough to fill the four of us. The warm coffee we drank afterward was truly the perfect finishing touch.

“Well~ Now that we’ve had a hearty dinner, shall we turn in?”

“Are you going to sleep in that small tent over there, Mina? As you saw before, there’s plenty of space in our tent.”

“I had to rely on you last time because my tent was destroyed, but I can’t keep doing that. A man and woman sharing a tent means the three of you are in that kind of relationship, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“By the way, having a flower in each hand? Will seems quite the ladies’ man~ Are you going to make a move on me next? Kyaa~~”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m already more than satisfied with these two—what more could I want?”

While polygamy might be a man’s fantasy, there are limits, and I’m not the type of playboy who would look at another woman when I’ve been dating Jessica and Seti for less than ten days.

Jessica originally wanted a one-on-one relationship with me, and while Seti might be more tolerant of polygamy than Jessica, she wouldn’t be happy if her lover easily showed interest in other women.

“Setting those two aside, judging by looks alone, don’t you think I’m pretty decent?”

“Hmm… I don’t think so.”

“Great, follow me behind the tent. I’ll test how many corn cobs can fit in your ass.”

“No, no, I meant your height or build! You’re much smaller than Seti, right? It feels like I’d be messing with a child, which doesn’t feel right.”

“I’m older than you, you know? And my height is above average among dwarf women!?”

“Mina, you need to understand. Will likes big breasts, so there’s no way you can beat Jessica.”

“Hee~ Is that so? Hmm~~~”

“Plus, I may lack in the chest department, but my butt seems to be to Will’s liking.”

“Please, Seti, don’t make this situation any more complicated…”

I can feel my reputation plummeting in Mina’s mind.

Jessica, instead of just shyly rejoicing, couldn’t you defend me a little? At this rate, I’ll have to continue traveling while enduring Mina’s gaze that looks at me like I’m some kind of sex offender.

“Well~ I also prefer bodies with slightly defined muscles rather than skinny types like you. Like abs or lats.”

“……”

“……”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Jessica, Seti?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Mina doesn’t need to know.”

“Hmm, whatever. I’ll go in first and tinker with my gun before sleeping. If you’re planning to do something, don’t mind me~”

The three of us couldn’t offer any rebuttal to Mina, who shot us a meaningful smile before entering her tent. Even if we weren’t planning to do anything tonight, we had a previous record of having done something just before meeting Mina.

After tidying up around the campfire, the three of us entered the tent and lay down side by side, trying to fall asleep, but we all just blinked our eyes, unable to drift off.

After some time passed like that, Jessica spoke in a whisper.

“Just wondering.”

“Yes?”

“What would you do if Mina, or some other woman we meet later, actually fell for you?”

“I doubt any woman would confess to a man who already has two girlfriends, but well… as I feel now, I’m not really interested.”

“Why?”

“No matter how much someone might like me, I only have one body, and there’s a limit to how much time I can devote to one person. If I get more girlfriends and reduce the time I spend with you two, it wouldn’t be good for either Jessica or Seti, and I don’t think I have the capacity to date many women.”

I can say this now because I’m dating both of them simultaneously, but I think managing multiple lovers requires considerable guts and capacity.

No matter how fairly you try to love everyone, there will be times when you spend time alone with someone, and once you start devoting your brain and time to mediating and controlling that, dating becomes a chore rather than a joy.

And if you give up on that mediation and just live as your lower half dictates?

You’ll end up taking a NICE BOAT to the other side of sorrow.

“Anyway, we don’t need to worry about Mina, right? She said she’s not into my type, and I don’t want to hurt you two by getting another girlfriend. Or rather, it’s only been less than ten days since we started dating—wanting a new woman already would just make me human garbage.”

“Pfft… Ahahahaha…”

“Was there something funny about what I just said?”

“Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking that Will is really earnest after all. But you know what?”

“?”

“What you just said, in other words, sounds like you’d want to date lots of other women if enough time passed and Seti and I could accept and understand it?”

“Urk!? Is that how it sounds?”

Jessica and Seti chuckle on either side of me as I panic.

Are they laughing because my reaction is funny? Or do they have something up their sleeves? Surely they’re not raising some yandere flags!?

“Hehe, I’m joking. I know you didn’t mean it that way.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But, if you do receive a confession from Mina or another woman, at that time, don’t think about us two—decide solely based on your own feelings.”

“Based on my own feelings?”

“If the reason Will rejects another woman’s confession is ‘because my other lovers might dislike it,’ how would that woman feel? She would be unable to let go of her lingering feelings for Will and would only harbor resentment toward us two. Conversely, accepting a confession because ‘my other lovers permitted it’ would be even more miserable.”

“……”

“So, decide on another woman’s confession solely with your own heart. If, as a result, you accept her, both Seti and I will try to be happy together with Will, including her.”

Jessica said this as she leaned toward me and pressed her lips against mine.

After the soft and sweet sensation of her lips disappeared, Jessica lay back facing the ceiling with an expression that was complex and subtle, impossible to describe in a single word.

“Haah~ Human hearts are truly unpredictable. At first, I definitely thought I had to have Will all to myself, but after dating together with Seti, now I find myself loving not only Will but also Seti, who loves Will as much as I do…”

“Th-that’s quite a dynamic change of heart.”

“Hehe, right? I’m amazed at my own feelings. It’s like I feel that the value of ‘my man Will’ increases the more he’s loved by other women, and I’m proud of being Will’s ‘first woman’.”

“Congratulations. Jessica has awakened to the mindset of a primary wife.”

“Primary wife’s mindset?”

“Just as an adventurer party needs a leader, a leader is important among a man’s lovers too. For the cat-folk, a primary wife doesn’t compete with concubines over her husband; she embraces and leads the concubines to ensure everyone’s happiness, including her husband’s.”

So it’s about establishing a hierarchy, so to speak.

Certainly, if you think about the old royal families where polygamy was common, or some modern Middle Eastern cultures, a “clear hierarchy” rather than “equal treatment” might be an essential condition for maintaining a one-to-many love relationship smoothly.

“So Jessica being ‘first’ is a principle for all our happiness. Will, please keep that mindset too.”

“Umm… I’ll try. I’ll try, so please stop subtly spreading your pheromones.”

“You caught me.”

After lightly pecking Seti on the forehead and exchanging gentle kisses among the three of us, we closed our eyes and tried to sleep.

Pondering the appropriate boundary between loving two women equally and establishing a hierarchy for happiness, I tossed and turned for about another hour, listening to Jessica and Seti’s breathing on either side of me, before I could finally fall asleep.