Chapter 85 - Fulfilling a Promise

— Leon Greyrat —

With Cliff and Lina having moved into a house together, there was a small party to welcome their friends into their new living space, much like I did before leaving for Asura.

Usually, this was a sign that the couple would be married, but with Cliff being a devout member of the Millis religion, that would be getting its own ceremony.

Wait… Eris, Sylphy, Roxy, and I weren't members of the Millis religion, so didn't that mean we were married now that we had bought a house and celebrated it?

Ah… well, we could still have a ceremony to make it official.

Not like such a title really mattered that much anyway.

The most important thing was making sure all three of them felt equal.

Anyway, despite both of Roxy and Sylphy having a strong connection with Lina, they were unfortunately unable to attend as they had to watch Aria and Ariel respectively, so it was just me.

After a fun time of drinks and stories, with Mama and my father explaining more of their adventuring days… as well as some details that I would rather be left not knowing… the night's energy gradually dwindled down as I then made my way back home.

But on my way, I was stopped by a… well, I'd just go out and say it. I was stopped by a prostitute.

She was very beautiful, with long brown hair that reached her breasts, and wide brown eyes that had a certain loving pull to them.

She almost reminded me of my mother.

"Oh~? Come on, for just one night~? I'll make it worth your while~" she said, sticking out her hips. "And if it suits your fancy… I'm only eighteen~"

Well, even though she was my age, she looked pretty mature.

As one could infer from her words, she seemed very pushy about getting me in bed, but she also seemed… reluctant.

Why?

I had been pursued by prostitutes before. 

It was obvious that I would, since I looked strong and rich, which was the perfect prey for them, even if I had brushed off their advances before.

But… I had never been approached reluctantly.

After all, if I could say so myself, I was handsome and fit, without being a complete ass, so I was quite the catch, considering most of the usual clientele they would pull.

"What's wrong?" I asked, batting her hand that was reaching for my chin away. "You're obviously disinterested."

"Tsk," she said, her flirtatious grin dropping to a straight-mouthed frown. "If you're not going to buy me, then just say so. Don't waste my time."

Hmm… normally, I would just ignore and get on with my night, but weirdly enough, I felt a bit… curious.

No… instead, I felt a connection of some sort, though I couldn't explain why.

"Humour me," I said, passing her a silver coin. "Why are you so reluctant? And, well… why are you doing such a thing?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, her eyebrows furrowing as she hesitantly took my money before quickly covering up her body with her cloak.

"Do you think I want to do this?" she eventually said. "I need money for my younger brother, and there's nothing else I can do. Money doesn't grow on trees, and not everyone has a special talent to push them forward."

"I see," I said, nodding my head.

Right, I already knew that.

"But that only answered one of my questions," I said. "So you hate sex?"

"Obviously, I hate it. You're better than many of the old, fat bastards, but I would hate it even with you," she spat before she chuckled to herself. "Ironic for someone like me, huh?"

Hmm… well, I could understand.

I personally loved the act, but that was only because I do it with the women I love.

If it was with some random girl, no matter how pretty or beautiful… I can't say I would enjoy it either.

"…How old is your brother?" I asked, the two of us beginning to walk down the street.

"Huh? Why do you care?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

Hmm… why was I doing this?

Maybe I was still a bit drunk?

Either way… I just felt like doing so, with that odd instinct pushing me forward.

"Because," I said, shrugging. "Perhaps I'm just bored."

She narrowed her eyes at me before eventually answering, "He's eight."

Eight… that's Norn and Aisha's age.

An interesting coincidence.

"And what about your parents?" I asked, already kind of knowing the answer.

"Dead," she said firmly. "My father's been gone for as long as I could remember, and my mother… well, she was a midwife before she passed as well. I used to help her out, but now… well, you know."

Hm?

A midwife? 

And she said she helped her mother out… and paired with how far she went for her brother…

Wait… is this what you call fate?

"Do you… happen to enjoy children?" I asked. "Caring for them, I mean."

"Well… yeah," she said, looking down sadly. "But I can't exactly become a mother like this, no? At least not one I would be proud of. Not to mention hating the thing that needs to happen first… it really is ironic, huh?"

Wow… I think it was fate.

How lucky.

"I… have a proposition for you," I said, smiling a bit. "It won't pay well, if at all, but it would provide you a place to live for both you and your brother."

She narrowed her eyes at me, reaching a hand into her cloak.

"Hey… I may be like this, but I'm not one to become a slave. Much less getting my brother involved," she said coldly.

Huh?

Oh… did she think I was offering something like that?

"Uh… no, not like that," I clarified. "I'm… planning to open an orphanage, even though it isn't built yet. Ah! But you can live in our house for now! So… would you… like to become a caretaker there?"

Her glare softened as she took out her hand from her cloak.

Was she hiding a knife?

Well, I guess with her profession, she would need to ward off dangerous folks, and fight them if necessary.

"You… we just met, so I can't exactly trust you," she said calmly. "But if it gets us a roof over our heads… I'll hesitantly accept."

"Indeed. So… what's your name?" I asked.

"…Clara," she said. "And yours?"

"Leon," I said. "Leon Greyrat."

Was it idiotic to trust such a random encounter?

No. Probably not.

But I felt it… this was definitely a step in the right direction for fulfilling my promise.

— Leon Greyrat —

"I'm home!" I announced, walking into the house. "Err… I guess Roxy is asleep? I know Sylphy had guard duty today…"

I wanted to explain these two while they were awake though…

"Hm? You're wives?" Clara asked.

"Yeah. Or at least they're soon to be," I answered.

Sylphy and Roxy… they've gotten quite closer ever since our night together a few days ago.

I wasn't sure if it was the sex that led to it, or if they had gotten closer before then, which led to the threesome, but either way, I was enjoying the new sense of harmony in the house.

In fact, they had even decided to wake me up this morning with both of them servicing me together.

It was… quite a pleasant way to get up… in more ways than one.

Hearing a set of footsteps, I watched as Norn came out of the kitchen, her hair done up in a bun with a bit of what seemed to be frosting on her cheek.

I guess she was trying her hand at baking, huh?

"Brother! You're home!" she said before looking at the two people next to me. "And… you've brought guests?"

"Yep. Meet Clara and her brother Nico. They'll be staying with us for a few days until I… set something up," I said.

I know Sylphy said that she talked to Ariel and was told she might be able to do something, but I was still unsure of how much the princess could support me.

I didn't want to make any false promises just yet.

"H-Hi!" Nico said, walking forward as he fixed his hair. "Umm… nice to meet you."

How polite. 

Wait… was that a blush on his face?

"Oh? I-I'm Norn… Norn Greyrat," my cute sister returned.

As expected, even if she had gotten outgoing with school, she was still a shy girl.

"Are you staying the night?" I asked her. "We can do some swordsmanship in the morning, if you want."

"Ah! That sounds good!" she said, nodding. "And c-can I… sleep with you?"

Well, I usually slept in the same room as Aria did, but considering Roxy seemed to have that covered for the night…

"Sure," I agreed. "How about you tell me about school before bed."

With Norn nodding at me, she then looked back to Nico, her hand reaching up to wipe away the bit of frosting still on her cheek.

"Umm… you said you're staying for a bit, right?" she said. "Do you… want a tour?"

I think I was the one meant to do that, but I decided to let her take charge.

"S-Sure!" he returned, walking over to follow her.

With them going over to the living room, I then crossed my arms, smiling slightly.

"They seem to be getting along," I said to Clara.

"Yes… it's good to see," she returned. "You have a cute sister, and Nico doesn't have many friends considering our situation, so I thank you."

"No, it's my pleasure," I said evenly. "…We won't rush things?"

"Nope, just tease them," she returned. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," I said, nodding as we both bumped our fists together.

Yeah… perhaps seeing Norn had lowered her suspicion of me, but I think Clara and I would get along quite nicely.

After all, we had gotten closer as we walked to gather her brother and back, and a lot of my initial worry had evaporated as she opened up a bit more about herself.

Though, I was still wondering why she would come so willingly with me, considering how shady us meeting was…

Maybe she was just confident in her ability to defend herself?

Anyway, I was quite excited about the possibility of having a friend, or at least the first one that wasn't Rudy's first, so that might have had to do with how easily I accepted her into my home.

And speaking of that… I should probably tell Roxy so she doesn't freak out in the morning.

— Leon Greyrat —

A few weeks had passed, and in that time, Ariel had been able to get a small house, one large enough for a good amount of kids, fulfilling the request I had asked of her.

And so, my orphanage plan began in earnest.

Luckily, there was no need to fix the place up aside from a little cleaning, so Clara and Nico were able to quickly become the first inhabitants, and a few days later, I was able to buy a mother and her two kids from the market to further fill up the space.

While it was probably bad of me to say this, I was lucky in the fact that both kids were pretty sick when I found them, while the mother had gained an injury that ensured that she couldn't have sex anymore, so the little family quite cheap.

I had initially gotten them because of the kids, but seeing how the place could really use a mother's loving touch, I decided to get the mother, Olivia, as well.

Even if she couldn't treat the rest of them with the same love as her own children, I did get her to promise to treat them as her own, or at least as much as I could.

And so, with some healing and detoxification magic, the kids were back to full health, with Olivia happily accepting her new position.

So two caretakers and three kids… and I'd soon be getting more either from slavers, or if I see any unfortunate children on any of my travels, even though I don't plan on leaving home for a long while.

Ah, and also any possible employees as well. But for now, Clara and Olivia could handle it.

But still… this would have never been a possibility without Ariel's help.

I would have to thank her.

She did seem to like her black hair ribbon, even though it was quite cheap… so maybe something like that?

Ah, but then again, I would be doing quite a bit of favours for her in the coming future, so perhaps I could simply let her graciousness slide.

But aside from that, with my trips to the slave market, I had also noticed some… unscrupulous individuals keeping some kids in unsavory positions.

Of course, in such a place, I expected everyone there to be pieces of shit, but some were a bit… worse than others.

But I had a plan to rectify that by tonight.

Break into the slavers that were treating the children horribly, kill every one of the people who worked there, rescue the kids, set fire to the place so they think the kids are dead, and then bring them back to the orphanage.

After that, well… the one good thing about kids being treated so bad, was that once I cleaned them up, healed them to complete health, and gave them some good clothes and food, they would be unrecognizable from their past selves.

Not like I would leave anyone who could recognize them.

So yeah… that was my plan for the night, so unfortunately, I wouldn't be having any sexy times with Roxy and Sylphy.

I just hope that Clara and Olivia would be able to handle a few more kids coming their way.

— Leon Greyrat —

Another month had passed, which meant we were now heading into the coldest part of winter as the new year slowly approached.

This was also Aria's first winter, the first great danger that children would run into in this world.

But I wasn't too worried.

With one of Roxy, Sylphy, and I always with her, we made sure she was always warm and cuddled up.

So even if she couldn't regulate her own body temperature, between her three parents, Aria would be a happy and healthy baby.

Speaking of Roxy and Sylphy, this month would mark a year since we had become a family together, and honestly… things were great.

We still sometimes argued, just as all healthy couples did, but it was only mundane things such as whether someone didn't replace a candle or didn't come home for a while.

Nothing serious, no big fuck-ups, and no hatred at all.

And to think you only had to talk… my father should have taken notes.

I was initially worried that Sylphy and Roxy, with both of them harbouring slight feelings of inferiority towards me, would not voice their true feelings, especially if they went against what I was saying.

But it seemed that my earnest displays of affection and love had broken through to them, in that they now felt comfortable being truthful.

Though… the sex definitely helped too.

No better time to talk than in the afterglow of a good session in bed, after all.

But yes, aside from communication, it also helped that both of them were fairly independent women, with Roxy having her magic and teaching, while Sylphy had her duty to Ariel.

This meant that we all had our own free time and space, and when we spent time together, we cherished it deeply.

And speaking of free time…

"This formula is messy… dammit, I don't want to go to Cliff again," Shizuka complained.

"What, don't want him to flaunt his genius?" Rudy asked.

"Not that. The last time I went down to their house, I heard the sound of his and that elf's lovemaking quite clearly," she said, pouting. "And they still ask why I stay up here so often…"

"Ahaha… yeah," Rudy said.

"And you are no better!" she said, pointing at him accusingly. "I-Isn't Sara pregnant? You should be stopping that stuff!"

"Well… there are many things you can do without penetration," he said resolutely, nodding his head. "I am quite proud of my array of nighttime skills, after all."

"I did not need to know that," she deadpanned.

Yes, I was currently spending some time with Shizuka and Rudy, watching their experiments with my Demon eye each time they asked for it.

But it wasn't only us three.

"Gabaa!" Aria said, throwing her stuffy on the floor once again.

Haa… well, she was now seven months old, so she was beginning regularly to eat solids… as well as having gained a newfound a joy in throwing things to the ground.

Although, I think it was less the throwing, and more of how I had to pick it up afterwards.

Truly… she really was an energetic girl.

But she was well-behaved. At least, unless she was away from her parents.

I wouldn't have brought her here otherwise.

Reaching down to grab her tossed toy, I gave it back to her, hearing her happily coo as I went back to my studying.

As for what I was studying?

Well, that was healing magic. 

More specifically, I was trying to research a way to share lifespans, just like I had thought of since we first returned to Sharia.

I say 'trying to research', because even after all this time… I haven't found anything that could help me.

Honestly, I was fairly sure it was impossible, or at least with the current understanding of magic.

After all, if there was such a spell, it would have already been exploited by those in power to make them immortal, such as a king stealing the life of its subjects to create a forever-living king.

Even if it wasn't to that length, there would have at least been a legend of something similar.

But maybe… there was a hint. 

A hint I could use to pioneer my own path.

Perhaps researching into some different demon race's biology would help as well, especially that clan that was said to be immortal.

I wanted to find an answer.

I was determined to.

Before, it was just a wish… something to do in my free time as I didn't enjoy the thought of Roxy and Sylphy being alone for so long, nor also the thought of them finding someone else after my death.

But now… I had another reason.

I had noticed that sometimes, when Roxy was holding Aria, she would look… sad.

Sad and worried.

At first, I thought she was simply worried about her child's health, as an infant was extremely fragile, or perhaps some anxiety about being a mother, but now… I was fairly certain it was something else.

You see, Roxy was 50 years old, and the Migurd, her race, had a lifespan of 200 years… which meant that she had around 150 years left to live.

However, humans, like me, lived for an average of 80 years, assuming a healthy lifestyle.

And Aria was half human, and half Migurd, so if the lifespan was split evenly, like it was for all the recorded mixed races I had found, she would live for about 140 years.

And 140 is less than 150, for those not academically inclined.

Roxy… would likely outlive her child, at least if we assumed both of them lived for their average lifespans.

That… I couldn't even think of something like that happening.

Aria dying from an accident would destroy me with grief, but to think of watching her grow old and die before me from natural causes… I wouldn't be able to deal with such a thing.

So it was obvious that Roxy was worried about such a thing happening, and by the time Sylphy had our child, she would very likely feel the same trepidation.

I… couldn't let them live through that.

I wouldn't let them live through that.

Thus, I was more determined than ever to make this lifespan sharing magic work, if not for my own selfish desires… then at least for Roxy and Sylphy's future sanity.

"Rudy… can you pass me that sheet?" Shizuka asked.

"Yeah, here," Rudy said, handing it over.

Looking over to them, I watched as my brother passed a piece of paper over to her, their hand accidentally touching as they did so, causing both of them to flinch and retract their hands, the paper helplessly drifting to the ground between them.

"S-Sorry!" Rudy said.

"N-No, that was… my fault as well," Shizuka said, turning around to her notebook.

Haa…

"Aboo!" Aria said, reaching up to me.

"Yeah… it is ridiculous," I said, letting her grab my extended finger. "Your uncle is a bad man, huh?"

Not to mention that with Sara too far into pregnancy to have sex, Rudy had been complaining about being pent-up after so long without it, even if they still did other things.

He didn't blame her, of course, as I would have punched his lights out if he did. But he still lamented the absence of sex, and had even told me that he could understand how Paul got seduced by Lilia in such a state.

Well… I wasn't one to talk about being faithful to only one woman, but I hoped that he wouldn't betray Sara.

I don't think Mama would be very happy if I ended up killing her son, after all.

But for now, their 'romance', if you could even call it that, was extremely innocent.

Besides, Shizuka was still focused on getting back home and if she succeeded, she would never be able to have a relationship with my brother, so I doubt that they would ever get together, no matter the circumstance.

…Uh.

"Baba!" Aria said, slapping my hand.

"Yeah, sorry that Dada's such a dummy," I said, brushing a hand through her hair. "I definitely just tempted fate again…"

— Leon Greyrat —

"Show us magic!"

"Yeah! Show us! Show us!"

"The cool fire!"

"Oh! And the ice sculpture!"

Looking at the collection of kids swarming me, I felt a warmth as I compared how happy they were to when I first picked them up… but also some bitterness at being treated as a walking carnival performance.

But if it made them happy, then I suppose it was a small price to play.

Plus, I wasn't one to refuse a chance to train my magic, even if it was just party tricks.

Anyway, creating a stream of water, I had it chase the kids across the yard as I began silently pondering.

Over time, I had gotten a few more kids into the orphanage, but at a size of eight, they were definitely at capacity, both in space and supervision.

I didn't want to screw up the warm, familial dynamic Clara and Olivia had made, after all.

Two eight-year-olds, two six-year-olds, a five-year-old, a four-year-old, and a two-year-old… those were the kids that now lived in the large house near the outskirts of the city.

Knowing that Olivia's husband not only sold her, but also their two-year-old and five-year-old… it was honestly disgusting.

I would have killed him if I knew where he was, but judging by how easily he fell to gambling, I doubted he lasted long in the world anyway.

Anyway, with so many kids, I had expected there to be some major problems, but Clara was excellent at managing the food and supplies, while Olivia provided that motherly care the kids sorely lacked, so everything was going smoothly.

They were traumatized, especially the enslaved kids that I had to rescue, but in their new environment… they were getting better.

And while I wish they never had to experience such things, it did make them mature beyond their years, so they weren't too troublesome and were very cooperative with their caretakers and each other.

As for me, I visited in my free time when I could, especially since now that Nico was interested in swordsmanship. And like today, it usually devolved into playing or giving them a show that they found entertaining.

Well, I was hoping to find another man I could trust to be their male parental figure, but seeing that all the male slaves were typically for fighting, and are often idiots that got caught up in slavery due to their mistakes, they were… not exactly prime role model material.

So for now, I was kind of their dad, but I was fine with it.

Plus, with things like this, I knew that Aria and my future kids would make some easy friends in their childhood.

After all, I couldn't exactly let them go around the big city like what I did in Buena Village to meet Sylphy, so this was the next best thing.

— Leon Greyrat —

Life had been treating me well lately.

Extremely well, in fact.

I had two beautiful ladies to come home to, another that would be joining us soon, and a beautiful daughter that lit up my life whenever I held her or even simply watched her.

But to keep such a happy life… I couldn't simply rely on luck.

I had to have the strength to protect it.

So… it was training time.

More specifically, it was morning, the time when I would train my swordsmanship as the sun rose over the horizon, before Sylphy would then make all of us breakfast and I would head to the university.

Anyway, let's get back on topic.

The greatest users of two of the three great styles, the Water God and the Sword God… even after all this time, their movements and techniques were still burned into my mind. 

So obviously, I had been committed to emulating their strength, trying to meld it into my Elemental style, while also committing to improving my defensive touki technique as well.

"Hyat!"

Shouting, I flooded my legs with touki, copying the technique that the Sword God performed to destroy me back in the Sword Sanctum.

How he was able to go so fast… it was difficult to catch, but after a week of getting my ass handed to me… I finally got it.

It wasn't gaining power by layering touki, like Orsted did, but rather… it enhanced everything in a sudden burst of power.

It was difficult to explain, as I still didn't completely understand how it worked, but if I tried to put it into easier terms, it would be like this: 

Usually, touki enhanced the body like a burning fire, the energy constantly coursing through the muscles as they moved, with the user's movements and technique utilizing all the power they had access to.

But for the Sword God… his touki was like an explosion, using all the possible energy he had gathered in a moment.

Of course, using that energy would normally be dangerous, as by using it all, there was none left enhancing the body to adjust afterwards, but that's where his cycling technique came in.

He constantly cycled touki through his body so that even with the instantaneous bursts of touki, he was always enhanced.

It was difficult, but I was getting better… slowly.

But it was a bit embarrassing when I first did it.

Not only did I crash quite a few times due to underestimating the speed, I also underestimated how much touki I would need to reinforce my clothes, so as a result… I got stripped after one leap.

While Sylphy and Roxy had seemingly enjoyed the show, it was quite embarrassing to have my father and sisters laugh at me as I ran back into the house.

But at least they had fun, right?

Even if it was at my expense.

Anyway, past my slow progress with Orsted's defensive touki technique, and the Sword God's movement technique… there were the techniques of the Water God.

Ocean's Mirror, Rainfall Waltz, and Churning Tide…

The first one casts a shield of touki that reflects everything back against the attacker.

The second traps the opponent in touki, slowing them down and possibly harming them… but that was just my instinct from when she showed me.

And then the last one, where it takes in the attack and returns it, much like Flow, but only after amplifying the initial strike's power, so bad that even the weak attack I had struck Master with had been returned and even broke through my layered touki defence.

It was… a lot.

Definitely a lot.

But I had been focusing on them along with my ranged touki slash practice, with mixed results.

With Ocean's Mirror, I was able to create the touki screen in the air, but I still couldn't get the reversal to work.

After all, I only knew how to parry with a sword, so how the hell was I supposed to do that with raw energy?

It was confusing, but I would continue to work diligently, and hopefully, I would eventually get it.

Then, there was Rainfall Waltz.

This one was a little easier as it was similar to Dance of Deluge, where I spread the touki in the air. But yet again, physically affecting someone with the touki was still beyond me.

But, oddly enough, during my training, I was soon able to discover why I felt such dread with Master's touki wrapped around me.

With Dance of Deluge, having the touki spread out into the air created a 'path' for me to follow with my body and sword, cutting down the distance in an instant.

And, well, with Rainfall Waltz… I could do the same with ranged touki.

Just as Master had said, once an opponent was trapped, they were all but dead, unless they had insane defensive touki skills like Orsted.

After all, no one could defend a ranged touki slash that sliced through your body instantaneously.

Much less one that could come from any side of you.

And then there was Churning Tide, another technique that I was using previously acquired skills to grasp. But in this case, it was the Sword God's movement technique that was helping me out.

Taking in the touki was something I learned with Flow, as well as releasing that back to the opponent. 

The only new thing was cycling and amplifying that power and releasing it in an instant, which was the basic premise of the Sword God's movement style.

But still, despite my training, I was still unable to do it at Master's level, as while cycling the power did enhance my counter a bit, it was hardly good enough to justify the time and concentration required to do it.

So three more secret arts and a movement technique to learn… well, it was good that there was still room to improve my swordsmanship, unlike my magic which had recently run into a bottleneck.

But speaking of touki and magic. Or, more specifically, touki and mana… I had realized something.

They were truly the same.

Perhaps they were used quite differently, and had different effects, but at their base, the two energies were the same.

Kind of like ice and steam, where both were states of water, but very different in the real world.

I had previously thought that they were connected, but still different, as my touki wouldn't run out, unlike my mana.

But after training in techniques that released touki into the air, I realized that it was depleting, eliminating that core difference between the two energies.

It wasn't something easy to notice like with mana… but I could still feel it.

And as for why it didn't run out before?

Well, I only had to assume that's because when I was coating my body with it, that it stayed inside my body, so it was obvious it wouldn't run out when it was just being recycled back into me.

But still, there was a small difference from mana in that touki was replenished extremely quickly, and I noticed that this rate of replenishment increased if I really focused.

And that got me thinking… how did mana get replenished anyway?

I knew from using my Demon eye that mana was everywhere.

From the ground to the air to the clothes on my back… mana occupied every single space in this world.

So… to replenish it… was it absorbed from the air?

Or, perhaps, did the body's individual atoms generate this weird energy?

And if I concentrated like I did for replenishing touki, could I replenish my mana faster as well?

And further than that, if touki and mana were the same… that technique of Orsted that changed my use of touki which I still needed to master… overlapping and concentrating… could I do that with mana as well?

I had tried before, but to no avail, and easily gave up shortly after.

But that was back before I knew touki and mana were the same.

So… it was at least a possibility…

"Leon! Breakfast is ready!" Sylphy called from the kitchen.

"Okay!" I said, using some water magic to wash my face and freshen up before heading inside.

Well, those were some complicated thoughts and theories, so I could save them for later.

For now, I had to spend some quality family time, and eat up the delicious meal Sylphy had prepared.