Familiarity

Though he would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted, Paul elected not to take advantage of Ghislaine's propensity to obey Gal's orders. They did go to his room, but all they did was hang out and talk about what life was like living in the Great Forest. The caveat was that Ghislaine laid her head in his lap and allowed Paul to pet her head as they did so.

Unlike most people, who deliberately went on a pilgrimage to the Sword Sanctum, Ghislaine had essentially been abducted by Gal when she was around 9-10 years old. Though this sounded pretty bad, the truth of the matter was that Ghislaine had been feral at the time. She refused to train, learn how to speak, and even attacked other members of the Beast Race.

Under normal circumstances, feral Beast children would be recaptured by the village, kept in solitary confinement, and practically starved until they had calmed down and started behaving. In Ghislaine's case, her heritage as a descendant of the Beast God made it virtually impossible to keep her in detention as she would simply smash through the branch barriers and trees confining her.

Unable to keep her under control, the Chief of the Beast Race, Ghislaine's father, ordered the village to stop trying to recapture her. In other words, she had been exiled from her village, forced to survive in the bountiful yet inhospitable Great Forest.

Had Ghislaine been on her own during the rainy season, there was a near 100% chance she would have died as the entire forest would be inundated with torrential waters. If she attempted to flee, she would have needed to break through the hundreds of hunters and slave traffickers that camped outside the Great Forest in preparation for its rainy season. Monsters and animals alike would be forced to flee the forest to escape the flooding, so they would shepherd everything into a trap-laden area to reap a massive bounty with minimal effort.

Ghislaine's encounter with Gal had come about as a result of her growing enmity towards humans. She had been hunted and nearly caught several times by various Slave-Hunting Parties. When she saw Gal traveling alone, Ghislaine attacked with the intention to both kill and eat him. Instead, she ended up getting smacked around for a while until Gal eventually knocked her unconscious and abducted her.

Due to Gal collaring and leashing her, Ghislaine initially believed she had been turned into a slave. Instead, Gal simply bought a deactivated collar to prevent her from running off and causing too much trouble as he, quite literally, beat some sense into her.

For the better part of a year and a half, Ghislaine's life revolved around waking up, being tossed a wooden sword, and being forced to fight until she was utterly exhausted. If she wanted to eat, she would need to be on her best behavior and 'beg' in the human language. If she wanted to rest, wash, or even relieve herself, she would first need to ask for permission, or Gal would end up beating and depriving her of food for the rest of the day.

Though she resented him to death for the way he treated her, Ghislaine gradually grew to respect and admire Gal's strength and intentions. When they reached the boundaries of the Holy Land of Swords, and he removed her collar, she willingly crossed the remaining 600kms of her own accord. Since then, she had lived her life with three goals in mind, surpassing Gal, proving she wasn't just some animal, and returning home to apologize for her past behavior...

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With Ghislaine reclining between his legs and recounting her story while using his lap as a pillow, Paul couldn't resist massaging and caressing her head, face, and inordinately large, cat-like ears. It helped that Ghislaine seemed to enjoy it quite a bit, a contented smile on her face as she laid back with her eyes closed.

"It sounds like you've had it pretty rough..."

Instead of trying to refute Paul's words, Ghislaine issued an affirmative, "Nn..." before rolling onto her side, nestling her face in a rather dangerous location, and whispering, "But it allowed me to get stronger. Now, when I do return home, I'll be able to hold my head up with pride..."

Ignoring the fact that Ghislaine was very obviously sniffing his junk, Paul continued to caress the side of her head as he said, "I intend to go on a journey once I leave this place. If you'd like, we can go together..."

After taking several deep breaths of Paul's growing arousal, Ghislaine, somewhat meekly, replied, "That would be nice..." as her thick, cat-like tail began to curl in contentedness. She couldn't even remember the last time someone had caressed her head and treated her gently, so Paul was very quickly securing a place for himself in her heart.

Seeing Ghislaine rubbing her nose against his semi, an increasingly wry smile developed across Paul's face. If he didn't know it would cause her discomfort, he would bend her over or crush her in a mating press right then and there. Instead, he said, "We should get some rest...tomorrow is going to be a rough day..."

Turning her face to look up at Paul, Ghislaine asked, "Are you sure? Aren't you aroused...?"

Suppressing a soft chuckle, Paul cupped both of Ghislaine's cheeks as he said, "I appreciate your concerns, but I'd rather we have sex when we can both enjoy it. For now, I'm fine with just cuddling. We can worry about the other stuff once the mating season starts..."

Though she could smell the potency of Paul's arousal, Ghislaine didn't try to argue with him. Instead, she just crawled up his body and snuggled up next to him. She was starting to enjoy being held, so she wasn't going to pass on the opportunity for more cuddles...

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Among the Three Sacred Grounds of the Sword Sanctum, the Hall of Broken Blades was especially important as it was the grounds where hundreds of Sword Saints and higher had been lain to rest. Because of this, a persistent sword intent permeated the area, inspiring awe in all who were allowed to enter its premises.

"From today onward, the two of you will spend at least four hours a day meditating in this place. Ghislaine is already familiar with the process, so I'll have her explain things. Well, try not to die."

Finished with what he had to say, Gal promptly departed the icy, sword-laden chamber.

Seeing the blue-haired man depart mere moments after they had arrived, Paul's expression formed into a deadpan. However, before he could even think to complain, the hairs on the back of Paul's neck stood on end as an invisible blade of Touki attempted to behead him. He could have dodged, but Ghislaine took it upon herself to intercept the attack, skillfully slicing it to pieces as she revealed, "You have to keep your mind clear...if you think too much, the energy within this area will attack you..."

Immediately following Ghislaine's explanation, several additional blades of Touki began to coalesce out of thin air before racing towards Paul with speed comparable to a Saint-Ranked Swordsman. He managed to deflect most of them, but the power behind each of the blows was much heavier than he expected.

Slashing apart the attacks Paul was unable to block on his own, Ghislaine advised, "Try to clear your mind. I will protect you."

Though he anticipated her answer, Paul gave Ghislaine a curious glance as he asked, "Why aren't any of the blades targetting you...?'

Puffing out her rather sizeable chest as if it was something to be proud of, Ghislaine enthusiastically declared, "I don't think...!"

"..."

With nearly a dozen different blades manifesting, Paul was forced to focus on deflecting and slicing them apart as Ghislaine protected his back...

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Sensing Paul and Ghislaine emerging, Gal sheathed his sword and wiped away a bit of sweat from his brow before turning to the entrance just as the duo stepped out. When he saw their relatively haggard appearances, a vicious smile immediately developed across his face as he asked, "Have fun...?"

Exhaling a sigh that caused a large plume of icy condensation to kick up, Paul begrudgingly replied, "It was a very informative training exercise..."

Nodding his head, Gal said, "Thinking isn't a bad thing, but there is a time and a place for it. When you're on the battlefield, surrounded by enemies, action trumps thought. A moment's hesitation is all it takes for even a God to lose their life. Now, run along and get some breakfast. Afterward, meet me in the Exhibition Hall. I'm going to have the two of you spar in front of the other students. Those little brats look up to you, so you'll be helping in their training from now on. Understood?"

Though he didn't believe he was ready to teach others, Paul nodded his head in response to Gal's words. As for Ghislaine, she really didn't want to, but, upon seeing Paul nod his head, she invariably did the same...

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With three months passing in the blink of an eye, Paul was actually feeling a little nervous as he waited patiently at the base of the stairs leading up to the Sword Sanctum. As Sword Saints, he and Ghislaine were allowed to leave the Sanctum for training and missions. To this end, the two of them had decided they would venture out into the monster-infested Holy Land for a few months, not for training, but to have a bit of privacy.

Leaping down the mountain with wanton abandon, Ghislained practically crash-landed next to Paul before bouncing to her feet with an ostensibly intoxicated look on her face. In reality, she was just really, really horny, so much so that each of her breaths produced a veritable cloud of steam.

Though he was a little worried that Ghislaine would strangle him before promptly attempting to have her way with him, Paul asked, "Need me to carry you...?"

Before answering Paul's words, Ghislaine exhaled a plume of steam that nearly reached the ground as she panted, "I'm fine...my body...is just a little hot..."

As if to emphasize her point, Ghislaine pulled at the fur collar of her winter coat with a little too much strength. The fabric ended up tearing a bit, but instead of showing any care or concern, a profoundly relieved sigh emanated from Ghislaine's throat as the frigid temperatures invaded her clothes.

Swallowing the knot forming in his throat, Paul replied, "Right..." before picking a random direction and adding, "We should hurry..."

Nodding her head in affirmation, Ghislaine surprised Paul by being the first to take off running, her near-instantaneous acceleration causing a swirl of ice and snow as she bolted towards the East on all fours.

Seeing the frenzied cat girl take off, a wry smile developed across Paul's face as he remarked, "This is going to be a long five weeks..."

Not wanting to lose sight of Ghislaine, Paul took a deep breath before accelerating the Touki in his body and charging forward at a speed he couldn't even imagine himself achieving previously. The snow and wind beat against his face, but the realization he could run as fast as a sports car made it impossible for Paul not to smile...

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Observing Paul's and Ghislaine's game of tag from atop the mountain supporting the Sword Sanctum, a rare, non-vicious smile adorned Gal's face as he muttered, "Maybe it's about time I found a suitable woman to produce an heir..."

Intrigued by the notion of pitting his children against Paul's, Gal shifted his gaze towards the South. The image of Reida briefly crossed his mind, but he doubted she would be viable due to her age. Fortunately, she had a few daughters, the oldest of which should be in their late teens or early twenties.

"It has been a while since I visited the Capital..."

With nothing better to do while Paul and Ghislaine were traipsing about the Holy Land, Gal briefly considered his options before jumping off the cliff he had been standing on. Then, without even bothering to inform the instructors or students of his decision, he began making his way South at speeds untraceable by the naked eye...

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