A strange requirement
The rewards were almost the same, but the conditions and details changed. Vincent had to live with Tula to receive the title of big brother and the quest to become complete.
[Hmm... Let me summarise what I understand.]
[You received a questing system for free.]
[It seems it only gives you a title as a reward for now. I guess a title means what you would be called after the quests get completed.]
[The quests can get changed, and we should consider that the requirements for completion can change depending on various conditions as well.]
[But what will happen after the quest gets completed? Will she become your biological sister, a step-sister, an adopted sister, or called little sister by name only?]
[Only time will tell, unfortunately...]
Vincent's head became flooded by information and theories. He wanted to return quickly to the others and spend some time to digest all that happened.
On the other side, Ester and Lupa were talking instead of collecting Ani Bananas. Ester was teaching the motivated Lupa about the difference between a mate and a wife.
"I understand, sister. This wife thing sounds better than a mate, hehe. He will become our official mate in the laws of humans. No one will steal him from us without our say." Lupa heard and learned what she wanted to hear. At least her human common sense was improving by the day.
The white pair of wolf ears twitched and swayed at the nearing footsteps of two people. Lupa turned her head and cheerfully said, "Vincent has returned. Let's ask him to hurry and... "
Tula excitedly skipped over to Ester and Lupa. She impatiently hugged the two of them and excitedly said, "Big sisters! Big brother made me a promise! I'm so happy to be a family with you."
Soon, two sets of eyes stared daggers at Vincent. Such an announcement could only mean one thing. That Vincent accepted to marry Tula.
[R.I.P Vincent, it was nice meeting you. Oh, I love watching you suffer from misunderstanding, haha. Paybacks a bitch.]
Kazumi sarcastically joked while having a good laugh.
"Ahh... it's not what you girls think! I promised to be her big brother. You know I can't marry Tula, right?" Vincent winked at the two while touching naturally, placing his hand on his mark.
Vincent hoped they would understand what he meant, how Tula would live in danger from having such the retainer mark on her body.
Ester quickly understood while Lupa tilted her head, not understanding why he was winking at them. She thought he wanted to play a game to forgive him.
"By family, you mean our little sister?" Ester asked.
"Yup. You are my big sisters forever, hehe." Tula replied with a chuckle. She was feeling so happy that she could hug Ester and Lupa all day with a never-ending cheerful smile.
A surprising thing happened at the start of the day, and it was still morning. But Vincent felt like a day had already passed by what happened as the Promised Quest ability felt unbelievable no matter how much he tried to understand how it was possible.
Ester, Lupa, and Tula turned their gaze on Vincent. They got used to following his orders on what to do next. The three of them felt Vincent was a great leader and resourceful from Kazumi's assistance. As if two leaders combined in one body. Get two dependable people for the price of one.
[Why don't you try the new Promised Quest on Ester and Lupa? Maybe new information will appear since they are your retainers.]
Kazumi asked, full of curiosity. She was intrigued by what possibilities the questing system had in store for them. Previously, Vincent had the title wife Tula as a reward. Then later changed to little sister.
'What could Ester and Lupa become if they were the targets of the quest? Would something new in the information window appear?' Intrigued Kazumi.
-Here it goes. Wish me luck.-
[Good luck, casanova.]
"Ester... Lupa... I acquired a new ability while walking with Tula." Vincent said after gulping from nervousness. He was still finding it hard to believe that both girls wanted to be with him. It felt like a dream.
"It's called Promised Quest. Let me explain what happened." Vincent then started explaining how his classes might have created a questing system from a childish promise. However, the word marry stuck out like a sore thumb.
Ester and Lupa raised a frown halfway into his explanation. Both became weary of the fact Vincent might gather a large following of women. They believed he was attractive enough for this to happen.
Vincent finished the explanation while replacing anything related to being an otherworldy Hero with similar words for Tula not to find about his real identity.
Tula suddenly curved her lips into a cheerful smile, revealing a pair of dimples, and said, "Yey, that means big brother will really be my big brother. I'm so happy you can always remember our promise, hehe."
"Ahem..." Vincent cleared his throat and continued, "I'd like to make the promise of marriage to both of you. Think of it as an official engagement bound by my new quest ability."
Vincent approached Ester and Lupa. He stopped between them and bent the knee. Shortly, his hands raised upwards and held each promised future wives hand.
Kazumi didn't say a word at the scene; she worked so hard to achieve. Vincent took the pose of proposing for marriage after knowing them for three weeks. Not one girl, but two at the same time at that. A feat both Vincent and Kazumi thought was possible in fantasy stories they knew.
"I promise to marry, protect, and make you happy, Ester." Vincent then turned his gaze at Lupa and continued, "I promise to marry, protect, and make you happy, Lupa."
Ester "Yes. I would like to. I never thought anyone would want a small chested person like me."
Lupa "Yes. There was no need to ask, hehe... so when do we get to mate?"
Both nodded, saying yes with a smile as bright as the sun. Their hearts fluttered in happiness as this felt official, unlike the previous proposal. Their lips soon continued with their own thoughts about this matter.
Simuntenilsnaly, the affected participant's eyes gleamed. The pair of green, crimson, and golden eyes showed a light shine under the shade of the colossal tree. A thing which didn't happen with Tula.
Vincent saw two quest windows appear in front of him. Ester and Lupa both saw a window with their marriage quest in front of them, unlike Tula.
"Is this the quest window you said?" Ester asked.
"I can see the box thingie like I saw when you became my mate, but I don't know how to read. " Lupa added.
Vincent and Kazumi gasp in surprise. The promise difference between a retainer and a non-retainer was apparent without the need to read the contents of the Promised Quest.
.
[Promised Quest: Marry Ester.]
[Complete the agreed promise of marriage to the Blessed Retainer Ester.]
[Quest conditions to be met.]
*Magical Contract with the word marriage. (Not Met)
*Suffering from no negative conditions. (Met)
*Marriageable age. (Met)
*Any Noble rank. (Not Met)
[Rewards]
*Wife Ester
*Title: Husband
*Unlock Soul Synch Stage two
*Unknown rewards. (Inspection and Noble rank are too low.)
.
[Promised Quest: Marry Lupa.]
[Complete the agreed promise of marriage to the Blessed Retainer Lupa.]
[Quest conditions to be met.]
*Magical Contract with the word marriage. (Not Met)
*Suffering from no negative conditions. (Met)
*Marriageable age. (Met)
[Rewards]
*Wife Lupa
*Title: Husband
*Unlock Soul Synch Stage two
.
Ester's face turned sour at the requirements of marriage. She, Vincent, or both needed to become a noble for Vincent's mutated questing system to accept them as husband and wife. But becoming a noble wasn't an easy thing to achieve.
"What happened? Why is Ester sad?" Lupa asked since she couldn't read.
"Don't worry, Ester. We can marry with a Magical Contract instead of my system. We can't become a noble if we don't have connections or money..."
"Let's think about all this stuff when we acquire the second Magical Contract. You are my girl, no matter what happens." Vincent declared full of conviction.
Ester felt a part of her sadness melt by his words. Vincent didn't hesitate to marry her even without the blessing of the Promised Quest system and unlock the ability to overcome the limit of Soul Synch. She felt her heart flutter once again.
"Thank you..." Ester said with a soft voice while averting her eyes. She was happy with the conviction he displayed. That she is his girl.
"But why does he need to be noble to marry me?... " Ester softly mumbled. Not even the puzzled Lupa could pick up her words.
"Hey, what about me? Explain what happened!" Lupa pouted for getting ignored.
Lupa saw a window with words she couldn't read. It caused her interest to rise in what was written; maybe there was something special on hers, she thought.
More so, the urge to know increased even further when noticing Ester's devastated expression and Vincent trying to comfort her.
"My special system needs Ester or me to become a noble for my system to accept us as married. There was no problem with your marriage quest. Tula's little sister quest didn't have a problem either." Vincent briefly explained.
"Then I will wait for Ester to marry you. We marry together, like sisters. " Lupa placed her hand on Ester's shoulder. She said words from the heart, causing Ester to embrace Lupa and hide her mixed sad and happy tears.
[I knew Ester was a little mysterious since you arrived closer to her than me. You need to have a noble rank to marry her, so that confirms her biological father was a noble and not a wealthy person.]
[However, the unreadable reward has piqued my interest. I wonder what it is. Also, the "Unlock Soul Synch Stage two" seems interesting. Maybe that's why Lupa's Soul Synch is stuck at fifty percent.]
Vincent didn't care about any of this. He understood from the many stories he read. How a person's real character appears in life and death situations.
Ester was shy. She recently became brave and also has shown a caring big sister personality. Most importantly, she was someone he could trust to have his back.
"I don't care about the requirements. Even if not by law or a contract, I will treat the two of you as my wives." Vincent said his true feelings in an attempt to lower her fears to rest.
Vincent approached the two hugging girls. He boldly approached his face against theirs and delivered a kiss on each of their lips. Both Ester and Lupa were caught off guard by this bold action.