Brianna had held a small banquet to celebrate Est’s arrival in the Kyrintor Mountains. When the banquet ended, William took Dave and Conrad with him to have a private talk. His purpose for doing so was to know more about the current situation in the Capital of the Hellan Kingdom.
While William was away, Est, Wendy, Ian, and Isaac locked themselves inside William’s bedroom to have some girl talk as well. Naturally, the nature of their discussion were the events that had transpired after William had left the capital.
Ian narrated everything that they had done since the beginning. She told them about William’s meeting with the Infernal Ape in the forest outside the Academy. Then she narrated how William and her were attacked by a Moody Myriad Beast inside the Whimsical Forest before gaining the help of the Centaurs.
Ian sighed when she told them about the stubborn Titanic Trollhound that didn’t trust Humans. She also mentioned, albeit in a lower tone, the conditions that were given to William by the Sovereign of the Kyrintor Mountains.
“Before going to the Town of Hartlepool, we stopped by the Armstrong Duchy because William missed Wendy,” Ian said while giving the blushing girl beside her a side-long glance.
“What happened inside the Goblin Crypt?” Est inquired. She didn’t believe for a moment that a Demigod would simply ask William to clear a dungeon without a reason.
Ian and Wendy glanced at each other before answering Est’s inquiry.
“William did something unexpected and captured a Dungeon Monster using a golden cube,” Ian explained. “After that, he touched the Dungeon Core with the ring on his hand and froze on the spot.”
Wendy decided to continue Ian’s explanation because the latter took a glass of water to wet her throat. “The moment the ring touched the Dungeon Core, it disappeared and William just stood there in a daze. No matter how much we called out to him or shook his body, he remained unmoved.”
Ian nodded her head in affirmation. “He only broke out of his daze after fifteen minutes. After that, we left the dungeon and returned to the Armstrong Duchy. William didn’t tell us what happened, and we didn’t want to pry.”
“I see.” Est held the hand of the two girls. “Thank you for being there to support him.”
The two girls gripped Est’s hand and smiled. As William’s three lovers, they had already formed an alliance to ensure that William wouldn’t randomly pick up girls wherever he went.
Isaac watched this scene with a complicated expression. She felt out of place, but there was nothing she could do except listen to the three girls gossip about William behind the Half-Elf’s back.
—–
An hour later, William returned to his room and told Est and Isaac that he wanted to show them a secret. Since Est was his lover, and Isaac was her retainer–as well as Ian’s twin sister–William decided to include the hardworking Isaac into his inner circle.
“… T-This?” Est stuttered. “This is the secret you wanted to share with me?”
“Unbelievable,” Isaac muttered as she scanned her surroundings.
William chuckled when he saw Est’s and Isaac’s reactions after he brought them inside the Thousand Beast Domain. Since they would be fighting side by side in the future, he deemed that it was necessary to share some of his secrets with them.
(A/N: Forgive me when I switch pronouns every now and then. I’m sure that you already understand the reason why.)
“This Domain is yours?” Est gave William a serious expression. “How did you get it?”
William crossed his arms over his chest before answering Est’s question. “If I told you that I bought it, would you believe me?”
“No.” Est firmly shook her head. “I never heard of anyone selling a Domain. How about you, Isaac?”
Isaac shook her head as well. Although she could tell that William wasn’t lying, she refused to believe that a Domain could be bought just like that.
“Well, since you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do about it.” William smirked. He himself knew how ridiculous his words sounded, so he didn’t bother to persuade the two to believe him.
“Actually, there’s one more thing that I’d like to show you,” William held Est’s hand while offering the other to Isaac. “What you are going to see next is more unbelievable than this. I hope that the two of you are ready.”
—–
Atlantis Dungeon…
“What kind of sorcery is this?!” Est rubbed her face with her hands.
William took her and Isaac to the Fourth Floor of the Dungeon of Atlantis where the Goblin Warriors were currently fighting against Slimes.
Of course, these Slimes didn’t pose any threat to them. They were merely farming Dungeon Points as per William’s orders, so that he could upgrade the Goblin Crypt, and increase the number of its floors.
“William, are you still Human?” Isaac inquired. “Just how are you doing this?”
“You’re so silly, Isaac.” William happily patted Isaac’s shoulder. “Of course I’m not a Human. I’m a Half-Elf. I thought you already knew this.”
Isaac looked at William with a dumbfounded expression. “Of course, I know that you’re a Half-Elf. What I mean is, no mortal can do the things you can do. Are you sure you’re still a mortal?”
William nodded his head. “I am mortal, but I’m no ordinary mortal. Have you seen a Half-Elf as handsome as I? Have you seen a Half-Elf as awesome as I? Have you seen a Half-“
“Okay. Okay, I understand.” Isaac silenced William with a stopping gesture. “Are there any other secrets you want to share with us? At this point, I think I can believe anything.”
“Me, too,” Est commented from the side. “Do you have other things to share?”
William grinned mischievously as he glanced at Ashe and Wendy who were standing not far from him.
The two girls understood the hint and decided to show Est and Isaac the results of their Dungeon training.
“Rock Bullet,” Ashe said as she pointed her finger at a Slime.
Immediately a small rock materialized out of thin air and flew in the direction of the Slime, making it explode.
Isaac’s pupils shrunk when her twin sister cast an Earth Magic Skill in front of her. Ashe wasn’t able to stop herself from grinning when she saw her twin’s reaction.
Wendy created two hand seals using both of her hands and merged them together. Immediately four Runic Blades appeared around her. They glowed in an eerie light that made Est look at them with curiosity.
After observing the floating swords for two minutes, she returned her attention to William and asked the question that was on her mind.
“How?” Est asked.
Est had already been baffled when she saw Ashe use an Earth Magic Skill. She knew that her retainer didn’t have Dual Affinities in Magic, so she couldn’t understand how the latter was able to do what she did.
As for Wendy, although the Runic Blades were good, Est only thought that the blonde girl had combined Metal and Air Magic together to form this new kind of Magic. She looked at the red-headed boy with a heated gaze and demanded an answer.
“This is the Power of Love,” William answered calmly. “Only those who love me will be able to wield these powers. What do you think? Pretty awesome, right?”
“Yes.” Est nodded. “Where’s mine?”
“Um?”
“I’m asking where mine is? You gave Ashe and Wendy this power, what about me?”
The smile on William’s face froze because he had completely forgotten about Est. He was so excited to show these powers to his BFF because he wanted to brag. However he had made a terrible mistake in doing so.
(A/N: BFF means Best Friends Forever, or just simply a very close friend.)
Beads of sweat formed on William’s forehead because he had overlooked the necessary requirements in order to bestow a Subclass to one of his lovers.
“What’s wrong?” Est asked as she walked towards William. “Don’t tell me that I can’t have these powers as well.”
“W-Well, there is a right time for everything,” William stuttered as he unconsciously took a step back. “T-There is an important requirement that must be met before you can acquire these powers.”
“And that is?”
“I-It is a very difficult requirement. The current you is unable to clear the conditions for these powers to activate.”
Est stopped walking then glanced at Ashe and Wendy. She then looked at William with a raised eyebrow as if telling him “These two managed to pass the requirement and I can’t?”
“About that, I also want to know.” Wendy suddenly held William’s arm before looking up at him with a curious expression. “You said that there are requirements, right? What are those requirements? Can anyone have them?”
“No.” William shook his head. “Only my lovers get this benefit.”
“Aren’t I your lover?” Est asked in a challenging tone. “Wait. Are you telling me that you don’t recognize me as your lover? Is that it?”
Est walked towards William. She only stopped when she was only a meter away from the red-headed boy and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Est, it’s not what you think,” William replied as he tried to think of a way to bullsh*t his way out of this mess.
What happened with Wendy was a complete accident and he was not confident that the same could be replicated with Est.
Issei had already told him that he was still underaged, so the power of his King’s Chesspiece wouldn’t allow him to add more Familia Members. Unless Est and him rolled in the sheets in their dreams, or something similar, it would be impossible to add his silver-haired lover to the list of his Familia Members.
Left with no choice, William took Est to a place where the two of them could talk in private. He explained why he wasn’t able to bestow a Subclass on her. Est listened patiently to William’s explanation.
Est’s face turned beet-red when she finally understood why William was unable to give her what she wanted. Although she loved William, her heart wasn’t ready for something that stimulating.
Est’s mother, Elizabeth, didn’t let Est grow as an ignorant child and taught her about the Birds and the Bees. She did this to ensure that she wouldn’t be taken advantage of when she finally regained her true form.
“You’re right, we’re still too young for this,” Est said as she lowered her head. “Thank you for telling me.”
William sighed as he hugged the very first friend he had made outside of Lont. “Don’t worry. When that time comes, I promise that I will take responsibility. Also, I will do my best to lift the curse that has been given to you by the Goddess Astrid.”
“Un,” Est replied. “I believe you.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll wait for you, Will. Just, don’t make me wait too long, okay?”
“I will do my best. Let the Gods decide the rest.”
