Originally, I intended to take a walk outside but in the end…that was interrupted by a visit from dumb and dumber, Dioh and Moranthal. I already told them that I’m a man so why must I still be courted by a couple of man…blergh…disgusting!
Well, at least their antics are amusing. However, their mutual backstabbing came to an icy end the moment the conversation drifted to a certain thorny subject.
How should I say it…apparently, they found Moranthal’s former fiancee. Mhm, that woman, the one who chose to follow Dawson, apparently she followed the hunters back to the village as well. Dawson had hidden her in a secret room which they only found after a second search.
Having made her appearance once more, Elona was now a pregnant woman and thus lost some of her shapely figure though she now had the mature aura of a married woman. Elona’s appearance came as a huge blow to Moranthal. No one had expected her to be alive after being brought away by Dawson and yet she did…
Moranthal had kept the details of her departure a closely guarded secret so most people had assumed that she was kidnapped by Dawson. If we hadn’t heard the truth from the horse’s mouth itself, even we would’ve thought so. After all, who would believe that a villager would willing leave with Dawson?
Under the assumption that she was “one of them”, the hunters brought her away. Naturally, she didn’t object to this either. With the death of Dawson, she had lost her backing and thus offered no resistance, instead pretending to be a victim as they “rescued” her.
However, Moranthal had no intention of reuniting with this woman and Elona didn’t seem to want to rely on Moranthal either. The pair went on their separate ways and unless something unexpected were to happen, they would probably have nothing to do with each other from now on.
Having little time to waste, I left the two potatoes to their arguing and hid in my room while checking out my new abilities.
Activating Piercing Shadow required my Shadow Guardian to be active first. Given the utility of those spikes, it was an extremely practical spell that could not only function as a restraining spell but also as a offensive and defensive spell.
The next power I gained from my evolution was the Nether Flames. Three-star devils were known as demon childs and had the ability to control flames at a beginner’s level. As I possessed the ability to control flames and darkness beforehand, my fire spells evolved along with my advancement, turning into Nether Flames. For example, my Flame Whip was now made of blackish-red flames and was several times more deadly than before.
Of course, all these came at a price as well: the mana cost of my Nether Flame Whip was ridiculously high compared to before. My other flame spells had experienced a similar evolution as well.
Next was my newfound ability to control illusions. In a sense, this ability reminded me of the genjutsu in <<Nar*to>>. It was practically an invisible way of murdering people. According to Ferti’nier,once my illusions were of a high enough level, I could even simultaneously dominate a large amount of enemies and force them to commit suicide.
Finally, it’s time to talk about the Grimoire of the Dead. This lovable yet detestable little scamp had become significantly more obedient recently and even came to my aid of its own accord. The whole reason I was able to evolve was because it bought me time by stalling Dawson during that dangerous situation. In a sense, it was my benefactor.
This mysterious book would grant me reading privileges according to my level; the more powerful I got, the more pages I could access. This evolution brought me several new necromantic spells and while necromancy wasn’t exactly my forte, learning more skills never killed anyone. Who knows, they might just come in handy one day.
The new undead I could summon were all…old friends: the skeletal horseman and the skeletal javelineer. Also, I gained access to a weakening curse.
It goes without saying that the horsemen and javelineers were rather decent summons, as for that curse, it had the ability to lower one’s physical attributes. Truly, a detestable spell.
Lowering one’s physical abilities…that entails applying a malaise on one’s constitution, strength, agility and other similar physical properties. To some extent, this curse affected one’s psyche as well. If a newbie mage were to be cursed by this spell, he or she might actually end up so befuddled that he or she might forget to cast a spell.
Naturally, this was a rare case and shouldn’t be treated as the norm.
In order to celebrate the destruction of the Wolf’s Fang Bandit Troupe, the villagers of all four villages hosted a lively bonfire celebration which nearly everyone participated in. Even those who had recently lost a family member put aside their grief and took part in the revelries.
Only a small portion of rather unique individuals didn’t attend the banquet. However, compared to the number of villagers who did, the absentees were inconsequentially small.
Of those who didn’t participate, the most noteworthy people were the prostitutes who we rescued from the bandits. These women had suffered a severe blow to their psyche and mending that wound was extremely difficult.
While time was a quack who could cure a thousand illnesses, being a quack meant that its treatment left a variety of lasting problems like how were they to survive from now on.
I’m afraid it will be difficult for these women to ever find a man that didn’t mind their past, but…forget it, I’m not some kind of messiah, I can’t help them anymore than I did already. Although, if it was just a matter of money, I could fix that.
Because I was the one who killed Dawson and had also contributed greatly to the bandit extermination, the villagers gave me a sizeable portion of the loot they recovered from the bastille. Not only did they return the 5000 gold coins I loaned to Eddison, they even gave me another 10000 gold coins which I promptly instructed Ancarin to divvy up between these pitiful women. Hopefully, they’ll be able to lead a better life.
As for the girls who were originally from Plateau Village, I imagine they would probably stay behind.
Regardless of what choice they make, I won’t interfere in their lives nor could I seeing as I had already left the village.
On the day of our departure, the whole village came to send me off. Dioh, that little potato, even tried to sneak into the carriage but was swiftly apprehended by George who dragged him away by the back of his collar. As for Moranthal, he was strangely obstinate about following me even after I told him directly that he wasn’t welcome. After our carriage left the village, he even rode off on a horse and quietly followed us from a distance away.
Well whatever, the legs were his not mine, it’s up to him what he chooses to do.
The driver was, as always, Regine while Ancarin and I hid inside the carriage compartment.
Ancarin spent most of her time reading through the magical tomes we looted from Duran while I conversed with Ferti’nier in my head.
By the way, how did you even end up in my body? Why don’t I have any impression of such a thing happening?
“Oh that huh…that was an unpleasant memory that this one prefers not to recall…this one still remembers that very day. The weather that day was rather fine, this one was in her home at that time and had considered going for a walk or perhaps getting her nails done. Yet, when this one had just made the decision to take a bath first…this one discovered that she no longer had a body…”
Are you about done? Get to the main point!
“Oh oh, this one was forced into your soul by Yi Yi.”
Yi Yi! Such a nostalgic name…if I’m not mistaken, Yi Yi was that fallen angel I saved a year ago.
I had always suspected that it was her who revived me, looks like it really was her. I wonder where is she now, is she alright?
“No idea, but she should be fine.” With that indefinite answer, the mental image of Ferti’nier in my mind raised her head by 45 degrees. In a rather melancholic pose, she stared at the sky and said: “However, Little Brother, I bet you still don’t know that…you’ve gained a fiancee.”
Fiancee!? How could I ever be tied to such a stirring word! Impossible! Definitely impossible! Wasn’t I cursed by the gods to be single forever? How could I ever have something as lofty as a fiancee? You must be still be groggy from your long nap.
“Little Brother, I suggest you accept your fate, you’ve really gained a fiancee.” At that, she gave an exasperated sigh and continued: “Yi Yi was so touched by your selfless act that she signed a soul bond with you on your deathbed. Unless one of you were to die, this contract must be fulfilled.”
“I have to say though, Little Brother is a fortunate man. Don’t you know that Yi Yi is the daughter of the Demon King of Pride. She lives in the upper echelons of Gehenna and is the loftiest princess of her species. However, you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself after hearing this news. Your marriage is sure to encounter a host of hindrances so you had better be prepared.”
Ah, so it’s Yi Yi, I thought it was going to be some ugly freak…ah, that’s not right. I mean to say that the women who fancy me were mostly visually impaired or blind…no no, I mean to say…ah, the more I say, the worse it gets. Anyway, you get what I mean.
However, shouldn’t my main wife be Nicole but Yi Yi has already sacrificed so much for me…it seems rather unfair of me to deny her the position of main wife. Sigh, both of them are just so exceptional, how am I going to choose between the two. How about I just make the both of them my main wife. Yup, sounds like a great idea, let’s go with that.
Hahahaha, who would’ve thought that I would become a man with two wives. I must become greater than Wei Xiaobao, I must marry more wives than Wei Xiaobao and all of them will be unsullied virgins! Wahahahaha…ha—cough cough…got too excited there. Almost choked on my spit…
(TL: Wei Xiaobao is a character from the Deer and the Cauldron by Jin Yong. Essentially, he’s a man with seven wives.)
Ah, right…I still don’t have a pee pee…won’t that make it extremely awkward when I get a wife?! Wait a minute, since Ferti’nier has been in my body since I reincarnated, then that means she should know something about my body. I should ask her why can’t I grow a freaking pee pee.
“Ahem, I definitely don’t know a thing about that.”
Oh, is that so?
I turned my metaphorical disbelieving eyes onto her image. She shivered slightly! There’s something fishy here! Most of the time, she uses “This One” to refer to herself so why did she suddenly change to “I” the moment I mentioned my pee pee!?
“I…this one really doesn’t know a thing.”
Don’t know…I remember you told me that I had two original sins, one was envy, clan name, Leviathan, then what’s the other one?
Female…female…among the seven original sins recorded in my hereditary memory, the only all female species are the lust demons…lust…Ferti’nier aren’t you a lust demon? Not only that, you’re the demon king of the lust demons, aren’t you…are you absolutely sure that my “pee pee” disappearing doesn’t have a single connection to that?
“Ah, you mean your lower half huh…sorry about that, this one didn’t mean it, if you must blame someone, blame Yi Yi…”
So you finally admit to it, how deceptive…
“Truthfully, it wasn’t this one’s fault. This one is the demon king of the lust demons, this one governs lust and an entire species of female devils…yes, Little Brother’s soul aura is that of a male’s but your soul was simply too weak compared to this one’s soul aura…in fact, it’s so tiny even a firefly was bigger than it. However, this one is an outsider after all and she has no intention of taking over Little Brother’s body so…”
So when I reincarnated, our soul auras melded together turning me into this neither male nor female devil?
Ferti’nier gave a weak nod of her head and said: “ Mm…mhm…that’s about right…”
