The two looked at each other, then back at her, “And what would that be?” Ardonis asked.
“I have a feeling there is more to the two of you than you, or even the obelisk is letting on. I can feel it in my bones. Therefore, I am willing to trust you with a very important matter. Follow me to my office and we will discuss further.”
Her office was relatively average size, with a large desk, papers, file cabinets, bookshelves, a large window, and a hanging chandelier. There was a couch and a comfy chair on the “visitor” end. Meanwhile her chair was the fanciest by far with gold and gem inlays.
She took a seat in her chair and the other two sat on the couch facing her. There was an active sigil on the doorframe that Ardonis identified as a silencer. No sound made in the room would make it out when it was active.
“So what is this about?” he asked as he turned back toward her.
Her demeanor and posture changed from slightly seductive to militant. The new presence about her demanded respect, “No doubt you have felt the presence in the heart of the forest. I am sure you are both curious as to who, or what it is. And that is exactly what I want you to do. Normally this would be a SS rank assignment that would require an entire party of S ranks to do. However, I don’t want you to fight, or even threaten that being. I want you to investigate it, find out the identity, perhaps work out some kind of deal on making it a little more accessible, whatever.”
“Just make contact and report back. I would go myself, but I’m tied down here with managing the guild and can’t go on such an excursion. And the last time a Master level came here was over a decade ago. I know this is a lot to ask of two people new to the guild. And unfortunately, no official assignment can be made for this without being graded to S. But I will still reward you for your efforts if you manage to succeed and return back alive.”
“We’ll do it if that reward is you becoming a member of this handsome man’s harem,” Lucy said quickly as she shot up from her seat with a wide smile on her face.
Ardonis snapped his fingers and magical chains pulled her back down to the seat and a cloth covered her mouth. “Don’t pay any mind to her, we’ll take a real reward.”
He could tell she was pouting and trying to say something, but the cloth worked similar to the silencing sigil, only it made sure that no sound came out of a person’s mouth. Well, originally, but she found a way around that with her own magic, so he modified it further to just keeping her mouth closed entirely.
Nula looked at them with amusement and a slight bit of confusion, “Okay, I’ll be sure to think of a real reward. It seems your girlfriend is eager for something else though.”
“Once again, don’t pay her any mind. Half of it is that she wants me to have a harem, and the other half is she wants me to have one as soon as possible so she can accept my marriage proposal. A self-imposed condition on her part,” Ardonis explained. “So please, just ignore her and feel free to shut her up by any means necessary when she gets like this.”
Nula chuckled, “The two of you are certainly an interesting pair. But I’m afraid I would have to disappoint anyway as I’m not interested in romance. Sure being a tease is fun, but going further isn’t for me. I have too much responsibility to this place for that. I’ll think about settling down when I retire. And personally, though I don’t have a problem with harems, they aren’t for me. I would rather have a man to myself.”
He turned to Lucy, “Hear that? So don’t go pestering her and trying to change her mind. We could actually use some allies here.”
He saw Lucy nod and with another snap, her restraints disappeared, “I apologize Nula, I got a bit ahead of myself there,” she said bowing lightly. “It was partly in jest, but Ardonis hit it on the head with his explanation.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“It’s fine, no harm done and I take no offense,” she replied, “It’s actually a compliment I haven’t received in some time since I shut myself away. So thank you for at least considering me someone worth being in such a thing.”
The two soon left the building after that, Nula sighed, “Two people aligned with divinity, they may just be what this place needs to make it at least a little safer. And hopefully prevent the disaster…”
With their mana practically fully recharged, they left the town. “Alright, let’s head back into the forest and see what we can do,” Ardonis said. Lucy nodded and followed his lead as they went back into the forest. This time at a quicker pace than before.
It took them nearly two days to reach the point where they consistently began seeing S-rank monsters. Up to now, they managed to avoid actually fighting and simply evaded the creatures. Though there were some, like the one currently pursuing them, that wouldn’t leave until they were dead.
The large bird-like creature just wouldn’t leave them alone and was slightly resistant to magic. So Ardonis had to use more mana than he’d have liked to keep it restrained long enough for Lucy to create a large floating arcane circle that shot out a purple beam of concentrated magic. It was basically an arcane version of plasma as it practically disintegrated the thing's head. Though once again, having taken far more mana than usual. Neither were hurt too badly, however, their mana was nearly gone from how strong and resistant the thing was. And they certainly had a couple of close calls where possible deeper wounds were evaded to scratches.
“We should rest here for a bit to replenish our mana, Lucy,” Ardonis said, panting lightly. Lucy, on the other hand, not being quite as physically fit was sweating a bit more and panting heavily.
“I am in total agreement, now I understand why this forest has its reputation, this is frankly ridiculous. If we had our full power this wouldn’t even be a struggle, yet one monster can scratch us and drain us this much?”
Ardonis chuckled, “Yeah, I can see your point, it seems we were teleported to a much more dangerous part of the world than we thought we would. But nothing we can do about it now, besides, I am curious as to who or what is in the center of the forest. I know you are as well, but I do agree that this would be much better without the damn restriction.”
“Well, as you said, nothing we can really do about it,” she sighed, “Doesn’t make this anymore worth it though. I hope the being is a cute immortal girl that can be added to the harem. We need to get something for all of this work.”
Ardonis rolled his eyes, “I don’t know what’s worse, you or a perverted old man. Honestly, if I fall in love with another girl and she reciprocates, then we’ll discuss a harem. But until then, no unnecessary pressure regardless of who it is, got it?”
She smiled at him, “I know, the last thing I want is for you to wind up like Eradis and just sleep around with women. I want you to have a real and loving harem, that’s what I want to be a part of. I just joke around a bit because deep down, I’m nervous.”
He pulled her close and kissed her, “You silly girl, if you want to get married to me that badly, there really isn’t a need to wait regardless.”
“But what if other women don’t want to join because I’m already your wife and not girlfriend?”
“And what would the difference be? You’d be the first wife anyway, you’d still have all of my firsts. If any woman doesn’t want to join because of that then they wouldn’t make for a very good second, or third, or whatever number wife. Once we get off this planet and are no longer restricted, I’ll forge you a ring worthy for you.”
She smiled brightly, tears of joy slipping down her face as she kissed him deeply. “I love you Ardonis, I love you so much.”
“I love you too, and ring or not, I want you to at least call yourself my fiancé from now on. It goes without saying that I’ll do the same.”
She giggled happily, “If that’s what you really want then fine. I suppose I can be a bit more open about us and start looking for true candidates for the harem. We aren’t in school anymore after all. We’re out traveling across the multiverse to gain experience as gods. I suppose I could let go of my slightly childish belief.”
The two kissed again and spent their time simply cuddling as they recovered and let their mana replenish. A few hours later they were back at it on their journey to the center of the forest. By that point, there were some cliffs they had to climb, or rather fly up, to progress. They kept their presences as hidden as possible as they didn’t want another encounter with one of the creatures this deep in. Stopping for hours after each encounter to recover, plus the potential risk just wasn’t worth it.
