NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: Chapter 16
After their first and second rounds in the sheets the next day, they finally start their journey. Liza purchased two travel ready horses, even if most people wouldn't because of how much more expensive they are than just regular horses. They start their journey off smoothly, encountering no problems while trying to leave the city. On two different distant rooftops, two sets of cloaked figures observe them leaving. A, "are we going to follow?". B, "tacking's one thing, but it's too difficult to tail horseback riders. We'll tell the other branches to be on the lookout for them".
On the other rooftop, D, "tracking isn't impossible". C, "don't joke. You saw what he can do. Inside the city, it's not impossible to get close, but outside? One wrong move and we're literally fried. It's not worth the risk. We aren't nearly getting paid enough for that". D, "there were points where I felt that getting any closer would be dangerous. Far more dangerous than any other target I've seen before". C, "too much about him is unknown…though that is appealing in itself. I'd be happy to tail him if he returns to this city".
Ren and Liza get attacked by some monsters on the way to their destination, but nothing too serious. One zap of lightning and that's the end of it. They decide to leisurely hunt wyverns as they travel, stopping in a few villages along the way before reaching the next big town. Liza, as they enter the city gates, "where should we go to find new comrades? Sprinkle some magic, the nonliteral kind of course", as she wiggles her fingers at him. Ren, "Abra kadabra!", striking a weird pose with a wand of lightning. Liza, confused, "what was that?". Ren dissipates his want, "never mind. They're around here somewhere, but it's late so let's look in the morning".
Early the next morning, Ren wakes up feeling restless. He gets up and looks out the window. He sees the outline of a hill in the darkness and feels his instincts stir, I don't get it...but they're there, on that hill. Ren wakes up the sleeping beauty in the bed, "Liza, wake up". Liza, in her groggy state, "what? I'm still tired...if you're unable to help yourself, play with me to get me in the mood".
Ren, in disbelief, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAN'T HELP YOURSELF! I haven't made one advance since coming here, it's been all you!, "I know where they are, let's go". Liza, "hmm...if you didn't know where my boobs were at this point, I'd be worried". Ren, "I meant a person! As in our next comrade!".
Liza tries to get up but falls back into bed, "oh...do we have to go now? If we're not baby making, I'd like to sleep this early in the morning. It's not even dawn yet", as she buries her face in her pillow. Ren looks upon her figure covered by the thin sheets, you were the one who said we should find them! Time to try the ultimate weapon I thought up on the way here. This world's typical male and female relationship is reversed, so…, "no sex today if we don't go now". His voice low and monotone.
Liza flinches, turns her head as she opens her groggy eyes, and sends an annoyed look his way, he wouldn't...no, he couldn't! He crumbles when I push...but now, when it's just the two of us in this relationship, is the best time for me to get pregnant. I can't put that at risk…curse you! I'll remember this! Liza reluctantly starts to get up after a few seconds. Ren forms a cheeky smirk as he watches her rise, haha! It works. Behold the power of withholding sex! Liza, noticing his obvious bravado, prepare yourself, I'm not letting you sleep tonight for this threat!
They get dressed and leave the inn. Once out of the town, they start climbing the hill, the sky turning to dawn as they begin their ascent. Liza, still pissed about having to get out of bed, "why are we just climbing a random hill?". Ren, "dunno. My instincts say who we're looking for is at the top of the hill", I don't know if I'll ever get used to the sky changing.
Once they reach the top of the hill, the dawn light is illuminating a beautiful woman. She has golden blond hair, big and deep coloured green eyes, a well-endowed chest, and long pointy ears that one can use to identify her as an Elf. She is holding a wooden staff that swirls at the top. She also dons a green shirt with a short white skirt. The Elf is just sitting there, eyes wide open in disbelief as she stares at them climbing the hill. Ren and Liza look up at her, making eye contact with her. After a few seconds of staring at each other, the Elf suddenly...bursts into tears. They both just stand there, frozen stiff in shock while a stranger starts bawling her eyes out.
Liza gathers herself and hurries over to the crying Elf after a second, "a-are you ok? What wrong?". The Elf responds, but she is still crying, making her words incomprehensible. The two only hear blabbering. Ren, finally snapping back to reality, approaches her, "c-calm down. We can help you with whatever's wrong". Instead of calming down, the Elf's crying intensifies in response. Both Ren and Liza are extremely flustered as their attempts to sooth her fail. Liza, unsure of what else she can do, pulls the Elf into her chest and holds her in an embrace.
After a minute, the Elf finally calms down and separates herself from Liza, "p-pardon my unsightly display. My name is Lorilay, an Elf, as you can see. I have been waiting here every dawn for the past 5 years for-". Ren and Liza give are so surprised that they don't let her continue, "5 YEARS???". Liza, "why have you waited in this spot for 5 years?". Ren, "what reason could possibly warrant that?".
Lorilay, feeling the intensity of their words, continues her explanation, I should probably just get to the heart of it, "em…since I was a child, I have occasionally seen short visions of people who I make contact with. I see certain places at a certain time from that person's point of view. After a while, I realised that the places I see, or will see, is the place that the person meets their soul mate...and this is mine".
She could feel her emotions swell with every word, causing her to cry again. She manages to speak between her sobs, "I was...beginning...to doubt myself...but here you are...finally". Even though she's bawling her eyes out, she has a smile on her face as she futilely wipes away her tears. Liza, she was waiting for her soulmate and Ren's instincts told him to come here...well, guess we have the second member of the harem.
They all decide to sit and talk for bit. Liza, "well, out with it. The whole story", everyone would want to hear something as juicy as this. Lorilay begins her recollection, "I had a vision of the time my parents met. My mother and father used to love listening to me describing the time they met. Although my mother stopped once my father passed from illness. I also saw some visions for other long time married couples, which helped validate the claims about my power, but nobody has found their soul mate through my help. Sometimes, they would find the place I describe but would get impatient and annoyed after a while, claiming I was a fake. Because no matter how long they waited, nobody would show, or it was someone that clearly wasn't their soulmate. But I know my power is real and my personal vision finally came through!", the joy in her voice palpable.
Ren, "what a weird...Unique?". Lorilay, "when I got appraised, it didn't show I had a Unique...another reason why people didn't believe me", her eyes a bit clouded over remembering the tough times. Ren, "hm...you probably have a Gift then", no other explanation, right? Lorilay tilts her head, "a Gift?".
Ren, "long story short. When I was reincarnated into this world to defeat the Demon King, the God who reincarnated me said that there are people born with a power called a 'Gift'. This power can be completely random, and only a God can determine if one has a gift, but the person in question also needs to have an idea of what their Gift is in order to confirm that they do have it. It's kind of a mess, but it is what it is. I have the Gift of Ultra Instincts, which the God confirmed, and my instincts led me here".
Lorilay seems to ignore the complicated stuff but does get excited for what she does understand, "reincarnated to defeat the Demon King! My soulmate's a hero!", as she gets up and starts giddily jumping up and down, her well-endowed chest following her vertical movements. Ren and Liza can't help but admire her, c-cute...BUT HUGE! Ren, you shouldn't jump so intensely! I feel like I should look away...but that's impossible! Such destructive power! Liza clasps her own breasts, mine aren't small…but hers are way bigger.
Lorilay isn't paying attention to her surroundings and trips on a stone, falling breasts first right into...Liza. They both fall back onto the grassy ground. Liza can't help but feel Lorilay's heavenly elasticity, so soft. It's hard to believe such breasts exists. Lorilay rises in a panic, but it's not enough to separate Liza from her breasts, "I-I'm sorry". Ren, "are you two ok?".
Lorilay hastily gets off Liza to free her from her bountiful prison. Liza gets up once she's free and immediately says, "I'll go tend to the horses", completely confusing the other two. Ren, "how did that come about?". Lorilay, in a little panic, "did I hurt you? Are you ok? Did I knock your head against the ground?".
Liza, "no, you two should enjoy their first time together as lovers". Ren, again...how did you get to that?, "Liza...what do yo-". Liza cuts him off, "since you left it to me, I thought about how we should handle future relationships. The only thing I could come up with was the idea that each lover should sleep with you on the day the two of you meet. That was the only thing that came to mind to keep it fair, or it could get messy down the line otherwise", I don't want to even think about how complicated it could get. Best to keep things fair and equal from the start.
Liza sees from Ren's face that he hasn't thought about any of this. Ren, she's goes at her own pace as usual...but she actually thought about this. I mean, I kind of expected this when she said I'd have so many wives, but I can't believe this is actually happening...WAIT A SECOND!, "hold on, what you think is best doesn't mean that she has to follow it".
Liza gives an exasperated sigh, "how can you know so little about women even after all we've done". Liza then shrugs and walks off, saying "have fun" as she waves with her back to them. Ren raises his voice because of how far away she is now, "I SAID YOU AREN'T THE ONE TO DECIDE THAT!". Liza just continues to walk and wave, an Elf, huh...Is the search for comrades all going to be like this? It might actually be easier if all our comrades turn out to be his wives, as then we'd all at least be united towards the same goal. There wouldn't be fighting amongst us, unlike my dad's wives. I'd really like it if we all got along. If we're looking for strong women to be comrades/wives, then she'd be a definite candidate...and she'd be a must need, actually. I heard 'The Iron surfer of the End' is a lesbian, so she wouldn't be a candidate...but who else?
Ren turns to Lorilay and says, "don't mind her, you don't have to do anything you don't want to". Lorilay, without missing a beat, "no, I've been waiting for this day to come for 5 years. I've grateful she's so understanding. Every woman fantasises about that sort of thing", who wouldn't? Ren just stares at her, clearly not expecting that, "every woman"...it's something so obvious but it never registered before. It was as if I thought women were on a different plane of existence from men and didn't think about that sort of stuff. If a man does it, of course a woman can. I'm really an idiot.
Lorilay continues, "but I'd like it if we get to know each other better before that. Is it ok if we talk until night? It's still quite early after all". Ren is troubled by this but doesn't have the heart to say no, "y-yeah, no problem", you want me to talk for how many hours???? That's not possible!
Ren starts off by explaining who he is, what he is going to do, what his powers are, how he first met Liza, etc., "and that's about the gist of it". Lorilay takes this all in, keen to hear every word, "a lot has happened to you. Thanks for telling me, and I guess it's my turn to share now. I am considered among one of the best earth magic users among the Elves. You said you were going to defeat the Demon King, right? I'll help", I guess I can't run away anymore.
Ren "thanks. I'd be a big help". Lorilay, "no problem, it needs to be done. If you sought help from the Elves, they'd probably try to stick me to you anyway. But never mind that...wait, I should probably explain about the Elves first since you're not from this world. Elves are a race with a lifespan of about 150 years, a bit longer than humans, and I'm currently 30".
Ren, genuinely surprised, "30????? You look 20 at best". Lorilay, "Elves physically mature faster than other races in their early years. We also stop aging once we reach adulthood until we're about 130, so I'll look like this for about 100 years". Ren, finding it a bit hard to accept, "o-oh...must be nice to not having to worry about aging until then", I still can't believe I'm talking to an actual Elf! I don't even have the words to describe her beauty.
Lorilay, "it has its perks and drawbacks. I'll never look the part of a mature beauty like my mother. If someone looks like a child when they come of age, well...you get the picture. Though that's very unlikely to happen. It's only occurred a few times throughout Elven history". Ren, "hm…interesting", I've never been into lolis…not that I have anything against them, just not my type.
Lorilay then begins explaining about her past, "I was born to a good family, but I have no siblings. It's rare for Elven families to have more than one child, as we have low conception rates. I was seen as a prodigy from early on as I could use earth magic on par with the adults from the moment I tuned into an adult. Because of that, I am considered to be one of the top users of earth magic among the Elves. I faced a lot of scrutiny due to my visions, but my parents believed in me since I was accurately able to describe the moment they met through my vision".
Lorilay then points to the town, "I knew we'd meet in the Human Kingdom as it was definitely not the Demon or Vampire lands. The Elves don't build structures like the town that was in the background, and neither do the Dark Elves. I decided to travel the human lands until I found the town in my vision. It didn't take that long to find, so I won't bore you with those details. But once I found it, almost every day for 5 years, I'd come here at dawn and dusk as the sky was orange at the time of my vision. You were exactly how I saw you…I'd never mistake you for anyone. I've watched my vision over and over for almost all my life".
Ren, feeling the weight of her words, "it seems like you've been through a lot. Most people wouldn't go through the effort of what you did", so much effort that it's impossible to say no to taking her as my wife...eventually. I can't believe I just thought that. What has happened to my life? This isn't the excitement I thought I'd get. Lorilay, with a nostalgic smile, "I don't remember a lot about my father, but what I do remember are wonderful family memories. I want to have a family like that of my own, so no amount of effort is too great".
Ren, s-so bright! Her pureness is like the sun! So blinding...even though there's no sun in this world, "w-well I hope your dream comes true". Lorilay, "I'd like three kids, at least one before fighting the Demon King, so we should probably get started on that...after dinner", as she gets a bit nervous and fidgety, I think my nerves have calmed down quite a bit.
Ren, I'm torn between taking it slow or fulfilling the fantasy that countless men dream about, "…are you sure?". Lorilay, giving him a smile without an ounce of hesitation, "we've gotten to know each other, haven't we? And the earlier we start, the better", with my races conception rate, no amount of trying would be enough to have three kids, but I want to try my best! Ren, I'm not one to judge, but I'm not sure that a few hours of talking is enough to truly get to know someone. Not that I can talk, Liza can attest to that.
After some more talking, dinner time finally approaches. Lorilay, who is used to cooking meals while camping, cooks something up for them. Ren eats it, and knowing that all the food he's tried so far in this world has had no taste, he prepared himself to not show any displeasure, even homemade cooking, or camp made(?), is bland. I'm also not...keen on some of the textures from the things she used...not that I'll ever tell her that. I'd doesn't seem like my opinion of food in this world aligns with what others think.
Lorilay cleans up after them, nervous all the while because she knows what's to come. Ren, seeing how nervous she is, "are you really sure about this?", I know she initiated it, and getting intimate with an Elf is super exiting, but it's hard to move forward with her like this. Lorilay tries to steel her resolve, "we need to get to it as early as possible as my race has a low conception rate", I've been waiting too long already…but that's not stopping my heart from racing!
Ren, "I'm not asking about the Elves, I'm asking about what you want to do". Lorilay, genuinely confused, "...I'm not following", what I want to do? I just told you? Ren sighs internally, "I'm saying that you don't have to feel pressured into it because the Elves have a low conception rate. You can do it when you're ready".
Lorilay takes a second to process his words, still confused, "…oh, I think you misunderstood. I told you I want three kids, didn't I?". Ren, "well...yes, you did", pretty hard to for-…wait, she has a low conception rate but wants three kids? How much sex does she want to have???
Lorilay, her voice gradually quickening as she speaks, "That's my dream, more than anything, it's just that I'm a little nervous. We have to have sex a lot because of the low conception rate, but that's also what I want, so, em, the earlier, the better! I may be a bit nervous, so if it comes to it, you have my permission to push me do an-", she's unable to finish her sentence before overheating. It's as if steam is rising from her head. Too embarrassed to stary still, she stands up unsteadily, "I'll get ready in the tent, please wait for me to call you over!", as dives into the tent without a moment's notice.
Ren is left just sitting there, so he tries to sort his thoughts, it's going to take me some time to get use to how open the women here are when it comes to sex, even when they're nervous…not that I knew what it was like back where I came from…an Elf! I still can't believe it. I mean…an actual Elf! Lorilay interrupts his thoughts after a minute, "I-I-I'm ready?".
Ren, not expecting her to be so quick, gets up and heads towards the tent, excited but also apprehensive, now that it's come this far, all I can do is go through with it. I couldn't bear to leave after she's waited so long for this, even if this is progressing so fast...it has nothing to do with her being an Elf. My progress with Liza was also fast. I resolved myself to do that. I'm just sticking to my word.
With the end of that thought, Ren pulls aside the entrance flap to the tent. Inside, Lorilay has removed all her clothes and is kneeling on the blankets, her hands nervously bundled together on her lap. Her eyes are spinning as she ties to speak, the words failing her and only producing weird sounds. Ren, upon seeing the exquisite view in front of him, can't help but think, Elves are a lewd race.