“
Glyn, are you sure about this?
” A voice from the past echoes through his mind.
“
I’m sure. If I deciphered this right, then I figured out how to do the Sacred Weapon Summons.
”
“
But if you're able to do it, then….
”
“
If I do it, then that proves I’m that man’s son. But if it ever comes to that, then the situation must be desperate.
”
“
What’ll happen after? Are you sure you’ll be okay with it?
”
“
If it ever comes to that, then I’ll deal with how I feel after. There will be more important things to do first.
”
“
Well, if it ever comes to that, then I’ll be by your side and help you through it. After all, I love you, Glyn…
” The voice fades away as it echoes through his mind.
Glyn’s eyes open as he stares up at a familiar ceiling. He sits up, grabbing his head and catching his breath. “Damn it. Why’d I have to remember that now? She chose a rather annoying time to confess.”
He looks around, recognizing the room as his study within the manor on Jubert Island.
“I’m back at the manor? We must’ve survived all that craziness. Or I died, and the afterlife is kind of weirder than expected.”
As he moves over to the edge of the bed, the door opens and Mila walks in carrying a small bucket of water. She turns to see Glyn awake and drops the bucket, splashing water over the floor as she rushes towards him.
“Glyn!” She yells, wrapping her arms around him and tackling him onto the bed. “Glyn! You're awake! I was so worried! I was…. I was…” She cries as Glyn pats the back of her head.
“Mila.” Glyn holds Mila and pauses, enjoying her warmth as someone else enters the room.
“Hey, Mila, did you trip again? I told you I should carry the bucket if you're going to keep dropping it….” Tisha walks in and sees Mila on the bed with Glyn. “Glyn! Wait, Mila, what’re you doing!? Get off! You're not supposed to do that kind of stuff when someone wakes up from exhaustion!”
Tisha rushes to the bed and pulls Mila off, looking at Glyn. Tears well up in her eyes, and Glyn holds out his arms. Unable to resist, she leaps into his chest, crying as Mila looks down at the two.
“Glyn, you idiot! You ran off on your own and did some stupid crap! I thought you were going to die! I was so worried!”
Glyn rubs her back. “Sorry. I’ll apologize as many times as you want.”
“I don’t want an apology. I just want you to promise me you’ll never do something like that again!” Tisha yells.
Glyn pauses. “I don’t know if I can promise you that.”
Tisha sighs. “Well, at least you're being honest, even if I can’t stand it.”
“So, Glyn’s awake,” Miller says, standing at the doorway.
“Brother!” Mila yells.
“I heard Tisha yelling in the hallway but didn’t want to interrupt.”
Tisha leaps up off Glyn and blushes, embarrassed. Miller approaches with a slight smile on his face. “Good to see you're still alive.”
Glyn nods. “I’m happy to be alive. I’ll even say I’m happy to see your mug for once.”
“Say what you will, but I know you want to get caught up on everything.”
Glyn nods. “Gather everyone in the dining room. I want to catch up on everything that happened while I was out. Also, I’m starving.”
“Okay, I’ll gather everyone and have Sam make some food really quick. We had a good haul of meat after all that craziness.”
After getting out of bed, Glyn changes and meets everyone down in the dining room. The group greets him happily and sits down with Rufus and Zanrit exiting the kitchen with trays of food for everyone. After eating quickly, everyone turns to Glyn, who looks back at them, noticing Xia Bai and Anluan amongst the group.
“You two are still here?”
“How could we leave?” Xia Bai shakes her head. “We still have these damned Pieces inside of us.”
Anluan nods. “Yes. And you are the only one who can remove them.”
“Oh, right? I’ll remove them and…”
“About that. I would like to continue working with you.” Anluan says.
“Huh?”
“I discussed this with the others while you were asleep. I agree with your cause of trying to determine the next king. But more than that, I owe you for slaying that, Demon. The members of my nest can rest at peace now that they’ve been saved from that Demon’s hold,” Anluan explains.
Xia Bai sighs. “I owe you one for helping me with Isaac. Besides, it was Isaac’s goal to either help someone worthy become the king or take things over himself. So, I feel that I can at least fulfill his last wish.”
Glyn nods. “Okay. I’m glad to have the additional firepower. Especially since we’re in the last stretch. There are only three other competitors left, I believe. Oh, speaking of what happened to Morgan’s King Piece.”
Pepper holds out a dark-colored King Piece, placing it on the table. “I recovered it from that Leech that attacked us. It had taken it into its body to siphon what remained of Morgan’s Mana for itself.”
“Seems like a Leech,” Glyn says. “Other than that, anything to report?”
“The Shadows took our Sacred Weapon.” Mila pouts.
“They said it wouldn’t be fair to the competition if we held onto it.” Tisha sighs.
He sighs. “That’s what I expected.”
“They also said something about forbidding the use of that ritual.”
Glyn nods. “Not like I can do it again if I wanted to. That thing almost drained all the Mana out of my body. Something like that would take years to charge up.”
“That’s how you did it.” A voice comes from outside the dining room as an elven woman bursts through the door. “I was wondering about that little ritual of yours. I heard it was lost to time, so I never expected it to pop up on these islands.”
“Who are you?”
Tisha shoots up. “This is Quila. As you can see, she’s an Elf sent by the Elders, like me.”
Quila nods. “My group got eliminated by that mad queen and that Demon posse of hers. Wanted to give my thanks for wiping them out.”
“Oh, you’d thank a Half-Elf?” Glyn asks.
“I don’t care if you’re a Half-Elf, Quarter-Elf, Human, or whatever combo you got. Never much cared for the old bunch, only judging people by how much of an Elf someone is.” Quila says. “Besides, you already won the heart of little Tisha over here, so there’s nothing for me to say she used to detest Half-Elves the most of all of us.”
Tisha bushes. “Quila!”
“Come on, let’s laugh at your past self together.”
Glyn nods. “Well, since you’re here, you're welcome to stay as long as you need to.”
“Much obliged.”
After a quick discussion, the group disperses, with Glyn returning to his room. Exhausted, he sits down and lies on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Several thoughts run through his mind as he sits contemplatively.
“How long are you just going to lie there?” Miller asks, looking down at him.
“What is it? I want to nap.”
“You’ve been asleep for too long. You’ve got to move your body or you’ll waste away.”
Glyn sits up. “You sound like one of my mother’s right now.”
“Well, I imagine she’s a wise woman.”
Glyn stands up. “I just want to think.”
“About how that man is your father.”
Glyn nods. “Yeah. I hate to admit it, but there’s no doubt now. I’m a true-to-the-blood son of that asshole Count Fenwick.”
“You only had that look on your face when you're thinking of him. But you shouldn’t let the thoughts of that man consume you.”
“I know that. But… I’m worried about other things.”
“What things?”
Glyn’s face goes red. “I… have to be honest with you, Miller, I…”
“It’s about Mila, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Miller walks ahead and signals for Glyn to follow behind him. Miller leads Glyn to the roof as the pair stare down at the courtyard. Miller sits as Glyn stands next to him, and the pair spot Zanrit and Tan sitting together in a moment of peace.
“What’re those two doing?” He asks.
“I guess they're having a small date.”
“Huh!?”
“They're dating now. Tan confessed her feelings to Zanrit while you were knocked out. She said the entire thing taught her some perspective and showed her what she wants out of life. So, she spilled her guts and told him.”
Glyn smiles. “Good for them.”
“What about you?”
“I’m…”
“You don’t have to hold back. The two of them are waiting with bated breath for even a hint that you feel anyway about either of them. But you always hold yourself back.”
“I don’t know what to do. I’ve been wanting to give them an answer, but I….”
Miller stands. “Just think about it. I, for one, am going to do what I believe I should.”
“Oh?”
“That’s right. Sam and I have entered into a relationship.”
Glyn pauses. “Did everyone decide to hook up while I was out?”
“Being close to death has that kind of effect on people. No one wants to go with regrets. Especially if you're just holding yourself back. So, for once, stop looking for things to distract yourself with and focus on yourself.” Miller stands up and leaves, patting Glyn’s shoulder.
“Why’re you telling me this?”
“Well, if everything goes well, you’ll be my little brother. So, I have to look out for you at least for her sake.”
Glyn turns away. “I’ll think about it.”
“All I ask is that you two don’t make me an uncle right away.”
Glyn blushes, clenching his teeth, and walks away. “I… I have some maps I have to look over!”
“He doesn’t take being teased so well. I should make note of that,” Miller says with a grin.
As night comes, Glyn sits in his room at his desk, staring at the door with his arms crossed. Time passes, and a knock comes at the door.
“Come in.” He says sternly.
The door cracks open, and Tisha comes wearing a nightgown and carrying a pillow. “Good evening.” She says her face turning beet red.
Glyn stares at her, his own face going red. “Good evening.”
“This is my first time doing something like this, so….”
“Wait, we’re missing someone.”
“Huh?”
Mila walks in wearing a see-through nightgown, carrying her own pillow. “Um… you called for me?”
“Good evening, Mila,” Glyn says, looking away from her.
“Mila! Where did you get something so daring!?” Tisha yells out.
“Um. My grandmother got it for me. She said it’d be a secret weapon. It even has a hole for my tails in it.” She says, wiggling her two tails in the air. “I normally sleep in the nude, so this is a fresh feeling for me.”
“I see. So, it’s not that embarrassing because you're used to being naked.”
“I… I never said it wasn’t embarrassing.” She glances at Glyn, who covers his mouth, looking away from her. “What do you think?”
Glyn looks at the pair as they stand next to each other. His eyes dance across their bodies. He covers his mouth with the palm of his hand to hide his nervous expression. Thoughts race through his head once again as he tries to calm his racing heart.
“Glyn?” Mila approaches, grabbing his hand. “Well?”
He turns away again, with Tisha grabbing his head. “Say something; you’re the one who called us here, remember.”
“Sorry, I’m trying to find the words!” He yells out. “You're both obviously lovely. Very lovely. I wanted to think of something to say that’d match how beautiful I think both of you are right now.”
Mila smiles happily as Tisha smirks, holding Glyn’s face closer. “Only right now?”
“Well. You're both generally attractive. But right now, you're going out of your way to show off you attractive you are.”
She smirks, letting go of his head. “I’ll accept that for now. But you didn’t just call us here just to enjoy the view.”
“No. I want to answer your feelings for me. But… I don’t know how you’ll feel about it. I don’t want to….”
“Say it.” Mila holds her hand to her chest. “No matter what you say, I’ll accept it. Even if…”.
Tisha nods. “If you're going to reject us, just get it over with. I’ll still fight for you, so don’t worry about that.”
“It’s not that! I… in fact, I… I like both of you. I have feelings for the two of you simultaneously!” He yells out.
“Simultaneously?” Mila asks.
Tisha rolls her eyes. “He means he feels the same way about the two of us at the same time.”
“I know it's unbecoming as a man to say something like that. I’m supposed to choose one partner, but with both of you, I can’t change. When I think of rejecting either of you, my heart sinks into an abyss, and when I picture someone else taking you, I feel an intense rage. I know this is selfish of me, but….”
“Glyn.” Tisha walks forward and grabs his hand.
“Glyn.” Mila grabs Glyn’s other hand.
“We both love you. You idiot!” The pair yell in unison.
Tisha rolls her eyes. “Those old fools keep talking about marriage and the like and encouraging having multiple partners for the sake of breeding.”
“I always kind of expected I’d end up as someone’s second wife, so this isn’t a new idea for me.”
“But I…”
“Besides, don’t you have two moms? You’ve already seen that loving two people is a possibility.”
Glyn nods. “Well, my parents are a different matter compared to this.”
“So, what’s the big deal? You love the two of us at once. And we both love you and are okay with you being with either of us. So, we’re okay being all together.” Tisha says.
Mila nods. “In fact, I want us to be together. Talking about how to seduce you with Tisha was so fun, and comparing notes and everything else together.”
“Planning how to seduce me?”
“Well, we needed to do something. We can’t just sit around and wait forever.”
Glyn smiles and brings Tisha into his chest. “Well, sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“You better be.”
Glyn holds out his other arm and brings Mila in. The three hold each other tight, and the girls look at Glyn and lean in for a kiss. Nervously, he kisses the pair of them one after another. Trading kisses for kisses, the three fall over onto the bed and embrace each other. Dropping everything, they tune out the world and simply indulge in one another, nothing else mattering aside from each other and that very moment.