Chương 26: Bonds and Ithrya

Kurogami Ren opened his eyes slowly. The darkness of his mind dissipated with the dim morning light that was beginning to invade the wagon's tent, which had been parked since the previous night. When his vision focused, he realized the situation: his face was buried directly in Selene's warm, ample breasts. The red-haired mage was still sleeping deeply, her calm breathing causing her chest to rise and fall slowly against Kuro's face.

Trying to move away so as not to wake her, Kuro blindly sought support with his right hand in the tight, cramped space of the vehicle. However, his splayed fingers landed firmly upon something round, firm, and extremely soft. A sharp sound of indignation cut through the morning silence.

"N-Nyaaa?! Kuro! Where do you think you are putting that hand?!" Mireya awoke with a start, her black cat ears completely bristling and her face as red as a tomato, swatting at his hands to immediately cover herself with the white blanket. The abrupt movement and the scream woke Selene, who blinked her blue eyes, processing the scene of Kuro's face pressed against her bosom just seconds ago. In an instant, the redhead's cheeks caught fire with embarrassment.

"K-Kuro!... You... you pervert!" Selene exclaimed, tightly crossing her arms over her chest and puffing out her cheeks, feigning a fury she could barely sustain under the young man's calm gaze. Kuro sat up with absolute calmness, adjusting the collar of his dark garments without losing his posture. He sustained the embarrassed gaze of the two, flashing a short corner smile.

"It was a technical accident, girls," Kuro said, his voice calm.

"But I won't lie... the morning started off very well for me." Mireya covered her face up to her nose with the sheet, letting out a frustrated flick of her tail against the floorboards, while Selene quickly turned her face away, still embarrassed. Liora, who was already awake in the corner adjusting her guards, merely maintained her military posture intact, though a subtle gleam passed through her dark eyes. Kuro stood up for a moment, but looking down at his own hands, his countenance darkened subtly.

A cold doubt began to corrode his mind, causing him to question himself in silence. Do I really deserve to be by their side? * He knew perfectly well that he had known how to fight long before waking up in this world. However, the torment that came in his nightmares was a complete muddle; he could not distinguish whether those visions were just ordinary dreams or real memories of something he had lived through. Kuro did not understand the meaning behind them, and the mystery bothered him.

Looking at the three women who had trusted their lives to him, Kuro broke the silence with a serious voice, drawing everyone's attention.

"Listen... We are about to enter the Capital. From here on out, things are going to get dangerous. I think we should all get to know each other better. We need to create bonds that won't tear for anything." Selene stared at Kuro with a pensive expression. Gathering sudden courage, she asked about his family and his past.

"Kuro... you never talk about what your life was like before we met on Earth. What was your family like?" Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Kuro averted his gaze, his expression instantly becoming cold, impenetrable, and distant.

"I am not going to talk about my past. There is nothing interesting there and there is nothing good," Kuro answered dryly.

"Forget about it." The weight of the response made Selene recoil sutilly, but she accepted the boundary. Wanting to dissipate the dense atmosphere and take the first step to create the bonds he asked for, the redhead decided to open up about her own story.

"All right. Then I'll talk about mine. I was born here in the Capital, into a traditional noble family. They wanted to control my future and force me to carry the family name forward, living under their orders. But I refused to be a puppet. I chose to be an adventurer and ran away. My mother passed away when I was still young, and my father remarried... My stepmother didn't like me at all. Oh, and my half-sister is still here in the city; she became a very powerful mage in the Capital."

Kuro nodded in silence, engraving every detail about Selene's noble family and the existence of this powerful half-sister into his mind. After they finished getting ready and took the road for the final five hours of the journey, the colossal walls of the Capital of Ithrya finally rose before them. Upon crossing the entry gates after the inspection, the visual impact was immediate.

Liora and Mireya were completely awestruck, their jaws dropping at the gigantic market, the paved streets, and the bustling commerce that seemed infinite. Selene, on the other hand, remained calm and unimpressed; after all, she had been born and raised there. They went straight to look for an inn to stay. However, the Capital was completely packed because a lot of people had come to trade in the city that year, overcrowding every establishment.

After searching extensively, they found only one inn that still had a vacancy. When speaking with the attendant at the counter, the verdict was delivered directly, with the woman directing her gaze toward the girls.

"We only have one room available, ladies. And it only has one double bed." Kuro's mind snapped instantly. A massive internal smile formed behind his charismatic facade. This is it! he thought, excited by the situation. This is it, the moment my dream comes true! This is the crucial moment of every harem book and anime I've ever seen in my damn life!

"What?! Only one room? With one bed?" Mireya jumped backward, her cat ears flattening.

"Let's look for another inn right now, Kuro!"

"Yeah, Kuro, this is a bit... inappropriate," Selene agreed, her face flushing again as she looked at the size of the bed, while Liora kept her guard up.

"What do you mean another inn, girls? This one is perfectly fine!" Kuro intervened quickly, assuming his leader posture focused on economy.

"In two days we only need to spend one gold coin on just one room. That is economizing." The attendant behind the counter let out a tired sigh, confirming the city's situation to the clients.

"The young man is right, ladies. All the other inns in the capital are also full this year due to the influx of merchants. If you don't take this one, you'll end up sleeping on the street." Left with no choice against the financial logic and the city's overcrowding, the women accepted sharing the room, heading up the stairs with their faces burning with embarrassment. Upon arriving there, Mireya immediately began placing her belongings, glass tools, and tubes on a corner table, organizing her alchemy laboratory.

Selene gave a long sigh and lay down on the bed exhausted, resting sideways against the linen, while Liora, who was already doing well, sat on a chair near the window, drew her katana, and began to sharpen the blade with precise and methodical movements. Kuro observed the three of them settling in and adjusted his hidden daggers beneath his black cloak.

"I'm going to the guild to see if there are any missions available for us," Kuro announced, walking toward the door.

"And I'll take the opportunity to register our party officially. Here in the Capital, you need to deal with this bureaucracy; in the other town we came from, it wasn't necessary. Stay here and rest." He opened the door and stepped out alone, leaving the three girls in the double-bed room.