ocean-life Chapter 167 – Lunch and Learning
Chapter 167 – Lunch and Learning
Chapter 167 – Lunch and Learning
"I'm guessing Aurora hasn't had the time to explain all the rooms," the Princess says. "Withdrawing rooms are what you are thinking of. Their name has been shortened, as it sounds weird to call them withdrawing rooms. But they are for entertaining guests. It used to be where you would go after a meal. You would all withdraw to that room for the rest of the afternoon or night."
"Oh," I mumble. Could the Princess at least eat some food so I could finish the meal and run?
"We have a lot of them, so all of us and your eventual concubines can host people over," the Princess continues. "All have different views and chairs, so you can shape the experience of the night a bit just by choosing the room."
"Elora dear, I think Alzi wants to eat," Inanos says. "And so do I, to be fair."
Good to know we can do that.
"Hmm, oh yes, sorry," the Princess says. At least she takes a bite of the salad, and the meal can start. "Please ask any more questions you have, Alzi."
"When do I have to get some random woman pregnant?"@@@@
"You don't have to get a woman pregnant," the Princess says. "You don't need to use your mana to make her pregnant. All that is required for the parties are for you to finish inside her vagina to give her a chance to get pregnant. Then you get to pick the woman out of the bunch that comes, and it is tomorrow."
"Will you be mad at me if I don't get her pregnant?"
"No. I would appreciate it if you did get her pregnant, but it would be wrong of me to be mad you didn't get her pregnant," the Princess lies. "It is on the rare side for these parties to work. It normally takes a woman being picked five times before she will get pregnant. That could take years to happen. No, the only thing you can't do is to make it so she can't get pregnant. You can make it so she gets pregnant, or you can not mess with her chances. No hurting the odds."
I feel the command wash over me. It's not that I was going to stop her from getting pregnant, and the command isn't making me get her pregnant, which is nice. Why am I saying it is nice she isn't commanding me that much? I know part of her plan is to show how fertile I am. The Princess will definitely have some words for me if the woman doesn't walk away pregnant.
"Alzi, you really don't have to use your mana tomorrow if you don't want to," Isda says.
"I'm a slave," I say. "I need to make my owner happy."
"Would you like us to command you not to use your mana at the party tomorrow?" Isda asks me.
"Do it. Prove you don't care," I taunt.
"Alzi..."
"Wait," the petty Princess says. "Alzi, we are married, and this party relates to the family's goal of reaching the throne. If I say you have no need to use your mana to get an outcome, then you do not need to use mana to get an outcome. Everyone has been asking me to command you less. I just gave you a command, but it wouldn't do anything. The Goddess would ensure you didn't interfere with the process anyway. Tomorrow, you will get to pick a girl and take her to your room, or we can have another room prepared for it. She'll beg and beg and beg for a kid. You have no need to force it to happen. It will be your choice if you use mana to help it along or not. We will not decide it, my Love."
"If I pick the wrong woman?" I ask
"You can't pick the wrong woman," the Princess says.
"Can I pick two?"
"Do you want to?"
"Can you check my arm Alzi?" Inanos asks. "I had a curse put into it a bit ago, and I don't think it is gone completely. My mana is a bit slow."
"Fine," I say. "Which arm?"
"Left arm," Inanos says. "You're soft and warm, by the way."
"I know," I mutter, I move my mana around and down towards her arm. The woman relaxes into me as I start searching for something in her arm. I'm not sure what a curse feels like, but whatever. At least she isn't asking for a kid.
As my mana moves around I feel some of it just disappear. I move around and find a small hole that just sucks up any mana that touches it.
Should I keep feeding it and see what happens? Would that make it stronger?
"Um, there is a hole that is sucking up my mana," I say. Not willing to fuck this up. I need a healing class.
"I thought it was still there," Inanos says. "Can you build up a lot of mana and rush it all over the hole? That is how the first healer got the size down. Guess she didn't have the mana to double-check her work."
"I guess," I tell her. I gather up a small ball of mana and send it forward. It pushes into the hole. Only a small amount makes it past the spot in her arm. I try another pass, but my mana doesn't go anywhere. I try again and find the hole missing. "Was that all she did? I can't seem to find it anymore."
"No, she had something to remove the curse. That was just a remnant that needed to be healed," Inanos says. I feel a rush of her mana swipes past my own. The first time, I really felt someone else's mana. It easily corrodes the small ball I had. "Sorry, without a spell or skill, mana outside the body is easy to remove, especially inside another's body. Didn't mean to scare you."
"That is fine. But is it really that easy to get rid of a curse?" I ask. Her mana sends a bit of a shiver down my spine.
"For life and death mana, yes. Well, death mana doesn't get rid of curses," Inanos says. "Our mana naturally heals or kills. Others have to put a bit of work into their mana to do anything. People also counter my mana normally with skills, so I have to work past that, but everyone is willing to let you heal them. Even the monsters. Can you feel my mana moving around? I'm guessing it feels strange being close to death."
"Yes," I mumble.
"I won't hurt you; I just needed to test if my mana was working correctly, and it is," Inanos says, her body turning in my lap. "Can I kiss you?"
"Sure."
I was expecting a kiss on the cheek, but I am married to the woman. Her lips take mine once she has permission. Her lips are a bit cold. Would an ice elemental be freezing? Can an ice and fire elemental have a kid together? Can I have a kid with Inanos? Would she kill any child inside her?
"Thanks, honey," Inanos says when she frees my lips. "I can have a kid with you, by the way. My mana wouldn't dare hurt a child in my womb. Especially one as special as yours would be."
"I wasn't..." I start to say, but a finger goes across my lips.
"Most men ask it so I was answering it. People are always wondering about elementals and I would be happy to talk about them with you sometime. Tomorrow, I leave with the rest of the wives, minus Elora and Isda. But when I get back, we can find some time to talk about it if you like," Inanos says. "We could go and visit Fluvis and your children too. Have her perspective on things. You likely have a lot of elemental children with her."
"I guess that would be nice," I say.
"Good, I'll get off your lap and let you finish your lunch. Thank you for joining us and healing my arm," Inanos says, giving me a peck on the cheek this time before returning to her seat.
The rest have turned the conversation towards the mission they are starting tomorrow—something about a bird's nest in a forest. I just let them talk and focus on the sandwich.