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  During a chilly night, sitting on a log as the bright moon lit the open field I was in. In front of me, Vyra lying on a pile of fabric asleep; she hadn't woken up since she met the monster girls. A breeze passed by, carrying leaves. Their sound mixed with footsteps approaching me.

  The person nearby stands right next to Vyra, casting a shadow over me. Then they sit near me but remain silent.

  A few hours had passed since I met the "Monster Girl Duo." They looked frightening at first. But, they did nothing to me or Vyra, except limit our MANA usage.

  They brought us to a camp a few miles away from where they attacked us. I expected more hostility, but neither of them wasted time speaking to me. Avoiding any sort of interaction with me as much as possible.

  "Are you hungry, boy?" the person next to me asked as I gazed back at them. It was the "wild-looking woman." I still didn't know her name. I suppose it's fine since I haven't asked either.

  "A bit." I gave a brief reply before looking back at Vyra.

  "Are you worried about your friend?" she asked as I saw her tail approaching the mage's face, pulling the hair that was covering it.

  "We are not friends." To be fair, we kinda just exist under Miria's control. She's a pretty girl, but it feels like neither she nor Elin care too much about me as a person.

  "Lover then?~" The monster girl got closer to my face and asked, signing her words.

  "The closest thing I can associate myself with her is sort of a coworker." I wonder if it's even that.

  "Coworker, huh? That's sad. Being so close to a guy for too long without any sort of reciprocity must be a cruel torture for these girls." I didn't expect anyone to compare my ck of recognition to torture.

  "Why is it so? Can't they simply have retionships with other women?"

  'She burst out ughing like I'd told the most hirious joke ever.' "Hahahaha! It's not that easy when we grow as young girls, especially from a noble family. We are taught how to conquer a man so our bloodline can thrive."

  "Doesn't sound much like a search for love; it's more of a case of acquiring territory." Must be miserable having to think like that.

  "Hah. People don't really go asking for love around these nds. Our world is built on tainted desire and greed. Those false prophets from the Capital keep lying about change. They want to bring us to a fabled golden age, which we have no proof of its existence."

  "Hmm, Capital City? I've heard about it. Not that much." All I remember Miria saying is that it had a lot of bureaucracies.

  "Miria was going there. Now, thanks to this girl right here, we have no idea where she is."

  "So you are waiting for her to wake up?" 'After my question, she simply nodded.' "It is still a surprise to me, you haven't hurt either of us."

  "Hurt? She is to be retrieved in safety. She's the main target of our mission. Miria and you are nothing more than bonuses." That threw me a curveball. I thought they were hunting me down, not Vyra.

  "Why her?" I asked, as my tone couldn't hide my newfound curiosity.

  "It's a secret, haha." 'She then stood up next to Vyra and said.' "After she wakes up, you can ask her to go or stay."

  "Huh? And me, am I not your target?" I asked, standing up as well, looking up, as she's a bit taller than I.

  "Never was. It all comes down to her desire, if she wants you to stay. You will stay. If not, you can go wherever you want. Although I doubt you would go very far, though." My fate now rests entirely in Vyra's hands. I have an idea on what she's going to choose.

  "He can go." A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked down and met Vyra's violet, round eyes. Her face was still turned to the side.

  "You were awake for an awfully long time. I was wondering why." The wild-looking woman spoke as she walked to the Mage's side. She extended her hand for Vyra to take it. Yet, she didn't. She only kept staring at me.

  'My mind rushed with thoughts; what should I do? Do I just leave? Before I could think, she took the wild-looking woman's hand and pulled herself up, asking, "What is your name?"

  "My name is Ei'rah. It's an honor to meet you, young Mistress." My eyes opened wide in surprise at the casual use of such honorifics. Does Vyra know about them or not? I remember her mentioning something about them, but I cannot remember now.

  "Kael, you are free to go. Do with your life what you desire. Exactly like you wished for." She turns to Ei'rah and walks past her, with her back turned to me.

  "Should I know something I don't know?" I asked, feeling deep inside that I deserved to know what was happening. First, Miria and Elin disappeared; then one of the women we consider our enemy calls Vyra "mistress."

  "I don't know the details myself, but I understand what happened." Turning to me, she continues, "Everything is happening so fast; it's difficult to process for me as well. But I have to find Miria and Elin. I might convince them not to pursue you."

  "Can you at least enlighten me with some information?"

  "No, you made your own choice. To not be part of my life, to live free from the responsibilities that Miria would bring you, I respect that. I only request one thing: leave this continent as soon as possible. As long as you are here, everything we have been telling you is going to get worse."

  "Worse in what aspect?" There's something she's not telling me. Why the secrecy?

  "Worse, as in, I don't know. But the stability of this pce is in danger, that much I know," Vyra turns to Ei'rah saying. "Is there any way he can go to a safer pce?"

  "Our group is west of the Capital City, on the other side of the continent. There's a port nearby that can take you to Invillia," Ei'rah replied, then turned to me. "If you wish for his safety, we can take him there."

  "Good. At least he will have some time to train on the way, so he can take care of himself when he's off. There's no better pce that he could go to right now." With all that back and forth, I wondered if true freedom was possible. I didn't know what I was going to do, but it would be better than anything I've been through in the past few weeks.

  "Wait, what is Invillia." 'I asked.'

  "It is a continent to the West; it's much safer than here, and they are not as culturally ravenous as the women here. It also supports one of the 5 Great Magic Academies. And out of every single continent, it is the only one with logs of ever accepting men. You should be fine there."

  'I gave a nod before Vyra. Everything seemed too good to be true. But it didn't seem like she was lying.' "Thank you, Vyra! Is there anything I can do for you?"

  "Oh yeah, there's something I want."

  "What is it?"

  Her eyes wandered over to the grass field before she spoke. "I want you to... give me... a special night."