Lunch with South went surprisingly well.
All credit for the peaceful meal went to Matilda. Her blushing face and stuttering whispers made South focus on calming her down.
The drunkard had very little time for lecherous smiles, but he did shoot Wolf a knowing look once or twice. If only Matilda wasn’t there to hinder him, South would’ve made Wolf and Anna regret they were born, or at least regret that Wolf hadn’t left the party with Wayde.
Even with Matilda there, Wolf was afraid there would be casualties. Thankfully, the existence of the young Marchioness put a sock in the vagrant’s mouth, and after an enjoyable meal the party of five went back to the carriage and left Silver City.
***
Wolf was worried about his friends. He personally believed that them taking a five star mission was biting more than they could chew. Even though Anna, Barbara, Matilda and Wayde met the minimal conditions to take it, that was only on paper.
Normally, a Fourth Order Monster Beast could kill a Fourth Order Mage in a couple of exchanges. The only way for the Mage to win was by surprising the Monster Beast. That or the Monster Beast giving them five or so seconds to cast a spell.
Mages relied on superior intellect, senses and quick thinking to slay Monster Beasts of the same Order, even though they were technically weaker. And this was the heart of the problem now. None of the four Mage Academy students had any practical experience and couldn’t use the advantages their calling gave them.
Wolf tried warning them several times, however his words fell on deaf ears. He recalled his father’s wise words once more, Sometimes, you can’t know how hard a rock is until you hit it.
Unfortunately, gaining this experience was something Wolf found too dangerous for his friends.
The first battle was where the majority of common-born Mages died. As for nobles, their houses usually sent guardians to save the scions’ assess when they met real danger.
Wolf was surprised to sense that nobody was actually following them in secret. Or if they were, they were considerably more powerful than he was. This meant that all those parents trusted him with their children, consequently adding to his burdens.
So, Wolf did everything in his power to help his team stay alive on their own. He came up with a formation the four of them could use.
Until they got a hang of it, he would help Wayde at the front. The two of them would engage enemies in melee, while Anna and Barbara were in charge of dealing ranged damage. Wolf advised them to use crossbows whenever possible and only resort to spells when they encountered stronger enemies.
Finally Matilda was in charge of keeping everyone safe. Meaning she was in charge of enchantments to help the team and hinder the enemies, if it seemed like things were getting hairy.
One reason Wolf came up with this setup was because Wayde claimed he’d gone through basic swordsmanship training. The more important one, however, was that sniping weak opponents from safety would dull their senses and make the group overestimate their abilities.
Monster Beast was bound to get close to them over the course of their adventures. Suddenly finding yourself in melee for the first time was a recipe for panic and death.
The party spent their waking hours walking, studying for their next exam and learning the basics of what it meant to fight as a team. Wolf couldn’t help them much, but at least Anna and Barbara could now shoot bolts relatively well and hit trees without difficulty.
Wayde’s swordsmanship was crap as far as Wolf was concerned. The young Duke claimed instructors praised him, but that just meant his instructors were crap too. Wolf helped his friend out a bit, but you can’t expect wonders from a youth without a lifetime of experience inserted into his brain.
Finally, after eighteen days on the road, the group reached the village of Pashome.
As the party dined, the girls excitedly talked about taking a hot bath and finally sleeping in a warm bed. Wolf listened to their empty talk, wondering if it was really that uncomfortable to sleep outside. They even had tents and bedrolls. Regardless, there were more important things to discuss right now.
“We’ve arrived in the area where the brigands I’m after are active,” Wolf explained. “Tomorrow morning I’m off. I’ll have to leave you here for a day or two until I handle them.”
The youth paused for a moment before continuing reassuringly. “You don’t have to worry. Towns are generally safe places. Especially if you make sure everyone knows that you’re a Mage, which I already did when I spoke with the village head, the militia and the innkeeper.”
Wolf explained everything patiently, so that people wouldn’t panic. However, the only ones feeling nervous were Anna and Wolf.
Anna was worried about Wolf. Wolf on the other hand wanted to sleep with Anna, but was blocked by the damn propriety and Anna’s honor.
He couldn’t even kiss the woman he loved for these three damn weeks.
Whenever he drew near Anna, Matilda would blush and cover her eyes as if he was going to tear off his girlfriend’s clothes right then and there. Not that Wolf hadn’t fantasized about doing something like that…
Since nobody had anything to add and Wolf was making a stupid face, the party separated for the evening, wishing each other good night.
I can’t even sleep in the same room as her in an inn! Wolf grumbled inwardly as he climbed into the bed. He didn’t feel like meditating tonight.
Maybe I can take her back to my place under the bridge, nobody would find us there, he tossed and turned in the bed, making it creak. No, she would claw my eyes out if I said something like that.
“Wolf,” Wayde suddenly called out after hearing the poor bed creak constantly.
“You seem frustrated with how things are going with Anna,” he said. “Anything I can do to help?”
After a moment he realized his question could be misinterpreted.
“With advice I mean! Advice!” Wayde hurriedly added.
“Things have been… troublesome.” Wolf muttered after hesitating for a moment.
In books they say ‘gentleman never tells’. He now understood why. Because there was nothing to tell, and you’re just trying to pass off as a gentlemanly lover when deep down inside you’re just frustrated.
“How about we go to the Sweet Dream once we get back to Silver city?” Wayde offered after considering things for a moment.
“It’s the place my mother runs. All the girls there are healthy and I can guarantee our safety and privacy. You became an adult quite a while ago and you and Anna hadn’t gone all the way, right? That means you’ve got a woman, but you’re still a virgin.” Wayde said bluntly, and Wolf neither confirmed nor denied anything.
“Anna is very jealous,” Wolf started talking weakly.
So weakly in fact, that it seemed like he was begging Wayde to talk him into it. Wayde didn’t fail to notice this and kept making an argument.
Wolf kind of settled down after that. He got up from the bed and sat down on the floor before entering meditation.
Wolf’s Mental Aspect opened his eyes inside his Mind Hall and went to carve the eighth column while muttering to himself.
“Will Anna and I ever be alone again? What if she doesn’t really like me? Did I push her too far or bully her too much?” These and many other silly questions swarmed Wolf’s mind.
“Why not just ask her in the morning, Master? You have better things to do than have dialogues with one person missing,” Silver suddenly spoke her-his mind, interrupting Wolf’s train of thoughts.
“Am I really that pathetic that I need relationship advice from an unhatched egg?” Wolf muttered.
“I don’t know anything about relationships, Master. I just know that you can’t talk to someone who’s not there when you want them to answer. Seeing you do it so often, I tried talking with Parent once to test it out, but I didn’t get a response. I don’t think Parent would ignore me. So my conclusion was that when you’re talking to yourself the other person can’t talk back.” Silver said seriously, accidentally trampling Wolf’s ego.
Silver technically wasn’t even born, and yet the unhatched egg raised a valid point. The only person who knew the answers to Wolf’s questions was Anna.
“No!” Wolf’s Mental Aspect suddenly realized something. “I can divine the answers with magic.”
For a moment Wolf actually seriously considered preparing a Ninth Order divination spell to see whether he and Anna had a problem in their relationship. The only thing stopping him was the fact that Silver would see the whole thing. The egg would almost certainly make fun of him and the worst part was that it had every right to make fun of him.
“You have a point Silver. Maybe I should ask her in the morning whether I hurt her or made her feel bad, or something,” Wolf was unaware of this, but this was the decision that would greatly affect his emotional life later on, if only he had the strength to go through with it every time.
Also, Silver’s seemingly pointless words about simply asking were the best relationship advice Wolf would ever hear, no matter the kind of relationship in question.
If you think there’s a problem, ask. It’s the first step to making things better.
“Silver,” Wolf's Mental Aspect suddenly said.
“Yes?”
“Could you stop calling me Master? It feels weird. Just call me Wolf,” the youth said, noticing that the little fellow’s intelligence was catching up to his own.
“It is improper Master,” Silver replied and suddenly started snoring.
“Silver? Silver?” Wolf called out, shaking the egg, but the too perfect snoring didn’t pause even for a moment. “I know you’re acting. And how do you know what improper means?”
***
Once Wolf heard that the girls had gotten up, he went to their room. He was about to barge in, but stopped himself and knocked.
“Yes?” Barbara called out from inside the room.
“It’s Wolf,” he said simply and a moment later Anna opened the door, perfectly decent.
“I’d like us to talk in private if you don’t mind,” he said to his girlfriend and saw Matilda, who was standing a couple of steps behind Anna, turn red.
Oh, come on, you took two weeks to stop blushing whenever you saw me, Wolf thought, holding back a frustrated sigh.
“We’re just going to talk, Matilda. I swear.” Wolf rolled his eyes at Matilda's reaction. But the girl still didn’t leave the room. She’s like a chaperone…
As for Barbara she also had no intention of moving. However, she stared at the pair with wide eyes, interested to see what happens next.
In the end, Wolf still sighed.
“Fine. Anna, can we talk outside?” he asked seriously.
Anna nodded without saying a word and followed Wolf out.
The pair got out of the inn and Wolf told her everything that was on his mind. Anna’s answer was very simple and very practical.
“There were no opportunities for what you want.” She blushed a bit as she said those words, but Wolf felt like exploding right then and there.
She could toy with him in a ballroom full of people, in front of her parents, but there was no opportunity as they traveled the wilderness?
“I can come over to your room tonight,” Wolf offered, but Anna immediately shook her head.
“Somebody will see you.”
“They won't, I'll prepare Walk Unseen.”
“What if someone hears us?” the girl immediately replied.
“I’ll cast Silence, we’ll have some three hours of absolute quiet,” Wolf already had an answer ready for just about any argument he could think of.
“What about Matilda and Barbara? What if they wake up and see us, you know…” she hesitated for a moment before saying the final word “…naked?”
“I can cast Greater Slumber on them. Or an illusion of you sleeping to cover for us. Or–” Wolf started offering viable solutions, but Anna interrupted him.
“You’re really fine with being so exposed with those two in the same room as us? Well, I can’t do it.” Anna’s face was red and tears of shame welled up in her eyes.
Wolf wasn’t bothered one bit. With enough magic it was no different from them being in a separate dimension. They could do whatever they want and nobody would know.
He was about to say that if Anna were to come over to his room there would be one less person. Wolf could even have Wayde go out somewhere for the night, Wayde was his friend, he’d sleep on the floor somewhere one night for his sake.
Just as he was about to make the inappropriate suggestion, Wolf realized that there was a simpler solution that would make everything proper. “How about we skip the whole scandalous engagement and we get married straight away?”
Hearing those words Anna almost fainted. Is that how you propose? I want to grope you naked whenever I feel like it, so let’s get married! the young lady was furious and wanted to throttle Wolf. And yet, for some reason she didn’t understand, she felt a burst of panic.
“What? No!” Anna shouted in dismay, but reigned in her voice a moment later. “It’s not what you think. If we get married, we’re expected to have kids. That would hinder you from becoming a True-Namer…”
Wolf looked at Anna with a conflicted look. What was he supposed to tell her? ‘I’m already a True-Namer?’ ‘I can’t have children?’
Even if he said any of those it would be pointless. He could see that his second friend ever was lying to him.
She wasn’t really thinking about him, but rather about herself.
Wolf felt disappointed, even though he tried to fight it. But then he realized he was doing all of this for the sake of his own lust. If that was all there was to it he could simply do what Wayde had suggested last night.
As Wolf contemplated who was in the right and what he was supposed to do, Anna spoke in a shaky voice.
“By the way, where did you learn all those things? I know that some nobles have their sons start off by bedding their maids before they are legally adults. Did you go to brothels?” she asked seriously and Wolf’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“I didn’t go to brothels,” he mumbled, but the awkward thing was that he was just considering going to one.
Wolf didn’t know what to say for a moment. He couldn’t tell Anna that he had seen all of those things in visions inside his Mind Hall. She’d think he was crazy, or worse still she might believe him.
“It’s all right. I won’t be angry,” Anna said seriously while intently staring at Wolf, trying to see through him. “Mother told me that men need to have their night out with their friends and that brothels are a frequent place they visit. She just told me that I can’t allow any mistresses.”
Anna didn’t mention that her mother also told her that those were the nights when she could do whatever she wanted, since her husband wouldn’t be back home until morning.
“I never went to a brothel. Honest! I… I… I’ve seen the pictures with those things.” Wolf said a half-truth. His visions were just a series of images, so it wasn’t really a lie.
Anna’s interest was piqued. “Can I see that book? Maybe I can do something better after I read it?”
“Um, I can’t show it to you now. I… I gave it to someone.” Wolf lied, but surprisingly he didn’t feel anything, wondering what had happened.
Not wanting to dwell on the errant thought, Wolf hastily changed the subject.
“More importantly, your mother told you that it’s fine for your man to visit brothels?” Wolf asked with surprise.
He didn’t know people could do that, not to mention that Anna actually claimed she was fine with it.
Anna nodded seriously. “That’s right. She said that shared women are just pathetic pieces of meat and that I shouldn’t feel jealous of them. At worst, mother said that if you kept going to the same woman I could simply buy her from the establishment.”
Why would you buy her? Wolf was tempted to ask, but seeing how Anna’s mother was special he remained silent. It was safer to simply change the topic once more.
“Anyway, I’ll go and hunt down those bandits,” he said finally confident after finding a familiar subject. “I should be back by tomorrow evening, or the day after that at the latest. That gang isn’t too far, but I first have to scout out their base.”
Lunch with South went surprisingly well.
All credit for the peaceful meal went to Matilda. Her blushing face and stuttering whispers made South focus on calming her down.
The drunkard had very little time for lecherous smiles, but he did shoot Wolf a knowing look once or twice. If only Matilda wasn’t there to hinder him, South would’ve made Wolf and Anna regret they were born, or at least regret that Wolf hadn’t left the party with Wayde.
Even with Matilda there, Wolf was afraid there would be casualties. Thankfully, the existence of the young Marchioness put a sock in the vagrant’s mouth, and after an enjoyable meal the party of five went back to the carriage and left Silver City.
***
Wolf was worried about his friends. He personally believed that them taking a five star mission was biting more than they could chew. Even though Anna, Barbara, Matilda and Wayde met the minimal conditions to take it, that was only on paper.
Normally, a Fourth Order Monster Beast could kill a Fourth Order Mage in a couple of exchanges. The only way for the Mage to win was by surprising the Monster Beast. That or the Monster Beast giving them five or so seconds to cast a spell.
Mages relied on superior intellect, senses and quick thinking to slay Monster Beasts of the same Order, even though they were technically weaker. And this was the heart of the problem now. None of the four Mage Academy students had any practical experience and couldn’t use the advantages their calling gave them.
Wolf tried warning them several times, however his words fell on deaf ears. He recalled his father’s wise words once more, Sometimes, you can’t know how hard a rock is until you hit it.
Unfortunately, gaining this experience was something Wolf found too dangerous for his friends.
The first battle was where the majority of common-born Mages died. As for nobles, their houses usually sent guardians to save the scions’ assess when they met real danger.
Wolf was surprised to sense that nobody was actually following them in secret. Or if they were, they were considerably more powerful than he was. This meant that all those parents trusted him with their children, consequently adding to his burdens.
So, Wolf did everything in his power to help his team stay alive on their own. He came up with a formation the four of them could use.
Until they got a hang of it, he would help Wayde at the front. The two of them would engage enemies in melee, while Anna and Barbara were in charge of dealing ranged damage. Wolf advised them to use crossbows whenever possible and only resort to spells when they encountered stronger enemies.
Finally Matilda was in charge of keeping everyone safe. Meaning she was in charge of enchantments to help the team and hinder the enemies, if it seemed like things were getting hairy.
One reason Wolf came up with this setup was because Wayde claimed he’d gone through basic swordsmanship training. The more important one, however, was that sniping weak opponents from safety would dull their senses and make the group overestimate their abilities.
Monster Beast was bound to get close to them over the course of their adventures. Suddenly finding yourself in melee for the first time was a recipe for panic and death.
The party spent their waking hours walking, studying for their next exam and learning the basics of what it meant to fight as a team. Wolf couldn’t help them much, but at least Anna and Barbara could now shoot bolts relatively well and hit trees without difficulty.
Wayde’s swordsmanship was crap as far as Wolf was concerned. The young Duke claimed instructors praised him, but that just meant his instructors were crap too. Wolf helped his friend out a bit, but you can’t expect wonders from a youth without a lifetime of experience inserted into his brain.
Finally, after eighteen days on the road, the group reached the village of Pashome.
As the party dined, the girls excitedly talked about taking a hot bath and finally sleeping in a warm bed. Wolf listened to their empty talk, wondering if it was really that uncomfortable to sleep outside. They even had tents and bedrolls. Regardless, there were more important things to discuss right now.
“We’ve arrived in the area where the brigands I’m after are active,” Wolf explained. “Tomorrow morning I’m off. I’ll have to leave you here for a day or two until I handle them.”
The youth paused for a moment before continuing reassuringly. “You don’t have to worry. Towns are generally safe places. Especially if you make sure everyone knows that you’re a Mage, which I already did when I spoke with the village head, the militia and the innkeeper.”
Wolf explained everything patiently, so that people wouldn’t panic. However, the only ones feeling nervous were Anna and Wolf.
Anna was worried about Wolf. Wolf on the other hand wanted to sleep with Anna, but was blocked by the damn propriety and Anna’s honor.
He couldn’t even kiss the woman he loved for these three damn weeks.
Whenever he drew near Anna, Matilda would blush and cover her eyes as if he was going to tear off his girlfriend’s clothes right then and there. Not that Wolf hadn’t fantasized about doing something like that…
Since nobody had anything to add and Wolf was making a stupid face, the party separated for the evening, wishing each other good night.
I can’t even sleep in the same room as her in an inn! Wolf grumbled inwardly as he climbed into the bed. He didn’t feel like meditating tonight.
Maybe I can take her back to my place under the bridge, nobody would find us there, he tossed and turned in the bed, making it creak. No, she would claw my eyes out if I said something like that.
“Wolf,” Wayde suddenly called out after hearing the poor bed creak constantly.
“You seem frustrated with how things are going with Anna,” he said. “Anything I can do to help?”
After a moment he realized his question could be misinterpreted.
“With advice I mean! Advice!” Wayde hurriedly added.
“Things have been… troublesome.” Wolf muttered after hesitating for a moment.
In books they say ‘gentleman never tells’. He now understood why. Because there was nothing to tell, and you’re just trying to pass off as a gentlemanly lover when deep down inside you’re just frustrated.
“How about we go to the Sweet Dream once we get back to Silver city?” Wayde offered after considering things for a moment.
“It’s the place my mother runs. All the girls there are healthy and I can guarantee our safety and privacy. You became an adult quite a while ago and you and Anna hadn’t gone all the way, right? That means you’ve got a woman, but you’re still a virgin.” Wayde said bluntly, and Wolf neither confirmed nor denied anything.
“Anna is very jealous,” Wolf started talking weakly.
So weakly in fact, that it seemed like he was begging Wayde to talk him into it. Wayde didn’t fail to notice this and kept making an argument.
Wolf kind of settled down after that. He got up from the bed and sat down on the floor before entering meditation.
Wolf’s Mental Aspect opened his eyes inside his Mind Hall and went to carve the eighth column while muttering to himself.
“Will Anna and I ever be alone again? What if she doesn’t really like me? Did I push her too far or bully her too much?” These and many other silly questions swarmed Wolf’s mind.
“Why not just ask her in the morning, Master? You have better things to do than have dialogues with one person missing,” Silver suddenly spoke her-his mind, interrupting Wolf’s train of thoughts.
“Am I really that pathetic that I need relationship advice from an unhatched egg?” Wolf muttered.
“I don’t know anything about relationships, Master. I just know that you can’t talk to someone who’s not there when you want them to answer. Seeing you do it so often, I tried talking with Parent once to test it out, but I didn’t get a response. I don’t think Parent would ignore me. So my conclusion was that when you’re talking to yourself the other person can’t talk back.” Silver said seriously, accidentally trampling Wolf’s ego.
Silver technically wasn’t even born, and yet the unhatched egg raised a valid point. The only person who knew the answers to Wolf’s questions was Anna.
“No!” Wolf’s Mental Aspect suddenly realized something. “I can divine the answers with magic.”
For a moment Wolf actually seriously considered preparing a Ninth Order divination spell to see whether he and Anna had a problem in their relationship. The only thing stopping him was the fact that Silver would see the whole thing. The egg would almost certainly make fun of him and the worst part was that it had every right to make fun of him.
“You have a point Silver. Maybe I should ask her in the morning whether I hurt her or made her feel bad, or something,” Wolf was unaware of this, but this was the decision that would greatly affect his emotional life later on, if only he had the strength to go through with it every time.
Also, Silver’s seemingly pointless words about simply asking were the best relationship advice Wolf would ever hear, no matter the kind of relationship in question.
If you think there’s a problem, ask. It’s the first step to making things better.
“Silver,” Wolf's Mental Aspect suddenly said.
“Yes?”
“Could you stop calling me Master? It feels weird. Just call me Wolf,” the youth said, noticing that the little fellow’s intelligence was catching up to his own.
“It is improper Master,” Silver replied and suddenly started snoring.
“Silver? Silver?” Wolf called out, shaking the egg, but the too perfect snoring didn’t pause even for a moment. “I know you’re acting. And how do you know what improper means?”
***
Once Wolf heard that the girls had gotten up, he went to their room. He was about to barge in, but stopped himself and knocked.
“Yes?” Barbara called out from inside the room.
“It’s Wolf,” he said simply and a moment later Anna opened the door, perfectly decent.
“I’d like us to talk in private if you don’t mind,” he said to his girlfriend and saw Matilda, who was standing a couple of steps behind Anna, turn red.
Oh, come on, you took two weeks to stop blushing whenever you saw me, Wolf thought, holding back a frustrated sigh.
“We’re just going to talk, Matilda. I swear.” Wolf rolled his eyes at Matilda's reaction. But the girl still didn’t leave the room. She’s like a chaperone…
As for Barbara she also had no intention of moving. However, she stared at the pair with wide eyes, interested to see what happens next.
In the end, Wolf still sighed.
“Fine. Anna, can we talk outside?” he asked seriously.
Anna nodded without saying a word and followed Wolf out.
The pair got out of the inn and Wolf told her everything that was on his mind. Anna’s answer was very simple and very practical.
“There were no opportunities for what you want.” She blushed a bit as she said those words, but Wolf felt like exploding right then and there.
She could toy with him in a ballroom full of people, in front of her parents, but there was no opportunity as they traveled the wilderness?
“I can come over to your room tonight,” Wolf offered, but Anna immediately shook her head.
“Somebody will see you.”
“They won't, I'll prepare Walk Unseen.”
“What if someone hears us?” the girl immediately replied.
“I’ll cast Silence, we’ll have some three hours of absolute quiet,” Wolf already had an answer ready for just about any argument he could think of.
“What about Matilda and Barbara? What if they wake up and see us, you know…” she hesitated for a moment before saying the final word “…naked?”
“I can cast Greater Slumber on them. Or an illusion of you sleeping to cover for us. Or–” Wolf started offering viable solutions, but Anna interrupted him.
“You’re really fine with being so exposed with those two in the same room as us? Well, I can’t do it.” Anna’s face was red and tears of shame welled up in her eyes.
Wolf wasn’t bothered one bit. With enough magic it was no different from them being in a separate dimension. They could do whatever they want and nobody would know.
He was about to say that if Anna were to come over to his room there would be one less person. Wolf could even have Wayde go out somewhere for the night, Wayde was his friend, he’d sleep on the floor somewhere one night for his sake.
Just as he was about to make the inappropriate suggestion, Wolf realized that there was a simpler solution that would make everything proper. “How about we skip the whole scandalous engagement and we get married straight away?”
Hearing those words Anna almost fainted. Is that how you propose? I want to grope you naked whenever I feel like it, so let’s get married! the young lady was furious and wanted to throttle Wolf. And yet, for some reason she didn’t understand, she felt a burst of panic.
“What? No!” Anna shouted in dismay, but reigned in her voice a moment later. “It’s not what you think. If we get married, we’re expected to have kids. That would hinder you from becoming a True-Namer…”
Wolf looked at Anna with a conflicted look. What was he supposed to tell her? ‘I’m already a True-Namer?’ ‘I can’t have children?’
Even if he said any of those it would be pointless. He could see that his second friend ever was lying to him.
She wasn’t really thinking about him, but rather about herself.
Wolf felt disappointed, even though he tried to fight it. But then he realized he was doing all of this for the sake of his own lust. If that was all there was to it he could simply do what Wayde had suggested last night.
As Wolf contemplated who was in the right and what he was supposed to do, Anna spoke in a shaky voice.
“By the way, where did you learn all those things? I know that some nobles have their sons start off by bedding their maids before they are legally adults. Did you go to brothels?” she asked seriously and Wolf’s face turned red in embarrassment.
“I didn’t go to brothels,” he mumbled, but the awkward thing was that he was just considering going to one.
Wolf didn’t know what to say for a moment. He couldn’t tell Anna that he had seen all of those things in visions inside his Mind Hall. She’d think he was crazy, or worse still she might believe him.
“It’s all right. I won’t be angry,” Anna said seriously while intently staring at Wolf, trying to see through him. “Mother told me that men need to have their night out with their friends and that brothels are a frequent place they visit. She just told me that I can’t allow any mistresses.”
Anna didn’t mention that her mother also told her that those were the nights when she could do whatever she wanted, since her husband wouldn’t be back home until morning.
“I never went to a brothel. Honest! I… I… I’ve seen the pictures with those things.” Wolf said a half-truth. His visions were just a series of images, so it wasn’t really a lie.
Anna’s interest was piqued. “Can I see that book? Maybe I can do something better after I read it?”
“Um, I can’t show it to you now. I… I gave it to someone.” Wolf lied, but surprisingly he didn’t feel anything, wondering what had happened.
Not wanting to dwell on the errant thought, Wolf hastily changed the subject.
“More importantly, your mother told you that it’s fine for your man to visit brothels?” Wolf asked with surprise.
He didn’t know people could do that, not to mention that Anna actually claimed she was fine with it.
Anna nodded seriously. “That’s right. She said that shared women are just pathetic pieces of meat and that I shouldn’t feel jealous of them. At worst, mother said that if you kept going to the same woman I could simply buy her from the establishment.”
Why would you buy her? Wolf was tempted to ask, but seeing how Anna’s mother was special he remained silent. It was safer to simply change the topic once more.
“Anyway, I’ll go and hunt down those bandits,” he said finally confident after finding a familiar subject. “I should be back by tomorrow evening, or the day after that at the latest. That gang isn’t too far, but I first have to scout out their base.”
