Chapter 37 – A Dream

"That's it~. Now, concentrate~."

Reina did as she was instructed, sitting on her large bed with her legs tucked under her.

"I'm trying." She replied. It was difficult to focus. It was just so exciting.

But that was why she was focusing so hard. It was something she really wanted to learn, something she only heard about and saw in others, but couldn't do herself. Until today.

This wasn't the first time she tried, but it would be the last. She was sure of it.

"I think I feel something." She murmured. Right in her core, there was a strange sensation unlike anything she felt before.

Then, something clicked. She opened her eyes wide, looking at the maid who had been helping her this past week.

"I did it!" She shouted, standing on her bed.

"Wonderful~!" The maid clapped her hands.

"Can I show you? Can I?" Reina shook her hands, excitement radiating from her.

"Hm~." The maid adopted a thoughtful expression, though her smile remained. "Well, I suppose so~."

Reina lowered herself and scooted to the end of the bed, legs dangling over the edge so she sat right across from the maid. She held her hands up as if preparing to scoop up some water and concentrated once more.

"Prestidigitation!"

A little light flickered in her cupped hands, dancing slightly as she tried to keep still. The joy she felt made her lose focus and the spell fell apart, but her mood remained high.

"I did it! I did magic!" She could barely contain herself.

"You did good, Little Miss~." The maid said, resting her hands on her lap.

Reina got up from the bed and hugged the sitting maid from the side, startling her.

"Thank you so much, Mary!"

"You're welcome, Little Miss~." Mary said, lightly patting Reina's back. When she pulled back, Mary's expressions softened, looking more like a proud parent. As she moved from her chair, she knelt on the ground to be eye-level with Reina. "Just remember."

Reina's breathing hitched. The room dimmed and swirled around her. She looked down, seeing a pair of eyes staring back up at her.

"Don't tell anyone~."

Reina took a step back. The eyes, unfocussed and vacant, bored into her. Reina wanted to cover her eyes, but she couldn't bring her hands close. Blood dripped from them, falling onto the severed head at her feet.

"Disgusting mage. How dare she infiltrate my home." A powerful voice said from above her back. Reina knew who it was, but refused to look.

"Had she kept her filthy magic to herself, I would have merely expelled her from my home. Instead, she sought to corrupt my daughter." A hand rested on Reina's shoulder. She was too afraid to move away from it.

"You don't need to learn magic, Daughter." Despite there being no physical pressure, Reina could feel overwhelming weight pressing down on her.

"Mother knows best."

Reina's eyes snapped open. She breathed deeply as she tried to calm herself. Above her was the ceiling of the mansion she'd been sleeping in. Gone were the shadows and blood and the head of…someone she didn't know.

"What was that…?" She whispered, feeling her heartrate go back down.

The things she saw, the things she heard…they were still in her mind, yet right at the edge of it. The room was well decorated and furnished, but she couldn't recall the specifics. She could recall the conversations, but the faces eluded her.

But there was a name: Mary.

"Did I just dream Maria teaching me magic? Why? And why did it feel so real?" Reina wondered.

Before she could think more on it, breathing from next to her caught her attention. She looked over, seeing Maria's face flush as she took in shallow breaths. Eyes widening, she realized what had happened. The contract she got yesterday. Somehow, the spell activated on its own and targeted her.

"Oh god, what did that spell do to Maria!? Did it hurt her? Is she in pain? Am I giving her nightmares or…oh."

Reina's panic fell away when her tunnel vision cleared just the smallest amount and she saw where her hand was. Really, she shouldn't have been surprised. More than once, she's woken up doing something with her girlfriend's breasts. Clearly, they had their own gravitational force and it wasn't at all due to any perversion on her part.

Just because she had a little nub between her thumb and index finger proved nothing.

Relaxing, Reina pulled her hand away. Maria's breathing slowed down and quickly evened out.

At least this time there weren't any stains on the bed. Not that it would have mattered, since the whole place gets remade every time the spell is cast. On that note, Reina still had to ask what all they did that night. This night was at least rather reserved, a few marks on Maria where Reina got a bit too into things.

Reina sat up and ran her fingers through her long hair, trying to piece everything together.

"Okay. So, Dream Eat…I still don't know how it works. Given that I did it without casting—something I didn't think was possible—I don't know the conditions. Does the target have to be asleep? Do I? Do both of us? The first one makes the most sense. I can see the third one being true, with the spell being more like visiting people's dreams. We talked about her past a little before bed, so it's not surprising that's what she dreamed about."

She scratched her chin in thought. "Then again, 'dream' might mean something else. It's magic, after all. 'Jaunt' doesn't mean 'teleport', but that's what that spell does, at least for short distances. Not a spell, but my Healing Aura ability doesn't actually heal; it only increases healing effects. This spell might look at thoughts or memories, or be able to expand into them with enough practice. Or, be able to do that at will with practice. I really don't know."

Reina wanted to ask Maria about it, but instantly shot down the idea. The woman had chosen to open up a little more about her past, and then Reina went and saw something she shouldn't have. It was by accident, but she still felt guilty about it. Seeing how close to the chest she kept these things, Maria would be extremely worried about whatever Reina might see.

Certainly, Reina wasn't going to keep this ability from Maria, but she wasn't going to tell her until after the Wave. No reason to bring this up before a large battle with lots of monsters.

With that thought, Reina opened up her status. She was surprised to see the timer for the Wave had over five hours left. And yet, she felt completely refreshed, as if she had a full night's sleep. With the Fire Spirit's contract, she should have slept for nearly three more hours.

"Huh. Well, there's one question answered." Seeing as she 'ate' a dream, Reina had wondered if there were any benefits aside from learning information. There was, and there was even more. Her fluctuating stats, HP, MP, and SP, were higher than their normal maximums. It wasn't by a large amount, maybe 10% over.

"This is actually pretty good." Reina thought to herself. "And all it took was contracting with an evil spirit, and fighting my forged spirit…"

There was something there, she realized. Something she hadn't considered before. She tabled her thoughts on the spell and Maria for now, seeing as the older woman didn't look any worse for wear.

Easing herself out of bed to not disturb Maria, Reina grabbed her clothes and got dressed. Then, she got ready to meditate, just like she had been with Maria to create a new spell. Only this time, she'd do this a little bit differently.

She thought back to the first contract she made, the one with her own soul. It wasn't with Martin in Savia, but with Vyrdrun later. He helped push her MP to where it needed to go. Reina wasn't going to ask him for help just yet, but there was another part of her gaining that contract.

"Forge Spirit." She said as quietly as she could, bringing out the advanced doll spirit. It hovered in front of her as she sat on the ground, beginning the regulate her breathing.

She'd used her spirit to use MP with one of its abilities, giving something for Vyrdrun to sense. Since it was connected to her, she figured it could help in creating a spell. She didn't exactly have the state of mind to use a skill while meditating, so she did it beforehand. And, since she had SP recovery bonuses, she wouldn't run out with only one spirit forged.

"Let's see what I can do."

~Forging Legends~

"Are you an archmage?" Grim's question wasn't all that surprising.

"I might be a wizard, though I did cheat a little." Reina said with a smile. After all, she technically did what a wizard did.

She created a spell.

It was actually pretty easy, from what Reina could recall. Both figuratively and literally, she had another set of hands to work on crafting the spell. It was the same one she'd been trying to create: Fist of Fire.

Since she had a Forge ability that did the same thing with no cost, there wasn't any point to using it on her spirit. Maybe. She'd have to test it out properly against monsters after the Wave, where MP preservation wasn't an issue. Kuromo, on the other hand, could benefit from it easily. Reina already tested it out and the MP cost to sustain it was actually lower than Enchanted Fist. Maria had explained why that might end up being the case while they practiced before, the reason boiling down to the Fire Attribute contract being more efficient.

"Well, wizards are easier to be around than archmages." Grim commented, taking a bite of his breakfast.

"Have you met many?" Reina decided to ask.

"A few wizards, including Maria, but no archmages." Grim shook his head. "But I know of the three in Hascain."

"Only three? I thought Hascain would have more." With how the churches viewed mages, it seemed contradictory. Maria had mentioned in passing that Keston had 10 archmages.

"We've lost a lot of knowledge over the years. Some of it destroyed, some taken back to Keston's Wizard Collage. Due to that, some who have been acknowledged as archmages moved to where the bulk of the knowledge is."

Reina nodded for him to continue. She hoped the ones in Hascain were a bit more…normal, than Maria's old master, Iru.

"The first is Ostaria. Quite old, older than humans ought to live. He lived when the first empress took the throne, and it's rumored he lived during the vampire crisis. It's said he's contracted with every spirit at least once, probably not including those evil spirits Lola talked about. He's fought in many wars and is currently the headmaster of Hascain's Mage Academy, where young nobles go to advance their magical knowledge." Grim said. "He's also, apparently, a lecher who will fondle any woman who lowers her guard around him."

"There it is." Reina sighed. He was starting to sound too good to be true.

"The second is Blackwood. Unlike the other two, he was born a commoner before rising to nobility. He's a bit of a hermit, rarely leaving the lands he now governs, but his are some of the most bountiful in the country. His connection to a few druids is the reason for that."

"You never said how Hascain viewed Gromnar, at least not in detail." Reina pointed out.

"It varies, the more wizardly and golem-focused nobles not liking them much. In general, the people would rather not have them around, but also won't go out of their way to pick a fight." Grim explained.

"Well, that's good, I suppose." It wasn't as good as Lespax, but better than Keston, so far. "And if I had to take a guess, other nobles don't have druids help…fertilize their lands?" Strictly speaking, she didn't know shamans and druids could do that, but that lined up with what she knew of their abilities.

Grim nodded. "It would go against their honor as mages. Since I am not a mage, I have no problem doing trade with a Gromnar village a few miles from my village. They are decent enough to speak with."

"You know their language?" Reina asked.

With a smile on his face, Grim lazily pointed at the door to Vyrdrun's room. "How do you think I've been speaking with Vyrdrun?"

A fair point, and one Reina didn't really think about. Since her weapon translated for her, she hadn't noticed anything.

"The last is Virimos. He's more militaristic than many, commanding the army of his house. To empower hundreds of men and woman in the military and still have the ability to cast other spells is what truly set him apart."

Reina had enough experience in this world to know a well-placed buff spell could do more than a flashy one. That was especially true with more recipients for the buff spell.

"And what made them archmages?" Reina then asked. That was something she neglected to ask Maria about, though it seemed like archmages were more extreme wizards. It was probably a demonstration of skill that earned them such a title.

"Ostaria is pretty self-explanatory, him likely being the most well-learned wizard in the world." Grim said, with Reina nodding along. "Virimos defeated a Demon Lord in single combat, and not a weak one either. If left unchecked, he may have eventually risen to the power of the first Demon Lord."

Reina made a mental note to look into Virimos once they reached Hascain. He sounded powerful, like a certain Demon Lord she currently had to worry about.

"Unrelated, but that's also what led to him commanding an army." Grim continued. "He was married to the daughter of a Duke in northern Hascain and is part of the first line against any invasion from Keston."

And that told Reina that this archmage had influence in the country, one that was at odds with Savia.

"Blackwood defeated two Demon Lords, though not at the same time and not as powerful. It's what got him granted a noble title and a small bit of land as well. That, of course, got a lot of other nobles upset with the princess. None of them want an upstart commoner soiling their ranks." He said with a scoff.

"Like you?" Reina quipped.

"Exactly like me. Only, Blackwood didn't have a Duke as a backer, so he had to deal with any nobles looking for a fight by himself." Grim racked his fingers on the table. "Not that many of them tried. After he humiliated Duke Balta's son in a duel, the rest backed off."

"That probably didn't do him any favors with the duke." Reina said.

"Oh, Duke Balta didn't like him from the start, from what he's said." Grim added.

"He didn't? I thought Duke Balta was okay with commoners rising to nobility."

"The apprentice to a hero who is under his command is far different to a commoner wizard that consorts with Gromnar." Grim told her. "Duke Balta only puts up with my commerce with Gromnar because, well…"

He didn't need to finish that. While a duke is much higher than an esquire, it wouldn't do to show too much force against someone on good terms with a hero.

Their conversation stopped there as Maria entered the room. With her usual outfit already on, she looked to Reina and pouted.

"Where did you go, Boss? It was so cold waking up without you." She stuck out her lower lip in the fakest pout Reina had ever seen. "I wanted to cuddle more."

"Maria!" Reina hissed at her, glancing at Grim briefly. The Hascain noble regarded them with bemusement before returning to his food.

Just like that, the thoughts of last night returned to her. It was easy enough to forget with her sleeping, but Maria standing there reminded Reina what she said before they got to it. She told Maria…for the future…having a child.

"Something wrong, Boss~?" It must have shown on Reina's face, since Maria added to her teasing.

"Nothing…" Reina murmured.

She really did love Maria, but it was far, far too soon to be thinking about having children, as impossible as it currently was. The idea of finding a way to personally give Maria a child…Reina could hardly believe she thought something like that. She blamed being horny at the time. It was hard not to be when someone as beautiful as Maria was underneath her.

She also needed to find out something else. Exactly how much of Maria's talk about getting with Lola—or Meru, or any other woman, for that matter—was serious? Maria honestly didn't seem opposed to the idea, but Reina…wasn't sure. She didn't actively fantasize about the two of them, their father being a key reason for that. As for other women…

Reina decided to file that away for later. It was sure to be a long topic, so after the Wave would be better. That would be the second discussion they had. The first and much more pressing was Dream Eat. Reina hoped to have that conversation as soon as possible after the Wave. If she wanted to use that on Lola, she'd need a better perspective on how the spell functioned.

But she'd also need to figure out how to approach the topic with Maria. Accident or not, Reina saw something she shouldn't have and she wanted to tell Maria. If it was something she couldn't gain control over, it might mean spending a few nights sleeping away from Maria, or longer. Reina didn't like that one bit, but she couldn't sleep next to Maria knowing full well that the spirit contract would invade her lover's mind.

"Something wrong, Boss?" That, too, must have shown on Reina's face. Maria's sing-song voice wasn't present in that question.

Reina shook her head. "It's nothing…not as important as the Wave." She had to catch herself. It was certainly important and she wasn't about to try and downplay it right now and have it become a bigger deal than it was probably going to be.

By the look of her, there didn't seem to be any negative effects on the recipient of Dream Eat. That was the second positive out of the experience, the first being her slightly increased HP, MP, and SP. Those stats had since returned to their normal levels, SP obviously being the first due to her using her spirit. While meditating, Reina couldn't see when they went down, but it could have lasted a couple hours at most. Of course, she wasn't going to use any of that as a justification for using the ability on Maria. She was going to be open and honest about what happened, and deal with the consequences afterward.

It was almost funny. Reina didn't want to cause any stress to Maria about this revelation, and here she was stressing herself out over it. But that was just fine. Lola said the Spirit Forger was good at dealing with random things happening. Plus, she'd soon have monsters to take any frustrations she might have out on.

"Are you worried about the Wave? Or Lola?" Maria asked.

"Neither. Or, well, both I guess." The Wave was set to start in a little under an hour. All but Vyrdrun were out in the main area, though he was likely already awake anyway. Eating, getting armor on, stretching out, and going over their plan again was all that was needed.

The Wave itself wasn't too concerning, considering how the last two went. Someone showing up was the bigger issue. At least this time, Reina didn't have to worry about bringing along someone who wanted to kill her. If someone showed up, Lola would handle them.

The girl, however, was another problem. If everything worked out well, Reina would be able to get a little information from her. Lola made it seem like she would stay around for a while until she was called home, however that happened. Before then, Reina would speak with Maria and figure out how to use her spell properly.

"I'm sure it'll be fine~." Maria sauntered over, draping her arm over Reina's shoulders as she sat next to her. "We're prepared for whatever happens this time."

"I hope so." Reina replied, patting the arm on her shoulder.

Not too long after, Vyrdrun joined them. They had breakfast in peace, though Reina noticed something. She wasn't as hungry as she had been. The contract with the Fire Spirit increased her appetite, causing her to eat as much as Maria. Just like her need for sleep, she found she didn't need to eat as much. It wasn't quite back to her old amount, so it didn't raise any questions from the others, but it was something else to look into.

Armor was donned and weapons were checked over. Reina lamented how Vyrdrun was the only one without something more suited to him, or at least made more to match his level. His large mace was appropriately sized, but the spear was a bit lacking. Still, she felt lucky she got weapons he could at least proficiently use. Getting him outfitted was the first thing on the list once they got to Lespax's capital.

With about 15 minutes left, the group exited the mansion. Vyrdrun dismantled the stone hut surrounding them, revealing Lola laying against the wall of hers.

"There you are!" She said, bouncing up and walking over. "I was starting to think you teleported to the Wave. It was so quiet in your little house."

"Ah, yeah…" Reina nodded, not sure how to explain that.

"Sorry, Lola~." Maria said, stepping forward. "We just wanted to have privacy, so I cast a little silence spell for that."

Reina really appreciated the save there.

"Oh, that's fine." Lola waved it off.

Reina gave her a quick once-over. "You don't have wings or claws." She also didn't have horns, though her eyes were still golden, if not slitted.

"Oh, well…" Lola scratched the back of her head. "My cousins live in Lespax and they don't know I look like that."

"Your cousins? Oh, right." Reina nodded in understanding. The three witch siblings referred to Derdir as their uncle.

"How were they?" Lola asked, her face looking just a tad meek. "Were they doing well? I haven't seen them in a while."

"They were good." Reina said. Since Derdir asked them to join Reina, there wasn't any reason Lola wouldn't know about it.

"Good." Lola flashed a smile, then she cocked her head to the side. "Hey, Big Sis, I was wondering. Are you and Maria married?"

"What!?" Reina couldn't help but shout.

"Oh my~!" Maria laughed, draping her arms around Reina and over her armored chest. "What makes you ask that~?"

"You have a fancy ring." Lola pointed a finger at Maria's hand. "I thought that meant you two were married, since Big Sis said she loved you."

Maria had stiffened when Lola mentioned the ring, but she quickly collected herself. "No, sweet girl, we aren't married. But that might happen soon~."

"Maria!" Reina turned her head to look at her, only for their faces to press against one another. Maria rubbed their cheeks together affectionately.

"Why do you ask, Lola?" Maria continued on, ignoring Reina's protests. "You aren't jealous, are you? I'm sure Big Sis here thinks you're very cute. Maybe even enough to—"

"Maria!" Reina shouted again. "Don't sexually harass a child!" She looked back to Lola. "Besides, it's not like she's…"

Words failed her as she looked at the girl slightly taller than her. Lola's fingers were pressing against each other as she looked down, a slight, rosy tint to her cheeks.

"Well…Big Sis is really pretty." She spoke softly, not looking up. "But I remember what you all said yesterday. I want to make sure we won't ever have to fight before we…you know…k-kiss…"

Reina stared slack-jawed at the girl. "Unbelievable." She whispered.

"O-Oh my!" Maria gave a short laugh. "Did you think I was only joking, Boss~? I have an eye for this sort of thing, you know."

"You do not have an eye for this sort of thing." Reina responded with a sigh. Seeing as this was Maria's first relationship—by her own admission—Reina seriously doubted it. That little stutter was also a dead giveaway.

In any other circumstance, Reina would have found the shift in Lola to be more adorable. It still was, but still. The girl had no problem killing people and said often how she wanted to kill templars. But the moment being intimate with someone came up, she acted all shy. Though, the same could be said for Maria, who killed bandits without issue and was a huge flirt.

"This is the most fun I've had in a while, not including fighting." Grim added unhelpfully. "It doesn't quite make up for being away from home, but it's good distraction."

Reina much preferred when Grim was more stoic. She didn't know if this was a result of him getting more acquainted with them or just the madness of knowing a Demon Lord was keeping tabs on the party he's in. Seeing how he basically said he was okay with Derdir's actions in Savia, Reina knew it wasn't the latter.

"Well, we could always sleep next to each other. That doesn't have to involve kissing~." Reina shot Maria a look over her shoulder, only to get a wink in response. She couldn't have known about Dream Eat affecting her, so this was probably to help Reina's earlier plan to get closer to the girl. "Just be careful. Boss here lets her hands wander at night~. Especially to big boobs. Though, she might try to kiss those, too~."

Instead of shouting again, Reina opted to just glower at the woman. Her voice would go hoarse by the time the Wave started otherwise.

"Oh, I know." Lola's response caused Reina's head to snap back. The girl still had her own head looking down, but her eyes were up. "I saw the mark on Maria's chest yesterday and when you came out today. Brother Gau told me what that was once. He likes big boobs, too."

"Okay, I'm done." Reina peeled Maria's arms off of her and stepped away. "No more. We're preparing for the Wave now."

Lola's last comments brought up more questions, especially about what that brother of hers did to women, but Reina wasn't going to speculate on any of that right now. This was starting to get more stressful than what she knew she'd need to talk to Maria about.

"Let's go over the plan one more time and then make any last-minute adjustments." She told the assembled group.

Grim snickered, but she had his attention. Maria, thankfully, looked embarrassed by the whole ordeal, as she should. Vyrdrun continued to be her rock in this storm of crazy. Kuromo kept behind the unmovable Gromnar, separated from Lola.

As the minutes ticked down, they got themselves in order. Reina and her party would do their part fighting the Wave. Lola would be on the lookout for anyone looking to start a fight during the world-threatening event.

00:01

It was about to begin. Maria took the time to cast a buff spell on the party, now prepared for whatever came their way.

00:00

Light encompassed them and the six of them teleported to the Wave.

Author's Notes:

Finally, the Wave is next chapter.