Brendu’s point of view:
“This is so frustrating. Not being able to communicate with him only stresses me out. How is he doing? I’m sure he’ll survive anything, I just want a sign that he’s alive.” Marga complains while rolling around on the large bed.
“At least we know he’s alive because he still shares the ring his mother gave him long ago, it hasn’t shown any signs of him being close to death. He’s a very persistent little bug, somehow he’ll find a way to survive and come back to us.” Arisa, lying on Sol’s lap, replies to her.
“I completely understand you, it’s worrying and sad not being able to see him or have any information, but remember… it’s not the first time something like this has happened to him and it probably won’t be the last, somehow danger always knocks on the door of his life.” Sol lowers her book to speak to them.
“I still feel guilty about his disappearance… I know he’s fine, I just hope everything stays that way and we can see him again soon.” I hug my legs while thinking about that day, I feel the soft touch of the three girls on my back, the warmth of their bodies makes me feel less alone and safer.
“It’s not your fault, Brendu, you didn’t do anything wrong. Maki is simply a magnet for complicated situations.” Sol smiles at me while stroking my head.
“Yes, he’ll return eventually. When that happens, this ridiculous situation will become just another anecdote.” Marga throws herself harder onto us, I can’t support the weight of the three of them and we roll across the bed.
Laughter arrives instantly. We are sad about Maki, we just can’t stay in that mood all the time, he would get angry with us and it wouldn’t be healthy to keep thinking about the same thing endlessly, we decided to trust him. Maki will return.
“Your chest grew even more, Brendu. Is that an advantage of reaching ruby rank?” Arisa shamelessly and fearlessly touches my large assets.
“I noticed that a few days ago too, I was just a little embarrassed to say it.” Sol doesn’t look shy at all while touching me, her hands move as fast as lightning.
“It’s not because I ranked up! I’m simply in my final stage of development.” I squirm like a worm trying to free myself from their hands. “But I did notice some changes after reaching ruby rank, my skin no longer dries out or gets oily easily, several small imperfections disappeared, and there are many more advantages.”
Those kinds of changes are normal when people reach ruby rank, they “become more beautiful” physically, or they can become something horrifying if their path is tied to something filthy or rotten.
“I still have many years left to settle the foundation before ranking up and I’m already excited.” Somehow Marga twists her body to keep groping my upper half.
“I got a little excited too, I hope I have one last growth spurt before ranking up. My body hasn’t changed at all in recent years, I haven’t grown even a centimeter.” Arisa is touching the small bits of fat on Sol’s stomach.
“Maybe we’ll have one last development or maybe not, we’ll know when the time comes.” Sol tries to bite Arisa’s hand to defend herself.
All of our bodies could be considered perfect, we exercise every day and eat healthily to stay healthy and in our best physical condition, but there are always little things we can feel embarrassed about.
“What do you think Maki is doing? Do you think he’s thinking about us?” Marga asks after finishing playing around and lying back down together with us.
“There’s a high chance that’s happening. We’re beautiful and we’re his girlfriends, there’s no reason for him to think about anything else.” Arisa answers instantly.
“Maybe he’s fighting monsters or helping people in need, that’s also very typical of him.” Sol thinks a little more before replying.
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“He’s probably doing both, there’s only one thing worrying me… could there be a beautiful woman being rescued by him? Aren’t women throwing themselves at him trying to conquer him? We aren’t there to repel other women.” I also share my opinion.
My words leave the whole group thoughtful, all of us stare at each other for several seconds. All our minds thought about the same thing at the exact same time, maybe everything we mentioned is actually happening.
Maki tends to sin by being too good-hearted, or maybe it would be more accurate to call him stupid. I don’t understand how someone so intelligent and such a prodigy at fighting can sometimes be so foolish with mundane things, he is capable of not realizing a girl is flirting with him right to his face.
“Shit! That makes sense, that little man is also a magnet for women.” Marga starts pacing from side to side across the bed.
“Calm down girls, he loves us with all his heart, he wouldn’t replace us with just any girl who appears in his life.” Arisa tries to calm Marga.
“That’s what the three of us thought too, he didn’t replace us, but now we’re four.” Sol comments. “Sorry if that sounded a little rude.” She looks at me and apologizes quickly.
“You don’t need to apologize.” I tightly hug the small and adorable Sol. “You’re right, there were three and I entered his life at a completely unexpected moment, there’s a chance someone else could enter his life the same way.” My words echo through the room once again.
“That can’t happen, I won’t accept sharing Maki’s heart with anyone else.” Marga stands firmly while crossing her arms, her assets are still larger than mine even after my latest increase in size.
“It’s difficult to control them if we aren’t nearby… women see him like a piece of the highest-quality cheese and sometimes that idiot doesn’t realize what kind of situation he’s getting himself into.” Sol puts on the saddest face possible.
“Relax, I have a feeling nothing will happen. He’ll simply come back with new stories for us, he’ll end up telling us something absurd again that makes us doubt whether he’s sane or if he’s finally gone crazy.” Arisa continues clinging to Marga’s legs.
All of us remain staring at each other for several seconds. Sol is the first to break the silence by saying good things about Maki, in the end we convince ourselves that nothing strange will happen, Maki won’t return with someone else after this story, but deep inside us there’s still a tiny doubt.
“Is the dinner with Grandma Rita today? Or is it tomorrow?” Arisa, who always forgets our schedule, asks us.
“It’s tomorrow, today Grandma is in an important meeting with the governor of an independent territory for some kind of agreement.” Sol replies while brushing Arisa’s long hair.
“Yes, remember yesterday she made us walk around the family mansion several times so the guests would notice our presence. Grandma Rita is always one step ahead in negotiations and using our families as a ‘shield’ is something impossible not to take advantage of.” Marga doesn’t stop brushing my hair while speaking.
“Helping her from time to time makes me feel better. I feel indebted to her for everything she’s doing for us, she treats us as if we were her granddaughters, she doesn’t want to accept even a single copper coin from us.” I let out a soft sigh, I need to stay focused or I’ll fall asleep.
The school graduation felt a little strange, we were all happy to finally finish one stage of our lives, but at the same time someone was missing that day. It was very uncomfortable knowing that even after using several methods we still couldn’t locate him, all our families continue doing everything possible to find him as soon as possible.
My family spared no expense trying to discover his whereabouts, my father and older brother are very worried about him. Ruddo was the angriest about his disappearance, my father had to physically stop him from doing something crazy like attacking the Withered Tree, he wanted to go alone.
After the graduation, I didn’t want to stay at home, I felt trapped and depressed. Receiving the girls’ call was a salvation, they held my hand while I sank into sadness. When they suggested the four of us live together in Maki’s house, it felt like seeing a lake in the middle of the desert.
I accepted immediately. At first my father refused, but after setting several rules he allowed me to move in with them. There is one guardian from my family and another from the Duke’s family, I’m sure there are also heralds wandering around the area trying to eliminate any threats.
At first we thought it would be a waste of resources, but the elders already wanted to retire somewhere peaceful and this place ended up being perfect for them as well, it was a strange coincidence that they were war friends from several decades ago.
My family reached an agreement with the Vichag family to provide protective enchantments for the villages and properties, I don’t know the final terms, but it was a fair agreement for both families. The enchantments are quite simple, but they are still above the standard for such small villages.
Maki’s family opened the doors of their house to us as if we were family. His parents have treated us like daughters, they have always been very affectionate and attentive toward us.
I look through the window. Where are you? What kind of hardships have you faced this time? You’ll overcome them and return like you always do, right? You can’t give up, remember that the important thing is surviving. Come back soon! We’re waiting for you! We love you!