The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

I left Amber, Irene and Stella after I confirmed that Luna was not a dire threat. Well... She wasn't a threat at all. She was way too happy to find her "hero". Fortunately, she was not too clingy. I was mentally exhausted, and I had to take a walk or otherwise escape the situation. Dahlia followed right behind me even as we teleported back to the orphanage so she could take her brother.

I sat down on the stairs outside and used a stick to draw shapes in the snow mindlessly. The early afternoon sun was quite warm for winter, the air was chill and clean, but I was just dead inside; I couldn't enjoy this at all. For my future records, I already figured out that living with no idea for how long might have been problematic for my mental condition. What Luna told me about immortality sickness only confirmed what I already suspected, but... No, fuck it. I'm still too angry to think rationally.

I was in the middle of planning how to convince people that Eriar demanded them to point their middle finger towards the sky during every prayer, so I didn’t notice when Dahlia returned. Her younger brother was standing behind her, still scared but with shiny new shoes and a warm coat. On his head, he had a blue cap with openings for his wolf-like ears. He wagged his tail, blowing the snow away, which made me finally smile.

"My Lord..." Dahlia was uncertain how to ask the question. "What should we do now?"

"You both must decide, Dahlia. Clovis can live a happy life in the Everlight or he can swear his allegiance to me. In that case, he will become my resident as well. The people of Everlight are not required to be my subjects. They have to follow the rules, but they are free. On the other hand, people who live in Avalon, my residents, are obliged by the World's Words to protect the Avalon. In exchange, I would grant them everything they would need. So Clovis, you must decide, and I know that's unfair to ask such a young child..."

"My King! Please, allow me to serve you!" I was interrupted by his high-pitched voice. "I swear to serve you faithfully and with diligence, my King!"

"All right..." I agreed and accepted his resident request.

We teleported in front of a house in the Middle Castle. It was fairly big, being two stories tall, too large for just the two of them, but to be honest, whatever. The Middle Castle could easily house nearly forty thousand people, twice that much if I made some changes. I wondered if the deconstruction of the majority of the unused buildings would be a good idea to lower my upkeep costs. Anyway... I asked Wendy to help them get clothing and requested that Ragnar make Dahlia some proper armour. After I made sure they would have all the help they needed from my other residents, I decided to say goodbye before teleporting away.

•••

I was sitting alone in the greenhouse, and I was thinking. To describe my current shape, the most fitting description would be a dead cat. I was lying on the grass looking at clouds... Fuck you Eriar... And I was wondering what I did wrong or what was wrong with this world. Amber, Irene and Luna were not just some toys. Yet for some reason, I felt like fate, Eriar, and God knows what else were throwing them at me as if I was some kind of target or dartboard.

It was not fair to them. For me as well. Maybe give me a moment, won't you? Not so long ago, I found myself in a new situation, hell... in this new world! If I someday find out that you threw these poor girls at me because you all think they were some sort of good luck charms, I will find you and kick you in the asses. I sighed and closed my eyes without thinking about anything in particular when I felt a familiar presence.

"Hello, Marie." I tried to smile, but I failed miserably.

"King Theon. I'm sorry I bother you." She looked miserable as well.

"What's wrong Marie?" I rolled on my side and put a hand under my head.

"I don't know... I just woke up sad today. And I want to cry all day." She said, barely holding her tears. "But you are sad as well, my King. What happened?"

"That's a fair question. Today the World System... I mean the World's Words forced me to have another Queen." I sighed. Marie and I were doggo-pals, and she told me many times about her problems.

"And that's bad?" She asked, tilting her head, but she suddenly made a small fist and slammed it into her open palm. "Ah! She is ugly! Right?"

"Hahaha, no, no. She is actually very cute," I laughed.

"Then why is this bad?! You should be happy, my Lord!" She tried to digest my problem, but it was too hard. I would normally honestly chuckle at what she said, but instead, I sighed again.

"Yes, Marie. It is bad. People shouldn't be forced to do such things without knowing and loving each other." I tried to explain the concept of forced marriages to the five-year-old. Suddenly, I was not so sure if I should... While most people underestimate Marie and her capabilities, I tended to forget how young she was.

"But do you love Queen Amber? And Queen Irene?" She asked, looking at me, forgetting for a moment about her own bad mood.

"Well... Yes. I love them..." I had to agree. I won't and can't deny that anymore.

"And you always loved them like now?" She pressed the matter. I saw her child-like curiosity getting the better of her.

"No, Marie. Love changes during our lives and sometimes it blooms quickly, but sometimes it needs a lot of time to even sprout. And that's how it is with my love for Amber and Irene." I tried to explain. "But... Amber was the first person I met in this world, Marie."

"Huh? How?" She was genuinely surprised, making me smile.

"Well... You can say I was born recently. Eriar sent me here just over a month and a half ago."

"So that means I'm older than you, my King?" she giggled, making me realise that she was technically right.

"Well... Better keep that as our secret, Marie." I laughed, relaxing a bit.

"So you still think it’s bad that World's Words made you have a third Queen?" As any other known child, Marie possessed this internal compass that made her always return to the topic she wanted to know the answers to.

"I really don't know, Marie." I sighed, and my mood returned slowly to where it was. "But I feel it is wrong."

She sat and crossed her legs. I saw her thinking about something very hard for a few long minutes. She finally looked straight into my eyes and asked, "Do you think we love you, King Theon?"

"What?" She totally took me by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think that we, your residents, love you?" she asked slowly.

"I don't think so...? I hope you respect me and you are following the rules, but I don't expect you to love me, Marie..." I sat down and crossed my legs as well. We were entering dangerous waters here.

"So allow me to tell you that we all love you. My mom, Aunts Sally and Wendy, and even Uncles Ragnar, Bjorn, Verni and Ian! Every girl I know in Avalon loves you! For me, my King, you are like my real dad..." I saw the angry grimace on her face. "... and not that bastard that sold me and... I mean, you saved us all! And we can be happy here, you gave us good food, all sorts of materials and… and everything! I think everyone loves you, my King... Probably..."

"That's admiration, Marie. Admiration and respect, but I'm happy to know you feel that way..." I exhaled, relieved. "But it's different from love, Marie. Love is when you want to spend all your time with that special person, when you want to share your life, everything that is good in it, but also receive that person's help when life becomes hard. You are for each other, to support each other, and always try to be happy together. It's even more than that. Love is when you would risk your life to save that special person, because love is often unconditional and selfless. To love someone is to want this special person's presence and their affection as well."

She looked at me with scepticism and tapped her pouty face with one finger. On my part, I was thinking about why we were even talking about such a difficult subject. Right now, I could only shrug and carry on. But Marie was absorbed, thinking intensely about the subject, I guess. Our slightly too-serious chat seemed to lift her mood as well.

"You know, my Lord, I never heard about such love." She finally exhaled and looked at me. "Mom told me that her mother made her marry my previous dad. And she said that was normal in our old village."

"Really?" Now it was my turn to look at her strangely. "Hmmm... I think we should find your mom..."

•••

After a lazy walk towards the Palace kitchen, Marie tried to convince me that I was wrong. What's more, she seemed to be insisting that I was overthinking everything. I was at first amused by her claims, since well... I was older here. I knew what I was talking about. We found Annika in the kitchen, where she was whistling merrily, creating another culinary masterpiece. When she saw Marie and me, she bowed to welcome me and raised her brow at her daughter. After a brief explanation, I asked the question that currently absorbed my mind.

"Annika, is it true that people wed each other because someone else decided they should?"

"Well... Yes?" she answered, but after looking at my face, she decided to explain it a bit better. "The villages and cities of the Cridia Kingdom usually create very small communities that rarely are as remarkable as the people from Gorn. My marriage was decided before I was even born."

I saw bitterness in her eyes, and I could hear her anger, but I said nothing. She looked at me and I almost saw her collecting her thoughts as she dug through the painful memories, sighing heavily.

“I don't know what more I should say, my Lord. Everyone I knew in my village was married that way. I know that adventurers sometimes wed each other as you described, but that can hardly be called a norm. My old friend was married to a retired warrior when he came to the village, just to make him stay. I think, my Lord, there is no such thing in this world as love..."

"That... sucks..." I could only comment, making them both laugh. I sat on a tall bar-like chair near the counter where Annika prepared some dishes.

"Annika! Oh... Your Majesty!" I heard Beryl's merry voice.

Excellent. After a thorough briefing, she sat near me. Marie looked at me, surprised, and then she did something absolutely unexpected- namely, she started laughing.

"Excuse me, my Lord, but you are speaking about some fantasies!" the green-hued dwarf lady told me. "In Dwarf culture, a man has to impress the parents of a girl. But you see, there is nothing about loving or even liking that girl, my Lord. It's usually about complimenting each other’s skills, or about personal wealth. Vernon was a little strange maybe, because he liked me since we were kids, but still I, as an engineer, can support his mining operations."

"But he at least liked you..." I started feeling hope that I could somehow drive my point home by using this example.

"And I like you, my King. So when is the wedding?" She laughed at me. So my point was driven to the wall even before it found a car. She continued, "My grandfather was working in the City Lord's office and often told me how lucky I was that Vernon liked me. He said to me that monarchs or nobles often marry people they believed were valuable assets to them. Sometimes they wouldn’t even meet their partner until the wedding."

I furiously ruffled my hair, making all the women laugh. But my Truth Seeker confirmed that every single word they said was true, which was incredibly depressing. I suspected that the very concept of love or marriage between two people who knew and loved each other was a late XX and XXI century invention, but God... Everything I believed was not actually true, not anymore. Or yet...

"Am I fighting a hopeless fight here?" I asked, not expecting to receive an answer. However, when I looked around, Beryl and Annika were deep in thought. Even Marie was wondering about the subject as hard as a five-year-old can.

"I... While I must agree that the concept of "love" described by you, my Lord, is strange..." Beryl started and looked at Annika with a warm smile, who slowly nodded her head.

"I think it's wonderful, my Lord. I would be happy to know Marie could have a choice in the future." Annika looked at me with hope.

"We are in Avalon, Ladies. I do things differently." I smiled faintly. "And thank you..."

"In the future, you will have to take some foreign princesses as your wives. Because that's how politics works, Theon." Irene said quietly from behind me.

"I don't like that, Irene..." I said with a sour face.

"Me neither, Theon. That's why I ran away." She smiled. "But you can't run away if you want to fix anything..."

"There are so many things I have to fix in this world..." I sighed. "Thank you all."

•••

We left the kitchen, and I felt Irene's warm hand holding mine. I genuinely enjoyed her presence.

"I..." I started, but she put her finger on my lips.

"Shhh... You don't have to say anything," she said softly, smiling at me mischievously. "But... Do you love me?"

"Yes, Irene." I finally smiled. "I am sure that I love you."

She kissed me passionately. Thanks to her presence, I regained my mental balance, and thanks to our kiss, I was able to calm down. I hugged her with one hand around her waist and with a second over her shoulder. We stood there for a moment of silence that I thoroughly enjoyed.

"Thank you, Irene. How much did you hear?"

"I teleported in right after Beryl sat down. So I think I heard everything." She giggled and rested her head on my shoulder. "It's wonderful to be loved, Theon, you know?"

"I always took it for granted in a relationship..." I sadly tried to confirm. "Anyway, why did you come to get me?"

"Oh right..." Without any special haste, Irene freed herself from my grip and cleared her throat. "Luna woke up. She was begging for forgiveness from everyone. She even bowed before the mirror."

"Ummm... Why?" I simply asked.

"Well... It will be better if you see this for yourself..." Irene teleported us to our quarters.

•••

I was standing in the middle of a very awkward scene. Amber was sitting near the table trying to write down something while Luna was lying on the floor in the same plain dress she was wearing before. The Kitsune was crying her eyes out, not realising we had teleported inside.

"But what if he hates me?!" she cried out the question, looking at Amber, who was visibly angry.

"I don't think so. Theon! Do something with this annoying Fox!"

"Ummm... Okay. Luna? What's going on here?"

"Master Theon! I'm so sorry I was this rude before!" She quickly stood up and jumped towards me, trying to hug me.

"Chill out, girl." I caught her in the air and softly put her on the chair.

"Do you hate me?" I saw new tears in her big golden-blue eyes.

"What? No... Why should I?"

"Because I told you, we might be enemies!" she said with a high-pitch voice and started sobbing again.

"So what? You told me the truth, didn't you?" I asked, sitting in my armchair.

"Yes... But you, I mean..." She started to collect herself and she noticed that I was a bit tired. "What's wrong, Master?"

"First of all Luna, I'm Theon. Not your Master. You don't really have to flatter my ego by addressing me like that." I sighed. It was a long day...

"I... I see..." She closed her eyes and changed. Literally.

Until now, she had looked like a 16 to 18-year-old teen, but she started to get somewhat taller, though still shorter than Irene or Amber. She was about 170, maybe 175cm tall now, and she looked a bit older, about the same age as Amber and Irene.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry... I am tuning myself to your soul, my King. Please give me a bit more time." Her voice changed as well.

Now it was the pleasant melodic voice, similar to the voice of Lilly, without the previous annoying, high-pitched tones. Her shape became more full and adult-like. She was no longer an adolescent girl in her appearance, and she looked as noble as Amber and Irene. We all sat in silence for almost five minutes. Amber and Irene just stared at Luna soundlessly. I could just see the same question I had in their eyes, and to be fair, I asked it on a daily basis lately.

"All right, Theon. I'm sorry for my previous behaviour." She stood up, fixing her dress and her long platinum-blonde hair.

I asked ‘The Question.’ "What the fuck, Luna?"

"I'm Kisune, Theon. We were made to accompany our heroes as guides, or in some cases, as their wives or husbands. I have to say I'm a little confused. My previous look and personality should match the typical summoned hero’s preference, since most of them were teens." She sat down, without much fuss this time, and saw our facial expressions at which she sighed. "We are legendary spirits bound to this world. That's why I can change my form or character traits as you just saw. We are called tricksters, not without reason."

"But why?" I feel a headache incoming.

"To better fit you all, my King and Queens." She smiled. "I was supposed to meet you as the first person in this world." She opened her hands in a powerless gesture. "However you not only already met many people, but you have two wives."

"And you decided to be the third?" I asked dryly.

"Not exactly. When you gave me a True Name, I was presented with two options. I will be your next wife with all the benefits and over time, I can even find happiness and love," Luna said with a bit of bitterness in her voice, for which I couldn't blame her at all. "Or I could also walk away and fare for myself, with no hard feelings between me and Eriar, because he already has his Saintess, so I'm not... needed anymore?"

Irene paled and looked at Luna, but she just waved her hand.

"Don't worry..." She looked at Irene.

"Irene." There was a little guilt in Irene's voice.

"Don't worry, Irene. It's not your fault. You see, I was even thankful to Eriar because he gave me a choice." Luna was rather straightforward, without putting on an unnecessary spectacle. I must admit that it fit better with my expectations about the mysterious spiritual being that a Kitsune should be.

"What do you mean that Eriar gave you a choice?" I asked, trying to hold my anger and middle fingers that were just waiting to shoot toward the sky.

"The Holy Grove was home for Kitsunes before we went to the world to find our heroes. It also kept records of all the others who went before me. While I don't remember most entries and I read just a few Kitsunes’ records, one story left me terrified. It's not a particularly long story but..." She looked around for water, so with a flicker of my fingers, I summoned a jug full of juice and glasses for us all. She thanked me and continued. "About five hundred years ago, Nalau finally summoned his hero to the southern archipelago. By the time his hero was ready, his Kitsune found him. They travelled and grew closer to each other, and the Kitsune, who was named Sakura, loved Toshiro. However, he barely treated her as a woman, no matter what she did or tried. To be honest, Toshiro was just bad with people in general. What was even more outrageous for us Kitsunes, after a year, he forfeited his duty as a hero to help the people of Nalau."

She took a sip of cold juice and was silent for a moment. I saw the pain on her face and I was wondering how much she could relate to the person she never met. Also, people from the Town told me Nalau hadn't summoned his hero, but both they and she told me the truth as they saw it. This led me to the conclusion that my Truth Seeker works a bit like a polygraph. It's useful, but I have to be wary of this limitation. Maybe it can evolve into some ultimate form of truth-seeking? Dunno.

"Sakura did her best to convince him, but to no avail. Even when Nalau spoke to him, he wouldn't change his mind. Nalau got angry at Sakura and did the same as Eriar did for us. Except that only Toshiro could choose. Sakura would become Toshiro's wife and he would finish what he started, or Sakura would perish and he would lose all his hero powers. While she would happily become his wife, Toshiro just laughed at Nalau and told him he didn't need her and this whole hero thing. Just like that, he chose the option that killed the woman who had loved him so much. Nalau revoked all his blessings and Toshiro died the same way he lived his previous life, as an abandoned shut-in."

"What the fuck? That's a true story, Luna?" I shouted in shock. Amber and Irene had disgust painted on their faces while I wondered what special breed of a moron Nalau was to pick a shut-in as his hero.

"Unfortunately yes. And from what I remember, that was a trend among many gods... They often just blamed their poor hero choices because of their Kitsune, often punishing them with death." Luna's face was blank, and she was very disturbed. "There were some records of Kitsunes who banded together, ditching their hopeless heroes and trying to save this world on their own, but... You can see for yourselves how great that worked out."

I facepalmed. Amber and Irene went closer to Luna and hugged her, trying to console her. I stood up and went closer to the window, sighing as I looked up at the sky.

"But even Eriar is not that much better. He gave you, Luna, a choice without a choice at all. Like, what options did you even have? Become the wife of a guy who you don't even know, or you could leave and only maybe survive... Hmmm... Wait." I looked at Luna, who was currently being patted by Amber. "When you said you could also choose to walk away, were you obliged to leave Avalon?"

"I..." She turned red from embarrassment. "I am not sure... I swear! I just read the option titled Go away, and I freaked out. So I took my chances as your Queen."

"Fair enough..." I rubbed my eyes. "While I am still angry at Eriar, I can give him the benefit of the doubt and let this slide..."

"You are angry?" she asked, her ears twitching nervously.

"I yelled sufficiently enough to vent it off, Luna. And don't worry, I was not angry at you." I smiled, which made her relax a bit.

"Oh... That's good to know..." She looked at me with a smile, but she stopped and tilted her head. "So who did you yell at, then?"

"At Eriar." I shrugged and saw how terrified she was. "Luna, take it easy. He orchestrated this entire situation and I'm sure as hell he knew how I would react. Besides, he told me himself that most of my actions are 'collateral damages'. Sooo... My angry outbursts on his account are collaterals as well. I think we are cool."

"You and Eriar are really strange guys..." She looked at me in terror, but Irene and Amber just shrugged and nodded in agreement. Amber yawned and tapped her forehead.

"Theon! Who is that new Wolfkin girl you brought earlier? Dahlia, I think?"

"Oh. Auburn and Thor saved her from the slavers we raided. It looks like she thought she was dying and one thing led to another. Long story short, she and Auburn efficiently and very, very brutally interrogated the slavers' leaders and got us some good intel. She also obtained a rare class in the process. We have some very nice data to confirm, so I will send Thor to do more raiding." I grinned.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Luna asked, scared, making me look at her with a very stupid facial expression.

"Luna..." I hesitated. "What level am I?"

"Over 25?" She tried to guess at first, but then she properly identified me since she was fate bound to my person. "For God's sake! You are level 83?!"