3rd POV
In Cassandra, within the Vestalis estate, which has been quiet for some time, Michelle, the de facto chef when Alexander was absent, yells throughout the mansion, her powerful voice reaching everyone's ears. "BRUNCH!"
As she removed her apron, sat down at the table, waiting for everyone to arrive; first to do so was Chloe, then Jasmine, followed by Lazuli and Yuki, with Lazuli being last. "Yes, food! I'm starving!" Grinning, Yuki plopped her sweaty body onto the seat across from Michelle, digging into her food with a lack of grace.
"Yuki, just because Husband isn't present, that doesn't mean you can just eat as you desire. Please, show some etiquette." Jasmine, sitting beside Yuki, shoots her an annoyed look while using her arm to protect her plate. "Hmm, you say something, Jaz?" With a mouth full of food, Yuki glances at Jasmine, accidentally spitting food onto her cheek.
"N-Nothing!" Taking a deep, calming breath, Jasmine cleaned her cheek and scooted over, distancing herself from Yuki. "Fufu, Yuki, you should listen to her; you don't want Darling to get upset with you when he returns." Chuckling faintly, Michelle wiped her cheek, causing Yuki to pout before slowly nodding, fixing her lack of table manners.
"Why aren't you eating, Vanye? You're not hungry?" Sitting beside Michelle, Chloe glanced at Vanye, who was aimlessly staring at her food, Chloe's words breaking her out of her daze. "No. I'm fine… Just, Alex. I-I'm worried." Vanye's admission was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Vanye wasn't the only one concerned about Alexander; every single one of his wives felt the same. It's been months, nearly half a year, since Alexander left for the Daemon Continent, during which they've received no news from him. Worried was an understatement for what they were feeling.
The serene atmosphere promptly shattered, giving way to growing somberness; Yuki's energy deflated, Michelle's smile and Jasmine's annoyance vanished, Chloe lowered her head, and Lazuli's silence was replaced with a cold, robotic indifference.
"A-Alex is fine, Vanye; h-he probably encountered some trouble, but he'll return soon." Gulping, Jasmine forced a small smile, trying to comfort and reassure Vanye, though given how she didn't even believe her words herself, they did nothing. "I-I'm still worried… W-What if encountered a lot of trouble." Vanye's soft, hesitant voice filled the room, causing Jasmine to bite her lip.
"He's got a lot of life-saving measures." Yuki attempted to reprimand Vanye, but her voice was simply too weak, her words betraying the worry she felt deep within her heart. "B-But, w-what if. What if A-Alex d-died–" Chloe's shaky words were the forbidden thoughts held within the deepest parts of everyone's mind.
No one wanted to admit it, no one wanted even to think that their husband, Alexander, had been killed; however, whether they trusted him more than anyone, after six months of silence, the thought would inevitably form, and no matter how much they rejected it, it stayed deep within them, ever so slowly gaining power as the days persisted.
Yet, before it could gain traction or power over them, Michelle promptly shut it down, slamming her fist onto the table, breaking the silence. "Shut it! Alexander is alive! He will return; he promised." Michelle's voice was stern, firm, and powerful, offering no room for rebuttal; her potent gaze swept the five women present, as if daring them to question her.
"Focus on the name of your kids." At Lazuli's words, she downed her glass of water before folding her arms and closing her eyes. The others, having been reprimanded by arguably the weakest person in the Estate, regained their composure, confidence returning to their face.
"Thanks for the food, Michelle." Yuki, offering a smile, resumed eating, devouring her food with basic etiquette. "Yes. Thank you, Michelle." "Thanks, Mom." "Thank you." One by one, Jasmine, Chloe, and Vanye expressed their gratitude as they continued eating, locking the worry deep within their heart.
"Hmph, good." Huffing, Michelle leaned back in her seat, shooting them a final glare before softly smiling, eating her food while humming.
The serene life returning once more, though, how long until it breaks for good?'
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Alexander POV
Slowly coming to, I groaned, grabbing my throbbing head as I opened my eyes, gazing at my surroundings as I sat upright. 'W-Where am I?' I used [Heroes Gaze] to look into the darkness, just as a massive eye, the size of my body, suddenly appeared, freezing me.
'Fuck.' Inwardly cursing at my luck at having escaped death only to arrive at it once more, I stared at the eye, not daring to move, trying to act as if I were dead. However, I quickly realized such a thing was pointless, as the eye held traces of intelligence; it was clear the creature wasn't some brainless beast.
"You're awake." A young, feminine voice entered my ears as the creature began moving, and while doing so, I noticed eight other heads moving in sync.
As I watched, my eyes widened in shock. The familiar voice, the nine heads, only one person was like this.
"H-Hydra!?" I shouted in surprise, having not expected to meet her again for years, if ever. Rising to her full height, Hydra towered over me, her nine heads and eighteen eyes looking down from above, her body noticeably larger than I remembered.
"Lerna… My name is Lerna." "Lerna? T-That's a pretty cute name." She hardly responded to my compliment, merely blinking, causing me to awkwardly cough as I rose to my feet. "So, how'd I get here?" "I found you unconscious in a river." "And you saved me? I thought you wanted revenge." "I was merely returning the favor I owed you. You spared me when you could've killed me… I'll get my revenge when I'm strong enough to."
Narrowing her eyes, she lowered herself back down, her nine heads resting directly beside each other as they remained locked on my figure. "Huh, thanks. I suppose being a good person does have its benefits." Chuckling faintly at my good karma, I plopped on the ground, still mentally exhausted from that torture Mavis inflicted on me.
"How long has it been since you saved me?" "More than a day." I winced slightly at the response, not as long as I was expecting, but staying in one spot for so long wasn't good. It wouldn't take much for Mavis to find me; the Vampire clan basically controls the entire continent from the shadows. 'So long as I'm in Daemon, I'm not safe.'
Although I would've loved the chance to rest, I'd already done so long enough; standing up, I stretched slightly. "Thanks, Lerna, really. I owe you one." "We're even." "Nope. I didn't spare you because I wanted something from you in return; I did so because I simply wanted to." Offering her a smile, I turned around, walking towards the massive entrance to the cavern while waving.
After a long walk, I eventually exited the cavern and turned around, curious where Lerna had made her home. "Damn, she carved out a whole ass mountain?" Whistling in awe as I stared at the mountain I'd just exited from, I observed my surroundings.
"Zartha, Trina, any idea where I'm at?" 'No.' 'Not a clue, Master!' "Appreciate the constant enthusiasm, Trina." Wryly chuckling, I decided to climb the mountain, using [Air Step] to arrive at the peak within minutes.
Landing at the peak, I overlooked the world, searching for anything. "How am I supposed to get out of Daemon? Mavis will shut down all Port cities; she'll trap me on this damn continent." Having spent months as her assistant, I knew a great deal of the range of her influence and power.
I briefly checked my status screen, which had a decent amount of excess stat points I'd yet to allocate. "Zartha, if I were to put all these in Intelligence, would I be able to teleport to Mezcla?" 'No. Only Archmages and above can perform intercontinental travel.' "Where would I stand next to an Archmage?" 'You'd need to at least quadruple your intelligence, Master.' "So not even close? Got it."
Clicking my tongue, throwing away that possibility, I continued scanning the world, surprisingly, finding absolutely nothing; all I could see was mountains, hills, valleys, and small forests.
"Welp, time to trust my heart." Letting my heart guide me, I headed in the direction it pulled me towards, using [StrengthAugment] and [Speed Augment] alongside neutral mana to increase my speed to the maximum I could comfortably maintain.
While running across the awkward geography, I was brainstorming ways to leave Dameon undercover, which was turning out to be just as difficult as I imagined; if I can't take ship or teleport, I basically had to improvise.
'Maybe I could coat my body in Ocean's mimic and swim across the ocean?' 'Theoretically possible, Master, but how many shipwrights in Daemon capable of performing Ocean's mimic would do so on a human?' Throwing that idea into the back of my mind, I continued brainstorming.