Erick's POV:
The maids led me through the luxurious marble hallways. Now that I had calmed down, the pain in my legs and arms was excruciating. As if my muscles had been torn apart one by one, I was barely able to stay conscious. Occasionally, a gold ornament or extravagant painting caught my eye as I was carried. The striking and cheerful decor was a perfect reflection of its owner.
- By the way, miss, how is the water hero doing?
Without turning to look at me, she simply continued walking ahead of me with a certain elegance.
- Prince Amin passed away during the battle with the Storm Witch.
- Huh?
The news hit me with my defenses down. I couldn't fully process what she said as I looked up at the maids surrounding me. None of them said anything; they just lowered their heads as a deathly silence filled the area. I didn't know how to react to news like that.
- I didn't expect an idiot like him to give his life for anything.
Despite being fellow heroes, I never sensed even a shred of commitment or heroism in him. In fact, I was sure he would flee the moment he felt threatened. Hearing the news left a bitter taste in my mouth.
- He died an honorable death. No one in this country or the world will dare say that the hero and his country were cowards.
- …?
The words she spoke had a strange tone. As if there were a deeper meaning behind them. Before I could ask about it, we reached a pair of twin doors, oval-shaped with a pointed tip. The woman knocked with an odd tap. A small hole opened, and a pair of piercing eyes peered at her.
- Miss Sheccid, welcome.
The door opened moments later. The maids carrying me tried to enter, but Sheccid stopped them with a gesture.
- Bring two maids who are inside. You can continue with your duties.
Shortly after, two maids in finer clothes emerged from the doorway. The thin, revealing garments, mostly made of an almost transparent fabric, carried me. The other two bowed to Sheccid before leaving the way we had come.
- Let's go.
With those words, the new maids carried me inside while the guard with piercing eyes watched me. With a sharp sound, the twin doors closed, and they carried me down a corridor. The corridor smelled of perfume, and laughter could be heard at the end of it. All women's.
"Is she taking me to the king?"
When we reached the end of the corridor, Sheccid knocked on the door with the same strange tapping sound as at the entrance. The door opened immediately, and a strange vision greeted me.
- Hahahaha, you look pathetic, fire hero!
A… man? I was surrounded by many girls dressed just like the two who were carrying me. Their semi-transparent outfits matched the perfume and the rhythm some of them were making, as if it were some kind of party. In the middle of all this was a person completely covered in bandages. As if they had been bound with them, some of the bandages were loose, as if they had come off with the movement. A few brown hairs peeked out from between the bandages, giving him an even more gruesome appearance. Although his appearance stood out, that wasn't what surprised me the most.
"That voice!"
- Are you the Water Hero?
- The one and only, in bones and bandages. Hahahahaha
Laughing at his own joke, the Water Hero seemed amused as he watched my reaction. As if looking for an explanation, I looked at Sheccid, but she simply shook her head in disapproval while clutching her head as if she had a migraine.
- You look awful. What happened to you?
- This? They're just parting gifts from the storm witch. She did something crazy, you know? She lunged at me, and I trapped her in my steam field. When I was about to kill her, she unleashed a massive bolt of lightning from her body, nearly frying me in the process. It was a horrible experience, man. I saw my life flash before my eyes.
He suddenly glances at a small window high in the ceiling of the room. Although there were some yellow and purple fabrics hanging from the ceiling, the light from that small window shone directly onto the water hero's legs. Moments later, he smiles as he plays with a small orb in his hands.
- If it weren't for Mim, I'd surely be dead now. Not only did she prevent the lightning from being fatal, but she even cushioned my fall. This little guy really is my greatest companion.
With a wistful look, he gazes at the small orb in his fingers. I unconsciously place my hand at shoulder level, where a crimson sphere appears.
- You have a good companion too. If it weren't for her, your bones would have been pulverized.
- Huh?
- Didn't you know? She was the one who asked me for help when you were having a panic attack in the guest room. I don't know if my servants would have arrived in time if it weren't for her.
Surprised, I glance at the small sphere on my shoulder.
"I had to do it to make sure you didn't destroy yourself any further."
- …Thank you.
The room falls silent for a few moments as we both admire our spirits. An indescribable feeling of happiness washes over me as I observe Ifrit.
"Lord… I'm a little embarrassed if you stare at me like that."
I can only smile at my spirit's unexpected shyness.
*Clap*
As if a spell had been lifted, we both suddenly raise our heads at the sound.
- I'm sorry to interrupt your hero-spirit moment, but aren't you forgetting something important?
Sheccid, exasperated, glares at us as she asks that question. As if he'd just remembered, The Hero—… Amin understands and gets up with clumsy steps. The serious Sheccid panics as she rushes to Amin's side, seemingly ready to whack him on the head to make him sit back down. But before she can land the blow, Amin throws up his arms and pulls Sheccid into a tight hug.
- P-Prince Amin!
- You're absolutely right. It wasn't just Mim, my dear first wife also went to great lengths for my sake.
- That… that's not…
Before she can finish her sentence, the serious Sheccid explodes like a pressure cooker, her hands still in the air. Though she tries to protest, she slowly lowers her arms and returns Amin's embrace.
- That's why you…
Though she tries to complain, she just buries her face in Amin's chest.
- Mmmmmmm…. I can't stand it anymore!
- Me neither!
- Even if she's the first, that doesn't mean she's the only one who needs love!
Suddenly, a commotion erupts among the girls I thought were servants. One by one, they join the embrace between Amin and Sheccid. In a few moments, most of the women in the room are part of the group hug. I'm completely petrified by the scene before me. Beside me, one of the girls who brought me here watches with me from a distance.
- I thought the girls here were servants.
- Of course not. We would never let a mere servant into this room. All the girls here are what remains of Prince Amin's harem. We all decided to stay when we heard what happened to him.
- Uhhhhh…
I look again at the human ball that has formed in front of me. I can't help but be amazed by the number of Amin's wives… Wait.
- Wait a minute, did you say 'we'?
- Yes… I'm part of the harem too. I'm wife number 15. Believe it or not, I moved up from 33rd, where I originally joined.
- I-I see. I thought you'd be different since you didn't join.
- …It's just embarrassing.
The girl next to me stares at the floor like an abandoned puppy. I can't help but let out a dry laugh as I look out the window.