Chapter 284 – Re: Lay

Day 18

"He left? He didn't even say goodbye." Sui said, letting out a loud sigh. 

"That is the way of powerful men, daughter. If they have a problem they cannot send someone else to deal with, they will drop everything and deal with it themselves." Jean replied, patting her on the shoulder.

They were sitting on the common patio in the women's wing, chatting a bit before morning prayers.

"But... I... need him."

"I know. We all need him, but he can only be in so many places at once. In his mind, ending a threat before it has time to grow and fester is just as important as taking care of you, maybe more so, as you were the target of this threat."

"We were supposed to go hunting today... I could have-"

"Don't be silly. His magic is good at healing physical wounds, but it does little for mental ones. He wants you to recover and to give you closure from the attack. Besides, he shot out of here like a man on horseback. Do you think you could keep up with someone moving at that speed? To fight as good as he does?"

"No, Mother. I know I can't move as fast as he does. Even before we came here, he was strong; if anything, he has gotten even stronger."

"That's good. It means he isn't in much danger. Now, come and join us for morning prayers. We can pray to him, for him, and for his safe return. Maybe you can think of a way to help him without actually being beside him."

"Hah... Yes, mother." She replied with a laugh. 

"Something amusing, Daughter."

"Oh... Just a memory resurfacing... I used to try to get him to pray to me. He wouldn't and would tell me I was following him. Now, I am praying to him and wishing I could follow him. It's just an interesting twist of fate."

"Fate has an odd way of changing our lives."

You have no idea. He was my boss at one point.

The two of them chatted idly as they walked towards the living room, which they had converted to their prayer room, Sui's patchy memories resurfacing of her short time with John.  It was strange; they had barely known each other for a month, yet it was like he was always there for her. Even now, he was out hunting down her attackers, making sure they paid for their transgression. 

She liked the Mother's idea of doing something to help him, but she wasn't sure what. Since her powers were stripped, he could do pretty much everything she could do, and do it better. She opened her skill list and reviewed it, surprised and confused at all the new abilities she now had.

How did I forget I had that! I know what I can do! He will definitely like this! 

Day 19

"Do you know where he is?" Riana asked her, her voice sounding a little anxious. 

"He is in a tree, taking a nap. That is about all I can tell you." Sui replied, unfocusing on Rou's eye and untangling her limbs from Ee's.

She, Mi, Riana and Ee had fallen asleep in Rou's bed late last night, and they somehow ended up tangled together by the morning. Mi was awake as well, already dressed and making them tea from the room's little coffee bar. Ee was still snoring softly, the woman seemingly able to sleep through just about anything. 

"Shoot... I can't do anything! I need to conserve my energy until he returns."

"Conserve your energy? Why?" She asked. She really liked the Dorian, the two of them were having a lot of fun planting seedlings, singing and dancing while they were working. They had made plans to expand the amount of flowers around the village and plant a living wall instead of building a picket wall. 

"I'm carrying triplets, which is unheard of for a Dorian. I need his seed to keep my energy levels up so they develop properly." Riana replied, just casually dropping that on them first thing in the morning. 

"Wait? You're pregnant already?!?" She replied, then realized Mi didn't seem surprised by the news.

Did she know already? Why didn't I know? I thought we were friends now. Did she tell me, and I just forgot? Argh! I need to do better. 

"Yeah. He knocked me out and knocked me up that first night. It was glorious. Now, I have an issue. I'll need essence soon, probably in four days at most, but I promised him that I would only take his."

"I'm sure he will be home soon. He has to have gained on Grak by now. Just... go relax however you need to and don't worry about the farm. I have it mostly planted now, so once I'm done with the tradeswomen today, I'll finish it off. Once he is back, we can start adding your fertilizer to the plants." She replied, trying not to judge him on yet another knocked-up woman in his omniverse harem. It was getting easier to accept every day, but it still hit like a truck when she realized she wanted to be part of his circle too.

I'm still in this goblin body. I need to go level up and evolve, so at least I won't be killed if that thing of his touches me. Maybe we can go hunt some monsters later. Ahh, so much to do.

"You don't think he would mind?"

"I hate to speak for him, but from what I know, he would probably rather you have your feet up relaxing than burning energy you can't replace."

"Yeah, Sui is right. Just relax until he returns. Do you want to learn how to read? Jean is teaching me and a few of the other women and female goblins the human language this morning in Rou's office." Mi said, handing each of them a cup of tea before joining them on the side of the bed. Once a goddess of unparalleled beauty, Sui couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious, as everyone in the room, even the hobgoblins, was now much more beautiful than she was. It was a humbling experience. 

"I'm not quite sure what writing is, but it seems I have nothing more productive to do. Do you think she would mind teaching it outside under the sun? I think that would be less draining on me."

"I don't see why not, though that is up to her."

The three of them chatted for a bit longer before Sui got out of bed to join morning prayers, stuffing her whale into her dimension pocket before getting dressed. Ee was still asleep, but Mi would wake her up when the sun rose, and they could begin their morning training together before starting work. The pair of them had taken Rou's order to watch over her seriously, not letting her leave the mansion without one of them being by her side. In the past, she would find that a bit grating, but right now it was quite welcome. She didn't want to be left alone again. 

"There you go, one forge," Sui said, wiping the sweat off her brow. "We need a break and something to eat, but we should be able to get the other one up before prayers tonight."

"This is incredible work. I don't think even the forges in the capital are this well put together." The Armoursmith said, whistling softly at the building and forge they had built today.

"Yes. With a pair of these and some time, we can craft all the tools and equipment we need." The Weaponsmith added, looking like she was ready to light a fire right now. 

"Just let it sit overnight before warming it up. And heat it slowly the first time, else the mortar is liable to crack."

"Not the first time we have broken in a forge, but we will follow your advice. Where did you learn how to do this?"

"Umm... Not really sure. Construction has always been something I've been good at, as far as I can recall, but I don't know where I learned any of it. If I'm honest, I don't even remember the last time I used it."

"Well, you both have a knack for it, that's for sure. Would you both be willing to help with the other construction projects?"

"Of course! Just be sure to praise me- Umm... Sorry. Yes, we'll be happy to help. Right Ee?" She replied, correcting herself.

"Sure! I've never built anything until today, but working with the stone just felt... right, ya know." Ee replied, the muscular hobgoblin was quite happy to receive praise for her efforts.

"Yeah, it felt great. Great work, Ee!" She replied, giving her friend a high five. She wasn't as in tune with stone as Ee was, but creating something useful from just piles of stone stuck together with a clay mortar was gratifying. They would have to build a kiln, too, so she could make tile roofs for the buildings the craftswomen wanted constructed. 

I will prove to Rou that I'm not hopeless, that I can be useful. I just need to take it one step at a time. 

Day 20

Early Evening

"This bath is amazing! Oh, why didn't anyone show me this sooner?" Riana asked the group while sinking deeper into the hot tub.

"Slipped my mind. I've been so tired when I finish up for the day, I just took a quick shower and went to bed. Today was the first day I wasn't dead tired, so I wanted to relax down here before going to sleep." Sui replied, copying the Dorian and submerging herself, the hot water and jets taking the stress out of her aching muscles. What she really wanted was a drink, but that wasn’t on the table right now. Not until Rou lifted the restriction on her anyway.

"How did the hunt go?" Mi asked, sliding in beside her. She and Riana had stayed home while Ee had come out with the afternoon hunting party with her. 

"Scary, actually. We were on our way back with more captured rabbits when we were attacked by a pack of wolves. We killed nearly a dozen of them before they scattered. I managed to take three of them down, though that was probably because they were focused on Kichi, Ee, and the other hobgoblins and didn't consider me a threat. That changed when I started slashing them with Water Blade, but it was too late for them by that point." 

"It was crazy. I know Rou's magic is incredible, but Sui is powerful, too. She pulled a magic staff out of thin air, then walloped the wolves with it, causing water to spray everywhere as she cut them open." Ee added, slapping her on the shoulder hard enough that she was pushed underwater.

I love her to death, but she is a damn ogre! At this rate, I'm going to die from her camaraderie and affection before a monster even has a chance at me. 

The four of them chatted for a bit, Sui trying her best to learn about these women who had tied themselves to Rou. She ended up agreeing to teach Mi some of her magic, though she wasn't sure if she would be able to. She had to cast her spells like a normal mage now, but it was all instinctual for her, and she didn't think it would translate well into a magic lesson. Still, she would try, as Mi seemed so excited to learn more magic.

"So... is he on his way back yet?" Riana asked, bringing up the question she had asked every morning and evening since Rou left.

"Give me a moment, let's see where he is." She replied, then closed her eyes and shifted her focus to his eye.

She knew she could shift her body into his eye if she needed to, but it took some time and complete focus. She wished it were faster, as she could have gotten away from Grak and his cronies that way, but everything happened so quickly she didn't have a chance to do so. So far, she couldn't communicate with him while scrying him like this, but she hoped she could figure something out.

If he isn't on his way back by morning, I'll have to shift there and turn him around. Riana is going to need him soon, else she is going to turn into a twig like me.

Riana had already lost a lot of weight as those babies were growing rapidly and sapping her energy. She was worried about her, but didn't know what she could do for her other than get Rou to come home. 

She opened her mind's eye, now seeing through Rou's, and almost immediately shut it off. 

"Oh, Lord! That is a lot of blood!" She said, unable to keep the dread out of her voice. 

"Huh?" "What?" "Is he okay?"

Sui could just shake her head, unable to make heads or tails of the battle happening in front of her. "He is alive, and... angry? But... why is he protecting Grak?"

"What?!?"