After putting Rez to sleep (which thankfully didn’t take all that long, as the half-goblin seemed exhausted), Sincir heads up to his room once more, waving at Ena and Eleanor as he walks by them during Ena’s nighttime training.

  Once he arrives, he finds the room empty, which means Esme is still with No... Heh, he wonders what they’re up to.

  As, he has work to do, and since the pn for dealing with Leon will happen tomorrow, he can’t effort to waste time before getting to it...

  Ironically enough, he was already thinking of pcing the same runes around the room as he did with the house’s outside walls, and so it is a perfect way to brush up on his rune drawing skills, as well as to test if they’ll work in a second-floor room like this.

  Will simply drawing one of them on the ground work...?

  He doesn’t see why it wouldn’t, but it can’t hurt to run some tests before such an important mission...

  Sincir is carving the second rune by the time Esme enters the room with a tired look on her face, walking as though her soul is about to leave her body... She heads straight for the bed, falling face first against it.

  “...What are you doing?” she mumbles muffledly, after a moment of groaning.

  “Noise, mana concealing runes.”

  “Oh... So that my orgasms don’t awake the entire house?”

  “It’s good you’re at least self-conscious...”

  “Shut up... Though I’ll give it you, that’s a pretty neat rune.”

  “Right? I wish I remembered the ones we used to keep the water warm... How were things with No, by the way?”

  Esme groans. “I wish I could be mad at you for forcing her onto me, but really, I’m surprised you didn’t use the chance to make a move on her.”

  Pausing his rune carving in order to throw her a dirty look, Sincir grimaces. “Is that really the type of man you take me for?”

  Esme chuckles. “You really don’t like it when someone questions your intentions with women, huh?”

  “You phrase it as a joke, but people would take it seriously if they heard it... It’s already hard enough to get a girl to be comfortable around you without weird rumors going around.” Also, Varzath... Whatever. He is not Varzath, anymore.

  “...Maybe I should start spreading rumors around,” Esme mumbles.

  “Oh, you want to know what it’s like to have a foursome? In this case, I bet I could find another two guys before the end of the ni-”

  “I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Master.”

  Sincir rolls his eyes. “...Just tell me about No already.”

  Esme sighs. “She is hanging on, albeit barely. I’m not sure telling her that her father might still be alive was a good or a bad thing... But I’m gd you were honest with her, Sin. Good job today.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Esme ughs. “No, I mean it... Sorry for saying you brought her to the house with nefarious intentions in mind.”

  “Seriously, you guys need to drop-”

  Before Sincir can finish his sentence, the door to their room opens, and Eleanor walks in.

  “...Drop what?”

  “...What’s with the disappointed look on your face?”

  “...Nothing.”

  “...You were hoping to catch us fucking, weren’t you?”

  “...Maybe?”

  Sincir sighs. “Never mind that. Can you stay outside for a bit more?”

  Eleanor rises an eyebrow. “I still have to grab a change of clothes from my room...”

  “So, you really did just come in hoping to catch us fucking.”

  Eleanor smiles.

  “...Forget it. Go change, and knock on the door when you’re back. Wait outside until I say you can come in.”

  Eleanor shrugs. “Sure... By the way, Ena is waiting for you in her room.”

  “Got it... Thank you.”

  “Is there something with Ena?” Esme asks once Eleanor has left.

  “I promised her a massage today, as an apology for...”

  ...What was he even apologizing for, again?

  Esme snorts. “I’m not sure it counts, if you don’t even remember what it was about.”

  Sincir sighs. “No, I do, this is an apology for starting a retionship with Eleanor, it’s just that I’m not sure I should be apologizing, to begin with... Eleanor and I are both adults, and it’s not like we’re reted.”

  “Is she jealous?”

  “Ena? She says it makes her uncomfortable to think about us that way... But Eleanor seems to think she has a thing for me.”

  “Guess you can’t just ignore how she feels about it, when you guys see each other every day.”

  “Well, I don’t want her to be miserable, but there’s a limit to how much I can, or should, accommodate her feelings...”

  “Pyboys have it rough, huh...”

  “...I didn’t know you hated massages, Esme. And I had so much time to practice them, too...”

  “I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Master.”

  “...As long as you understand. Well, you’ve been here for a couple of days now; What do you think?”

  Sincir throws Esme a look over his shoulder; Since she had been watching him work, their eyes meet almost immediately.

  “...About you and Ena?”

  “No, dumbass, about what she thinks of me. Do you think she is jealous?”

  “Sin... You’re really asking the wrong person about this, you know?”

  Sincir groans. “Right, I forgot who I was talking to.”

  “What about you?”

  “What?”

  “How do you feel about Ena?”

  “Oh, that. I’ve actually realized recently that I see her as my cute younger sister.”

  Esme snorts. “Good for you. Does that mean you’d refuse her, if she made a move tonight?”

  ...Would he? Could he...?

  “...Naw, I’d probably still fuck her.”

  Esme grimaces. “What happened to her being your little sister?”

  Sincir cocks his head. “What about it?”

  She facepalms. “Never mind... I forgot who I was talking to. I suppose we should all be gd she isn’t your real sister, and leave it at that... How many of these are you pning to draw, anyway?”

  “One for each wall, plus the floor and the ceiling...”

  “It’s an isotion thing, then?”

  “It’d probably still work for the most part if I left out the floor and the ceiling ones... But I suppose it is better to py it safe, rather than have Ena hearing us when she is down in the middle of the night for a cup of water.”

  Plus, he gets to test for Leon, this way.

  “I’m impressed you can carve this well without any tolls... Is that a wind spell you’re using?”

  “Yeah.”

  “...Am I being a bother right now?”

  Sincir chuckles. “You’re fine. Want to know how these work?”

  “...Yeah, actually.”

  “To put it simply, these are a type of magical character, though they’re not the same ones mages invoke when casting spells... Don’t ask me why they’re different, because I don’t know. Regardless, when drawn correctly, these runes will drive the mana around them to act in a certain way, for as long as they’re powered by something.”

  “...They’re not powered by mana?”

  “Yes and no. They’re usually powered by mana, by not the mana formed naturally in the world; You could say something needs to purify the mana before it can be used by a rune. Most mages can do it, but it takes time, and it is an annoying process.”

  “...Wait, could you create a rune that purifies mana by itself?”

  “Sure; Most high grade artifacts can power themselves.”

  “So, in theory, you could build something self-sufficient, which sts forever?”

  Sincir chuckles. “I’m not sure about forever. These are carved in the wood, right? So they’ll only st as long as the wood is able to sustain the strain without corroding... Even if you add something that’d made the wood stronger, or able to repair itself, it’d still be a tall order to make it st forever... And the more runes you add, the more complicated the design, the greater the mana they use, and the greater the strain they cause on the object they’re carved on... It takes a master of the trade to make anything more complex than these babies; Or rather, they’re basically the most complex thing I can pull off, is what I’m saying.”

  “...Oh, shame. I was wondering if you could make me a dress that’d clean and repair itself without having to be taken off.”

  “...Esme, do you really think I’d be living in the poor part of town, if I could create something of the sort? Also, cloth makes for a poor material for an artefact, as it’ll deteriorate far too fast.”

  “...Good point.”

  “Anyway, I need to carve the ceiling one now... Can you move?”

  Esme groans. “Ugh... Can’t you use the rest of the bed to stand on?”

  “It’s best if it’s carved in the middle.”

  “Oh, does it work better this way?”

  “Yes, but also... Can you imagine staring at an off-centered drawing as you try to fall asleep, every night?”

  “...I’ll move.”

  “Thank you.”

  Still, drawing (or carving, in this case) something on a ceiling is always much harder, and Sincir has to concentrate in order to...

  “...Esme?”

  “...Yes?”

  “Could you not, right now?”

  “But you look so cute standing on tip-toes, with that look of concentration on your face...”

  Ugh.

  “What did I tell about the word cu- Ah! Stop it, you-!”

  A single, strong knock against their door has so both Sincir and Esme freeze on the spot.

  “...Pull my pants back up,” he tells Esme, narrowing his eyes at her.

  Esme pouts, but she does comply. “I guess it’d be mean to make Eleanor wait outside for longer than necessary...”

  ...He better just finish with these as fast as he can.

  Thankfully, Sincir has had more than enough practice in filling these particur runes with pure mana, since they’re all around the house, and need to be refilled every day, and so it doesn’t take him more that a minute to get all six runes activated once he is done with carving them.

  “Esme, come here for a sec,” he says once he is done with the runes, before beckoning Esme to stand next him by the door.

  Esme stares curiously toward the runes as she approaches him. “Are they active now? I don’t see anything different about them...”

  “You would if you were a mage... Otherwise, I’d have done a poor job with the runes, if even a normal person could notice when they are active.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “...I’m really sorry.”

  “What are you-?”

  Once Sincir casts a spell of cold water on top of her, Esme immediately screams.

  “THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”

  Dodging Esme’s attempt at hitting him, Sincir ughs, then casts a follow up spell to dry her, before quickly stepping away as he opens the door.

  “...Heard or felt anything?”

  Eleanor throws him a look, then gnces toward a furious looking Esme, standing at his back.

  She raises an eyebrow. “No... What did you do?”

  “Don’t worry about it. What about the mana? Did you sense a spell being cast?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  Sincir nods. “Nice pajamas, by the way.”

  “...Sincir,” Esme murmurs, her expression murderous.

  “Well, I’ll be off to see Ena now. Calm Esme down for me in the meanwhile, okay?”

  Having said as much, Sincir pulls Eleanor inside, changing pces with her as he chuckles and closes the door behind himself.

  ...It is a good thing the runes are already active.

  Whistling softly as he walks down the corridor, Sincir knocks politely against Ena’s door.

  “...Ena? Can I come in?”

  “...Sure,” he hears through the door, after a moment.

  He finds Ena lying face-down against her bed in shorts and a t-shirt; She throws him a beat look as he walks in, smiling tiredly.

  “Hey there... Would you mind casting a cleaning spell before you start? My clothes are all sweaty...”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it; I don’t mind doing it dirty.”

  Ena grimaces. “Another sexual joke, and you’re out.”

  As he straddles her legs and begin to cast the spell, Sincir ughs. “Rex, Ena, nothing will happen unless you explicitly ask me for it... In fact, after all the shit you gave me this past few days, you’d have to get on your knees and beg, if you ever wanted me to treat you as anything but a sister.”

  “Good,” Ena murmurs, “As long as we’re on the same page.”

  Cleaning spell cast, Sincir turns toward Ena’s legs, starting with her calves...

  “Oh... Fuck, I forgot how good this feels...”

  Seeing her toes curling slightly as he applies pressure to her pressure-points, Sincir smiles; Giving massages can be just as fun as receiving them, so he understands why Salmorol gets off so hard on doing it.

  “What did Rez want with you?” Ena asks after a few moments of groaning satisfyingly.

  “She wanted to show me the furniture you got her... How did you get it down there so fast, anyway?”

  “It arrived this afternoon. The woodworkers I hired were kind enough to deliver it here, and I used a strength buff to get it down there... Esme helped me set up the curtains... Oh, and by the way, the pool and the stove aren’t going to work as they are.”

  “Yeah, Rez told me. Sorry to give you even more work.”

  “No, I was just wondering how I’m going to expin the whole thing if I have to get someone down there to fix them up...”

  “Just have Rez hide upstairs and tell them the house is your pet project or something. If they’re professionals, I doubt they’ll make a big deal out of it.”

  “Ugh, my stomach hurts just thinking about what would happen if she was exposed...”

  “Death. Lots of it, all around.”

  “...Thanks, I feel much better now.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Being done with Ena’s calves, feet, and thighs, Sincir turns around to start with her lower back.

  Meeting the dirty look she is throwing him, he smiles at her. “I told you it was dangerous business, didn’t I?”

  Ena sighs. “I suppose I can’t deny that.”

  “Don’t worry, Rez is used to hiding herself, and we’ll be fine as long as we’re careful... Probably.”

  Ena rolls her eyes. “Such confidence inspiring speech.... Oh! Careful!”

  “Rex, or it’ll hurt.”

  Ena curses under her breath. “Hard to, when you’re so infuriating to talk to... Ah! Stop it, dumbass!”

  Sincir chuckles. “I told you to rex, didn’t I?”

  Ena gres at him, but she does take a deep breath after a moment, seemingly forcing her muscles to rex.

  “...Fuckface.”

  “You’re too kind... On another note, did you ask Rez about the colors, before you ordered things?”

  “...Uh, no?”

  “...How did you know she liked green?”

  “...Why wouldn’t she?”

  “...Do you like pale-golden?”

  “I don’t hate it, but since it’s my skin’s colour, I try not to... Oh.”

  “Is green your favorite colour?”

  Laughing awkwardly, Ena slowly averts her gaze. “How did you know...?”

  “Apologize to Rez.”

  “...I will.”

  “Seriously though, that was a bit overboard, no?”

  “Sorry.”

  The massage continues for a couple more minutes, but Sincir can tell Ena is really tired, and so he chooses not to prolong things unnecessarily.

  “I’m almost done. Is there something in specific you want me to focus on before I finish?”

  Ena throws him a sidelong gnce. “What are you, a professional massagist?”

  He’s probably better than most of what you’d find in a human nds, actually, though he still wouldn’t dare to compare himself to Salmorol.

  “...Is there or not?”

  “...My left shoulder. I think I hurt it, while carrying the furniture.”

  “Got it; I’ll cast a healing spell on it.”

  Ena groans. “Oh, shit, this isn’t fair...”

  “What?”

  “You’re making me think... No, never mind.”

  “Your dirty thoughts, not mine.”

  “Yeah, yeah, you behaved yourself pretty well... But can you bme me, after everything that has been going on in the house, recently?”

  “I guess you’re also a girl.”

  Ena narrows her eyes at him. “...What exactly did you see me as, before this moment?”

  Meeting Ena’s leaf-green eyes, Sincir smiles at her. “A brat.”

  She groans. “Fine... Fair enough, I guess, with how I usually act.”

  Sincir ughs. “I was shocked when you kicked me out of our room, you know?”

  Ena grimaces. “Idiot, how could we continue sleeping together when your girlfriend is living under the same roof?”

  “Does that mean you miss me?”

  Cheeks growing heated, Ena quickly averts her gaze. “...Actually, I haven’t been able to...”

  “What was that?”

  “...Nothing.”

  “Well, it’s good you got over it so fast, since we’d have needed to break it off, sooner or ter...”

  “Did you get to talk with Hanna today?”

  Seeing as Ena’s cheeks are still burning, this is a pretty obvious attempt at changing the subject, but Sincir decides not to push her.

  “Yeah, we did, actually.”

  This has so she meets his eyes again.

  “We?”

  “Eleanor was there.”

  “...And? How was it?”

  “She admitted she tried to sabotage your image of me so she could have me for herself... Don’t worry, I wasn’t too rough with her... Ena?”

  “...I’m so fucking going to kill...”

  “What was that?”

  “...Nothing. Was that all of it?”

  “Yeah, she was te for her shift, so we didn’t have much time to talk. Tell me if she starts talking shit again, okay?”

  “...I’ll think about it.”

  “Loyal until the end, huh...? Well, do you feel better now?”

  “...Yeah,” Ena murmurs after a moment, “A lot better, actually.”

  “Good. I’ll let you sleep in piece, then-”

  “Say, Sin... Doesn’t it make you horny to touch me like this?”

  As he is about to leave her bed, Sincir pauses and throws Ena a look; Then, he follows her line of sight, arriving at the bulge in his pants.

  “...Guess I don’t need an answer for that one,” Ena murmurs drily.

  He grimaces. “For the record, I’ll be able to control myself better once I graduate from being in the body of a stupid teenager.”

  “...I’m sure you will.”

  “...Can you stop looking at it?”

  “Kinda hard to, when it’s right in front of my face.”

  “...I’ll just go now.”

  Ena snorts. “Yeah, you do that... Can you put out the light, before you leave?”

  “Sure... Night.”

  “Wait, Sin, just one more thing...”

  As he is about to leave the room, Sincir stops and throws Ena a look, meeting her eyes. “Yeah?”

  Ena smiles. “Take good care of her, okay? She deserves better than a pyboy.”

  “...I’ll do my best. Can’t promise anything else.”

  “Fair enough... Night.”

  After one st nod, Sincir closes the door in between the two of them, taking a deep breath once it releases a click.

  ...She misses him so much she has been losing sleep? No wonder she has been so cranky... He was basically her pillow.

  Anyway, before he decides to reenter the room and spends the night fucking Ena as hard as physically possible, he should return to his girlfriends and see what they’ve been up to.

  He wonders if Eleanor managed to calm Esme down for him...

  “Hey, Eleanor, did you-”

  Having opened the door without knocking, Sincir freezes on the spot.

  “...This has been happening a lot tely, huh...? Anyway, care to expin why it looks as though you’re about to pounce on my very hesitant-looking girlfriend, Eleanor?”

  Eleanor facepalms. “Just come in and close the door at your back, idiot.”

  After ughing, Sincir does so. Truth to be told, he can more or less guess what happened...

  “Okay, break it off, the two of you.”

  As Eleanor grimaces and moves away from Esme, Sincir closes the door and approaches the bed, crossing his arms once he stops near its edge.

  “...Then? What happened?”

  “Uh, sorry... I think it was my fault,” Esme murmurs, having averted her eyes from the both of them, “She suddenly started moving, so I sort of pulled away on instinct...”

  ...Poor Eleanor.

  “Listen, Esme, can you wait outside for a second?”

  “What- Why? It really wasn’t that big of a-”

  “I’m begging you, just for a minute or so, okay? I’ll call you in a bit.”

  Esme grimaces, then sighs. “I guess I’ll make us tea... I’ll knock when I’m back.”

  Neither Eleanor nor Sincir say anything until Esme has closed the door on her way out, and even after she is gone, the silence extends for a moment...

  “...Is this really something worth crying over?”

  “...I’m not crying.”

  “You’re shaking.”

  “It’s called anger.”

  Sincir snorts. “Eleanor, look at me.”

  It takes a while, but she does comply...

  As Eleanor teary blue eyes meet his, Sincir feels a shiver down his spine, though he forces his expression to remain neutral.

  “See? I’m not trying to make fun of you. Now tell me what really happened.”

  Her expression makes it obvious she still expects him to suddenly start ughing. However, after another pause, she does begin to speak, “...You wanted me to calm her, so I told her about Leon...”

  “So she’d understand why the experiment was important?”

  Eleanor nods. “We were talking about it, and I thought... Fuck, this is so humiliating!”

  Sincir sighs. “I already said I’m not trying to make fun of you.”

  Eleanor makes a face as she once more averts her eyes from him. “I guess I wanted... to do something nice... In return for today.”

  Sincir blinks. “You mean... In return for our seven out of ten date?”

  Eleanor throws him a look. “...What else? Are you stupid?”

  “...And that’s why you pounced on Esme?”

  “I wasn’t pouncing on her! I was trying to take it slow, even! Seriously, how skittish can a girl possibly be?!”

  “...You know, I was thinking this after what you’ve told me today... You really have no luck with women, huh?”

  Eleanor’s look becomes a gre. “I thought you weren’t going to make fun of me?”

  Uncrossing his arms, Sincir smiles as he walks around the bed to stand in front of her, then kneels over the matters until they’re close enough to touch, carefully dragging his fingers against her cheek as he does so.

  “...Don’t touch me,” Eleanor murmurs grumpily, though in spite of her words, she obediently stands still under his touch.

  “Stupid girl... Do you even understand why Esme freaked out on you?”

  “She is retarded?”

  In spite of himself, Sincir snorts. “I can’t deny she has trouble reading the room, but it wasn’t just that.”

  “Then what was the problem? We all fucked together, st night...”

  As Sincir drags his thumb against her lower lip, Eleanor shudders.

  “Now who is having trouble reading the room? Eleanor... You’re so beautiful, I bet she was nervous enough to stutter from being alone in the room with you.”

  “...Oh.”

  “So, when you tried to approach her, all of a sudden...”

  “...She freaked out and moved away?”

  “When it comes to skittish creatures, you have to easy them into it, or they’ll simply run away from you... Point in case.”

  Approaching his lips from hers, almost painfully slowly, Sincir finally kisses Eleanor...

  “...Idiot,” she whispers once he moves away from their kiss.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I didn’t say thank you.”

  “Our date; You’re welcome.”

  Eleanor grimaces. “For the record, I’m not changing my rating.”

  Sincir smiles. “I know.”