On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

The bathing place is quiet as we look at the newcomers. One of them looks back at us awkwardly whereas the other one grins at us as if she has just done something praiseworthy. Millonia is irritated by the duo's appearance but merely sighs instead of berating them. It is a considerably tame reaction from the explosive Millonia.

"The female bath is next to this place," I helpfully inform.

"I am here to prove my worth!" Sofia proudly declares. "I will show you how I will satisfy your—"

"That's not what I meant earlier," I interject. I raise my hand when Sofia is about to retort and say, "I need to see how well you fare against our enemies so I will assign you to some mission. That's how you prove your worth."

"Eh, isn't that boring?"

"Any other way than that will make you worthless in my eyes."

Sofia hums in contemplation before nodding her head in acceptance. Before our eyes, she steps into the pool and sits down not far away from us. She nonchalantly takes off her tower, revealing her bare skin. Andrea smiles wryly when she receives Millonia's unamused gaze. The troublemaking lavender-haired girl remains oblivious to her surroundings.

"You should join me, Andrea. It's good here!"

"…right."

As Andrea soaks herself, Millonia casts a Spell that increases the amount of steam covering us. The steam soon separates us from the duo. The water ripples on the other side. I can hear a faint sound of muffled voice. That must be Sofia who is being silenced by Andrea before she can make any irritating remark.

I shrug and turn to Millonia who immediately rolls her eyes. I know what she is thinking. It must be something along the lines of 'You attract weird women, don't you?' I don't completely agree with that statement. I attract weird people and, most of the time, they are females.

"Anyway, is that little Spirit of yours showing any signs of waking up?" Millonia asks.

"Luxia said she was exhausted. She would wake up when she has enough energy," I explain.

"It is not much, but the pool contains enough Earth Essence to jolt her up," Valeria chimes in. "You want to establish your Spiritual Bond as soon as possible, don't you?"

I hum in acknowledgment and ask Luxia to bring out Aguanum. The Natural Energy in the surroundings surges as golden light illuminates my side. The water splashes as the light dies down. I am expecting a palm-sized Forest Spirit, so I am quite surprised to find a human-sized Luxia beside me.

"You have grown."

"Aguanum's overflowing Earth Essence was enough to make me assume my original size." Luxia grins suggestively. "We can do fun stuff now."

"Pervert," I scoff as I flick her forehead.

Nursing her forehead, Luxia retorts, "Awh, that's unfair. I have been watching you and Valeria do it a lot of times!"

I sigh as Millonia and Aurelia snicker. Thankfully, I know Luxia is just joking around. It would be a nightmare to have two people like Sofia under my wings. Luxia chuckles when she sees my wry smile. The place turns quiet when the chuckles die down. I half-expect Sofia to ruin the silence, but she doesn't.

Luxia moves in front of me, holding out her hands in a cupping gesture. Her bare chest becomes even more pronounced because of the action, but I doubt she does that purposely. At least, that is what I want to believe. A few seconds later, an ethereal blue orb materializes on Luxia's palm. When the orb disappears, Aguanum lies on Luxia's palm, sleeping peacefully.

The only indication that the Water Spirit is still alive is her twitching pointy ears. Spirits don't breathe like any other creatures, so it's quite hard to discern them from an inanimate doll when they are sleeping. Luxia lowers her hands until they are submerged in the hot water. Aguanum floats on the water and then emits faint blue light after a few seconds.

The brighter the blue light gets, the less Earth Essence the water contains. I can feel Aguanum absorbing Earth Essence straight from the source of the hot spring. Before long, the water becomes normal water without any special properties whatsoever. The Earth Essence contained in the water has returned to its rightful owner.

Aguanum's ears twitch violently before she opens her eyes. She blinks twice before focusing her blue orbs on me. I am expecting an outburst, so I quirk an eyebrow when she just sits on the water and stares at me curiously. She seems to remember what happened but is puzzled by what she did.

"Is it time to break the Spiritual Bond?" I inquire.

Aguanum tilts her head before shaking it faintly. "No, I know what I am doing. Let's establish our Spiritual Bond."

"You may regret what you chose."

"It doesn't matter." Aguanum points at Luxia. "You have someone like her siding with you. I don't need to question myself if I am making the right choice. I know I am."

"What is so special about, Luxia?"

Luxia scrutinizingly looks at Aguanum while I look at Aguanum expectantly. I know that Luxia is an extraordinary Spirit, but it nags me that more than one Spirit has hinted that Luxia is more than she appears to be. I want to know what makes her special, other than the fact that she can use a tiny amount of Divinity.

"You don't seem to be that close with her," Aguanum comments casually, but her words manage to wound my heart slightly. "Well, I guess it's not my duty to tell you. Just know that Lady Luxia is special."

I turn to Luxia at the same time she faces me. She smiles at me slightly before gesturing with her head that she is going to talk with me later. The water before me splashes, prompting me to turn my attention to Aguanum. She outstretches her hand to me, gesturing for me to touch it. I touch her small hand with my index finger, allowing our Spiritual Bond to form.

In an instant, I know everything about Aguanum. I see some of the important moments in her life. It is just a glimpse but already enough to make me relate to her. By the time our Spiritual Bond is completely established, only a few seconds have passed. Aguanum stumbles forward, already exhausted because of the process.

I put Aguanum on my hand before she falls asleep. Her ears twitch twice before she closes her eyes. When I am sure she is completely asleep, I return her to my Mindscape. The place turns quiet once again, making me sigh in relief as I enjoy the silence.

Ripple!

Luxia sits before me, casually pressing her butt against my nether area. I can't help but note how human-like she feels.

"Do you want to know why I am so special?"

"I will figure it out sooner or later, anyway, so you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I respond with a shrug.

"Is that so?" Her crevasse grips Layland Jr., startling me slightly. "What if I want you to force it out of me?"

"After all of the hurdles we faced together, I am still not trustworthy, huh?"

"Nope. I just want to be kinky."

Luxia giggles as if noticing the unamused gaze I plant on the back of her head. She turns around when she is done giggling and then tells me to enjoy my time with the girls. From her eyes, I can tell she wants to speak with me later. I nod my head, prompting her to disappear into my Mindscape.

Valeria immediately fills the vacant space. She traps Layland Jr. between her heavenly buns and I don't bother to force it to remain asleep this time. I can see her faint smile as she leans on my chest. Millonia and Aurelia occupy my sides. They lean into my shoulders as I gentlemanly wrap my arms around their waist.

I am quite baffled by how accepting the girls are with the situation. The lack of displeasure in their emotions makes me quite ashamed of myself. I honestly feel inadequate. I will do my best to cater to their needs, but I am afraid of disappointing them. Of course, most of all, I am afraid of disappointing Valeria. She is the best thing that ever happened to me.

'Then, that is enough.'

As long as she remains being my heart, she is fine with whatever women I drag along. I feel like insulting such a strong woman for doing what she is fine with, but I also don't have the heart to reject the pure feelings the two women beside me have toward me.

'Just accept the fact that you are a scumbag, asshole. Do whatever you can, so you don't stoop lower than that.'

A wry smile creeps up my face as I sigh in defeat. I have come to a decision. It has been bugging me for a long time, so this is time to man up. I will become the scumbag who thinks he can cater to the needs of the women he has seduced. I am not a good guy, anyway. Why have I been bothering myself to act like one?

"Do you guys want me to do something?"

As soon as the question is up in the air, the women on my sides look at me with shining, expectant eyes. Valeria doesn't say a thing, but her smile tells me she approves of whatever Millonia and Aurelia ask me to do. My heart shamelessly beats faster. My Demonic nature seems to take over since a playful grin involuntarily creeps up my face.