What We Do to Survive

Thankfully after the social and emotional rollercoaster that had been the first few days following the end of the semester, the next two weeks proceeded much more peacefully. Miranda and Camille were both slightly peeved that I’d completely invalidated their work in the city––Lea no longer needed any sort of local accommodations-–but it ultimately wasn’t a serious issue. Both had clearly done a lot more than just look at appropriate properties during their time in Oratrice City so it wasn’t like they’d entirely wasted their time.

Miranda in particular carried herself with the air of a well-satiated apex predator, and a brief probe had identified at least four unique patches of foreign mana that she was slowly ‘digesting’ and integrating into herself. For all that the ‘potions’ I provided her kept her fed, she was still a predator at heart. I didn’t particularly mind––I trusted that she’d kept herself to appropriate targets and Miranda’s strength was my strength.

Camille also looked much more relaxed when she returned to Avalon. She’d spent two days visiting her mother and the trip had clearly helped her come to terms with her new lot in life. According to Miranda, Camille had been worried that I’d use her as a way to get at her mother, and the relatively loose––at least in terms of what she could and could not do on her own time––restrictions I’d placed her under were a comfort as well.

The idea hadn’t even occurred to me, though it was something I’d need to consider in the future. I’d more been thinking about bringing various wealthy and influential noble families under my sway by suborning junior members studying at Avalon, but there was sense in going after well-positioned and skilled craftsmen as well.

Camille’s mother may not be a mage, but the dress that my newest acquisition had returned home with proved that she was a true master of her craft nonetheless. I knew little about women’s fashion, but even I could appreciate that it looked very good on Camille. I had no idea why or when I’d need access to a seamstress, but it might happen at some point. It was always, always, better to be over prepared than unprepared.

Still, such a thing could wait. I’d give Camille more time to acclimate and come to understand that this really was the best possible outcome for her. She simply didn’t have the right mindset to succeed on her own at Avalon. She was too restricted by her fears and empathy to do what needed to be done. The girl was a supremely talented mage but had been squandering her gifts. I would not tolerate such wastefulness, whether she liked it or not.

In any case, it was a very welcome break. The last week of the winter recess would be incredibly busy, what with all the events that the Academy would be organizing for students and alumni alike, but until then I had time to focus on myself and the many, many projects that had taken a back seat in the past weeks and months.

It was a very productive period. With Avalon half-empty, I was easily able to reserve all the training and study space I needed. I drained my mana all but dry practicing spells, learning new ones, and honing my raw mana control. I spent long hours in the library pouring over books and working on theoretical projects. I also finally had a chance to book one of the half-dozen cutting-edge alchemical workshops that Avalon maintained and ran a number of in depth tests of all the materials I’d been harvesting from my cattle, as well as a few samples I’d ordered Miranda to collect from herself and discretely gather from Lea.

The results were illuminating, though not as conclusive as I would have liked in some aspects. In Lea’s case, I’d managed to confirm that she was absolutely not a pure human, just like Miranda had told me. I’d run her blood, sweat, and a number of other fluid samples, as well as several strands of hair, a few bits of skin and muscle, and even a bit of bone marrow through a whole battery of tests, but the results didn’t really match up with any of the many, many reference books I’d checked them against.

She didn’t possess any elf blood thankfully––I didn’t know how I would have reacted if she did, and I was glad I needn't find out––but that was the only satisfying conclusion I’d been able to draw. Near as I could tell, she was somewhere between three and ten generations removed from something very magical, but what exactly that ancestor might have been I had no idea. Either it had been something very exotic, or there were simply too many clashing heritages to identify any of them for certain.

Just out of sheer happenstance, I was leaning toward it having been some manner of outsider. Between Miranda, the doppelganger, and the whole Miira situation, I’d run into an unreasonable number of the things in my life, and it would explain why I couldn’t find anything in the books I was looking at. Outside of some specific varieties that appeared comparably frequently and had been studied in the past––starspawn being a prime example––many Outsiders were wholly unique existences, at least in our world.

Thankfully, the other tests I’d run were much more productive. Elves were very, very opposed to mages studying what they could be used for, and for very good reason. So far, I’d mostly been collecting just milk and arousal from my two cows, as well as some blood on occasion, but I’d need to step things up going forward.

I was still slightly squeamish about some of the things that Igor was likely doing––having studied their natural circulations in depth, I was pretty sure that elves could regrow their eyes, but plucking those out over and over again seemed like a step too far––but installing permanent taps to collect blood wasn’t that bad. And perhaps I could finally put all of Rea’s enthusiasm for skinning to good work. It would take some research, but I was almost certain that elven skin could be turned into an incredibly durable and magic-conductive leather.

As tempting as it was however, I would refrain from going any further than that. The small sliver of bone I’d extracted was an incredibly potent reagent, but not sufficiently superior to what I was already collecting to make it worth lopping off limbs or even just fingers and toes. The same went for muscles, fat, and organs. I wasn’t a monster.

Outside of that, I’d finally confirmed all sorts of things about what I was already gathering. Just like I’d suspected, both the milk and juices showed signs of properties that would make them perfect components for potion making and the production of some magic items. Now that I had details about their exact magical composition instead of just what I’d been able to gather with my own senses and simpler tools, I’d be able to properly utilize my growing stockpiles.

Finally there was what I’d learned from Miranda’s body. In hindsight, I could better understand her terror at the prospect of what I might do to her when her usefulness ran out. The poor thing’s corpse was probably worth its weight in mana-forged platinum, and twice that as a live sacrifice. I had no plans to rend her down for parts, of course, but perhaps I would collect a few bits from time to time. The ones that would grow back easily enough. Particularly since I no longer had to worry about her slipping free from her bonds if I was too heavy-handed with my demands.

Beyond my studies, the primary sink on my time was getting Lea situated, and honestly that was no real hardship. After our…heated meeting in Miranda’s room, I’d taken a few days to get everything prepared and then finally went through with relocating her.

It was a very, very stressful two minute walk between Miranda’s room and my own. I’d initially planned on hiding Lea in a big, heavily-warded box or something, but ultimately decided against subjecting her to such a treatment. As much as she’d said it was fine, I still wanted to minimize any possible comparisons between myself and a certain someone.

Instead, we’d covered her in so many illusions and nondetection spells that I struggled to sense her even when she was standing next to me and holding my hand. Then we’d simply walked, Miranda and I keeping Lea between us as we pretended to discuss some meaningless drivel in case someone was actively trying to spy on us.

We made it to my room without running into anyone or anything. I’d half expected to end up face to face with another devil or to get ambushed by a dozen fourth-years, but no. It almost felt anticlimactic.

Once we finally did make it to my room, I carefully dispelled the magic we’d used, nervously watching Lea’s face as she looked around the room.

Her reaction had been…a lot better then I’d feared. Everything I’d hoped for, even. Despite her words, despite her oath, despite everything, I’d still been afraid that it was all a trick. That she’d freak out and panic, or curse me for what I’d done.

Instead, well…

Lea gazed dispassionately at the two elves. Her gaze lingered on their pointed ears, rune-covered restraints, and the tubes scattered around them. Then she wrinkled her nose as though she’d smelled something rotten––the expression looking unreasonably cute on her––and looked away. “I’m glad you’ve got your animals properly under control,” she told me, sending a thrill shooting down my spine.

Lea had promised never to lie to me. Sworn to never lie to me.

I stepped up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Welcome home,” I whispered softly. “It's not much, but I’ll do my best to make sure you're comfortable.”

Lea’s smile lit up the room. “You’re here, and that’s all I’ve ever needed.”

Lea glanced over at where Nettle Shieldlight was hanging from the wall and my breath hitched. Even naked and without the usual adornments of a noblewoman, there was no way my Lea could fail to recognize who exactly that was. She’d gone to school with Nettle for several years and the girl had been one of her tormentors long before that fateful day where I’d come across her and her friends assaulting Lea.

Nettle’s naked body was limp and her eyes were closed. There was a gag wedged behind her teeth, keeping her mouth stretched wide open and making it easy to pump food and water down her throat. The gag was enchanted to keep her quiet, make sure she kept breathing, and to protect her neck from any serious damage.

She was the part of this I was most worried about. I hadn’t kidnapped her for the sake of some sick fantasy the way he had done to Lea, but would she see it that way? Would she be upset about the way I’d chosen to take revenge for her?

“What about the others?” Lea asked, her smile never wavering.

“Doran’s dead. The others I’ll need to take care of the next time I’m in the country. Things got messy in the last few days before the portal moved and I ran out of time. But don’t worry. They’ll never hurt you again. I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”

Lea nodded slowly. “Is Adonia on that list?”

“Do you want her to be?”

Lea was very still for several long moments. Then she nodded, a movement so small it was noticeable only from how I could feel her hair shifting against my chin.

“Then yes,” I told her simply.

Lea stared at Nettle for a moment longer. “Good. You didn’t have to do that…but I’m glad that you did.”

I considered Lea’s words for a moment. “She’s all yours if you want her,” I offered.

There was another brief silence. “Thanks, Orion. But I think I’m happy to let you deal with her.”

She leaned back against me and turned to look at where Rea was kneeling by the door, her head bowed and her hands folded behind her back. The purple-skinned slave was wearing one of the half-dozen light dresses she’d made for herself––this one a floral yellow that Miranda had provided the gauzy fabric for––and I’d given her explicit orders and instructions about how to act towards and around Lea. If I wasn’t hiding the cows or Nettle, I certainly wasn’t going to hide my relationship with the girl, but neither did I want to reveal all of Rea’s habits and mannerisms right from the start.

“So this is the servant you were talking about?” Lea asked, seemingly content to let the whole Nettle issue pass.

I nodded, then realized that Lea couldn’t exactly see me doing so. “Yeah, she is. Lea, this is Rea. One of my classmates and I rescued her when a dragon attacked the city we were visiting and she ended up staying with me. Rea,” she looked up at my words, smiling widely at the two of us, “this is Lea, my best and oldest friend. She’s going to be staying with me for the foreseeable future.”

Rea bowed deeply, pressing her forehead against the ground in front of our feet. “This Rea is honored to meet Master Orion’s Lea. This one looks forward to serving her.”

I pursed my lips, anxiously waiting for a response from Lea, but the girl in my arms barely seemed to notice the somewhat unusual way that Rea tended to speak. It had taken a direct order to stop Rea from referring to herself purely as ‘this slave’, and I’d been unwilling to go further. My clumsy and somewhat heavy-handed work with her had already done enough damage to her mind as it was, and I was loath to cause any more for such an ultimately small and pointless thing.

Lea sighed softly, but it was a sound of contentment, not displeasure. “Master Orion’s Lea,” she repeated. “I like it.” Lea knelt down next to Rea, slipping through my arms until they rested lightly around her slender neck. “Hi Rea, it's nice to meet you. From the sound of it, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together from now on. I think we’re going to get along well.”

Rea sat up, rocking back on her heels and watching Lea intently for several long moments. Their eyes met and then Rea matched Lea’s smile with one of her own. “This one agrees with Master Orion’s Lea.”

Despite my fears, the two ended up getting along like a house on fire. In fact, they got along almost too well. Lea was supposed to be a guest, but every time I came back to my room I found her eagerly helping Rea out with her various chores or practicing her mana control alongside the purple-skinned slave.

At least that second part was a good thing. Just like I’d ordered her months ago, Rea had been diligently practicing her mana control every single day without fail. I hadn’t really paid her efforts much thought, but seeing her working with Lea had made me finally check up on her progress.

It was honestly rather impressive, far better than I would have expected. I had a feeling she’d taken the two hours as a minimum and was putting a lot more time than that into it most days. I very much approved. Even if it was done under my express orders, such diligence was commendable. There were ways of ‘practicing’ mana manipulation without really getting anything out of it, and Rea was making sure to do it properly.

Perhaps at some point I’d actually start teaching her some spells and guide her through constructing a proper magical foundation. It would require eventually rebuilding her bindings, but by the time it became an issue I was confident I’d be capable of the needed magic.

If nothing else, Lea certainly would need to have her core reformed and the glaring holes in her theoretical understanding filled in if she ever wanted to move past second circle spells. It wouldn’t be too much trouble to include Rea in those lessons. Particularly since practicing with someone else seemed to be going much better than the practice session I’d walked in on a few days earlier.

Despite never actually ordering her to do so, she’d cheerfully started obeying the exact same restrictions I’d put on Rea’s magic use. No structured magic without my express permission and several hours of mana control training each day.

She’d also started copying Rea in other ways, ones that made me slightly uncomfortable but she clearly enjoyed far too much for me to say anything to the contrary. Things like not wearing any of the clothing I’d brought over for her from Miranda’s room and kneeling beside me while I worked with her head in my lap. She even occasionally called herself ‘Your Lea’, something that I enjoyed more than I wanted to admit.

And then there was Nettle. The first time Rea took the Shieldlight girl down for cleaning and disciplining, Lea just watched. After that however, she got involved with a moderately concerning amount of enthusiasm. So much so that I eventually had to order her and Rea to be a little bit more careful, because there was only so much time and effort that I was willing to put into healing my research subject and I didn’t want her permanently damaged. For all that she’d said she was happy to let me deal with Nettle, she clearly took vindictive pleasure in making Nettle’s life a living hell.

Well, as long as she was happy, I was happy. This was probably better than spending her days crying in bed like Miranda had told me she often did in the past.

The bed I’d prepared for her never got a single use. She’d taken one look at it, then moved her pillow onto my bed and gave me a challenging look. After what had already happened between us, I hadn’t been willing to argue with her on that point. The next day I silently handed her a contraception potion that she downed without even asking what it was. I made a mental note to give her another dose in six months, then let the matter drop.