Sonic's Growth Arc (1)

"M-Master..."

"....."

I pulled back the covers and found Aquaril, her face streaked with tears.

Good lord. Aquaril — that Aquaril — was crying. My head rang as if someone had taken a hammer to it.

"Th-that's, well, I..."

She hadn't expected me to come looking for her. The words tumbled out in a flustered, incoherent mess.

"Who... which bastard made my Aquaril cry?!"

"...Master?"

"Which fucking bastard was it? Tell me, Aquaril! Who made you cry?!"

"Master... hic!"

She had been staring at me in a daze while I spat fury. Then the tears came again, and she threw her arms around me. I rubbed her back and tried to settle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her down.

"Hey. I'm right here. So stop crying and talk to me. Who made you cry?"

"Masteeer... hhng..."

But Aquaril showed no sign of stopping. I gave up on calming her.

"All right, all right. Cry as much as you want, Aquaril. It's okay. Just let it out."

"Hhhnnngg..."

I let her weep herself empty, so that whatever knot had been sitting in her chest could dissolve and run out with the tears.

It took a good ten minutes before Aquaril, who had been sobbing as if the world itself had ended, finally quieted down. She had cried the entire time without a single pause. Astonishing, really.

Is it because of her water attribute? She produces a lot more than just love juices — tears, too.

An ordinary person would have collapsed from exhaustion after shedding that much, but Aquaril's stamina stat wasn't low enough for her to faint. Even after the tears stopped, she kept her face buried against my chest.

"Feeling a little better?"

"...I apologize, Master. I've shown you an unsightly side of myself."

"Hm? Unsightly, nothing. If anything, it was ridiculously cute."

"....."

No answer. Knowing her, she was probably too embarrassed to speak.

"Can you tell me now why you were crying?"

"Th-that's..."

Aquaril fidgeted, at a complete loss, then let out a long breath and slipped from my arms. Her eyes, red as a rabbit's, lifted to meet mine.

"Well..."

"Did someone pick on you?"

"It wasn't that."

"Then what?"

"I... I cried because I found myself so pathetic."

"What? Pathetic? Why would you think that? You've always been someone I'm proud of."

"Master..."

The words must have landed, because her eyes welled up again. This time, though, she held the tears back.

"The truth is... I was afraid."

"Afraid? Of what?"

"I imagined... Master abandoning me."

My eyes went wide. That was the last thing I had expected to hear.

"Look... I don't really know how to put this, Aquaril."

"Yes, Master."

"Are you stupid?"

"Pardon?"

"Why would I ever abandon you? I think we need to get this straight. What on earth made you think I would throw you away?"

"Th-that's..."

She wilted like a child being scolded by a parent. I didn't comfort her. I glared at her instead, as if I were genuinely angry.

After everything I had poured into Aquaril, did she honestly think I was insane enough to throw her away?

And even if I hadn't invested a single thing, it wouldn't have mattered. The moment she became my Fairy, I had no intention of ever letting her go. Aquaril would live her entire life at my side, and I was never going to release her. Even if she snapped one day and told me she hated me, I would still keep her.

Aquaril was mine.

I wasn't handing her over to anyone.

"Spit it out. Why did you get such a ridiculous idea in your head?"

"...I was jealous of Sonic."

"Sonic?"

Why was Sonic coming up all of a sudden?

"Sonic is... the Fairy you summoned yourself, Master. She was able to offer you something precious — her first time. But I... I have nothing I can give you. Why... why couldn't I have been a Fairy you summoned yourself?"

"....."

So that was it. She had convinced herself I would fall so hard for Sonic — the one I had personally summoned — that I would cast her aside.

"Ha..."

A hollow laugh slipped out of me. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"...I'm sorry for being such a worthless Fairy, Master."

Had my reaction wounded her? Aquaril lowered her head, her face desolate. I reached out and pinched her cheek.

"Mas— mmpfh?"

"You little airhead. And here I thought you were smart. Turns out you're all looks and no brains."

"We've been together this long and you still don't know me? You thought I'd get so infatuated with Sonic that I'd throw you and Oralisa away? Did you really take me for that kind of pathetic bastard?"

"I-ih'sh not— Mashter!"

With her cheek still caught between my fingers, Aquaril couldn't form a proper word. It all came out as a muffled jumble.

"If you didn't think that, then you'd already know I'd never abandon you — and that I wouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠treat Sonic differently just because I summoned her."

"....."

She had nothing to say to that. Her head drooped again. I hooked a finger under her chin and made her look at me.

"Master..."

Her eyes shimmered again. This time she couldn't hold herself back. She threw her arms around me and crushed her face into my chest, soaking the already damp fabric of my shirt all over again.

"I'm sorry, Master. And... thank you, Master. Truly, thank you. I will follow behind you for the rest of my life..."

"Don't walk behind me. Walk beside me. Got it?"

"Y-yes... I will. I shall, Master."

She looked up at me as she said it, like she was swearing an oath. I bent down and kissed her. The moment our mouths met, something in her switched on — her lips parted to welcome me, and a hand far too delicate to belong to a swordswoman slipped inside my trousers.

Still kissing her, I lay back on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bed.

"Because of you, my cock is furious. What are you going to do about this angry thing?"

"Ah... I will take full responsibility and soothe its temper."

She stripped my trousers off, then shed her own clothes and climbed on top of me. To pacify my raging cock, she worked her hips with everything she had.

Three days had already passed since I summoned Sonic.

In that time I had done what I always did — taking Canisia, Aquaril, Oralisa, and now Sonic, my newest Fairy, in turn. Sonic joining the roster hadn't dulled my appetite for any of them in the slightest.

I was busy squandering my days in a haze of flesh and pleasure when Montblanc summoned me.

"You called for me, Lady Montblanc?"

"Come in, Alan. Have a seat."

I read her mood as I settled into the chair I always used when I came to see her.

Looks like she's cooled off a bit.

Montblanc had been furious that I hadn't killed Kant fast enough. Furious enough that even after I did kill him, I received no reward whatsoever — and no dungeon assignment, either. That had pissed me off in turn, but I was still in a position where I had to watch her face, so I had kept my head down and stayed quiet as a dead mouse.

"Zodiac? Give that to Alan."

"Yes, Master."

At Montblanc's word, Zodiac — who had been standing at attention behind her — handed me a bag. He hadn't been here when I returned from killing Kant. He must ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have come back while I was taking my rest.

"May I open it?"

"As you like."

With her permission, I opened the bag Zodiac had given me and checked what was inside.

Oho.

Twenty Growth Stones sat inside the bag. Every last one was a Medium Growth Stone — exactly what our party needed.

Not bad at all.

And they weren't the low-priority kind that boosted Luck or Wisdom, either. All twenty of them raised Magic.

Montblanc crossed her legs, showing off a sleek line of calf, and spoke.

"This is your reward."

So she was finally paying out for Kant's death. Late was still better than never. I stood and bowed my head to her.

"Thank you, Lady Montblanc. And I apologize for disappointing you."

"It's fine. What's done is done. And this is the information on the dungeon you requested last time."

Zodiac handed me a sheaf of documents after the bag. An assassination payout, and a dungeon on top of it. Montblanc's mood had definitely improved.

I skimmed the information on the documents and smiled. Clear level eighty-three, recommended party of ten. Perfect.

Everyone in our party except Sonic had already reached 4-star, level 80. We could have walked into a temple and promoted to 5-star whenever we wanted — but we hadn't. The higher your rank, the harder it became to grow stats with Growth Stones. Up through 4-star, Medium Growth Stones were enough. From 5-star onward, you needed Upper Growth Stones.

Upper Growth Stones had a worse drop rate than Medium ones, and the ones that hit the open market were so scarce you were lucky to find a single stone in a month. So we were deliberately holding off on promotion, stacking our stats as high as we could before making the jump.

In game terms, it was the classic F2P growth route. Free-to-play players didn't swipe, so their progress inevitably lagged behind the whales. Early on you could keep pace, but from mid-game the gap yawned wide. That was why F2P players raised their Fairies the way I was doing now — delaying promotion and squeezing every last point out of their current rank.

God, I want to whale so badly.

If I could just buy the Growth Stones I was short on, I wouldn't be dragging my feet like this. I'd promote tomorrow. But while I could top up gems with real money, Growth Stones were off the cash shop — which meant I had no choice but to play it like a F2P.

"Thank you, Lady Montblanc. I'll give it everything I have so I never disappoint you again."

"I expect nothing less, Alan."

The next day, I led the party out toward the dungeon Montblanc had lent us.

The place was far enough from Littleberry that it took three full days by carriage, so we hired one and rode. What we arrived at was a mountain named Mount Hofmos. We climbed down in the village nestled at its foot and headed straight up into the slopes.

She's keeping up just fine.

Sonic was currently the weakest member of the party in every category. Even so, she followed us without a hint of strain on her face.

"Are you all right, Sonic? If you're tired, please say so. I shall carry you on my back."

"I'm all right. I can walk this much without any trouble."

Aquaril was looking after Sonic at my side. Thanks to my pep talk, she wasn't jealous of Sonic anymore. If anything, she had swung the other way — hovering close, trying to take care of even one more little thing for her.

Mm. Now that's more like it.

I watched the two of them with genuine satisfaction.

We kept climbing, and before long we reached the summit of Mount Hofmos.

"Is that the dungeon?"

"Yeah."

I nodded at Canisia's question.

At the peak of Mount Hofmos, a great black circle rippled like a portal, its surface rolling in slow, heavy waves.

C-rank dungeon: Hell's Gate.

That was the name of the dungeon where we were about to begin an unholy, endless farm for Growth Stones.