Ilvarra continuing to flirt with Heron amused Yuriko to no end. It wasn’t that she was jealous. She was possessive, that much was true. She wouldn’t even mind if Heron slept with the woman—

Wait…did she mind? 

The thought made her examine her emotions. Did she love Heron? Did she love Gwendith? It was hard to say with the Mien clouding everything in an aura of lust and pleasure. They’ve devoted themselves to her, so she felt it was right that she did the same for them, in a manner of speaking. In matters of the heart, she was unsure, but in the matters of the body?

She knew for a fact that Heron and Gwendith loved her, and that they were ambivalent to the fact that she was intimate with both of them. They were careful not to cross each other’s boundaries, and the way Heron respected Gwendith’s was sweet. 

Here she was contemplating who she’d use in Astoria to relieve her lust, too. Did she expect both lovers to be sexually loyal to her even as she played the field? It would be hypocritical of her, wouldn’t it? That their relationships were fundamentally unequal was matter of fact, however, so perhaps it was only to be expected. 

Perhaps she should sit down with both of them and actually hash out the boundaries and expectations. For that matter, did she mind being in a closed relationship with both of them, or would she prefer being in an open one? The concepts were new, borne from what she learned in Astoria, and what she figured out from other memories. 

Hmm, she shouldn’t decide things on her own. Also, she already promised Desire that she would allow the other to be intimate with her once she finished evolving into her Chaos Viscount state. 

So looking at Ilvarra flirting with Heron. Did she feel jealous? No. What were the chances Heron reciprocated? Probably close to zero considering the insight she had over his thoughts and emotions. 

Hmmm. But would it be hot if she could openly watch him plough the other woman into the mattress like he often did with her? 

She felt a thrill of anticipation and not a little bit of lust. Yup, it probably would be, but she should rein in her fantasies, huh. 

“Why are you blushing, my love?” Gwendith whispered at her ear. 

Yuriko glanced at her lover and nodded towards Heron and Ilvarra, then whispered back, “Just wondering if I should be aroused at the thoguht of him doing the other girl.” 

“Oh my, how lewd.” Gwendith giggled. “And your conclusion?”

“That we all need to clear the air first,” Yuriko answered seriously. 

“Ah, you’re right,” Gwendith said after a moment. “We should, huh? How long has it been for all three of us?”

“A Season?” Yuriko muttered. “I think.” 

“Yes, it has been.” Gwendith smirked “Longer for me, but you weren’t as debauched then.” 

Yuriko pouted at her lover and Gwendith chuckled loudly. 

Enough time had passed for the last trial to finish, and Stormdriven was led to another conference room. Ilvarra led the way with Heron walking beside her. He linked to Yuriko’s thoughts, apologetic about the woman’s actions. 

‘I don’t mind, but we should talk later,’ Yuriko sent back.

‘Alright,’ Heron answered, but there was an undertone of nervousness in his thoughts. 

‘Don’t worry, you aren’t in trouble.’ Yuriko chuckled. 

‘Oh, thank the Ancestors,’ he muttered. 

‘But it is the future of our relationship, amongst the three of us, that we have to speak about.’ 

‘I see.’

If anything, Heron’s nerves stretched taut rather than relaxed. Yuriko giggled, and reassured him wordlessly, sending more than a bit of her lust through the connection. She felt him respond before cutting the connection. Now wasn’t the time to indulge so she mastered her body. He and Gwendith visibly struggled, but were able to calm themselves by the time they reached the large conference room. 

Stormdriven was at the forefront, and the rest of the room slowly filled up with another forty five people, with the one at the front attired similarly to Ilvarra. Yuriko’s brows raised in surprise. The mercenaries were from the Gold Flock. 

Only the lead mercenary removed his helmet. He was just a bit taller than Yuriko, and had brown hair and eyes. He had a blocky face, with a square chin and stubble. His eyes were weary and had black rings underneath, but his eyes sparked with life. He looked at Heron and his face twitched in anger, but he mastered his emotions and swept his gaze towards the rest of them. His eyes bulged when he beheld Yuriko, admiration over her features warred with fear since he definitely recognised her powered armour. Yuriko flashed him an insouciant smile, and he swallowed nervously. She had wiped out most of his troup during the second trial after all. 

The hologram appeared at one end of the room and started speaking, “Congratulations to all of you and your sponsors. You’ve qualified to join the Delve, which will begin in ten days. For security purposes, anyone intending to continue with the delve cannot leave the compound. We will leave on the 1st Day of the Season of Fire, midnight for the Portal. Please review the base’s rules and regulations, as any infractions will be penalised heavily…” 

The hologram spoke for a few more minutes, and he finally ended with, “Your sponsors will lead you to your quarters. The entirety of this group will be within the same district, and once you cross the Portal, you will be considered one team.” At this point the holographic head seemed to hesitate, looking towards Stormdriven and Gold Flock, then he continued, “I propose you come to your arrangements or simply decide to operate separately. Unfortunately, some kind of cooperation is expected among the fifty mercenaries. The mission directives and parameters will be given tomorrow. For now, rest. Thank you for your patience.”

The head disappeared, leaving the room mostly silent. 

The Golden Flock’s team leader broke out of his reverie, looked around, then decided to approach Heron and Ilvarra. The Golden Flock sponsor was also a woman, equally as attractive as Ilvarra, even if she didn’t quite have the same energy. 

Yuriko simply listened to the two men talking while she used half of her strands of consciousness to strengthen her Ennoia connections. Her Colligia of Radiance was churning along just fine. There were no insights she needed for Radiance, she simply needed to immerse herself in it. Her Essence Core continued to transform, allowing Radiant energy to seep into its depths. 

She sometimes thought of her Animus core and her Radiant core as two different things, but they were actually not. They weren’t one thing either, but they existed in the same space within her Anima, at the very centre of her being. It overlapped near her heart in the physical world and also seeped into it at certain points. The Ennoia was complete once the lattice around the Animus Core was complete. The Colligia began when it completely encompassed the Animus Core and created its own core, which coexisted with the Animus Core. When the two separate cores merge in truth is when the Colligia is mastered. She was about halfway done. All she needed to do was cycle Radiant energy in her core every day, and some progress would be made. It was slow progress, but steady. 

The same wasn’t true for her supporting Ennoias. The Ennoia of the Radiant Flying Swords had initially been mixed in with her Colligia, but as the latter progressed, the energy concept was expelled from the sphere and had formed into a satellite around it instead, one that was in the shape of a sunblade. Actually, it was identical to her sunblades. There was only one satellite and it was tiny compared to the entirety of her Colligia, but it had grown by a minute amount. As the Ennoia of the Bladeless Sword, she had not been able to form an Ennoia core or satellite with her true body. 

Every time she tried, her Ennoia of Radiant Flying Swords interrupted the formation. It absorbed the Swordlight, changed it to match the original Ennoia’s resonance, and absorbed it. There was some change in the structure of the Radiant Flying Swords, but it was too minuscule to make much of a difference. She had no idea how to properly merge the two Ennoias short of having both bodies merging, and that would only be possible if she figured out where Astoria was in relation to Dragon Fall City. 

Then again, even if both of her bodies managed to be in the same place, she wouldn’t merge unless she could divide her ‘self’ again. And she was probably three levels below that potential. 

On the other hand, she’d managed to figure out how to properly ‘Manifest’. It was a simple matter of severing a little bit of Intent—to provide guidance—and a similar sliver of Will—to provide substance—then infusing both into an Animus construct. 

Over the past weeks, she’d mulled over how the Gate underneath the mountain created her incarnation, and she figured it out just a couple of days ago. Something that Da could do almost as soon as he reached Knight-Commander took her quite a bit of time to figure out on her own. Though she shouldn’t toot her own horn here, since she was technically still a level below his. Then again, the Imperial Path came with imprinted knowledge from the Empress, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise. 

Captain Skye Kelly, the Gold Flock’s team leader, finished his talk with Heron, or rather, her lover had given his point of view and the other man had little recourse but to follow. The three of them had easily wiped out his entire team after all. 

“All of you are Mystics…how unusual,” the man said, shaking his head as he returned to his team. “I guess our defeat wasn’t unjust.”

Yuriko felt most of his hostility fall away at that point. Surprising how flexible his mindset was, but that could only mean a smoother delve, so she didn’t mind. 

“I’ll lead you six to your new quarters,” Ilvarra said. “I know it’s discouraged for you to leave the base, and I think, given the mess in the corporate centre at the moment, that’s all to the good.” 

“Hmm, I know what you mean,” Heron answered evenly. After they reached their promised suites, he said, “If you would give us some privacy for now, we have some things to discuss.” 

“Oh, of course,” Ilvarra said, voice thick with disappointment. Her gaze shifted to Yuriko and Gwendith, and the corner of her eyes twitched. She sighed and didn’t fight, though. “I will see all of you tomorrow?”

“At breakfast,” Heron agreed. 

Once the sponsor left, Yuriko, Heron, and Gwendith adjourned to the master bedroom, though not before they got out of their armour. 

“I hold no attraction to her,” Heron immediately said, anxious and pleading, “I leave her be since I don’t think we’ll have as smooth a ride to the next floor otherwise.” 

Gwendith clicked her tongue. “My my, Heron, user of desperate women.”

Heron shot her a distressed glare, while Yuriko giggled. 

“I won’t sleep with her even if she throws herself at me,” he said firmly. 

Yuriko leaned over her cupped her chin with her palm. “But what if I ask you to?” 

“Ah—” Heron froze for a moment, then shook his head. “Will you ask me to?”

“Not unless you don’t want to,” Yuriko said solemnly. “But the point I want to make is,” she leaned back, “what are we three? Both of you love me, but…I can’t really say the same. Romantically, I mean. I do not see myself marrying either of you, not in the immediate future. I do love both of you as my friends…” She trailed off. 

“The Mishala Mien?” Gwendith asked, her face and emotions calm. Heron’s was in a bit of turmoil, but the maelstrom subsided to calm a couple of moments later. 

“I believe so,” Yuriko answered. “Heron, you remember what I was like before the Mien awakened within me.” 

He leaned back. “Yes, I…well, you were the densest girl in the entire town.” 

“Really?” Gwendith asked. 

“Yup. the entire cadre was practically in love with her, but all she wanted to do was train.” 

“Not much different from now,” Gwendith giggled. “I kid, my love.” 

Yuriko sighed. “True enough. I’m sure that part of my inheritance prevents me from committing myself to someone completely. So, I repeat, what are we?”

After a couple of minutes of silence, Heron answered, “I, I guess we, we love you,” he said firmly, “and though you cannot commit to more than what we have, that will not change.”

“I see,” Yuriko sighed, somehow feeling relieved. It was a pleasant feeling that welled up within, which quickly inflamed her lusts. “I guess we should continue to explore this throughout our lives if both of you continue to be by my side. For now, I ache, my loves, soothe me.” 

And so, they did.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep