Chapter 37 - Maya Rosenwald P5

Chapter 37 - Maya Rosenwald P5

~37.5~

*****

"Connect us?" Maya asked.

"Yes, Princess," Serah replied. "Connection established. All four of us can communicate telepathically."

"Oh, this is nice."

"Maya, I wanted to do this to ask you to tell them about yesterday while we were away from the tea party."

"You're not supposed to tell anyone about that."

"I haven't told them, but these two are a bit different. They know literally everything I do. There are no secrets between me and them, and they are also the tightest lipped people there are."

Maya eyed them. "Even so, why do they need to know?"

"I'll be frank," Stella said. "We have trained with Princess all our lives and have a much higher degree of mana control and combat prowess than the average student. I can sense abnormalities in mana, and I can tell that yours is not normal for a cat person."

"I've told them not to worry about it," I said, "that I know why and it's nothing dangerous. But as you can see, they are worried that the... abnormality is dangerous to me and possibly you." I eyed them. "Even though I told them there's nothing dangerous about it."

Maya closed her eyes, but her exasperation was so great we heard a mental sigh. "They are loyal to you?"

"To a fault, and they take orders from nobody but me."

"And they're worried for you?" I nodded. "Very well. Serah, Stella, I'll have you swear to secrecy first."

""Anything you tell us in confidence will remain in confidence until you give us permission to repeat it. Except from Eli, we tell her everything.""

"And I generally tell them everything. This is the first thing I've withheld."

"So you took my request that seriously." She held a hand up to her mouth. "Very well. I haven't introduced myself to you yet, but normally I would introduce myself as Maya Rosenwald, from the Rosenwald duchy. However, my full name is Maya Nacht Weltwald. My parents are Demon Lord Velarus Nacht and Beast Queen Mabel Weltwald. Thus, I'm half cat, half demon. The abnormality you sense is my demon mana."

The two exchanged glances, then turned back to her. ""That explains it.""

Maya was taken aback, enough that I accidentally let out a "Pfft."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, your reaction was cute."

"C-cute?" Her face reddened. "Don't make fun of me." She almost went to clear her through, then remembered we weren't speaking out loud. "Right."

"Cute."

"Eli?"

"Yes, Maya?"

"I'm going to duel you in swordplay class today."

I smirked. "I'll take a challenge anytime."

"Anyway. Serah, Stella, does that clear things up for you? Does the anomaly make sense if you consider demon mana?"

Both nodded and Serah replied, "It does. We hadn't even considered that you might be multi-racial. Please accept our apologies for over worrying to the point that-"

"Just keep it a secret, that's all I ask. If you're so close to Eli that you worry about her that much, then I can accept you knowing about me."

"Thank you, Lady Maya," Stella said.

"Hmm..." Maya's eyes narrowed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Serah, Stella, you are skilled enough telepaths to form a channel for the four of us to speak like this. Do you also read minds?"

"Yes," Serah confirmed. "We can read surface thoughts in close proximity and deep thoughts and memories with physical touch."

"The close proximity bit. Voluntary or involuntary?"

"Both," Stella answered. "Normally, we have to focus on an individual to hear them, but if a person's thoughts are loud enough, we can hear them whether we want to or not. It's akin to covering ones ears when somebody is shouting at you, it's quite difficult to block out the louder sounds."

"I see." She put a hand to her chin, then her face turned red again. "Wait. I may have had a loud thought just moments ago."

"You did, yes. I shall not repeat it."

"What about to me?" I asked. Maya face reddened more when I asked that.

"Princess, earlier you implied that we tell you literally everything, but you know that's not the case. We don't share people's mundane or private thoughts."

"Hmm."

"I'll thank you to keep it to yourself and promptly forget it," Maya said. She was trying very hard not to meet my eyes.

'Hmm', indeed.

"Of course," Stella said.

"On the note of involuntary," Serah said. "If I may complain a moment?"

"Complain away, don't ask permission for that," I answered.

"It is sometimes quite annoying to hear some people's thoughts. Some men have very loud and dirty minds." Without turning her head, she eyed a boy sitting near a wall.

"He's very loud," Stella said. "And I dare not repeat what he is saying. Princess, I advise you not to-"

"Too late, I already did. I heard his disgusting thoughts." I snapped my fingers and placed an invisible mental barrier around him. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you, Princess."

"What?" Maya said. "What did you do? I sense a barrier, but I don't see anything. Did you just block his thoughts?"

"Yep. It was loud enough that even I could hear it when I focused on him. Disgusting. Trust me, you don't want to know. I don't want to know."

"I can only imagine," she was so exasperated at the thought that we could hear a mental sigh. "Anyway, that bathhouse idea. I've always wanted to go, but I've never actually gone except with just my parents. Since I'm half demon, I don't exactly fit into either gendered bathhouse."

"I don't follow."

"Hmm." She looked away for a moment, then back. "Well, dem-"

"Don't explain if it's something you're uncomfortable talking about."

"No. It's okay. Demons are hermaphrodites."

My eyes widened. "Are you serious?" How did that happen?

"Yes. Our genders aren't determined at birth, since we're all born with both. As we grow, our parents learn our gender from us, and it's decided then. Typically, we have a petname at birth or a unisex name, then a proper name is chosen when our gender is determined. Our minds influence our bodies greatly, so that's why outwardly you'll see most of us have distinctly male or female appearances."

"You are a very beautiful girl, so then that means your mind is female aligned?"

"Yes."

"Then I see no problem. If you are female, you go into the female bath."

She looked away again. "You're making it hard to not say it outright."

*****

Revision: 2025-2-12