chapter 26

"Ayelet, Pia I want to tell you something" noticing his tone both girls listened to him.

"Ayelet, Pia, I love you, but we can't go any further until I explain a few things to you both," Alex said, his expression resolute as both girls became serious.

Alex then continued, "There is another girl in my heart..." He proceeded to explain everything about his past life, revealing that he began to remember them only after he turned two. The girls remained silent throughout his narrative.

Both girls didn't know what to say after hearing his story, but then they noticed the range of emotions crossing his face.

After he finished his tale, he looked at their confused expressions, feeling nervous about how they would react. When he saw them looking at him, he took a deep breath. "You two don't have to worry. I know this isn't fair to you both, so if you decide to leave me, I won't blame you," he said, his voice betraying the effort it took to speak.

As they looked at him, both girls moved closer. "Master, does anyone else know about this?" Pia asked.

"No," Alex replied.

"Then why us?"

"When I took you as my slave, at that time I was just as new to this system. But as time passed, I considered you my friend, and at some point, my feelings increased. At first, I thought I would slowly adapt to my new life, but I was wrong. Sometimes I saw my parents from my previous life in my new parents, sometimes I remembered my brother, and sometimes I remembered her. The only thing I learned was to keep my feelings to myself. But when I considered proposing to you two, I thought it was not right, so I had decided long ago to tell you."

They both looked at him, considering how much courage it took for him to reveal his biggest secret.

"It looks like you are confused." He then took out two papers from his storage device and put them on the table. "These are your slave contracts. If you decide to leave, please tear them so I couldn't track you. I will return in two hours, and I command you to 'not speak about anything that happened here to anyone who isn't aware of it.'" His hands were slightly trembling, but he clenched his fist and then exited the room.

In a dark street, a figure was seen exiting the town, then vanished into the depths of the forest.

Alex used a strengthening spell on his legs to run faster. He ran for half an hour and reached a lake. He jumped in and dived deep. When he couldn't bear it anymore, he surfaced.

In the moonlight, a brown-haired boy sat on a rock near the lake, his face looking sad. Hiding his tears in the lake water, Alex rested there, looking at the moon. The forest was dangerous, but most of the monsters were inactive at night.

After an hour, Alex decided to return. He started walking back towards town. Along the way, he encountered many monsters, but he avoided them.

Suddenly, Alex heard a sound from the bushes and jumped sideways, narrowly avoiding an attack from a monster.

In front of him stood a mist deer, a monster with an affinity towards mist, a combination of fire and water. It had beautiful turquoise-colored antlers.

The mist deer then used some kind of spell to blend into the surroundings and attacked, but it was ineffective, much like noticing a chameleon for the first time; once you keep an eye on it, you won't lose sight of it.

Alex kept his eyes on the deer and dodged another blow, but this time it lightly scratched his palm. The deer quickly recovered. Alex created some distance, took out his one-sided blade, and assumed a defensive stance. He enchanted his weapon with stun magic, toughened his skin, and strengthened his hands. At the same time, the deer cast a spell.

The deer released irregularly shaped fireballs from its antlers. The fireballs made their way towards Alex. He jumped into the air and used his new spell 'double jump' to leap away from the fireball's area of effect. The deer dashed towards Alex with its antlers, but Alex used a fireball from the air to stop the deer from intercepting him.

After landing on the ground, Alex distanced himself. The mist deer was a peak E-rank, giving it the advantage, but Alex avoided direct combat to even the odds. After exchanging a few blows, Alex had to consider his stamina and mana.

The deer attempted to use illusion spells again and created a copy of itself. Alex was momentarily confused but didn't lose hope. He retrieved his blade from his space bag and enchanted it with a fireball. Both deer charged at Alex from different sides. Alex moved towards one deer and slashed at it. The deer moved its antlers to block the blow, but the sword collided with them, and the fire from the fireball spread to the deer's head. It didn't explode, but the deer's head caught fire, and simultaneously, the illusion dissipated into mist. Enraged, the deer blindly charged at Alex and struck him in the stomach with pressurized water. His snake skin armor withstood the blow, but Alex was pushed back five steps. His internal organs hurt, and he felt like vomiting, but he took a deep breath. He then charged towards the deer; the fire on its head had extinguished, but the deer was badly burned, bleeding from several spots. Alex thrust his sword forward, and the deer attempted to distract him with a fireball, but Alex avoided the deer's antlers and aimed for its head, catching the fireball with his left hand. The blade pierced the deer's head and lodged halfway in. Alex's left hand was engulfed in flames, but he quickly extinguished them using water from his storage pouch. After a few seconds, his hands started healing. He could accelerate it, but he needed mana until he reached town. He estimated it would take two hours to heal due to his ability. He quickly collected the deer in another space pouch and sprinted towards town. His fight had attracted too much attention; he avoided most of the monsters and arrived in town in 20 minutes.