John Ericsson's Point of View

  " Okay Sarah, let the man breath."

  Aqua's voice brought us back from the daze. We separated finally, breathing deeper than last time. Sarah, looking deeply unsatisfied with her mother's interruption, refused to take her eyes off of me. Once I caught my breath, I asked a simple question to her.

  " Why?"

  Sarah looked at Aqua and Aqua began to speak to us.

  " Wait for us to leave Sarah, then you can explain it to him. Before we do leave John, I want you to know 1 important thing. We, as Parents, will never force any of Our Children into loveless political marriages."

  With Warrick nodding to Aqua's statement, they proceeded to leave along with the Maids and guards. And now only Sarah and I remained. After spending some time to calm down and regain her cool, she began to speak to me.

  " To start with John, you need to know that I did not wish for a political marriage to bind you to My Family or Diablos! I truly do Love you. And my Honest Wish is for you to be My Husband, and I to be your Wife!"

  She began to explain her feelings to me. My heart beating faster as her confession to me continued.

  " For years I've held no interest in Romance or Marriage. Only focusing on bettering myself to protect those important to me. Thankfully, My Parents are firm believers in their Children truly Loving their Partners and do not believe in forcing my Siblings and I to Marry for politics."

  She begins to speak in a calm tone as she continued.

  " Having said all of this, you most likely are wondering how I fell for you. The answer to which is in your Holy Heal Spell, it seems that the Caster can enter a person's mind to attack the source of the sickness, correct?"

  She asks me and I nod yes to answer her. She continues.

  " Well, it seems if it is not properly controlled, that it's a 2-way door. As you spent time in my mind, I spent time in yours. At first, I thought it was a good way to alleviate my boredom of sleeping. But Fate is ever so tricky. After viewing your memories and experiencing your joy, your pain, but most importantly your kindness. I have fallen in Love with you John Ericsson!"

  My eyes widen at the explanation. As she blushed crimson, I could feel my own face getting hot... Even still, she continued to speak in a heartfelt tone to me. I could feel how honest she was being with me right now. I could feel my heart beginning to quicken it's beat.

  " At first, I thought maybe this was all a side effect of the Spell, but after waking, the feelings have gotten stronger not weaker! When you protected me, when Peter attacked. When you smiled at me after I thanked you. My feelings only grew stronger, But the turning point was last night! When I thought of you leaving, or worse returning to those women from your world. I couldn't bear the thought of it!"

  Continuing to be shocked, I saw how distressed she became at the thought of me leaving. Tears began to fill in her eyes, but women? Who... Wait, my memories? Does she mean Laura and the other? If that's the case... I spoke to her in a calm tone to try to calm her... No, I was assuring her.

  " I won't ever return to their side. There's no place for me there. You saw my memories with them, right? I plan on staying in Diablos until I sort out this Hero business just to let you know."

  " Not all of your memories with them, but some. And even though that is how you feel now, there's no telling what might happen! Not to mention how they might hurt you again. I can't bear it John!"

  I was surprised at what she had to say back to me, but still, I continued to speak to her.

  " Let's say I agree with you about this. Will this truly be ok? I mean it took using Sandra to even start to drum any support for this Marriage. Will you truly be ok with this? I mean I don't even know how I feel about you, besides being physically attracted to you, if I'm being frank about this."

  She seemed prepared for this. She began to speak with confidence.

  " For the support, it will come naturally for you I promise. Once Diablos sees you for the man you are, they will be in full support. Think John. You have been here for a day, and you not only saved me, but healed my father and won over many of the inhabitants of the Palace. Do you truly think Sandra would do something like that for a person she disliked?"

  Breathing in after rushing her explanation out, she began to answer the 2nd half of my question.

  " As for you not knowing if you like me or not, that is only because you haven't spent the same amount of time with me as I have with you."

  / Step. Step. Step./

  She began to inch closer to me as she continues to speak.

  " I swear on my Honor as a Royal of Diablos! John, I will make you fall for me in 3 months! Prepare yourself for it John! I won't be shackled by Status or Species! I'll be attacking you full force from now on!"

  * Touch...*

  She places her hand on my chest as she stares into my eyes. I can feel my face heating up even more. I've never had someone so blatantly say they like me before after all. After staying in that position for a few moments, once she seemed to notice something while looking at me, she begins to speak again.

  " Good! Now that we have that settled, I'll call My Parents back in, we have some matters to discuss with you now. About the Treasury and your Training Schedule."

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  She gently lifts her hand away from me and begins to walk to her parents. I feel a sense of loneliness from her figure leaving. I spent the time waiting for her to return thinking of the face she made before leaving.

  Sarah's Point of View

  After closing the door of the Throne Room, I take a minute to release all this nervous energy in my body. I can't believe I didn't even give him room to refuse! Was I too domineering? Did I properly convey how much I Love him? Doubts begin to fester in my mind.

  " Relax Sarah Beth. You did fantastic!"

  " Mother? How do you know that?"

  In the sea of doubts of my mind, My Mother's voice broke their hold on me.

  " Because I took a peek into his mind as you were talking! He doesn't think badly of you at all! In fact, you charmed him quite a bit!"

  " Wait is that ok? What if he finds out and dislikes us for invading his privacy!?"

  " As long as this conversation stays between us girls, there shouldn't be an issue! And besides you still need assistance from me! Remember those 4 have a time advantage over you! We must work swiftly, Sarah Beth!"

  The guilt I was feeling was forgotten as I remember the faces of those cowardly pests. I can't hand him over to them no matter what! Feeling restored motivation, I spoke to My Mother.

  " Ok Mother, it will be our secret! I'm on my way to you and Father! Let's not keep my Fiancé waiting!"

  " Agreed Love! We'll meet you halfway!"

  " Understood!"

  I started to walk while revising the plan's I created from all my research of his memories.

  John Ericsson's Point of View

  After 5 minutes, the Royal Family, as well as the Maids and guards returned to the Throne Room. I watched as everyone entered, Warrick seemed glad to see me. Aqua and Sarah were beaming with happy smiles targeted at me. I suspect the daughter is receiving advice from the mother. Well, I suppose all is fair in love and war, right? Speaking of war, Warrick's attention was put squarely on me. After everyone had returned to their correct positions, Warrick began to speak.

  " John, I'm glad to see that you're still with us. Pertaining to why I wanted to chat with you after my daughter, it's about the Treasury and the Training Schedule we will have you undertake. Which would you like to start with?"

  " I believe since I'm heading to the Treasury next, we should begin with that one, Warrick. If you don't mind?"

  Warrick began to speak in a relaxed tone after my suggestion.

  " Alright, simply put, the Treasury you're going into is known as the Heirloom Treasury. Here in Diablos we have 2 Treasuries. One is a normal Treasury, containing coins and jewels. The other is the Heirloom Treasury, where we keep weapons and armor from Great Demons through History locked inside of it. The reason we keep it locked is because most of the armor and weapons are Cursed for one reason or another."

  " Wait, so you want me to use cursed items?"

  I asked Warrick an important question, surprised at the explanation.

  " Yes and no. You see, "Cursed Item" is a blanket term, so perhaps maybe, ah yes... Unique, you could call them Unique as well. Generally, Cursed items are put into 3 Categories. The 1st being actual Cursed Items that have attained a Unique Status through being Imbued with Great Hate and Malevolence through Atrocious Acts. The 2nd being Sentient Items, through some rhyme or reason, these Items have developed a Personality of some kind. The 3rd being Possessed Items, which more or less is what it sounds like, Items that have been Possessed by a Spirit of a formally living creature. Each type of Item prefers a different type of person that will suit them best and the Compatibility is boosted depending on the Job of the person. And with that, they have Benefits and Drawbacks based on the Curse."

  Warrick takes a moment for me to absorb the information, then continues.

  " Now having said all this, I want you to walk around the Treasury and see what draws you in. After which, it will be up to your discretion if you wish to use them or even breaking the Curse for an Item."

  I scratch my head as I try to unpack all of that.

  " Ok... In that case, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much danger will I be in down there?"

  " 0. The Treasury is Warded."

  Warrick answered very quickly, in a matter-of-fact fashion.

  "How will I know the Costs and Benefits of the Item?"

  " Sarah will go with you. she has an Item that analyzes Items, which will explain the Pros and Cons. As well as the Sentient and Possessed Items. They may tell you something, but they may also mislead you."

  " Why not just give it to me then? I'd hate to trouble her. Also, this sounds somewhat dangerous."

  Warrick smiled helplessly at my question.

  " The Item only works with Demonic Mana unfortunately. Aqua and I will be too busy to go.... Also, Sarah volunteered and would not be deterred."

  " I see... Ok. I'll be in your care. Sarah."

  Sarah smiled at me as I spoke to her. After looking for a few seconds, someone coughed, and I regained my composure.

  " Ok that's one down. What about my training?"

  Warrick rose 2 fingers in the air from his right hand and began to speak.

  " I have 2 things to tell you regarding your training which begins tomorrow. The 1st of which, is explaining what each of your Teachers will be doing. Aqua's main objective will be to teach you Mana Control and boosting your total amount of Mana that you can use. After establishing that as routine and at her discretion, she will begin to teach you Magic compatible with your 2 Job Classes."

  I nodded along to his words as Aqua smiled like a freshly graduated Teacher. Warrick continued his explanations.

  " Crest will teach you Basic Swordsmanship, and how best to apply your Mana Blade. To give you an idea at how coveted he is as a Teacher, Nobles would be willing to sell land to have Crest teach their children! He is currently not here today, as he is busy delegating tasks to his Subordinates for the next 3 months."

  " Will he be ok? I mean, isn't he busy leading his men?"

  Sarah, after hearing what I had to say, gave a proud look to her parents for some reason. Warrick proceeded to answer my question.

  " He'll be fine. Most of his work is bureaucratic in nature considering the stalemate currently. Some exercise will be good stress relief for him. Moving on, 3rd will be Sarah. She will be busy in the mornings. As I will be training her. Seeing as how our Classes are alike. After which, she will have lunch with you in the afternoon. After all, you need time to get to know each other better."

  After I scratched my head at the last part, Warrick continued.

  " After lunch, you will be given an hour to Mediate and try to reach out to a Spirit. Aqua will help guide the process. As an Added Bonus, this will also let you digest your food comfortably. Finally, we come to me! The Last Teacher. Basically, I'm going to spar with you and Sarah until dinner. We will do 1 on 1 sparring, and then you will work as a pair to fight me so you can have experience working with someone. My task is get you to mix everything you'll learn previously and become able to use it effectively."

  " Ok I agree with everything. What is the 2nd thing you wanted to say regarding my training?"

  After finishing his explanation, I agreed with what he said. Even though I feel like they are trying to push me and Sarah together, I suppose it's understandable. It feels wrong to deny her after how honest she was with me anyways. I then asked what else there was to know.

  " Simple, after dinner, you will have around 3 hours to spend as you please. However, this time may lessen depending on what you bring up from the Treasury. After all, some weapons require massive practice to handle them. Even more so if Cursed."

  " Alright. Thank you all so much for your guidance!"

  " John this barely touches the Debt My Family now owes you. Stand with Pride. You are someone more than worthy of us teaching you."

  " Warrick..."

  Warrick simply smiled and nodded. Aqua and Sarah looked at me with smiles as well. After spending a few moments in silence, I asked to go to the Treasury.

  " Can I be brought to the Treasury now?"

  " Absolutely! Sarah will go with you and guide you. Happy hunting, John!"

  Sarah and I left the room after I thanked Warrick. Sarah seemed very happy... And she looked really cute as she tried to take sneaking glances at me as we walked.