As soon as Wolf entered South’s alley, the bum stared at him intently with a wretched smile on his face. He didn’t say a word, but those eyes drilled holes through Wolf.

The vagrant’s lips twitched several times. He was dying to say something, but getting it out in the open would ruin the fun he was having.

“Big brother, why are you looking at me like that?” Wolf asked, and South’s grin widened even more.

“Oh, you know why,” he said, his eyes fixed on his little brother.

After three seconds of awkward silence, South spoke first.

“Hehe,” he said, laughing and yet not laughing at the same time.

He was all ugly grins, which practically begged for people to slap him, or punch his face.

The non-laugh jolted Wolf. His eyes trembled as he looked left and right in panic, trying not to meet that intent gaze.

“I, I have no idea what you’re—” Wolf started, but when he saw the way his big brother was looking at him, he gulped and stopped talking.

Silence.

The silence filled with meaning lasted longer this time as Wolf roasted, trying to think what he should do and inwardly cursing South for not being his usual extremely verbal self.

That thought earned him more silence and a slightly wider grin, which looked life threatening. The top of South’s head could fall off any moment. That’s how wide his grin was.

“Oh, fine, since you want to know—” Wolf started, but South interrupted him, causing him to falter yet again.

“I didn’t ask anything,” the deranged sadist said, still smiling, still gnawing at Wolf’s sanity with those sharp eyes.

“Wanna drink?” he asked, sloshing his wineskin.

Surprisingly, Wolf nodded.

“Sure. Pour me a cup,” he said, and a humble wooden cup appeared in his hand.

South paused for a moment. Gods know how many times he made the offer and now, finally Wolf accepted.

Doing the impossible, South grinned even wider, then filled Wolf’s cup.

“Here’s to my little brother finally taking his first step towards adulthood.” South raised his wineskin in toast. Wolf raised his cup, albeit with some confusion.

As far as Wolf was concerned, he’d been an adult for years. As far as the law was concerned, he’s been an adult for nearly two years, but his big brother only considered him a grownup after he agreed to drink some wine? Or was it because of the women last night?

Wolf wondered as he leisurely drank and savored the wine. It went down with surprising smoothness and was a lot more intoxicating than the wine he drank last night. A lot better too.

As for the aroma, if he had to put it in words, Wolf would say it tasted kind of like life? A bit of sweetness, a bit of bitterness, a bit of warmth.

As the bittersweet liquid went down his throat, Wolf felt a strange, yet oddly pleasant aftertaste. It was a slightly metallic, earthen taste which lasted for a long while. All things considered, the wine was superb, like a divine nectar.

Drinking it was strange, yet enjoyable. Again, very much like life itself.

After downing several cups, Wolf tried to comment on the wine. He gave a lengthy speech in a tongue-tied manner of a slightly drunken man. He wanted to give praise, but the slurry speech failed to impress South one bit. Wolf’s big brother gave him an odd look before speaking flatly.

“You know jack shit about drinking. Wine is a person,” he said, slightly irked. “Drink and enjoy. Stop embarrassing yourself.”

Wolf did as he was told. What happened after was somewhat hazy.

The young man couldn’t really remember how he got there, but he found himself back at the dorm a bit before sundown. After staggering into his and Wayde’s room, he found a letter from Anna and an ornate envelope with a fancy wax seal.

Wolf read them in the living room, accompanied by the background music of Wayde’s snoring on the couch.

Anna notified Wolf of the date for their make-up exam.

As for the fancy-looking letter, it was a ball invitation for Matilda’s birthday party.

The gala would take place at her family manor in four and a half months. Considering how often Wolf was away, giving him such a heads up seemed appropriate.

With the letters read and his roommate snoring like a bear, Wolf was now faced with a choice. He could either go to a brothel to harvest more Soul Force, or go to sleep.

I have a feeling Anna will show up first thing in the morning, he thought drunkenly. If she finds out I went to a brothel, I’ll never hear the end of it.

It’s not like I’m in a hurry. I’ll stay at the Mage Academy for a couple of years at least. Besides, you’re drunk, Wolf. If you tried to sneak around now gods know what would happen.

In his hazy state of mind, Wolf decided to be patient and suddenly had a revelation. Maybe I could pretend to take a mission. Then I could go to brothels for a month or two. If I work hard, I could probably collect Soul Force from thirty-five to forty women every day. But then I would be neglecting my Mind Hall refinement. If I cut it down to twenty women, I’d have as much time to carve as if I’m traveling in the wilderness.

Wolf face-planted onto the bed, closed his eyes and entered his Mind Palace in his first ever intoxicated attempt at meditation. He seemed completely oblivious that he planned to lie to the woman he loved, telling her he was leaving for a mission, while in reality he would go from brothel to brothel in the Merchant District.

***

While Wolf excitedly considered the number of prostitutes he could visit behind Anna’s back, the woman he loved was having a heart to heart with her roommate.

“So, what do you think? What should I do?” she asked nervously after giving her own view of what happened on her mission with Wolf.

“The only thing I can tell you is to follow your heart. The five of us will leave for a new mission as soon as we’re done with the end of semester exam. You should figure out how you want to proceed before we leave. Don’t worry. Whatever choice you make, I’ve got your back,” Matilda said with a reassuring smile.

As soon as Anna returned, Matilda could tell something troubled her roommate. Apparently, the trip with Wolf was really stressful for her and greatly affected her already strained mind.

“Do you think I’m acting like a bitch?” Anna suddenly asked, catching Matilda off guard.

“What are you saying, Annabelle?” Matilda said, covering her gasping mouth with her hand. “You’re not a bitch. You have your thoughts and worldview. Your man can either respect them, or not. But that’s got nothing to do with you. If he doesn’t want things to continue as they are now, then he should sit down and have a talk with you. Then you can settle everything like grownups.”

Matilda was down to earth and a very practical person. However, just because she was what South described as a pure soul that didn’t mean that she had a gentle personality, nor a kind disposition.

“But, what should I do if he keeps pushing like he did during our trip?” Anna desperately sought someone that could solve her problem.

She loved Wolf, but he was not her entire world. She had her own nightmares and dreams. The problem was she could easily see Wolf turning into either, depending on how their relationship developed.

“How would I know that? I’ve never had a boyfriend.” Matilda answered impulsively, then tried to be more constructive. “If you're asking about something extreme, such as if he tried to assault me, I’d kick him where it hurts and pour cold water on his hot head. If he’s angry after that, then he knows where the door is and good riddance. But that’s what I would do. I’m not you, and I don’t know what you should do. Besides, from what you said, he only wanted to take a bath with you, which shouldn’t be a big issue. I mean, you said you were already more intimate than that.”

No matter how hard Matilda tried to act like a grown woman, she squeaked and stuttered the last part. Her face was now a bright shade of red, while her ears were so red they almost started glowing.

“If you give him a finger, he’d go for the entire arm. That’s just the way he is,” Anna said with a harrumph.

Seeing how bashful Matilda was, she kind of felt guilty about telling her all this. But who was she supposed to discuss this with? Barbara? Anna would rather strangle the whore than share any intimate stories with her. The bitch dared try to steal her boyfriend from her in broad daylight!

The only other person Anna could turn to was her mother. But, if she went home, she risked running into her father, and Edwin might press her the wrong way, saying things like all domestic problems are the woman’s fault.

“Look, if you let him bathe with you and he assaults you, what would you do?” Matilda asked, feeling frustrated with how they were running in circles because of Anna’s indecisiveness.

Hearing those words, Anna shuddered like a scared child, her nightmares flashing before her eyes.

“He wouldn’t do something like that to me. He would never,” she mumbled as she subconsciously hugged herself.

But if he does… Yet Matilda couldn’t make herself say those words. Seeing how Anna was falling apart, she didn’t have the heart to push the subject any further. The only thing she could do now was console her friend.

“He doesn’t seem like the type,” she said the empty words, not really certain whether they were true.

“Right, right, I know.” Anna cheered up instantly. “I won’t end up like Mother.”

“Definitely.” Matilda smiled before continuing. “How about you go and get some rest? You have a test in two days, so it’d be best to rest well.”

“You’re right. Thank you for listening to my nonsense, Matilda. You’re the best!” Anna gave her friend a big hug before running off to her bedroom.

She had to sleep. Tomorrow, she should work up the courage to have an open chat with Wolf about their relationship. Or maybe not? I’ll see how he acts the next time we head out. Maybe we just need to take a few more missions together and things will sort themselves out on their own?

***

Once he’d entered his Mind Palace, Wolf realized that the rate at which his soul grew had increased drastically. After meticulous observation, he concluded that the way he was right now was comparable to what he’d experienced after drinking that potion of Clarity.

Coming to this conclusion, Wolf didn’t do what any normal person would do, which is make the most use of the situation. Instead, he triple checked and confirmed that the rate of expansion really had increased. And after taking a couple of strokes with his chisel he found that carving was considerably easier as well.

“Hmmm, this is even more effective than potions of Clarity, but why?” Wolf’s Mental Aspect mused. “If I understood everything correctly, Conceptual art should only provide me with a momentary boost of Soul Force. After that single surge, Soul Force should run out. So why is this happening? Does it have to do with the number of successive times I stole Soul Force from those women?”

Saying that, Wolf’s Mental Aspect paused.

“Wait a moment, I stole?” he repeated, hardly believing his ears.

That’s when Wolf realized something was wrong. Not telling the entire truth to those prostitutes left him with a bitter feeling.

For the first time in his life, Wolf felt like a thief. And he despised thieves and bandits more than anything else.

“Why do I feel so guilty?” he wondered. “Even if I’d told them this would ruin their future as Mages, it’s not like they’d refuse. At most, they might have asked me for a couple extra coins.”

The Mental Aspect rubbed his chin in thought.

“Should I go back and talk to those women from Sweet Dream? Tell them everything?” Wolf could hardly believe what he was saying. “Am I drunk? I clearly told them they couldn’t have children for a year. They aren’t even interested in being Mages.

“We’re supposed to check our missions, and I’m taking Anna out for lunch, so I won’t have time tomorrow. Wait, I should change my priority when picking missions. With this cheap way of gathering Soul Force, I don’t need that many Academic Credits anymore…”

After thinking for a while Wolf came up with a new plan. From now on he would be going on missions that brought him close to large settlements, likely to have brothels.

Without him even realizing, Wolf had developed a serious problem. It was the same condition from which Lonely Eagle had suffered. A condition which earned him the title of the most lustful man alive, brought about the downfall of the royal Wolf clan and greatly destabilized the Elven Empire.

Luckily for Wolf, nobody was aware of this problem. At least for now.