In the Prime of Youth

Faced with one of the few female Trolls in the tribe who matched his tastes, Blade Tusk felt as though two options had appeared in his mind.

First, chat with her about spells and politics, and have a wholesome, all-ages conversation.

Second, push her down.

Our hot-blooded Blade Tusk obviously chose the second option. After asking for Meiya's opinion, the two embraced and fell to the ground, giving each other their first time.

A brief indulgence in pleasure—the battle that lasted twenty-four hours finally came to an end the following day.

Looking at the woman lying in the crook of his arm, Blade Tusk thought of some rather mood-killing matters—Troll society had no concept of chastity like the one from his previous life.

Male Trolls spent their entire lives scattering the seeds of life far and wide;

Apart from barely getting through pregnancy and nursing, female Trolls spent their lives taking pleasure with different partners.

He had no intention of morally condemning this state of affairs, nor did he believe that marriage and a fixed-partner system were some justice defined by the universe.

But that did not mean he could casually accept the possibility that a woman he had taken a fancy to might be lying in another male's arms tomorrow, or at some point in the future.

Ah, this.

For a moment, it was as if everything had lost its flavor. This young male, whose head had been swept away by the first pleasure of his two lives, was now drowned beneath a sudden surge of possessiveness.

Perhaps if he considered it at another time, his answer would be completely different.

But right now, Blade Tusk had no intention of wronging himself.

He hesitated for only a moment before hardening his heart and taking action.

He pulled the female Troll into his arms, kept their noses nearly touching, and stared into her eyes. "Meiya, have you ever thought about having a fixed partner?"

Seeing the almost tangible possessiveness in the eyes of the male whose arm she was lying on, Meiya suddenly gained an entirely new understanding of this rather legendary pioneer.

But that possessiveness did not disgust her.

Her somewhat pointed, elongated tongue slipped out from between her slightly parted lips and licked the corner of his lips with desire, only to be firmly pinned down at once.

The warm, wet exchange vanished in an instant. Meiya, forced into retreat, asked with slight confusion, "A fixed partner? What do you mean?"

Having completed the defensive counterattack in one corner of the battlefield and forced the enemy general to retreat, the victorious Blade Tusk replied smugly, "From now on, you'll only mate with me."

Having spoken an answer that almost completely defied tribal tradition, the male returned from his false victory and began to feel somewhat uneasy.

But what Blade Tusk had not expected was that his idea actually piqued her interest.

She locked her arms around his strong neck, pressed her forehead to his, and asked in a voice suppressing her excitement, as if seeking confirmation, "And you? Will you only be with me too?"

"Uh..."

"Hmm?"

"Of course. This has to be mutual."

"Alright."

"You agreed?"

"Of course. But how will you ensure that our mutual promise is upheld?"

That was a good question, and Blade Tusk could not help sinking into thought.

After a long while, he answered somewhat uncertainly, "How about we make a vow to each other before the entire tribe as witnesses? Yes, we'll call it a 'wedding.' Once we marry, we'll become a separate family."

"Though I don't know why it's called 'marriage,' what can it guarantee? Besides, where there is joining, there must be separation. If there can be 'marriage,' then there can be 'divorce,' wouldn't you say? Hehe."

Uh... that was indeed true. In his previous life, examples of marital infidelity and divorce had been too numerous to count. A wedding had never been a promise worthy of trust.

But what should he do? To be honest, Blade Tusk also wanted to solve this problem once and for all, so that future husbands and wives would never have to worry about betraying one another.

As he pondered, he thought of the sea of consciousness, of deep meditation. In a flash of inspiration, he suddenly realized—could this problem be solved through vows made in deep meditation?

After entering deep meditation, the primary consciousness could, to a certain degree, coordinate the collective will of all cells. If used properly, could it not become a kind of "vow" that had to be honored?

If it worked, its use would not be limited to so-called "weddings"; it could also restrain other actions.

For example, commerce, alliances between factions, and so on.

He told Meiya about this idea, wanting to hear her thoughts.

The female Troll was quite intelligent and quickly thought of the flaw in this method.

Her voice drifted softly. "Have you considered this? What if we grow tired of each other someday? Wouldn't such a vow become a form of torment?"

"That is indeed a problem. So? Do you have any ideas?"

"Mm... how about this? Add a clause to the deep meditation oath: 'The bodies and minds of both parties to the vow shall be mutually attracted to one another, and this attraction shall last throughout both their lives.' What... do you think?"

To be honest, it was a little ruthless. One could even say that this kind of "oath" twisted both parties' rationality to a certain extent.

Can attraction that has been altered like this really count as love? Blade Tusk could not help thinking.

But "love" itself seemed capable of being reduced to a cold physiological phenomenon.

Now, it was merely the addition of an "oath" binding atop dopamine or some other endocrine secretion.

Thinking about it that way, perhaps it isn't impossible to accept? Besides, instead of worrying about the seven-year itch, cuckoldry, or betrayal, wouldn't solving the problem once and for all like this save a great deal of mental effort?

"I have no problem with it, but have you really thought this through? To put it bluntly, this kind of oath twists one's will. Do you really think this is what you want?"

"Yes. I do not wish to spend too much thought on a 'partner.' You alone can fulfill all of my fantasies. If an 'oath' can bring about a 'married couple' who will always be attracted to each other? Is that the term?"

"Yes."

"If it can bring about a marital relationship where we will always be attracted to each other, a stable 'family'... that seems quite nice too, doesn't it? Besides, are you attracted to me at this very moment?"

"Without a doubt, I'm attracted to you," Blade Tusk replied without hesitation.

"I am attracted to you as well. Is it wrong for us to want to work hard to preserve this 'mutual attraction'?"

"...No?" the man answered, somewhat uncertainly.

"Yes. And the Deep Meditation Oath is one of the fruits of our efforts. Is that wrong?"

"That... doesn't seem wrong either?" Blade Tusk felt himself being persuaded. Perhaps this thing was not quite so evil after all?

"That's right, we have done nothing wrong! So long as, at the time of the oath, we both acknowledge it and sincerely wish to maintain this relationship, then making such a choice is a right we possess."

Meiya leaned close to Blade Tusk's ear, exhaling warm breath as she "bewitched" him.

"Sir, you wouldn't want your future wife to lie in another male's arms and pleasure him, would you?"

"Damn female Troll! You have enraged a gentleman!"

Muttering some incomprehensible words, Blade Tusk pinned down the giggling "bewitcher" and once again entered full-firepower mode.