Ambrose Academy’s Modifier

"Greetings, Lady Amlerythe, my name is Ari."

Ari neglected to ask Ferine about the Matriarch, including what etiquette would be appropriate when greeting her.

He decided to bow deeply to show respect.

"I am indebted to you for saving my life...Thank you."

"Oh my, there is no need to lower your head. Please raise that handsome face of yours," Lady Amlerythe said.

Ari waited for a few seconds before raising his head.

The Matriarch flashed a bright smile. "Yes, that is much better.”

She elegantly pinched the hem of her skirt, then curtseyed.

"I greet you, Ari, as the Matriarch of this village. My name is Amlerythe; it is a great honour to make your acquaintance," she said, bowing her head.

'Why is she lowering her head?'

"It feels awkward that your head is lowered after you asked me to raise mine."

She held the position far longer than he did before lifting her face, then smiled

Ari glanced at Ferine, and she too, just smiled.

"I would invite you into my home to discuss matters, but I would imagine that after being stuck in Ferine's bed for such a long time…you would prefer to be out in the fresh air," Lady Amlerythe remarked.

Ferine sighed.

'Did she just pout when mentioning Ferine's bed? Hmm...’

“Lady Amlerythe, we have settled this matter. It would not have been appropriate for you to share a bed without a proper introduction.”

‘The Matriarch offered to share her bed with a naked outsider… That makes complete sense.’

Lady Amlerythe shrugged. “I have yet to see the problem.”

“Lady Amlerythe, given your curiosity, he would not have recovered as swiftly.”

“I beg to differ. His body would have been in excellent care. With proper stimulation, he would have recovered in half the time.”

“Lady Amlerythe, any type of stimulation by yourself would be too much.”

“There is no such thing, Ferine. Besides, if a…situation arose, I would simply use my hands, mouth, or-”

“And that is why Lady Amlerythe, he did not share a bed with you.”

‘They’re so casual about this shit... Wait, Ferine cock blocked me first?’

Ari couldn’t contain his disappointment.

He frowned. “Ferine... I thought we were friends.”

Ferine’s eyes widened. “W-We are, why did you say that?”

Lady Amlerythe giggled, covering her mouth with her fingertips.

‘Dammit, why is that so effective?’

The Matriarch grinned. “It appears that Malentasume is rather disappointed that we did not share my bed.”

“Is that true? Was my bed not comfortable enough for you?” Ferine asked, grabbing hold of his left arm.

“It’s not so much the bed…”

“Would you have preferred Lady Amlerythe’s company to mine?”

Ferine hugged his arm between her chest and squeezed. “Truly?”

‘So warm.’

“Ferine, that is rather selfish. Have you not monopolized Malentasume enough?”

Suddenly, Ari felt an overwhelmingly soft sensation on his right arm, even more so than on his left.

He became distracted by Ferine and failed to notice the Matriarch moving to his right.

She too, hugged his arm between her exceptionally voluptuous chest.

‘Damn…Lady Amlerythe is in a league of her own.’

Despite having both arms enveloped by incredibly beautiful women, Ari couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at the cliché scene unfolding before him.

‘What’s next? They’re going to ask which side-’

“Well, Malentasume? Whose company would you prefer?”

He grinned. “I can be quite greedy at times, you see. So, I’d rather not choose at all.”

The Matriarch giggled. “Greedy indeed, though; it suits you well, Malentasume.

‘There’s that word again; she said it four times now.’

“Lady Amlerythe?”

“Please call me Amlerythe.”

“Okay… Amlerythe?”

“Yes?” she asked, staring into his eyes expectantly.

“Why do you keep saying Malentasume?”

“Because that is who you are.”

She smiled, noticing his confusion.

“Perhaps it is time that we begin our discussion,” she said, releasing her grip and stepping back, prompting Ferine to do the same.

Ari felt an immediate drop in temperature around his arms.

It was disappointing. He didn’t actually want them to stop.

“Shall we take a seat?” she suggested, pointing towards a small circular table on the deck.

Ari nodded and followed her.

"I will prepare some tea," Ferine said, heading towards a large dark brown door.

As they sat at the table, something strange occurred to him.

He looked around for a moment, then noticed Lady Amlerythe grinning at his behaviour.

"Have you noticed?" she asked.

"Yeah, I don't hear the waterfall, nor any ambient noise."

"I cast a sound nullification spell around my home. Given the nature of our discussion, I thought that you would prefer some privacy."

'That’s useful.’

"What is the name of that spell?"

"Are you interested in our magic?"

"I am."

"That is interesting," she said. "I would imagine the magic you use in the Upper Garden to be more grandiose in comparison to ours."

"The Upper Garden?"

Ari’s tone was sharper than he intended.

Lady Amlerythe's expression stiffened for a brief moment.

"I apologise, Ferine informed me of your situation."

"Do not fret however, we are the only ones aware of that," she said with a reassuring smile.

'I see. It makes sense that she told the Matriarch, and she seems to believe it, too, just like Ferine. But what do they think the Upper Garden is?'

'Hopefully I can get some answers.’

"What do you know about the Upper Garden?"

He made sure to ask in a gentler tone.

"Only that it is home to special existences, such as The Great Malen-Soato...and yourself."

"Oh? And what makes you believe that I'm special?"

She just smiled.

‘Playing hard to get are we?’

“What about the silver-haired woman, is she a special existence too?”

Lady Amlerythe’s eyes widened briefly. “You met the spirit of the Great Malen-Soato...”

‘Her spirit? Like an Avatar?’

The moment flashed by in an instant, but Ari notice the subtle look of envy on her face.

‘Strange.’

“When was the last time you encountered the...spirit of The Great Malen-Soato?”

The Matriarch shook her head. “I never have, only our ancestor’s had that privilege,” she said. “Their records are the only reason we know what she looks like.”

He sighed. ‘I’m back where I started.’

His memories of their interaction were not the most reliable at the moment. Ari couldn’t say with certainty that the Silver-haired woman in that garden was the one he knew.

‘But, why can’t the current Matriarch of the Soato tribe see her?’

“Do you know the reason she hasn’t appeared since the time of your ancestor’s?”

“I do not, and I dare not speculate The Great Malen-Soato’s intentions.”

“Fair enough, but where do I fit into all of this?”

Lady Amlerythe grinned playfully.

Ari found it increasingly difficult to focus on her face alone. Her well-endowed chest rested on the table as she leaned forward, no doubt purposely placed to draw his attention.

It was working.

Her grin deepened as she tracked the movement of his eyes.

“Amlerythe.”

A faint giggle escaped her lips as she straighten her posture.

“I mentioned it before, remember? You are Malentasume.”

"Right... The Malentasume thing. What does that mean?"

"It means one who has been acknowledged by The Great Malenta-Saoto," Ferine replied, placing a tray with two cups of black tea on the table.

Lady Amlerythe reached for the cup on the tray and brought it to her lips.

She kept her eyes fixed on Ari as she blew on the tea before taking a sip and smiling in satisfaction.

"Acknowledged of what exactly?"

Ari took the cup off the tray, mimicking her actions before taking a sip of tea.

It was quite nice, smooth, and fruity.

"Well, that is rather complicated to answer," Lady Amlerythe replied.

"And why is that?"

"The truth is, we do not know.”