Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

The next day, Eleonora and Sigrún were lying beside their beloved disciple, dressed in beautiful silk pajamas—black in Eleonora's case and light blue in Sigrún's. The pair of lovely Masters rested their chins on one hand each, propping themselves up on their elbows on the bed, their positions slightly elevated as they gazed at their adored disciple with gentle smiles.

"... Being in love is truly a wonderful feel..." Sigrún remarked in a low, affectionate voice while gently running her hand over Erik's sleeping face, to which Eleonora replied in a similar tone.

"Certainly, it is... although it is a bit painful not to be able to take things any further..."

Sigrún could only nod heavily at the words of her sworn sister; after all, she too felt that pain—dying to take one more step, yet unable to do so because of the circumstances. Still, she, Eleonora, and Seraphina were willing to bear that pain for the sake of their beloved; they were prepared to wait as long as necessary.

Although part of the reason they could not consummate their love was that social problems would arise. After all, they were powerful and coveted women throughout the galaxy, so their relationship would not only be frowned upon but would also serve as a pretext to attack not only them but also their beloved. To the extent that people might even begin to question the stellar achievements of their shared disciple. The real reason, however, was a more fundamental one.

The path of a mana user was one of constant evolution—both physical and spiritual—so that with each level, their bodies and minds grew stronger and more resilient. Although this did not directly impede the "act of love" itself, it did bring many problems; to the point that there had been cases where women, physically more powerful than their husbands—something especially common among knightly women—ended up unintentionally injuring or even killing their husbands in the midst of the act, as the euphoria prevented them from properly controlling their strength.

But there was something even more terrifying than that for them. To solve the previous issue, they could, for instance, try to avoid hurting him by weakening themselves with drugs, artifacts, or even by binding themselves. However, the problem was that even if they could avoid physical harm, if they truly took that step with him, it was possible that they would affect his talents and the speed at which he leveled up and evolved.

Because evolution was both physical and spiritual, the spirit held a vital importance in the development of a mana user. It was imperative not only to nurture and strengthen it, but also to avoid affecting it in any way—always maintaining a stable and focused mindset, especially during the early levels, which were the most crucial. And few things could affect the spirit and the mindset more than love and sex, particularly at the beginning.

For this very reason, mana users avoided romantic relationships in their early years and only gave themselves a chance when they began to settle down, which resulted in a dearth of married individuals at the university—a fact that had so intrigued Erik in his time and was also what prevented them from taking things further. They were genuinely terrified of hurting him and affecting his future.

Furthermore, being fully aware of the type of people they were, they knew that the moment one of them took the first step, there would be no turning back; all three would lose themselves in that spiral of desire and love, and without a doubt, end up harming the man they loved—something they could not allow under any circumstances. Thus, they reached an agreement to limit their acts of intimacy to nothing more than kisses on the cheek and hugs; anything beyond that was forbidden.

"I guess that's what they call 'boyfriend pain'? Although now it would be 'master pain', hehe..."