[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 147: An idea. (Patreon)

William looked at his girlfriend with wide eyes and conflicted feelings. “You used it earlier and that was what I sensed. It was the reason I went outside, to check who could be using aether so similar to ours.”

“W-Wait! Wait! Wait! I didn’t do anything!” Reina said, wildly waving her hands. “I didn’t… I don’t even know HOW I’d use it or…”

“Will’s way of letting his energy seep into someone is subtle and… extremely pleasurable, as you all know,” Nanami said, keeping her lecture mode through her blush. “You’re right, Reina. You wouldn’t know how to use it, or even feel it in yourself. It was more than likely a result of survival instincts kicking in. But even like that, aether has naturally started to flow within you, and with aether comes something important. Magic resistance.”

Will nodded. “Right. The stronger your aether, the less susceptible you are to foreign magic inside you,” he said, paraphrasing Aoi’s lecture.

“So…” Anna started, trying to keep up with the conversation. “Since Reina has this… aether thing flowing inside her…” She spoke as if the words were alien and uncomfortable in her mouth. “...she could resist being mind controlled, but I couldn’t?”

“Yes,” Nanami said.

Then Will could swear he saw a lightbulb light up in Reina’s head. “Hold on! If I have… resistance to magic due to having sex with Will, wouldn’t that mean Mrs. Evans also has it?”

“Oh!” Will and Anna exclaimed at the same time.

“It would explain why Jack’s control over her isn’t perfect,” Will said.

“And why you sleeping with her helped her break free from it!” Anna said with a huge grin, both happy for the results and for the fact that she seemed to be keeping up with the conversation.

Nanami smiled wryly. “Whether that’s a good or a bad thing for us is up for debate, but that seems to be the case.”

Another question popped inside Will’s head. “Hey, Nanami. Like you said, spirits like Ishtar and the Spirit of Greed are dense concentrations of aether attuned to a very specific type of magic, right?”

“Right.”

“Ishtar is attuned to sexual magic, but… other people, like you and your aunt, are not attuned to anything, correct?”

“...Correct.” Nanami furrowed her brow. She seemed to be following Will’s train of thought.

“If so, then… Why did I feel sexual energy from Reina?” he finally asked. “Was it Ishtar’s influence?”

Nanami bit the tip of her thumb. “Very likely. If I come up with a crude analogy from the top of my head, then… We could think of people’s dormant ability to use aether as a clogged system of pipes. By pushing extra aether, or water in this case, into it, the pressure helps push away whatever is clogging the pipes. But here, let’s say that you used purple colored water to push clear, colorless water. Once they’re both mixed, all of the colorless water will take the tint of the purple water, albeit diluted. All of this meaning that Reina’s naturally neutral aether became attuned to sexual magic, if far weaker than Ishtar’s.”

“No wonder, then.” Reina swallowed and looked at her own hands. When she saw everyone looking at her, she explained. “I’ve been feeling… different lately. But in a good sense. I feel healthier, in a better mood, I think my skin feels smoother. People say I look better than usual. I draw people’s eyes more than before. I was posing for a shoot today, and… I felt hot. In both senses. I felt my body heat up and I felt like I was incredibly attractive. Was that sexual energy?” she asked, looking at Will.

‘Definitely. Those sound like natural side effects, like a super light version of what happened to you when I first moved into your head.’

Will passed on Ishtar’s answer.

“Then… If I have this now, is there anything I can do to help?” Reina asked.

“No,” Nanami answered bluntly, shaking her head. “Even if you are awakening, control of aether doesn’t come in a day. It took my aunt years of training to be where she is now. In Will’s case, he’s had Ishtar herself leading his growth directly inside him. You won’t be able to make use of aether at will.”

Reina looked down and bit her lip in frustration.

Will kept his relief to himself. Despite all Reina wanted to help, he still would rather she stay away from any danger. He turned to Nanami and glanced at the mind control potion.

“Do we have any use for that? If not, I want to get rid of it. Too dangerous to keep around.”

“Actually, I was thinking…” Nanami smiled devilishly. “We can use this against Jack.”

“Hm? How?” Will asked. “If used on someone without good magic resistance, they’ll just become his pawn.”

“Remember what my aunt said? Think of it as a perfume. If so, then what if we could dilute the effects while keeping the scent?”

Anna tilted her head. “Okay, now you lost me.”

“I’m thinking we could use this to make someone… ‘smell’ like they’re under Jack’s control while they actually retain their full judgment.”

“You can do that?” Reina asked.

“It’s possible. But we’ll need two things.”

“What?”

“First, someone with high magic resistance. Even if I dilute the effects, someone could still fall under his control if their resistance is not good enough.”

Will nodded. “That means either me or your aunt.”

Nanami grimaced. “I’m… unsure about my aunt. She was controlled once already. It’s possible she became susceptible to his scent and could fall despite her magic resistance.”

“Me, then,” Will said. Nanami nodded. “And the second thing you need?”

“A potent source of aether,” Nanami said. And before Will could name himself again, she added, “Neutral aether. Remember what I said before. If we use your aether, with Ishtar’s essence, it’d be like mixing two very strong scents and creating something entirely different. Possibly disgusting, too. No, what I need is a potent source of neutrally attuned aether.”

“Your aunt, then?” Reina asked.

Nanami grimaced. “My aunt is strong, but that’s due to training and experience. The intensity of her aether is avarage at best.” Even as she spoke, Will was already moving towards one of his drawers, the only one here who had a keyhole to lock it. “I had something else in mind.”

“This, right?” Will asked, showing to the three women what he had in his hand.

A pure white crystal dense with naturally attuned aether.