The Krakens Bride

Krakens Realm (Chapter 11): Yuki

For a moment I could only stare at them dumbfounded as my mind ran through all the possibilities that came with their words.

'Does Zale actually like me? But that doesn't make any sense, I am a man. What reason would he have to specifically like me when he already had four women sent to him before me? Shouldn't he be more interested in one of them?'

I was lost in my own thoughts for a moment before focusing my attention back towards the four women who were waiting expectantly for my answer.

"I don't really believe he likes me that way, perhaps he treats me a bit differently because I am not a woman like you all," I said, seeing the immediate disagreement with my words on all their faces.

"No, he definitely treats you like he is interested in you romantically Yuki," Mio said with a huff.

"Facts- You called him by his given name, and he didn't threaten to kill you immediately after. I'd say he likes you," Rina said with her pointy teeth on display.

"But he told me to call him... Actually, why do you all call him Master Kana? Where'd that come from?" I asked, suddenly realizing none of them called him Zale.

"Well, me being his very first sacrifice, when I arrived here, he didn't speak more than two words to me. I didn't even know he had a name until the sea people of this realm told me he did. They said his full name is Zale Depth, but he didn't accept anyone calling him that whatsoever. Everyone here calls him Master Kana, so I did too, and it just stuck when the others were brought here in the following years," Sumire explained this to me with a gentle smile on her face.

Naturally, I was surprised by this because Zale told me to call him by his name when we'd officially introduced ourselves. But even more surprising, Sumire was the eldest of the group when she looked the youngest with that freckle splashed face of hers.

"If you were the first who was the second?" I asked trying to be discreet about my burning curiosity but from the knowing smiles I got from the girls it was evident they knew.

"I came after Sumire, then Rina, and Mio came after her," Asumi spoke this time. I noticed she had a softer voice than the rest of them and she didn't speak as much either.

"Oh, I see," I said, examining the women once again now that I knew their approximate ages.

Truthfully, they didn't look any older than me. I suppose us now being immortal was actually reality because if Sumire was the first sacrifice, she should be over two hundred years old by now and looked not a day over twenty.

'That's immortality for you, I guess.'

"While we're on the subject, how did you come to be chosen? Have they changed the selection process?" Mio asked while tilting her head in thought, as the other three looked my way with interest.

"Oh, uhm... Not that I know of. My sister was the original one to be chosen this year, but she had already been engaged to a man of the neighboring village. His name was Diego Sanchez, they'd only been engaged two days when the selection began. Even so the elders came to our home saying she was chosen despite her engagement, because they had 'justified reason' or something. To keep things short... I was taken in her place as sacrifice," my voice was shaking now that I was bringing up the topic of my family.

It was like they'd become a sore subject now that I was officially within Zale's realm. I don't know how to deal with the pain that I know will come if I allow myself to realize that I have truly come all this way without them.

"Oh dear," Sumire spoke first into the echoing silence.

"Wow, it seems like things grow worse every time," Akira said with her quiet voice filled with sorrow.