Country Mage 3: A Slice of Life HaremLit Fantasy Adventure, page 1
Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Country Mage 3 Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Thanks
Other Work
Special Thanks to...
Sign up to my newsletter, and you will be notified when I release my next book!
Copyright 2023 Jack Bryce
All rights reserved.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.
lordjackbryce@gmail.com
Cover design by: Jack Bryce
ISBN-13: 9798375216485
Check out these great groups on Facebook for more recommendations and to stay up to date with releases:
Harem
https://www.facebook.com/groups/HaremGamelit
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dukesofharem
https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlitbooks
https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlit
https://www.facebook.com/groups/haremlitbooks
LitRPG/Gamelit
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGReleases
https://www.facebook.com/groups/litrpgforum
https://www.facebook.com/groups/575487393569328
https://www.facebook.com/groups/618412771839288
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
Cultivation/Wuxia/Xianxia
https://www.facebook.com/groups/WesternWuxia
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cultivationnovels
Others
https://www.facebook.com/groups/SuperLit
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MonsterGirlFiction
https://www.facebook.com/groups/484560235438701
https://www.facebook.com/groups/49614510285/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/safespaceforauthors/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheFantasyNation/
To yoga pants.
Country Mage 3
Chapter 1
When James took a quick break from his work and stepped out of his workshop, raindrops spattered on his face.
The first heralds of fall, he thought.
It was one of those rare days where the sun was shining but rain still fell, marked by a rainbow that arched overhead. He didn’t mind though — this kind of weather suited him just fine.
James drew a deep breath, faced up to the sky, and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sensation of light raindrops on his face.
He could feel them draw their sluggish trails down his cheeks.
He felt alive. His heart raced. Every cell in his body vibrated with energy.
This was why he loved the first rainy days of impending fall.
James had been hard at work all morning to build a tall cupboard for his new kitchen. The work was progressing nicely, although it was not without its challenges. For example, he made the entire thing of wood, but he had little experience with hinges and making doors.
Luckily, his Board Crafting spell and Woodcraft spell provided him with an easy way to produce seasoned boards and cut them down to size.
And the work was enjoyable. He’d already made a rough kitchen counter and moved the stove from the old kitchen into the new one, reconnecting the piping so the smoke could go up the chimney.
Still, since the cabin had no kitchen hood, it always smelled like someone was cooking food.
Another reason to be pleased he now had a separate kitchen.
The raindrops kept falling, soaking his T-shirt. They were cold on his skin. Refreshing and pure.
James heard footsteps behind him — a gentle patter he knew all too well.
A smile appeared on his lips when two arms snaked around his waist and Corinne pushed her supple body against his, placing a kiss on his neck.
“Hmm,” he sighed, reveling in her embrace.
“Hey, cowboy,” she hummed in his ear. “How is my favorite carpenter doing?” She squeezed tighter.
James laughed. “I’d hardly call myself a carpenter.”
Corinne giggled. “You’re definitely a builder.” She kissed his neck again before moving to his earlobe. “And you smell good. Did you get something to eat yet? Or were you just gonna stand out here in the rain?”
“Hmm, no,” he hummed, leaning back against her.
“Sara’s made fresh rolls again.” She chuckled. “But she didn’t want to come outside to tell you herself.”
James perked an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Corinne held out a slender hand with freckles on the back, and James watched as a raindrop splattered on it.
“Too wet,” the redhead said.
James laughed and craned his neck to study her from the corner of his eyes.
“I like wet.”
She chuckled, gave him a playful poke, and leaned forward, pressing her lips to his.
James returned the kiss, and they shared another moment of passion.
“All right,” he said, breaking off the kiss. “Let’s head inside and grab something to eat before we get completely soaked out here.”
She nodded as he turned around and wrapped his arm around her. Together, they walked up to the cabin’s porch.
With no small measure of pride, James saw that the roof he had constructed over the cabin’s expansion seemed to keep out the rain well enough.
That had been a tough job. The varnish his magic provided protected the wood, but did nothing about the cracks between individual boards. He had tried to search his ancestral memories for a spell that might solve the problem, but he’d come up empty.
In the end, he’d gone for a more mundane solution: caulking, a layer of waterproof paint, and roofing felt.
Aesthetically, it wasn’t what he wanted, and he would probably try to come up with a better solution in the future.
But for now, it sufficed.
Arm in arm, James and Corinne headed up the stairs to the porch. When he opened the door, the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread rushed out to meet him.
With the cabin’s kitchen moved into its own room, the living room was more spacious.
The fireplace still dominated it, and the small table, chair, and couch looked a little small now, with the kitchen removed. A doorway in the wall led to the new kitchen.
James didn’t see Sara, but the cat girl was humming a tune as she rummaged around in some corner of the kitchen.
It was a lovely, homely scene, and a profound warmth of happiness spread in James’s chest.
This is how life should be, he thought.
“Smells delicious, huh?” Corinne asked.
James smiled. “For sure.”
She winked at him as she snaked out from under his arm and settled on the couch. She wore a pair of tight, rugged jeans that hugged her round butt and a loose plaid shirt. The top buttons were undone, hinting at the redhead’s perfect chest. Scuffed cowboy boots finished the look.
As she sat down on the couch, throwing him a look of green-eyed fire from under long lashes, James couldn’t help but feel deep and utter satisfaction at their budding relationship.
Corinne’s beauty was rare. Her curves were lush and inviting. Her smile could melt the hardest of hearts.
And she had a sparkling spirit, full of life and love of life. And despite her sometimes rugged country ways, the precious farmer’s daughter was caring and sweet.
He was lucky to have her.
“Why don’t you go check on Sara?” she said, keeping her eyes on him.
James nodded, gave her a last meaningful glance that left her blushing, then crossed the living room. He leaned against the doorjamb of the doorway he himself had made, and peeked into the kitchen, smiling as he crossed his arms.
Sara stood bent over the counter; her hands busy cutting open a steaming roll.
She didn’t look over her shoulder, but she somehow sensed his presence. She was his familiar, after all. Their connection ran deep.
“Hey, baby,” she purred.
James grinned. “Hey, yourself.”
She straightened up, turning around to give him a warm smile, her yellow eyes radiant.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“Good,” she answered. “I’m starting to get the hang of this new kitchen.”
James chuckled. “It takes some getting used to, I guess.”
“I love it,” she purred. “There’s so much room!” She smiled as she threw him another glance, a meaningful twinkle in her yellow eyes as her tail swished playfully, her left ear giving its signature twitch.
“There’s plenty of room for more than one person in here...”
James laughed as he stepped into the kitchen. She wore a tight, short dress, and with the way she was bending over the counter, he could almost see the bottom curvature of her delicious behind.
And the hole she’d cut into it to fit her tail through was almost too cute…
Hard to resist her, he thought. Even if I wanted to.
He placed a hand on her rump and give a gentle squeeze, winning a purr from the delicious cat girl before he pulled his hand away.
Sara tilted her head even further, a mischievous glint in her eye.
“And the bedroom’s a lot bigger, too,” she hummed. “So much space...”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Don’t tempt me. I have to finish this cupboard today.”
She gave him a bump with her shapely backside. “All right, all right,” she purred. “Go sit down in the living room. I’ll bring out the food.”
He chuckled, then tore himself away from his scrumptious cat girl with a smile.
Corinne threw him a meaningful grin as he came back, and he flopped down on the couch beside her, draping one arm over her. She gave a pleased sigh and snuggled up against him.
A few minutes later, Sara came out with slices of freshly baked rolls, cheese, jerky, sliced sausage, cucumber, tomatoes, and some lettuce.
“Delicious!” Corinne said.
“Hm-hm,” James agreed, eyeing Sara’s luscious rump. “I’d like a taste of those rolls.”
Sara laughed and blew him a kiss before she set everything down on the coffee table and took a seat on the rug, right next to James. The cat girl preferred to sit on the ground.
With his stomach rumbling, James dug in.
When James, Corinne, and Sara had sated their appetites, Sara headed into the kitchen to get them some coffee. She returned, poured each of them a mug, and sat back down at James’s feet.
“So,” Corinne began, eyeing James with curiosity. “Have you spoken to Lucy yet?”
James shook his head.
“No,” he said. “Not yet. I was actually planning on heading down to Tour once I finish work on the cupboard.”
Corinne nodded, and Sara threw James a meaningful glance.
They were right to be curious. After all, James had been open up to them about his experience with Kesha. The fox girl and he had developed a romantic relationship. And Lucy had been clear to James that she didn’t mind — in fact, even enjoyed — sharing him with other women.
But Kesha was Lucy’s daughter…
That had to be different. A situation he needed to handle with care.
James would need to be delicate when telling Lucy about him and Kesha. He didn’t want to sacrifice his relationship with Lucy, and he didn’t want to lose the budding romance between him and Kesha either.
But he was confident that there had to be some kind of way to make this work. And he would find it.
“When do you expect the cupboard will be done?” Sara asked, breaking his train of thought as she studied him with her big yellow eyes.
“Well,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a wild ride, since I never built anything like it before. But I should be able to finish it today. If I still have some daylight left when I finish up, I might pay a visit to Lucy.”
Sara nodded.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Corinne asked. She and Lucy were well acquainted. “I might help smooth things over a bit?”
James took a sip of coffee as he considered her offer.
In the end, he shook his head.
“I like Lucy,” he said. “I like her a lot. And I believe the feeling is mutual. She and I should be able to resolve this together. Besides, I haven’t seen her for a few days. We should spend some quality time together — just the two of us.”
The other girls nodded as they exchanged meaningful glances.
Without a doubt, both of them were very curious and would’ve liked to be flies on the wall when he had his conversation with Lucy. But even though they all shared him and were a family together, there were still things that needed to be settled between him and the individual women the matter concerned.
How he resolved this situation with Lucy and Kesha was between the three of them.
“Will you be coming back tonight?” Corinne asked, her bright green eyes betraying that she wanted him to.
James smiled warmly at her. “I don’t know,” he said. “If Lucy wants me to leave, I’ll come back here. But I hope we’ll be able to spend the night together, and I think we should spend it at her place so we can have some private time.”
Corinne ran her tongue over her white teeth and nodded, a mischievous light in her eyes. “Well,” she said. “We’ll need to make it up to each other some other night then…”
James grinned, giving her a playful poke. “I’m pretty sure we will,” he said.
“So,” Sara said, looking up at both of them. “There is a question I’ve been struggling with all day…”
James perked an eyebrow. “Oh?” he hummed. “And what is that?”
“What’s the cupboard for?”
James chuckled as he placed his hand on her head and scratched her behind her ear, eliciting a low purr from the cat girl.
“Well,” he began. “I’ve been trying to find a cooling spell for the last few days. It hasn’t been easy, but I hope that I will succeed at some point. Because somewhere down the line of generations, someone will have to have mastered a technique to refrigerate food, right?”
“Ya’d think so,” Corinne agreed.
“Right,” James said. “Once I learn that spell, I’m going to use the Sigil-carving technique that Astra taught me to imbue the cupboard with a permanent cooling effect.”
He snapped his fingers. “Bam! Refrigerator.”
Sara’s eyes lit up. “That sounds amazing!” she exclaimed. “You could store meat in there, too! You wouldn’t have to worry about spoilage anymore.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “We can finally have more meat!”
James smiled. “Exactly.”
“Hmm,” Corinne mused. “Bacon, eggs, milk, orange juice…”
“Right?” James said, leaning forward on the couch, excited with the prospect.
“I’m hoping to set up all of our creature comforts using High Magic,” he continued. “Wouldn’t it be awesome if we have this place all to ourselves, powered by magic? We never have to deal with utilities or customer service or any of that other nonsense. It would just be a self-sufficient place.”
Corinne whistled. “That sounds like a dream come true.”
Sara just smiled as she nuzzled against James’s leg. The cat girl was a Fae, which meant that she was born in the world of High Magic. She had told James that she didn’t even know her own age, even though she was likely centuries old. Some of that time she had wandered the earth in cat form, barely sentient, while she had spent her other time in a more human form.
Either way, she had never dealt with utilities and the like — she was from an entirely different kind of world.
Corinne, however, was more earthly. She had a farm of her own, passed down in her family through the generations, and she was more than familiar with the concerns and annoyances of any homeowner.
“Once we get the refrigerator set up,” James continued. “Running water — hot and cold — will be my next concern. And with my Cleaning spell, we don’t even need a laundry machine or dryer.”
Corinne grinned and leaned back on the couch. “Now all we need is a folding spell. I hate folding laundry.”
James chuckled. “There might be something like that. I’ll go looking for it once I get some more time.”
He sat up a little straighter, excited with all the ideas.
